“Of course, it isn’t right.” Mariela asserted. “And I believe he knows it isn’t right, otherwise he’d be more willing to work with Señora Julia to make sure the transition of power involved as little drama and stress as possible.”
Mariela felt her blood boil. James Reynolds was a greedy man, no doubt about that. Yet to be so despicable as to put the many laborers out of work, people with children and live-in parents, was beyond reproach.
“I’m not a violent man, but I swear, if he threatens to harm Julia, he’ll be in for a big surprise,” Diego said.
Rafael nodded his head. “We must show the Señora our solidarity, no matter what the consequence.”
“Sí, I agree.” Mariela may not have approved of Diego directing his attention toward Julia, but both men knew she respected the woman and felt for her loss.
Rafael continued. “I’ll speak to the workers one more time and see where we stand. We should then confer with the Señora so she knows she’s not alone in this fight.”
“I can speak with her, if you’d like,” Diego offered.
Immediately, Mariela jumped in. “We’ll all speak with her in the morning. For now we should go to bed. Tomorrow we’ll need every ounce of our energy. Good night, Diego. Come, Rafa.”
“Sí, mi amor.” Rafael turned off the light and followed his wife. “Try to get some sleep, Diego. We’ll discuss this further first thing tomorrow.”
“Yes, sleep well, you two.” Diego inched toward his makeshift room in the back of the unit.
~ ~ ~
There was merely enough room for his undersized bed and a few built-in drawers hidden beneath. Above his bed hung the very crucifix which had once served to protect his childhood home in Guadalajara.
Diego stripped away his clothing and lay naked under a simple bed sheet. The evening was still warm from the July sun. The whirr of an old fan situated on the single wood crate near his bed sent a cool breeze across his body, causing him to relax under its slight chill.
Diego knew it’d take some time to finally calm down enough to fall asleep. His mind hopped from one unfinished thought to another—from missing his parents to the future of the winery, from the loss of Robert Reynolds to the beauty and grace of Señora Julia.
He yawned and closed his eyes, reflecting on how so much of his life up to this point had been filled with both sorrow and solitude, with the exception of Eduardo and Felicia. He deeply loved his sister’s children and would do anything in his power to make sure they had a better life than what would’ve been offered had Mariela and Rafa remained in Mexico.
He thought of his aging parents who now lived with his older brother Manuel and his family in Guadalajara. Like Diego, they too were at the mercy of someone else’s hospitality. The little bit of money his parents had earned during their lifetimes was now all but gone. Sadly, their health issues no longer allowed them to live on their own.
Yet the love they all shared for family was evidenced in the way they treated one another—with respect, affection, and loyalty. Diego knew in his heart he was as much a part of Mariela’s family as he would’ve been had he been one of her own children.
Diego turned over and beat his pillow into submission. The next few days would be busy, so he needed his sleep. As he heard himself begin to lightly snore, he dreamt of Julia sitting in a beautifully hand-carved chair rocking a toddler to sleep—a little girl who looked uncannily like a perfect combination of both him and Julia. A smile then surfaced on his lips as he surrendered to the darkness.
~ ~ ~
Gayle knew she probably shouldn’t have stayed out so late, it was, after all, a week night, but one of her greatest pleasures was her women’s group at church. The ladies met every other Monday evening for a potluck, Bible study, and lively conversation.
Lately, the meetings were less about the Almighty and more about lively conversation. Many of the gals had known each other for years and as a result always seemed to have more than enough to share.
Even the potluck had been reduced to veggie trays and fruit plates given they all were at the age where watching their weight took precedence over nearly everything else. As far as Bible study was concerned, as a group they’d been through the Holy Book at least a dozen times, exhausting every verse, chapter, and testament the tome offered.
After a short obligatory homily coupled with a Bible verse or two, these ladies more often than not threw themselves into sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings. And, of course, the most current local gossip. This evening’s topic of chatter was quite naturally the funeral of Robert Reynolds and the future of the Nooksack Valley Winery.
“So I heard Julia’s brother-in-law is none too happy about her taking over the winery!” said Minnie Boskowitz, the oldest and deafest soprano in the church choir.
“Minnie, shh! Gayle is sitting right behind you!” admonished Cecile Tergesen.
“Well, I say more power to her. James is a practicing lawyer and has never once shown any interest whatsoever in his dad’s winery. That’s why the whole business fell onto Robert’s shoulders in the first place,” added Fern Reitmeyer, also a long-standing member of the church choir.
“Fern!” Cecile spit out once again.
“It’s all right, Cecile. What you’re saying is true,” Gayle inserted. “We haven’t in the past taken much of an interest in the winery, but with all of the expenses of Robert’s illness, Julia may be forced to either let James take it over for her or sell it.”
Gayle tried to do her best to stand up for her husband, but even she felt badly about Julia having to break her promise to Robert.
“Well, I for one don’t think it’s fair! Not for one minute!” Fern continued.
