Chapter Fourteen: Matzo Ball Soup for Donnatella Moss's Soul

Josh spent the weekend resting and studying at Cabbot's. By Saturday, his fever had broke, and by Sunday, he was really just congested. Donna's soup and Vitamin-C had certainly helped him physically, but her presence had helped him emotionally and mentally. She kept him in a good mood, in good spirits.

They had bantered over who was better, the Brewers or the Mets. Donna was still holding on to the fact that the Brewers won the World Series in 1982, but Josh kept reminding her that the Mets had a more recent World Series win. Donna let Josh have a muffin and a bagel over the weekend, agreeing that he was looking much better. Of course, the deal was he had to have chicken soup or salad with his carb of his choice.

He told her that his mom would drive all the way to Cambridge to bring him Matzo Ball Soup when he was sick. Donna told him that she never had Matzo Ball Soup before, but heard it was delicious, and would love to learn how to make it. She told Josh stories of how her mom would make her Italian Chicken Noodle Soup when she wasn't feeling well. They shared little childhood memories. Josh envisioned a seven year-old Donna, sitting in her bed eating soup while clutching her stuffed animal dog.

"I bet you were adorable as a little kid, I wanna see pictures," he had playfully demanded.

"And I bet you were cute with your hair sticking up in a million different directions, with those dimples of yours," now that I would love to see a picture of, Joshua."

"I can make that happen."

"That might just earn you an extra bagel or muffin."

"Okay then I'm definitely making that happen."

He had teased her about being a cheesehead and she had teased him about his messy backpack. "Joshua," she had said sternly. "Your backpack looks like it belongs to a seven year-old. Where are your folders and notebooks? Why do you have so many loose papers? How are you organized? I can't see the bottom of your bag . . ." When he showed up on Sunday, there were folders and notebooks waiting for him. "We're organizing you, Pumpkin Patch." Their chalkboards had been filled with silly drawings of football and baseball teams, Josh being unorganized, Donna walking a cow, Jacob and Daniella wearing Mets and Brewers hats. "Donna, why is Buddy a Brewers fan like Daniella and not a Mets fan like Jacob?" Josh had whined. They spent quiet moments studying together, holding hands across the coffee bar. Josh would look up every so often when she giggled at something or when she made a "hmmphh," at something she didn't like reading in her book. He just loved spending time with her, and even though they hadn't gone on their first "official" date yet, he felt like they had gotten to know each other so well and gotten so comfortable with each other through their "work/study Cabbot dates". There would certainly be no first date jitters come October 19th.

Josh had called his parents over the weekend, asking if Noah could bring his winter jacket to Cabbot's on Monday night around 8:00.

"Joshua David Lyman! Are you sick?! And you didn't tell us?" Miriam Lyman had asked.

"Yes Mom, but my fever is gone."

"And why didn't you call?!"

"I uhhh, didn't think about it."
"When you were at Harvard, You always called when you were sick."

"Buster no, stop. Donna took care of you, didn't she son?" Noah asked from another phone in the house, while trying to get Buster to stop jumping on the furniture.

"Yes Dad, she did. Lot's of chicken noodle soup," Josh couldn't hide the elation in his voice.

"I need to meet her Joshua!"

"I know mom, you will."

"Noah keeps telling me how great she is. How good you two looked together . . ."

"She wants to learn how to make Matzo Ball soup, mom."

"Oh I will teach her! Bring her to the house!"

"After our first date mom."
"Which is October 19th," Noah chimed in.

"I feel so left out Joshua, I want to meet her! Even Buster has met her!"

"Why don't you drive with Dad to New Haven Monday night? You can meet her then."

"Well Joshua, had you given us more than 48 hours notice, I could have. But I have a commitment with B'nai Israel at 8:30 that I cannot cancel. How long have you known you needed your jacket?"

"Umm almost a week?"

"And you're just calling now?"

"Mommmmm," Josh protested. "I was sick and you know, law school and stuff."

"Don't mom me. Call earlier next time."

"Yes mom, I'm sorry. Donna told me the same thing," Josh said sheepishly.

"I'm liking Donna more and more by the minute!" Miriam responded happily.

"You and me both mom." Only, Josh knew he more than just "liked" Donna. His heart fluttered at the thought.

"Buster, Buster bring back my wallet! BUSTER!" Noah yelled as he put the phone down.

