Sweet, Sweet Wine

by Jaime Clevenger

  “Maybe we should go to that hotel,” Ana said.

  “What? You’re joking, right? I kicked Lisa out so we could stay here, and now you want to go to the hotel?”

  “No, you kicked Lisa out because she had no reason to be in your bed.” Ana shook her head. “Don’t make this thing my fault.” She motioned to Lisa’s car. “The fact that your ex hasn’t let go of you isn’t my issue, it’s yours. I don’t like the idea of crawling into the same bed she warmed up.”

  Finally Lisa pulled out of the parking space. She made a U-turn in front of Riley’s car and then hit the gas. The old Toyota’s tires spun on the gravel. A moment later her car disappeared down one of the side streets. “It isn’t like she was doing anything up there. She was just sleeping.”

  “What if it had been Tom in my bed?”

  Riley gave a reluctant grin. “You got me. I’d be pissed. And I’d want clean sheets.”

  “Thank you.” Ana sighed. “And yes, you’re going to change the sheets.”

  Riley nodded.

  “I got a text from my Realtor while you were up there. Someone made an offer on my place.” Ana looked at Riley, as if waiting for a response but then continued, “It’s a good price. I have to look everything over, but it sounds solid. I’ll probably take it.”

  “I didn’t know you had listed it already.”

  “It went on the market on Wednesday. I didn’t think I’d get an offer this soon.”

  “I know you have it set up with Sharon that you are going to rent the cottage, but you could just as easily stay here for the next few months. It will take a while to get the bank approval and do the transfer…My place is closer to the airport and you can keep doing your consulting work until you’re ready to be at the winery full-time.”

  “You’re asking me to move in with you after we’ve been dating for how long? You are still edgy when I call you my girlfriend. Yeah, I noticed.”

  “I’m not edgy. And if you are living here, you’ll see that Lisa isn’t part of my life anymore.” Riley paused. The real reason she wanted Ana to move in was harder to state out loud. She hesitated and then spit it out. “I think we need to see if our real lives, work, everything else, can fit together. Since we’ve met, one of us has always been on vacation when we’ve been together. I want to know if you still like me when I’m there every day.”

  “You’re worried that I’m going to get bored with you?”

  “Maybe.”

  Ana sighed. “So what happens if living together doesn’t work out? What if it’s just the thrill of getting to know each other that has made this work? Will we wake up one day and realize we are in two different worlds even if we live in the same house?”

  Riley stared at Ana without answering. All of Ana’s questions had been circling round in her mind for days. This was what she had to know before she could commit. Falling for Ana was easy. But could they last? Lisa’s prediction of Ana tiring of her in a few months still preyed on her mind. She’d also wondered if she would tire of Ana. Would everyday life push their relationship the same direction as had happened with all of her previous relationships, to a place where she used the word love to mean little more than a complicated friendship?

  Part Six

  Truth or Dare

  Ana was awake, sitting up in bed and staring out the window. Snow was falling and the crystals were so small they looked like sugar when the wind picked up. Riley reached for her, but Ana made no move toward her. Riley closed her eyes, thinking she could slip back asleep if she didn’t glance at the clock. It was too late in the season to enjoy a snowy day. By the time April rolled around, she was completely over winter.

  “Do you have plans for Easter?”

  Riley stretched and rolled on to her side. It wasn’t likely she’d fall back asleep anyway. She propped her head up on one elbow. “When’s Easter?”

  “Next weekend.” Ana picked up Riley’s phone. “You know, I have never looked at your phone. I haven’t checked your email, peeked at texts, scanned your appointment schedule, nothing.”

  “Unusual for you, I take it?”

  “Maybe.” She tossed the phone to Riley. “But I like not knowing.”

  Riley rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She clicked on her calendar. “I’m not working. And that will be my third Saturday off this month. I have to admit, I love not working weekends.”

  “You do know that Easter is on Sunday, right?”

  “Yeah, I know, but when I’m doing something with you, I need to plan on it taking all weekend.”

