“So, I’ll need to do lots of reading?” Lila asked.
“Oh yes. Mysteries and cook books and travel writing. The kinds of things people want to read on vacation. That way you can make informed recommendations when you’re asked, ‘What’s good?’”
Lila nodded, smiling. Oh, how she’d waited for the day when she was told that she absolutely had to read lots of fun books.
After a brief lunch back in the stockroom—she’d brought a supermarket salad just in case—Marion launched Lila into a highly intricate system for organizing and displaying books designed to showcase exactly what vacationing patrons would find of greatest interest. Lila had nearly lived in Colgate’s library during college, but all her time in the stacks hadn’t prepared her for Marion.
As Lila examined the section for travel writing, not to be confused with the section for biographical travel memoirs, Godfrey resurfaced, lurking nearby. Lila decided he couldn’t weigh much more than 110 pounds. No heavyweight herself, Godfrey made her feel like a mob guy about to shake someone down.
Abruptly he disappeared, only to appear once again at her side this time with his iPad. “Watch,” he said conspiratorially, picking it up and blowing into its side. It made a reedy, woodwind sound.
“Oh.” Lila good-naturedly nodded and smiled without knowing what exactly to do.
Leaning in, he whispered, “It’s an ap,” before ducking away.
“OK,” Lila said, scratching her head. A mixture of amused and bewildered, she wondered if Godfrey was typical of the type of person she’d now be meeting in Redwood Cove. Also, would that be good or bad?
* * *
Pulling an apron over her head, Lila got herself settled at the countertop next to Annie. In the back of the chocolate shop where Annie worked, there was much chopping to be done. Apparently preparing handmade chocolates had everything to do with chopping—anything from dried fruits to nuts to lavender. When Lila had stopped by after her shift had ended, she’d been put right to work.
The shop was only five doors down from the bookstore; it had taken all but a minute to pop down after finishing her first shift at her new job. At 5:30pm it was already pitch dark outside, but the back of the store was lit warmly. It had the feeling of Santa’s workshop.
“And so,” Annie asked, expectantly, pulling on an apron patterned with large purple cows. “How was the first day?”
“Really…not that bad,” Lila reflected. “I mean, it’s too soon to completely declare victory, but…”
“First days are always exhausting” Annie said. “The fact that you let me put you right to work afterwards is a good sign.”
“I agree.” She’d taken in a lot of new information that day, but had the sensation of getting suited up for an engaging battle rather than forcing herself through each dreary second sitting at her desk. Rubbing her tired head she added, “Just don’t ask me to put anything away into any sort of categories or sections. My brain’s fried from trying to learn Marion’s system for the store. Apparently Dewey Decimal is too disorganized for her.”
Annie laughed. “I love Marion. She’s like a big, gay Julie Andrews.”
Lila stopped her chopping and tried to conjure up the image. Marion had the close, cropped haircut and the British accent, but she seemed far too focused and businesslike to twirl around on a mountaintop singing about hills being alive.
“Not the fresh-faced nun/governess Julie Andrews,” Annie continued, somehow seeing Lila’s mental image. “I’m talking Mary Poppins. Shape up the bratty kids. Or when she was a queen in that movie with the girl with the big eyebrows? It was set in San Francisco.”
“Right,” nodded Lila, seeing it. “Where she has to train the princess on etiquette.”
“Exactly. All business.”
“Got it.”
Outside, rain pelted the window panes and Lila felt grateful to be so snug and warm. Annie’s profile was lit warmly as she deftly maneuvered a large chef’s pastry tube to fill oval moulds with dark chocolate. A luscious aroma of vanilla, hazelnut and chocolate filled the air and Lila knew she would happily follow it into a candy house in the forest, even after having read Hansel and Gretel.
“How do you like Godfrey?” Annie asked.
“Godfrey’s… nice.”
“He’s very pale.”
“Like a vampire.” Speaking as quite a pale person herself, Lila felt she could comment with authority on the subject. Whereas she had the tendency to flush easily with exertion or embarrassment, however, she bet Godfrey maintained his pallor.