"Well I should let you go son. Looks like Buster found your father's wallet again, you know how he likes to chew on the leather. I'm glad you are feeling better b'NEE. I love you.

"Love you too, Mami. Oh Mami! One last thing- can you have Dad bring a picture of me as a kid with him? Preferably one where ya know I have dimples and my hair is sticking up in a million different directions?" Josh asked hopefully.

"Oh that's like every picture of you Joshua. I think I can find one pretty easily for you. Or rather, for Donna."

"Thanks Mami. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, Joshua. Lehitra'ot." (goodbye)

"Yom tov, Mami." (have a good day)

On Monday morning, Josh woke up with a grin on his face. It was day 9 of 19, basically half way through. He absolutely could not wait for their first date. He was thinking about taking Donna to Edgerton Park, which was surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, a conservatory, carriage house and greenhouse, a fountain, and plenty of park benches where they could share muffins, Donna's vegetable of choice, and a slice of cake. Josh couldn't wait to walk around the park, holding her hand, sipping coffee, and looking at the foliage. Although to be honest, Josh knew that he would be looking at the beautiful woman walking next to him, and not so much the leaves. He just knew she would love this park.

Although Josh would love to take Donna out for dinner, he thought back to her chalkboard message, the one from September 2nd. It was the second time they had seen each other at Cabbots:

Your Lead-Barista is: Donnatella (Donna)

Two Truths and a Lie:

My major is chemistry

I transferred from the University of Wisconsin

I love sitting on the couch and eating takeout

She loves takeout. Maybe after the park and doing some meal planning, they could relax together on his couch with takeout and a movie Josh thought. He also wondered if they would be taking a trip to the grocery store for his meal planning lesson. If so, Josh was positive that Donna wouldn't let him get Coco Puffs or Lucky Charms. Still, the idea of going grocery shopping with Donnatella Moss thrilled Josh Lyman.

Josh walked into Cabbot's that evening at 5:50, plenty of time to chat with Donna and get his materials ready for study group. Now that Donna had helped him organize, getting ready for study group would be that much quicker. However, the coffee house was far busier than usual. Josh was surprised that their table was actually available, given how busy it was. Donna's line was seven customers deep, and there was just no way he was going to be able to get his coffee and chat with her before study group. "Dammit," he muttered to himself. This was not how he envisioned the evening going. He wanted to at least wave to her, to see her smile, but Josh knew the moment he saw Donna, that something was off. The smile she was giving her customers didn't reach her eyes, her hair was slightly disheveled (although still unbelievably beautiful, Josh thought), and she looked frazzled. His level of concern for her skyrocketed in an instant.

"Hey Josh, I noticed you come in and Donna's line is super long, so I got your coffee for you. I will tell Donna you said hi; I'm sure it will make her feel better, she's having a rough night it seems," Cody said quickly as he handed Josh his coffee and rushed off to his next customer.

"Thanks Cody," but Josh's words fell on deaf ears as he saw several customers approach Cody with their drink order.

He focused again on Donna and noticed her wince as she picked up the coffee pot to pour a mug for her next customer. He didn't like the look of this at all. She was clearly in a lot of pain, but trying to hide it. He wouldn't be asking her to pour him a refill of coffee this evening and he would make damn sure that all of his classmates followed suit.

"Josh! Stop looking at Donna and get over here!" Kevin's booming voice filled the coffee house.

"Say that a little louder, Kevin?" Josh asked sarcastically as he sat down.

"Well speaking of Barista Donna, I have an interesting story to share," Amy announced to the group. She was basically grinning from ear to ear.

"Can't wait to hear this . . . said no one . . . ever," Oscar muttered.

"I was on my way to Cabbot's a few hours ago and I literally ran into Donna on my way out. I spilled coffee all over the both of us, but she should have been paying attention. Whatever, her jacket was ugly anyway, maybe she will throw it out, but that's besides the point . . ."

"Amy this story doesn't seem to have a point, so if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to start studying," came Oscar's irritated voice.

Amy ignored him and kept going. "So, when Donna and I ran into one another, she dropped her tote bag. She paused a moment before the next part, "Did you guys know that Barista Donna is running a pharmacy out of her bag in her spare time? She had lots of prescriptions in there . . ." Amy let that hang out in the open for a moment. Josh knew better, he knew that those prescriptions were for her neck and her arm. As much as he would like to scream at Amy and tell her how immature and unkind she was being, he didn't want to cause a scene and embarrass Donna. Oscar on the other hand, had no problem speaking his mind in response to Amy . . . again.