  “You make me sound high maintenance.” Ana stretched on the bed. She picked up her own phone and scanned through her messages. Riley watched her click over to her email and scan through this as well. She looked over at Riley. Finally, she set the phone down and said, “I’m going to Lodi for Easter. I was thinking maybe you could come with me.”

  “Wait a minute…Are you asking me to come meet your family?”

  Ana folded and unfolded the top hem of the sheet. She eyed Riley but was silent for a long minute. “It sounds crazy when you say it out loud. Maybe it’s a bad idea. Maybe I want to think about this a little longer.”

  “Too late. You already invited me. I’d love to come.”

  “I’m probably going to change my mind. Why would I want to torture you with my family?” Ana got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She had the habit of leaving the door open and continuing their conversations while she peed. “Don’t buy your ticket yet. Give me twenty-four hours to decide that I am totally insane for even suggesting this.”

  “Why wait twenty-four hours? I like the spontaneous you who throws caution to the wind. Better than the creepy one who looks through her girlfriend’s phone.” Riley climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of underwear and jeans. She went to the window and opened the drapes. It had snowed overnight, and her car was covered in several inches of white.

  Ana came out of the bathroom and stood by Riley. “My family is crazy, you know.”

  “I only know what you’ve told me, and they don’t sound all that crazy.”

  “Clearly I should have elaborated. I’ve got some stories,” Ana replied. She brushed her hand up Riley’s arm, then leaned close to kiss her neck.

  “I’m going to ask them for stories about you,” Riley taunted. “I bet your sisters have a few good ones that you’d never tell.”

  “See? I take it back. You can’t come.”

  Riley grabbed Ana and spun her around. “Too late. You asked and I’m coming.”

  “Aren’t you late for something?” Ana asked, pulling out of Riley’s arms. She arched her eyebrow when Riley reached for her again. Ana slipped past her grasp and went to the closet. She pulled out the overnight bag that she kept packed and always in the same place in the closet. “You’re meeting me this evening at Sharon’s, right?”

  “Yeah, I have appointments until five. I’ll head out after that. Depending on the roads, I should be there after you’ve changed your mind twice about me coming with you for Easter.”

  “Or three times,” Ana replied. She smiled, but the expression on her face was somehow somber.

  * * *

  Riley finished up with her last client and slipped out of the office without checking the reception desk for messages. The sun was dipping low on the horizon and stubborn patches of snow glared in the light. Riley had made the drive to the mountains enough now that she had every route timed. More often than not, Ana would drive to the winery first, Riley would meet her in the evening and they’d spend the night in Sharon’s cottage before driving back to Denver the next morning. This had been the routine, at least, for the past month. Ana had to travel for the better half of each week, but she planned her trips so she was back in Denver by Thursday or Friday and they’d had nearly every weekend together. Since her conversation with Laney about scheduling, Riley’d had only one weekend of appointments each month and fewer evenings as well. Laney complained about the hassle of fitting in the regular clients,
but Riley had no complaints at all with the lighter schedule.

  Ana had moved in with Riley shortly after she’d heard that her condo had sold. She’d only brought three suitcases and the overnight bag. The rest of her things were in storage in California. Riley had been partly relieved that Ana had only come with suitcases. It made the move feel like a low-pressure trial. Ana had given no hint, though, about when she planned to bring out the rest of her things, and Riley had begun to wonder how long the trial period would last.

  Riley parked in Sharon’s nearly empty lot and cut through the backyard to the kitchen. She tried the door and found it unlocked as usual. Deb was in the kitchen, her leg in a brace and a frying pan in her hands. She had a red plaid flannel shirt on with the collar turned up. She raised the frying pan, greeting Riley.

  “Your gal isn’t here yet. Sharon’s in the front room chatting with some guests. Hungry?”

  Riley shook her head. She was hungry, in fact, but she’d had Deb’s food one too many times. Deb cooked like an old bachelor, lacing things with extra salt instead of spices and adding ham or crumbled bacon to nearly every recipe, including spaghetti. Somehow, Sharon didn’t seem to mind. “How is rehab going?”

