I take off my sunglasses and look over at Tristan he has this almost enigmatic grin on his face, like he can’t control his excitement, he and I use to stay up talking, imagining our life together, I know he was only toying with me back then, but I was playing for real, this was all I ever wanted with him, was a place on a vineyard, a few kids running around and enjoy a wonderful life together.
Tristan and I have spoken in great detail how we wanted to open a vineyard together, and now here we are in Ohio looking at a vineyard, I have to say my curiosity is peeked.
“Tristan this is wonderful I had no idea that there were vineyards here”
He signals over quickly and proceeds to drive up a tree covered street, it is so beautiful you would swear you were in the champagne region in France. I roll down my window so I can smell the acres of grapes, it is heaven to me. Tristan pulls up to a gated property, on the left, I look at the rot-iron-gate and in bold letters
CHATEAU DU BACH is intertwined into the metal work. I don’t understand.
Tristan rolls down the window, reaches over and inputs a code into the box on the stone wall, the gate swings open and we drive up a two lane street lined with trees, as we inch closer, a water fountain is front and center of the circle drive, a huge French style house sits in the middle of this vast estate. He pulls up to the house and parks the car.
“Come Aria, I want to show you around” he is happy and has this smile on his face that is so young and carefree. I am hesitant and a bit cautious but I have to say he has my interest peeked, even though I know the old Tristan. I look up at him and I don’t know what to think.
“Tristan…”
“Trust me please Aria” I smile at him and look at the massive house and wonder who lives here? Whose house is this? Why is he bringing me here? Gosh does he want to turn the dagger even more in my aching heart. I mean him and my dream in the same place at the same time; I guess him being on the up and up was too good to be true.
All these questions running through my mind. Tristan opens my door and I take his out reached hand, he has this ridiculous smile on his face, he seems sincere as almost like a child with a secret.
“Come Aria, please” Tristan holds my hand and walks me up the stone steps to a huge brown wood double door, we enter without knocking or being met or greeted. It is a huge house, simply beautiful, from emasculate interiors cherry hardwood floors, a foyer you can hold a receptions in, the back of the house is a wall of windows that frames the property in all its glory, what a breath taking view. Tristan takes me out back to the terrace and as far as I can see rolling hills of grape that frame the grounds in perfect unison they are all lined up in harmony, the scent hits you like no other, the sweetness of the grapes on the vines, that familiar smell permeates the air and reminds me of what I always wanted.
The grapes are of various varieties from red to green, the fruit is quite abundant. The whole estate is a beautiful picture, the vined hills and rolling acres are just outstanding as far as the eye can see how picturesque and yet scenic, so striking with the lake in the distance, all I can think is how lovely, serene and pleasant, awe inspiring actually, it is gorgeous and I look at the handsome son of a bitch that brought me here and he is watching me…hmm
“Aria, this was our dream, remember?” I nod and look up at him to continue with why we are here.
“When we broke up Aria, I had no idea what to do with myself, I was done with wasting my life, I wanted something to sink my teeth into so I mentioned to my grandmother how you and I were talking and the next thing I knew we were sitting in her lawyers office drawing up a contract and she signed this over to me. It was not turning a profit, so she became my partner in this little venture. At first there was so much to learn, I had no idea where to start so, I studied, and read up on wine making and found that the combination of the soil, the air and the lake was ideal conditions to make a good wine.”
I am shocked at what I am hearing and what I am seeing and what he has done.
“I got involved with the science and chemistry of the equation and well here we are two years later our ice wine is championed. To make a long story short this became my passion, once I saw how easy it was for me to be a wine maker I realized that I loved it, as much as you talked about it, I was hooked”
“I am speechless Tristan” as I look around at all the grandeur and splendor it is too much to take in, I mean how? Why? When? Where? I am in shock.
“This all came to surface when my grandmother’s faith in me just took over.”
“You did all this?” as I wave my hand through the air at the vineyard.
“What you see before you are the fruits of my labor.” He is serious, sincere and honest in what he is telling me, no bullshitting, no pulling punches and speaking from his heart.
I am looking at him as he is explaining all of this to me and I am in utter shock, and suddenly a de-je-vu like I have dreamed this or seen this or something. He continues, I want to know it all, I want to hear every bit of all of it, I am fascinated, touched and in awe of him.
“This vineyard was not producing like it should, so when I took it over two years ago I hired a staff of wine makers from Burgundy, France, we came up with a method, a calculated effort, a plan and a formula as such, with our technique and procedure and due process, well we are now thriving”
“Aria. I had to find something to throw myself into, I was out of control when you and I broke-up, so I sold my stock and shares, liquidated everything and well your words haunted me, our whispered conversations inspired me and I became the hermit wine maker per se the restaurant came after this was thriving.”
I go to speak and I cannot, I look at this once crazed confused man and see what I always knew was there.
“Aria Say something, please?” he holds my hands and I am shaking and excited beyond my wildest dreams.
“I am totally at a loss for words” Tristan squeezes my hands and looks into my eyes and I am nervous and in shock.