"Well of course she has prescriptions, Amy! Dios mio, I mean how did you even get into law school anyway, since it appears you can't put two and two together. You of all people should know that those prescriptions are more than likely for the scar on her neck. You're the one who so "kindly" pointed her scar out to the rest of us." Oscar really emphasized his sarcasm on the word "kindly" as he air quoted it. "Now, as I said before, if you don't mind, I would like to focus on studying."

"Agreed." Josh cut in. he wanted the conversation topic to be changed as quickly as possible.

"Good. So let's focus on the class discussion from earlier today, when torts turn into crimes. Chapter 14," Oscar instructed the group. Everyone followed his lead.

Josh couldn't focus. He kept looking over at Donna and it didn't look like her night was getting any better. He needed to know that she was okay. At 6:30, he noticed her line had finally died down, and Josh took the opportunity to walk over and say hi.

The first thing he noticed as he walked up to the coffee bar, was that her chalkboard was very brief and not personal. But it was friendly, just like all of her messages. Even if she was having a terrible night, she was always kind.

Hi, I'm Donna!

I'm happy to be here to serve as your Lead Barista! Enjoy your coffee and tea :)

When he reached the counter, her back was to the coffee shop, scrubbing a spot on the countertop as aggressively as she could, and with her left hand, Josh noticed.

"Hi Donna, are you okay?" He asked quietly.

She stopped and looked at him, before quickly looking down at the sponge she was scrubbing with. Even though he only saw her eyes for a moment, Josh could tell that she was fighting back tears, trying hard not to break down in front of him. She just kind of nodded a little bit and went back to scrubbing.

"Donna? What's wrong?" He tried again as he grabbed her free hand. She pulled away quickly, but not before he noticed that her hand was shaking.

"Just leave me alone Josh," she whispered without malice.

"It's okay Blue Eyes, you don't have to tell me, but I'm here to listen. I'm gonna go back and study, but don't overdo it tonight, okay? Let me know if you need anything. I'll say goodbye before I go home."

Donna didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes and nodded her head slightly.

"She was so good to me when I was having a bad day, and I know her bad day is infinitely worse than any bad day I could possibly have, so I will do anything she asks me, even if it means leaving her alone for the night," Josh thought to himself as he walked back to the table and slumped into his chair. Oscar picked up on it immediately, and placed his hand on Josh's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Again, Josh found himself unable to concentrate. He had put on a brave face for Donna, but on the inside he was a mess. It pained him to know that he couldn't reach her in her time of need and anguish. He looked over at her, she was leaning against the sink, her left hand grasping her right one, trying to still it as it trembled and twitched incessantly. It broke his heart, watching her struggle. "She shouldn't have to go through this alone," he thought to himself. She finally gave in to her struggle, as she reached into her tote bag and as discreetly as possible, opened a prescription container. Unfortunately, the shakiness of her right hand led to her pills falling on the floor behind the counter. He saw her body slump in frustration, as she bent over to pick up her medication. It took everything Josh had not to go over and help her. "She asked to be left alone," he quietly reminded himself. When she popped back up from behind the counter, he saw her wipe a tear from her eye as she took one of her pills with a glass of water and threw the rest in her tote bag. He was nearly in tears himself. His overprotectiveness of her kicked into overdrive, "She shouldn't be working tonight," he thought to himself. What could he do to help her?

"Oh look, Donna's taking her meds. Hopefully it helps with that shaky hand she's got going on tonight. I'm not a medical student, but that's a sign of withdrawal . . ." Amy trailed off with her accusation.

"AMY CUT IT OUT!" Josh snapped, but only loud enough for their table to hear. All of his classmates stopped what they were doing to look at him. "Can't you see that she's in pain? What's wrong with you? Why do you have to be so cruel to her? What the hell did she ever do to you? Did you not hear ANYTHING Oscar said earlier to you?!" He was beyond angry.

"Give it a rest Amy." Oscar added. "Now's a good time for a coffee break," he continued. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"If you're getting coffee, get it from Cody," Josh told the group, with no room for discussion.

"But why not from Don-" Kevin started to ask before Oscar jumped in.

"What the hell Kevin?! Have you been listening like, AT ALL? Donna needs a break. She's getting a break. GOT THAT? You want coffee? You get it from Cody. Deal with it."