  “I do the exercises they tell me to do. Maybe not every day. I haven’t had much pain, though, since the surgery. And the hot tub helps.”

  “Do the exercises every day,” Riley said. “You aren’t going to be climbing up the side of William’s Canyon this summer unless you are serious about the rehab. It doesn’t take that long.”

  The door to the dining room swung open and Sharon popped in. “I’m going to be upstairs setting up the Purple Room. Just took a reservation for the next three nights. Can you answer the door if anyone knocks?” She paused long enough to see Deb’s head nod, then turned to Riley. “Want to give me a hand with the sheets? I had a late checkout this afternoon and didn’t quite finish with the rooms.”

  Riley followed Sharon upstairs, her arms filled with folded sheets and towels. The Purple Room, the largest in the house, was equipped with a king-size mattress, a sitting area and enough space for a full-size cot as well, if requested. The attached bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub and a view of Pikes Peak from the window above it. The towels were dark purple, as was the duvet, but the rest of the room was decorated in a woodsy fashion with pine furniture and photographs of mountains and rivers.

  Sharon had bedmaking down to a science, and Riley did little more than hand her the requested linens. When they’d finished with the room and were preparing to leave, Sharon hesitated. She stood in the doorway and then turned to Riley. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to catch you alone so I can ask…How are things with you and Ana?”

  “Good, I think.” Riley paused. “She invited me to come to her family’s Easter out in California.”

  “And?”

  “I think I’m going.”

  “You don’t sound all that excited. Not quite ready to meet her family?”

  “I want to meet them. She’s told me enough stories that I’d like to put faces to the names, at least. But she isn’t out to her family.”

  “And that’s going to change when she shows up with you. She’s not going to give them any warning?”

  “I’m still not sure that she won’t change her mind about taking me along. Chances are probably good that I’ll be spending Easter in Colorado wondering why I didn’t pick up an extra shift.”

  “Well, even if she does, the fact that she’s even considering it tells you that she thinks things are going well enough between the two of you.” Sharon went out into the hall and opened a cupboard. She handed Riley two individually wrapped chocolate mints. “One on each pillow, please.”

  Riley placed the chocolates and then straightened the shams. “The thing that is bugging me is that things are going well. Almost too well…I’ve never been with someone that I am so excited to see every time she walks in the door. I think about her more than I’ve ever thought of someone. It’s distracting. Every time she leaves on one of her work trips the house feels so empty, I almost wish she wouldn’t come back because I know she’ll have to leave again and I hate the days that she’s gone so much. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

  Sharon laughed.

  “At the same time, I can’t wait for her to come home. And in the back of my head, I’m waiting for her to tell me that she’s getting back with Tom. I’ve started to worry that I’m falling too hard.”

  Sharon placed a hand on Riley’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but her expression made it seem that she understood. Riley thought of their first conversation, two years ago, about falling in love. At the time, Riley hadn’t thought she was in love with Lisa, at least not the way Sharon talked about how she’d fallen for Cherie. She had doubted that she’d ever feel the way Sharon had described. Now she knew the joy and pain of the highs and lows that came with really loving someone, and she wasn’t certain she’d ever be the same.

  “Sharon,” Deb called up the stairs, “there’s a couple here. They don’t have a reservation, but I told them I think we have room.”

  Sharon glanced at Riley before she turned to head downstairs. “Stop overthinking this. Just slightly terrified is how you are supposed to feel.”

  Ana met Riley in the front living room. She leaned over Riley’s book and kissed her. “I shouldn’t distract you from that story. It’s probably more interesting than anything I have to say tonight.”

  Riley set the book down. “Long day?”

  Ana had changed out of her slacks and into a pair of sweats. “I want to order takeout. Or maybe delivery. Pizza?”