“Aria sweetheart, this is what your faith in me accomplished” I find my voice and look at him as I speak from my heart.
“Tristan this is amazing, all that you’ve done, really I am in awe of you” he rubs my hand against his lips and I melt for him, this once troubled man who I never thought I’d see again has chased after our dreams.
“When a man loves a women it’s dangerous what we can accomplish” he words just stop me in my tracks and I feel lightheaded
“Tristan you are too much”
“No Aria, this was all your’ doing, without you I would still be in that dead end life”
I am not even sure my feet are touching the ground anymore no one has ever gone to this extreme for me.
“Come I want to show you around” I can barely articulate what I am seeing, it is like he took our dreams and brought them to life, I mean I am literally walking in what I have only dreamt about, Tristan made it a reality.
This is just so profound and touching, chaotic and confusing I’m just astonished at what this man has done in the past two years of his life. The excitement and enthusiasm in his voice is infectious, I want to hear everything he has to say, I am just captivated and enthralled.
Tristan takes my hand and leads me over to a golf cart and we roll through the tiny trees and hills. The air smells of the grapes on the vine as the sun kisses them with sweetness, it’s wonderful and all inviting. He stops along the side and shows me the grapes as he clusters them in his hands, which ones are harvestable and which are too young yet to touch, he is animated and articulate, knowledgeable and in charge, wow I am impressed beyond comprehension, this is not just a hobby for him this is his passion.
He takes my arm and we walk through the vineyard he points out key attributes to this area, he shows me the irrigation that is crucial and every now and then he kisses my hand, he is filled with joy and he is a delight to watch, I never would have imagined this in a million years that he would have done this.
“Aria you’re very
quiet, are you ok?”
“Tristan I don’t know what to say, I have not seen you in two years and you return with my dream a reality, I am in utter shock and dismay.”
We stop walking and he pushes my curly auburn hair away from my cheek as he caresses my cheek and his index finger traces my bottom lip.
“Aria you were my dream, when I set out on this endeavor, your words, all the conversations we had was the driving force behind all of this”
I look around and see what he has accomplished, I look back at him and he is happy, carefree and smiling at me, he looks so young and enthusiastic and I can tell he has been waiting to tell me about all of this. I walk away from him to get some distance and my bearings.
“Tristan I am so happy for you, you really did it, you really made this a reality, I am so proud of you” the smile on my face is sincere and honest, he looks at me and in one swift move he runs over to me picks me up and spins me around, I am in heaven in his arms as I throw my head back and fist my fingers in his hair, I laugh and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world but I don’t know why.
“Aria, my dear sweet beautiful girl” he puts me down slowly as I slide down his sold chiseled body and he holds me to his chest, kissing the top of my head. I am so thrilled, this is the Tristan that I always wanted, this is how I saw him when we first met all those years ago, he came off as this hard ass with no sense and we bonded immediately, he let me in and we talked and talked and to my surprise he listened. This is more than I have ever imagined, he was always intelligent with an alluring quality that exudes confidence poise and humbles him in a sexy way. I look up at him and I say what I feel.
“Who are you?” touching my face and caressing my cheek his eyes say it all but he gives me verbal confirmation.
“I’m the guy who loves you, who has always loved you Aria” he just made my heart skip a beat, I bury my face in his neck and he kisses me behind my ear and my heart is pounding , he just stop me in my tracks, but what always gets me to yield is he is so handsome when he looks at me I am a mess as he warms my heart, but I have to remember I am engaged, I am someone else’s and I know I shouldn’t even be here.
Tristan pulls away and kisses my cheek, his happy-go-lucky attitude is infectious I can’t tear my heart away from him.
“Come I want to show you everything” he takes my hand and I go willingly as we get back into the golf cart to explore this vast entity that he has created.
The estate itself is quite over whelming, breathtaking actually, he takes me into the wine vat where all the barrels are stacked and turned. He is articulate, funny, knowledgeable and poetic, he makes gestures with his hands and his facial expressions are priceless, I can listen to him talk forever.
“Aria am I talking too much?” as he looks out and then back to me.
“Tristan this is fascinating, please continue” we walk among the huge oak barrels, the size of them are massive, the smell of the aged wood and the wine is intoxicating, he holds my hand and explains several processes and he takes me up to the top and we stand at the railing looking over the whole operation, it is breath taking to see how it got from our day dreams of whispered conversations to reality.
“Tristan tell me something?” he looks down at me holding my hands, his smile and his face is a pure delight.
“What is it?”
“Tell me why you did all of this?”
“You know why I did all of this” he brings my hands to his lips but doesn’t take his eyes off of mine; I blush as his eyes say it all.
“Tristan, this is wonderful but…” he puts his finger to my lips to stop me.
“Please don’t Aria, don’t tear down what I have built for us, you always told me you saw forever in my eyes, well I always saw our future through your eyes.”
That set me off I hug him hard and held back tears. He kisses the side of my head and he whispers in my ear.