"Oh uh, okay. My bad," Kevin replied as he got up and walked over to Cody.

"Idiot," Oscar said under his breath at a level only Josh could hear, slamming his book closed.

Josh peeked over at Donna from his seat about five minutes after everyone came back from their coffee break. He could tell that she had drawn something on her chalkboard, and he couldn't quite see what is was, but he took it as a message from Donna. He quickly bounced out of his seat and walked to the counter. On the chalkboard was a picture of Buster, looking just a little sheepish, and his bowl was flipped over, food all over the place. In a quote bubble above his head was written, "Mi dispiace"

"What does that mean?" He asked her softly.

"It means I'm sorry," she said timidly as her eyes met his.

"Donna you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about."

"I shouldn't have told you to leave me alone . . . you were just trying to help and . . . and . . . I'm just having . . . having a bad day." The sadness in her eyes spoke volumes and affected Josh immensely. His heart ached for her. He just wanted to hold her and take away the hurt she felt.

"It's okay Blue Eyes, everyone has bad days. Tomorrow will be better. If you want to talk to me about it, I'm here for you. I'm always here for you," Josh said tenderly. He wanted to reach for her hand, but he wasn't sure how comfortable she was with that right now, given the symptoms and pain she was having.

He could really tell that her arm was aching. Her drawing of Buster, although accurate, was drawn simply and quickly, as if to limit the use of her arm as much as possible. Her hand was still shaking, so her drawing wasn't as neat as it usually was. There were some shaky lines. The quality of her drawings didn't matter to Josh though, he loved whatever she drew. In fact, her drawing gave him an idea.

"The weather Josh," she began slowly, with a shyness to her that Josh had never seen or heard before. "It's cold out and I couldn't finish my art project in class, and I dropped a plate, and I can't tie my shoes . . ." She stopped quickly after that last admission as she tensed up a bit, not wanting to get into it with him at that moment.

Josh noticed that her hand was still shaking and he didn't want her to feel self conscious about it. He quickly leaned forward on both hands and peeked over the countertop at Donna's feet. "I can help with one of those things," he said sweetly and gave her an affectionate smile as he walked around the coffee bar and dropped down to tie her shoes. "There, I even double knotted them, bunny ears and all," he whispered as he stood back up, giving her a reassuring smile. Now he understood why she was behind the coffee bar all night. She was embarrassed about her shoes being untied.

"Thank you, Josh," she said as she grabbed his hand, barely keeping it together. She was touched by his actions.

"Anything for you, Donnatella, anything," he whispered as he squeezed her hand. "I gotta go make a phone call, but I will be back, so don't go anywhere," he said with a wink. Josh may not know exactly what's wrong, but he knows how to help.

"K," she said, still a little inhibited.

"Good." He squeezed her hand again and ran out the door. He still had a little time before his dad left for New Haven.

"Hey mom, is dad still at the house?" Josh asked about two minutes later from a pay phone right around the road from Cabbots.

"He's just about to leave b'NEE. Hold on let me get him."

"NOAH! Joshua's on the phone!" He heard his mom shout from the other end.

"Hey pal what's up."

"Dad, I need a favor."

"Sure thing buddy."

0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0

Josh went back into Cabbot's and pulled his chalkboard out of his backpack, erasing the "It's day 9 and the Mets still have a better record that the Brewers . . ." with pictures of the team logos and a baseball diamond, the original message meant for Donna that night.

"Josh you gonna join us for ya know, most of the study group? We could use your input," Mark said as Josh fervently drew on his chalkboard.

"I will join you when I join you. I have something to take care of."

"Writing on a chalkboard?" Kevin asked as his eyebrows raised. Josh ignored him.

"If you have questions Mark, I will pass them on to Josh and he can answer them tomorrow. Let him do what he needs to do. There are several other people here who can give you input," Oscar said as he winked at Josh.

"Thank you," Josh mouthed to Oscar as he basically fell over his chair in excitement and ran up to Cody, ordering a large Hot Apple Cider for Donna, and ordering two additional drinks that he would grab at 8:00. With the drink in hand, he walked over to Donna, presenting to her his chalkboard in one hand and apple cider in the other.