  Riley reached for her phone and found the number for their favorite pizza place in town. “Anything’s better than Deb’s cooking.” Deb and Sharon were in the kitchen eating, and their muffled voices filtered through the swinging door.

  “I met with the chef I was ready to hire. He looked so good on paper, and he nailed the phone interview. He isn’t going to work out. Showed up stoned. Who does that?”

  “It’s legal in this state.”

  “Don’t even start,” Ana said, frowning. She waited for Riley to talk with the pizza guy, then added, “I want olives.”

  Riley finished the order and then reached for Ana. She pulled her into a hug. “What about the gal Sharon knows? She doesn’t have the fancy degree from a French cooking school, but she made really good little quiches. Sharon says she can make almost anything.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure she can. And I didn’t miss the fact that you flirted with her for a good twenty minutes. I’m not surprised you remembered her quiches.”

  “I wasn’t flirting with her. There is a slight chance that she was flirting with me. I’ll give you that.”

  Ana arched her eyebrows. “Mini-quiches were fine for Sharon’s party. But yes, I’d really like someone from a fancy French cooking school. They need to know how to pair food with the wine. And I want people to be excited about the menu. I need this to be several steps above a cheese and cracker platter. I want people to think about coming to the winery because of the wine and also because the menu sounds good enough to eat. For that, I need a real chef.”

  “Okay. Anyone else on your short list?”

  Ana shook her head. “I’m reposting the listing. If I don’t find anyone by May first, I might have to consider the quiche girl.” She pointed a finger at Riley’s chest. “Maybe. Depends on whether I want to deal with her flirting with my girlfriend when I’m not looking. At least I already have the servers lined up, assuming none of them decide to flake before their start date. The chairs arrived today. They look good. I got the window guy scheduled for Monday. Things are coming together.” She reached for Riley’s hands and positioned them on her shoulders. Riley fell into the massage routine. Ana’s neck and shoulders were always tense, but she loosened up easily.

  The bank had approved the loan, and Ana had already finished most of the renovations on the winery. Joe and his wife had moved out of the apartment with
the plan to stay in town, but their forwarding address was Kansas. They had taken with them more cases of wine than the transfer allotted. Ana had noticed the discrepancy but decided to write the cases off as a loss rather than chase Joe down in Kansas. The accountant, who had longed to wash his hands of any dealings with Joe, agreed. By mid-May, Ana planned to have a reopening party. She had invited all of Sharon’s friends, which was a little more than half the town, Riley guessed. Tom was scheduled to come as well, of course.

  “So. I’m not going to change my mind. I want my family to meet you.”

  “Are you going to let them know beforehand that you are bringing someone?” Riley asked.

  “No. They just get to be surprised. I can’t make that phone call without getting too many questions I’m not ready to answer. Not over the phone, anyway.”

  “You think it is going to be easier in person?”

  Ana looked up at Riley. “Probably not. But with the right drink, maybe.”

  “Okay, let’s do this. Can we buy the tickets now?”

  “I won’t change my mind. Where else would I want to be next weekend but in Lodi—with my girlfriend?”

  Riley grinned. She wanted to tell Ana how happy she was about the trip but didn’t want to add any more layers to what was already a pretty complex situation. In some ways, this felt more important than Ana deciding to move in with her. Even though she knew Ana had told her that she hadn’t brought any of her past partners home to the family, the fact that she wasn’t out to her family had made Riley question whether or not she wanted their relationship to be long-term. She wanted to admit that she’d told her parents many things about Ana and that she wanted them to meet her as well. But with Ana being closeted to her family, it didn’t feel right to talk about her own.

  “Lodi for Easter. Why would you want to go anywhere else, right?” Ana added, her voice becoming distant. Riley was finishing the massage when a knock came at the front door. One of the guests had forgotten his key. Sharon and Deb came out to the front room then and started chatting with the guest about the local restaurants. Not long after, the pizza arrived, and Ana and Riley headed to the cottage. Riley had mastered the woodstove, finally, and could usually get a good fire going even before Ana had unpacked. The place now felt like a second home.