By Elijah came home. Terrence drove him back on Saturday. The boy ran through the apartment door screaming "MAMA! BLAZE! MY SAND!" — the three things he missed most, in order of priority (I'm grateful to be above the cat and the gravel patch but the margin is slim). He was tanned, happy, full of stories he told in three-year-old sentences: "Nana Two made rice." "Da has a big room." "I saw a LION" (the zoo). "Miles would like Atlanta." Miles would like Atlanta — the preschool friend, referenced in a travel context. The boy is making geographic recommendations at three.
Terrence's report: "He was perfect. He adjusted in one day. He ate jollof rice. He slept through the night. Gloria is in love with him. He called her Nana Two approximately seven thousand times." Seven thousand times. The numbering system is entrenched. Nana Two is permanent. The hierarchy is settled. The love is distributed across two cities and two grandmothers and the distribution is correct.
Kevin proposed to Donna. He called Sunday night. He said: "She said yes." She said YES. Donna said yes. Kevin Mitchell, who survived a divorce and a deployment-scarred first marriage and the shadow of Danny Mitchell, got down on one knee in a restaurant in Clarksville and asked a woman named Donna to choose him and she said yes. She said yes because Kevin is not Danny. She said yes because Kevin makes calm. She said yes because Kevin learned to make beef stew and the stew was the healing and the healing was the readiness and the readiness was the ring.
The wedding: April 2024. Next spring. In Clarksville. Small ceremony. Sarah is making the food. OF COURSE Sarah is making the food. Sarah's Table is catering Kevin's wedding. The Mitchell food at the Mitchell wedding. The cornbread at the ceremony. The circle. The permanent, beautiful, cast-iron-shaped circle.
I made celebration dinner at the restaurant — after hours, the family dinner. Kevin and Donna drove from Clarksville (with Kaden, now one and a half, toddling, red-haired, looking like Crystal but acting like Kevin — quiet, observing, assessing the room before entering it). The table was: ten people, six stools, four extra chairs dragged from the back. The food was: everything. The toast was: Mama, standing at the counter with a glass of champagne ("The cheap kind," she specified, "I'm not made of money"), saying: "To Kevin and Donna. To the Mitchell who chose better. To the woman who made him calm. To the next chapter. To the table that holds us all." The table that holds us all. Amen. Always amen.
Mama specified “the cheap kind” when she grabbed the champagne — and honestly, that’s the only way to do a Mitchell family toast. But whether you’re pouring from the bottom shelf or the top, a mimosa is still a mimosa: bubbly, bright, and exactly right for the moment Donna said yes. This is the recipe I come back to whenever the table fills up and someone needs to raise a glass — simple enough to make in batches, celebratory enough to mean it.
Best Mimosa
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 bottle (750 ml) chilled dry champagne or prosecco
- 2 cups chilled fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 6 oranges)
- Orange slices or twists, for garnish (optional)
- Ice, optional
Instructions
- Chill your glasses. Place champagne flutes in the freezer for 10–15 minutes before serving, or fill them briefly with ice water and discard before pouring.
- Pour the orange juice. Fill each flute halfway (about 2 oz) with cold fresh orange juice. Fresh-squeezed makes a noticeable difference here — bottled works in a pinch, but fresh is worth it for a celebration.
- Top with champagne. Slowly pour chilled champagne over the juice to fill the glass, tilting slightly to preserve the bubbles. The ratio is 1:1, but adjust to taste — more juice for brunch, more bubbles for a toast.
- Garnish and serve immediately. Add an orange slice or twist to the rim if desired. Serve right away before the bubbles settle.
- Scale for a crowd. For a pitcher-style batch, combine 1 bottle of champagne with 2 cups orange juice in a large pitcher and serve immediately. Do not mix ahead — the bubbles dissipate quickly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 120 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 5mg