“And neither do I,” added Minnie.
“Julia’s a wonderful woman whose only crime was to love her husband. And I for one am going to support her in any way I can!” Fern absolutely couldn’t let the subject go.
“That goes for me too!” echoed Minnie.
“Me three!” chimed in Cecile.
Ever the peacemaker, Vera Knudson, the pastor’s wife, did her best to calm the women down. “I know we all support Julia right now because her loss is so very fresh. But, we also need to hear all sides of the story before we cast judgment. After all, Gayle and James are as much a part of this congregation as Julia. Robert’s loss has affected each one of us in different ways. And we need to respect each of the people involved, even if we don’t agree with them.”
As the evening continued, Gayle was impressed by the love and concern these women conveyed with regard to not only her sister-in-law Julia, but for the many immigrant workers who’d poured so much of their life’s blood into the success of the Reynolds’ family business. If not its success, at least its durability over the last few difficult years.
As they shared, more than once Gayle felt the heat of embarrassment flush her cheeks. James of late had ranted nonstop about the financial drain of both the winery and his father’s full-time care that Gayle had completely forgotten about the other people involved in the operation of the family business. Mostly, she’d forgotten about her friend, Julia. Here the woman had given up her career to be with her husband during his final months on earth.
She’d done so virtually alone, minus the occasional support from the sheriff, their mutual friend, Barbara Van Persie. Gayle wasn’t sure if the same thing had happened to James, she’d be as devoted and as loving a wife as Julia had been.
The meeting closed in prayer. Before the last Amen was said, Gayle set out to make her escape. No sooner had she stood up, however, than Minnie, Fern, and Cecile were on her like flies on fried chicken.
“We’re so sorry, Gayle.” Minnie was the first to speak. “I’ve prayed and prayed about my gossiping, but I still suffer from a horrendous bout of hoof-in-mouth disease.”
She took Gayle’s hand in her own. “You forgive us, don’t you?”
“It’s only that we care so much about you and your family,” added Fern. “We can’t stop ourselves.” She placed her hand softly on Gayle’s shoulder.
“Honestly, Gayle, I try to keep them quiet, but they’re impossible!” Cecile huffed. “I’ve told them over and over good Christian women shouldn’t gossip about others, especially in front of them. But do they listen to me?”
Minnie twisted her mouth as she fixed her eyes on Cecile. “Oh, shut up, Cecile. Good Christian women don’t play goody two shoes either, pointing out the obvious faults of their friends whenever they get the chance.”
“That’s right!” agreed Fern.
Gayle could sense a good old-fashioned catfight was about to commence. She watched intently as Vera skipped over to where the women stood and drew the three hens into a huddle.
“Now ladies, let’s not end our beautiful evening on a sour note. We’re all working on what God sets before us to accomplish. Which isn’t easy for any of us, is it?”
Vera winked at Gayle as she continued to discourage the women from pulling each other’s hair out. “That’s why we need the love and support we can give each other as we do as our Lord commands.”
Gayle didn’t have to be asked twice, and so took advantage of the moment and slipped out the door.
~ ~ ~
Gayle sighed out loud as she pulled out of the church parking lot and made the memorized turn toward home. Even though it was after ten, Gayle habitually peered across the street at the building which housed her husband’s law practice.
Because of the hour, she knew James more than likely was at home with the children, but then she noticed a light shining from the window of what looked like James’s office. In all the years he’d housed his practice in that building, she’d never known him to leave a light on. James was too much of a skinflint to forget a money-saving activity such as that.
Thinking perhaps the cleaning crew was busy at work, or maybe someone had left the light on from earlier in the day, she did a quick U-turn in the middle of the street and headed back toward the building’s parking lot.
Not only did she not see the cleaning crew, but James’s Mercedes was parked at the far end of the lot where the shrubbery cast a shadow over the car, making it nearly invisible.
That’s odd, thought Gayle. James never stayed late at the office, at least not without telling her ahead of time.
Unable to stave off her curiosity, Gayle pulled up to the back door of the building. She tried calling the office, but the phone immediately went to voicemail.
She tried James’s cell phone. He wasn’t picking that up either. For a brief second Gayle thought about calling Sheriff Barbara, but changed her mind as she in truth didn’t see anything appearing as if it was foul play.
She got out of her Volvo and used the penlight on her key chain to help her find her way to the back door. When she tried opening it, she discovered it was locked.
Dark thoughts danced across her mind. Something didn’t feel right at all. In fact, someone indeed was inside, for she could hear movement from behind the door.
Because she wasn’t sure if it was James, however, she decided to use her key to sneak in and confront whoever it was. Not a smart idea perhaps, but one which felt right at the time.
Gayle quietly made her way down the short hall to where she thought she heard the noise, the same room as James’s office. She peeked in through the partially opened door and saw her husband kneeling in front of his safe, sputtering language she so rarely if ever heard from him, and marking something in pen on a document which Gayle couldn’t remember having seen before.