Blue Eyes,

Today is day 9 of 19! I have a surprise for you at 8pm. If you can, please take a break :) You will need your jacket! In the meantime, please enjoy this Hot Apple Cider.

xoxo Pumpkin Patch

"I think I can do that Joshua," she said quietly and with a smile as she brought the cup up to her nose and breathed in the scent of her drink, just like she did that one morning with her Caramel Macchiato. "Thank you for my drink Josh."

"You're welcome. Anything for you Donnatella, anything," he couldn't say it enough to her. Especially tonight. "I will be back up here around 8ish to get you."

Josh could barely contain his excitement as he tried to focus for the next twenty-five minutes on car accidents being both civil and criminal offenses. He kept looking at his watch, glancing outside, looking over at Donna. He was glad to see that she was enjoying her drink. Although she was holding it with her left hand, he could see that her right hand was starting to shake less. That put a smile on his face.

At 7:57, Josh heard a light tap on the window by his study group. Everyone looked up.

"That's my dad," Josh said enthusiastically as he waved to his dad and gave him a "one minute" signal as got up from his seat and quickly walked over to Cody. He grabbed the drink holder, which held his requested drinks and made his way over to Donna. He wanted to make sure she didn't see what was written on the coffee cups so he turned the names toward him. He absolutely did not want to ruin this surprise for her.

"You ready?" He asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Mmmmhmmm," she said cheerfully, as she pulled on her coat.

"That's a cute coat," he said with a smile. He saw the stain from her earlier encounter with Amy, and he made a mental note to take her coat to the dry cleaners for her. It looked adorable on her, Josh thought. It was light gray with black buttons, and it flared out just a little. She had a pink little beanie and a pink scarf, mittens hanging out of her pockets. Josh noticed she probably didn't put them on or rather couldn't put them on because her hand was still shaking.

"Here, let's get your mittens on. I don't want you to have cold hands," he said benevolently as he put the drink holder down, grabbed the mittens from her pockets, and placed them on her hands.

"Thank you Josh." Her eyes were shining.

"We're going outside Donnatella and I don't have wet hair."

"Good job Pumpkin Patch!" It was the first time she sounded like herself all night. He was ecstatic.

He carefully grabbed the drink holder in his right hand, and placed his left on the small of her back as he guided her across the coffee house floor. He left her side only to open the door for her, very aware that his classmates were all watching them.

"Oh she's meeting Dad tonight?" Amy asked scathingly.

"Oh they actually already met, Amy!" Oscar fired back.

"Joshua! As requested, I have for you the following: one winter jacket, one childhood photo, and one Buster Lyman!" Noah said happily as Josh and Donna walked outside, Josh's hand falling back to the small of Donna's back, it's new favorite place to be. Well, there and entwined with her hand.

"Noah! Buster! Oh my goodness, hi! What a wonderful surprise!" Donna said with delight.

"Surprise Donna, My dad was stopping by tonight with my jacket and photo, and I called him about 45 minutes ago and asked him to bring Buster along," Josh said as he looked into her eyes. "I thought he might make you feel better," he whispered as he gently rubbed small circles on her back.

"Joshua Lyman, you are without a doubt the sweetest, kindest, most caring person I have ever met. Thank you," she said tenderly, rubbing her mitten covered thumbs over his cheeks, not caring about her shaking hand.

"Anything for you Donnatella, anything," he said giving her his best dimpled smile.

"Someone gets a muffin or bagel tonight, since he followed through with the photo," she giggled and nudged him.

"Oh a muffin, for sure!" Josh said with excitement.

Noah was overjoyed to see the ever growing love and affection between his son and Donna. He had never seen Josh so happy and comfortable in his life. As his father, he couldn't put into words the feelings he had. Watching his son find what mattered most to him in this world, to find his Bashert, well that was just incredible. Him and Miriam really needed to get the two of them to Westport as soon as possible. They just had to find a time when everyone's schedule worked.

"Wanna give Buster his drink?" Josh asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Donna replied as she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down a little.

"K, you give Buster his drink and I will give my Dad his," Josh said as he handed the Puppuccino to Donna.

"C'mere Buster!" Donna said as she took off her mittens and crouched down. Noah released Buster's leash as he came barreling happily over to Donna.

"Good boy!" she said encouragingly as he lapped up his drink. Donna stroked his head with her shaking right hand as she held the cup with her left. Buster gobbled up his treat within seconds.