“Aria I know this is hard for you, but I had to bring you here” he pulls away and we look at each other, I nod yes and try to recoup and give him a shy smile. He grabs my hand and we go back downstairs and outside to take the golf cart around to the rest of this estate.
I sit next to him and just take it all in, our dream come true, to me this was what he and I would sit and talk about, to me this was the brass ring, and Tristan did it all!
We make our way to the wine cellar, the distillery; a lot of this is over my head. I fell in love with the idea and thought of living on a vineyard more of the romantic notion. I never had a clue about the business aspect of it, but leave it to Tristan, he made it a reality, he is smart and articulate, he was the wall street iron man, so no wonder he figured out how to make this a success, he has always been my super hero, my Batman, and sometime my Dark Knight, but mostly Tristan has just been the love of my life.
Thoughts run through my mind, Tristan has become the wine expert and his technical explanation is way over and beyond my comprehension, but just listening to him, this is his passion, this is what he has perfected he is eloquent and inspiring.
He introduces me to Jean and Luke and it is as if they already know all about me, Tristan must have been very forthcoming about us as they seem very happy to meet me.
Tristan explains that these two are the experts they have helped Tristan with all of this interesting and surprising to see how humble Tristan is among them.
You can tell they are all quite friendly and cajoling, not only do they hold one another with the highest regard; but they all go on and mention how this place saved them from an uncertain life as well. Thus bringing them to America. I would say in my best observation that Tristan has real friends, people who care and are concerned for his wellbeing, it is a delight to see that he has a full rich life with family, friends and I see what he means, all that is missing is the one special person to share this with.
I look around and hold back tears, this is quite hard to take it saddens me that I didn’t have faith in him to wait it out, that I didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt, that he would come back to me as a man, and it saddens me that my dream will go on without me.
I listen and hold in my thoughts I am brought back to the now by their banter back and forth.
One goes on about something in French and it makes them all laugh…Tristan speaks French to them and I am floored. This man is full of surprises today isn’t he?
We bid them a fond farewell and let them get back to their day, Tristan seems very anxious about something else as we get back into the golf cart and he drives us over to the stables where there are ten or so stalls and they are filled with horses. Gosh Sabrina would love it here she is the horse fanatic I use to watch her ride and jump when we were in high school, she was so great at it until she got into college and fell in love with psychiatry and that is all she is into now the human psyche.
“Aria I think the last time you were around a horse he demonstrated to you the saying ‘hung like a horse’ I laugh and shake my head at him as he is smiling and full of delight I knew the sexual banter would not be gone for long. So yes since he is so playful I will take a spin.
“Yes I do remember when we visited your grandmother’s I think you did that on purpose to tease me Mr. Bach.
“You know me all too well Miss. Macy”
“So do you still ride, I mean why so many horses here? He takes my hand and walks me into the stables where the hands are clearing out the stalls and tending to the horses, like walking them and feeding and riding, it’s an all-day chore to care for horses as Sabrina has explained many times.
“Not as much as I would like too, they are beautiful animals but mostly because they are good for the soil” Go figure, only he would figure how to take an ounce of manure and make it into pound of gold.
Come here I want you to meet someone very special to me” he introduces me to his favorite horse “Aria” she is chocolate brown with a black tail, she is calm and tame and we like one another immediately.
“So you named your horse af
ter me?” he nods yes and he moves my hair away from my face my brown eyes are regarding him quite earnestly as his four legged Aria is.
“It is sweet that you named your horse after me”
“You were the best thing that ever happened to me Aria”
“Well you were the only thing that ever happened to me”
“I wouldn’t say that” he reaches for my left hand with my engagement ring on it and pulls it to eye level. I look at his eyes and he is unhappy, I know he has been kidding and joking but he is seriously devastated that I have moved on without him. I sigh and he pulls me back into the golf cart, there is nothing to say.
We ride in silence for a bit while he recovers his good mood because the ducks and swans catch my eye.
“Tristan you have ducks and swans? How lovely” this is the best, I smile like a giddy kid, you all don’t understand that is how I always relax and sort things out, whenever things get too much I would go with a loaf of bread and feed the ducks and swans, and clear my head. Actually that is how Tristan and I started going to our fountain, he grabbed the bottle of vodka and I grabbed the loaf of bread and we feed the ducks.
“Interesting some do fly south for the winter but we made a home for them as he shows me their barn it looks like a gingerbread house all in yellow.
“Did you make that Tristan it is just beautiful and I love yellow?”
I remembered you did, well I have been a very lonely man, I needed something to occupy my cold and lonely nights” Oh he is not going to let this go, but I gotta lighten the mood.
“Tristan you should have gotten a dog!” he laughs at my remark and I know he doesn’t want to but he recovers his good mood as we head back to the main house.
-------<>-------
We make our way back to the main house which has a well-appointed staff, I mean there is a gardener and grounds keepers as we pull up to the terrace that overlooks the side yard. In all my life I have never seen anything as breath taking as this vineyard in all its glory.
A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) Page 13