“Whatever are you doing, James?” she asked in a voice mixed with anger and confusion.
Startled, James jumped practically out of his skin. He turned around to look at his wife and immediately hid whatever was in his hand behind his back.
“Jesus, Gayle. You scared me half to death!”
She approached her husband and began to circle him so as to get a better look at what he was hiding from her. “Not as much as you scared me! I thought someone was robbing your office, but I see it’s only you.”
James stood and closed the door to the safe, still keeping the document in his hand away from her perusal. “Of course, it’s only me. Why would you suspect anyone else?”
“James, don’t mess with me. You and I both know I expected you to be home with the kids tonight while I went to church. Instead, here you are at all hours of the night obviously trying to keep something hidden from me. What is it you have in your hand?”
James straightened himself up to his full height as if to defend himself against the scrutiny of his bright and perceptive wife. “It’s nothing, really. Nothing you need to concern yourself with, dear.”
Gayle recognized through his false bravado he was hiding something, and she was determined to find out exactly what that was. “Don’t lie to me, James. When you lie, I know it most certainly does concern me, otherwise you’d tell me the truth. Now, hand me that paper right this minute!”
Over the fifteen years of their marriage, James rarely if ever ticked off Gayle, but when he did, she let him know she meant business.
“I was doing nothing more than checking the conditions and stipulations on the deed to the winery. I was going to make a copy and give it to Julia in the morning.” He was perspiring more than usual, which clued Gayle that the man was being totally dishonest with her. In all the years of their marriage, as far as she knew, he’d never lied to her. That was, not until this moment, and because of that, she felt sick.
Gayle yanked the document out of his hand. It took her all of about thirty seconds before she saw the changes that’d been made to the deed. But, rather than grow angry, fear overtook her instead.
What the hell was James up to? He’d never once in his career ever taken this kind of illegal risk. If he was capable of doing this to his own sister-in-law, then what else was he capable of?
Gayle quickly decided to feign ignorance. “I apologize,” she said as she pushed the document back into his hands.
“But I’m still angry at you for leaving our children in the house alone. I trusted you, and now I don’t know what to think.”
At least she didn’t have to lie, for he’d broken a promise, if not so much more.
“I must be tired. I just simply want to get home and go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” She immediately turned her back to him so as not to give her fears and concerns away.
“Good night, dear.” Gayle was aware he was watching her leave the building. Gayle climbed back into her car, the tears flowing down her face. Part of her wished she’d never seen the light in the office building and part of her was glad she did.
One thing was for certain. James had talked himself into doing something Gayle believed he’d never ever do—to use his job to break the law. She sat in her locked car for a few moments while she gathered herself.
She started the car. As she made her way toward home, she began to pray. Gayle wasn’t sure how to deal with this new discovery, but she was definitely going to do something about it no matter how it affected her friendship with Julia or her marriage to James. All she needed in this moment was God’s approval.
Chapter 6
Sunrise came early the next morning. Before the sun made its way over the Cascade Mountains, Julia was up and dressed. Sipping her coffee, she stared out her massive bay window one last time at the valley below before going to her office. The vineyard and porch-lit processing building always took her breath away.
She was determined this morning to get as caught up with the business end of things as she could before Friday’s deadline. After speaking to Alicia, Julia realized James had no legal right to throw h
er out of her home. Yet she still was convinced he might succeed at scaring off the workers with his usual bluster and threats.
No matter what came down on Friday, Julia needed to know everything possible with regard to the financial solvency of the winery. What could be considered pure profit, and what in fact was still owed.
She knew, other than taxes, the family owned the land and all of the buildings and machinery on it. Even though their surpluses were low, people still asked for and purchased the Nooksack Valley wines—just not as much as a year ago. Today she’d discover exactly how little they brought in during the last year and how much went out.
As she walked toward the kitchen for another coffee refill, her cell phone rang. Who in the world would be calling her at this hour? Her agent? The office of this or that different symphonic group? A bill collector?
She looked at the number, and although it appeared somewhat familiar, she couldn’t place it. “Hello?”
“Julia, is that you?” a female voice asked.
“Gayle! My goodness! This is a surprise. Is everything all right?” Julia stopped pacing and listened.
“No, no. I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. Are you busy right now? Is it okay I speak with you for a few minutes?” Gayle’s voice sounded clouded, as if she’d been crying for some time.
“No, I’m up. In fact, I was merely on my way to the office to do some paper work. Why?” Julia asked.
She heard Gayle take in a deep breath. “Look, I’m not one hundred percent sure,” Gayle’s voice quivered, “but I believe James has somehow taken your deed and changed it in his favor. I’m so sorry, Julia. I never thought he’d do such a thing. I’m absolutely sick about it.”
Gayle began to weep again. “Please don’t have him arrested; if he lost his job, our entire family would be destroyed. Yet I couldn’t in all conscience not give you a heads up. Please forgive us, Julia. I never thought things would get this bad!”
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