"Here lemme take the cup, and here's a napkin for his nose," Josh said as he let Donna and Buster have some time together. Noah came to stand next to Josh, as he gave him the bag with his winter coat and picture. Buster placed his paw on Donna's shaking hand, and she grabbed onto his paw, gently shaking it. It made both Josh and Noah a little emotional, knowing that Buster knew exactly what Donna needed and where she was hurting the most. Noah placed his arm around his son's shoulder, knowing that the scene in front of them was affecting Joshua greatly. His son had always cared so much about those he loved. He also knew that there was a hole in Josh's heart from his sister's death and that he still carried the guilt. Noah knew that Donna would help heal Josh as he would help her heal, because that's what two people do when they are Bashert.

"Buster, is this a formal introduction? I didn't get one last time, you just went right for the hug!" Donna laughed as she scratched behind his ears, then leaning forward to give him a hug. Buster placed his big-dog head on Donna's shoulder, tongue and tail wagging. Josh watched in amazement as Donna's still trembling hand began to still more and more with each passing moment as she pet Buster, until her hand stilled completely.

"Okay Buster, you probably gotta go home. Bedtime I bet, and your brother has to study, right Pumpkin Patch?" Donna asked Josh as she gave Buster a kiss on the top of his head and stood up, still holding Buster's leash.

"Oh Pumpkin Patch! Yeah, I can see that!" Noah said as he looked at Josh and grinned, dimples coming out.

"What?! Dad what do you mean? You can see what?! What's Pumpkin Patch?! Daaaaaad!" Josh whined.

Noah and Donna just laughed. "You'll figure it out in time, son. I'm sure. Donna it was wonderful to see you again," Noah said as he gave her a hug.

"You too Noah, thank you again for bringing this guy his jacket and of course, Buster, and oh I need to see this photo!" Donna said excitedly.

"You are very welcome Donna. Thank you for taking care of him this past week. And oh, that reminds me. Joshua, your mom brought you Matzo Ball Soup. It's in the bottom of the bag, wrapped separately so your jacket doesn't smell like soup. Donna, she wants to teach you how to make it.

"I look forward to it Noah! Please tell Miriam that for me."

"I absolutely will."

"Thanks Dad, and thank Mom for me."

"Of course pal," Noah said as he hugged Josh. "You did good tonight son, you're so good to her, I'm proud of you, of the man you have become," Noah whispered as he held his son in their embrace.

"Thanks Dad," Josh said, as he began to feel the rush of his emotions come to life.

"You're welcome Josh. Now say goodbye to your brother!" Noah added to lighten the mood.

"Bye Buster! Don't keep trying to eat Dad's wallet, okay? Be a good boy!" Josh said as he scratched Buster behind his ears.

"Say bye, Buster!" Noah added.

"Woof!" - Buster

"Good job!" Everyone gave their praise at once.

"Take care you two," Noah waved as he and Buster walked down the block to the car.

Josh and Donna walked back into Cabbot's with their arms wrapped around each other, both smiling and laughing. He put his bag on the coffee bar, and placed his hands on her hips. He was delighted when hers came up to rest on his chest. "Donnatella Moss, how about I ditch my study group and move over to the coffee bar, and we can share a big bowl of Matzo Ball Soup, and I can tell you about the childhood picture my Dad gave me," he said excitedly, as he rubbed his hands up and down her sides.

"That sounds perfect, Joshua. Thank you for turning my bad day into a wonderful night," she told him affectionately, as she moved her hands to the back of his neck, running her fingers through his soft curls.

"Anything for you Donnatella, anything."

They sat at the coffee bar together holding hands until close, sharing Matzo Ball Soup and a blueberry muffin, looking at Josh's childhood photo, talking, and laughing together. Josh was overjoyed to see Donna's radiant smile come back and to hear her laugh. He loves her laugh. Josh also read Donna the letter his mom had attached to the soup:

B'NEE,

I know you have the wonderful Donnatella, WHO I WANT TO MEET, who cares about you and is making you soup, but you will always be my baby boy and I will always make you food xoxo.

Love, Mami

P.S. Please tell Donnatella again that I will teach her how to make Matzo Ball Soup. And I'm hoping VERY SOON!"

Of course, they invited Oscar over for some soup, and he was officially a fan of it. After Donna and Cody had cleaned up and everyone had long since left, Josh gently took Donna's hand, and asked her if he could walk her home. She smiled and his dimples immediately appeared as they left Cabbot's hand in hand. Josh of course, had his winter jacket on.