“So all in all, you’re not panicking?” Annie asked, looking over at Lila. “Not regretting your big move?”
“No. I’m disoriented.” She paused, trying to find the right words. “A lot’s gone on in the past month.” Unexpectedly, she found herself brimming with tears, recalling standing in Phillip’s office feeling as if she’d been swiftly and sharply punched in the gut as he’d dispassionately told her “Axelle and I are ready to take things to the next level.” All that yearning and planning and dreaming. She’d very nearly convinced herself that if she gave it enough effort, got skinny enough and fashionable enough and stayed cool and calm enough to give him his space he’d eventually come running to her. Instead, he’d cozied up with that French spreadsheet. What made Lila sickest of all was that, deep down, she knew they made a much better couple. City chic Phillip with his narrow, steel-rimmed glasses and armless chairs would click perfectly with that confident, effortlessly glamorous, connected, cosmopolitan, Parisian…
“Hey!” Annie snapped her fingers in front of Lila’s glazed eyes. “No mooning in here! This is a place of chocolate. Show it proper respect.” Lila looked up and gave her a half-hearted smile. “I know, you’re supposed to need time to get over him, or whatever, but it seems like such a waste when he was such an ass!”
“You didn’t know him!” Lila protested.
“Really? You’re defending him?” Annie asked and Lila looked down again at her chopping block. “Anyway, I’m not trying to get into it with you. I just hate to see you spiraling down into a self-loathing pit over some idiot—”
“I get it, Annie.” Lila put her hand up and admitted, “You know me well.”
“I do.”
A bell jingled as the front door of the shop opened and a lithe, graceful woman about their age with long strawberry-blonde hair carelessly pinned to the top of her head glided back into kitchen.
“You’ll never guess what just happened,” she announced as she slid onto a stool and shrugged out of what looked like a vintage mod 1960s coat. Fitted at the top, it ended in an above-the-knee A-line swing. Lila noticed berry pink polished nails sparkling on her feet, bare in flip flops for the 40something degree evening.
“This is Zoe,” Annie explained. “And this is my college roommate, Lila. She’s just moved here.”
“I’m so happy for you!” Zoe exclaimed as she grabbed her own left wrist with her right hand and gave her arm an impressive overhead stretch. “You are going to find it so rejuvenating. So, get this,” she continued, repeating the stretch on the opposite side. “I’m at the front desk. Everyone’s coming in for the four o’clock class.”
“She works at the yoga studio over a block,” Annie explained.
“It’s fabulous,” Zoe assured Lila. “Super energy. The best teachers.” Laughing with a hand to her chest, she added, “I mean, I guess I’m biased.”
“She teaches over there,” Annie once again supplied the back story.
“And consults,” Zoe added. “I have a new client. This sweet fifty-something guy who just had back surgery. He and his wife are only up on weekends, but he wants to do all he can while he’s here.”
Lila was already getting used to the culture of the town, which seemed to have a blend of locals and weekenders familiar to her from growing up on the Cape. So far she hadn’t detected too much friction, however. Annie’s explanation was that there were three kinds of rich people who vacationed in wine country.
The ones who wanted Tuscan-style McMansions and opportunities to rub shoulders with the elite headed to Napa. The ones who wanted to play farmer and pay a local to help grow their own organic garden and keep chickens headed to Sonoma. The ones who really wanted to stay off the radar and blend in made it all the way down to the bottom corner of Sonoma County to Redwood Cove.
Lila enjoyed the rhythm of chopping while Zoe regaled them with the story of what amounted to a yoga studio dust-up. Somehow, Lipton had made its way into the selection of complimentary teas, rubbing shoulders with organic greens and herbals. Vegan, homegrown Zoe couldn’t have been more horrified herself, but as the representation of the corporate entity that had caused the offence she’d been subjected to quite a tongue lashing.
Happily accepting a cup of sipping chocolate that Annie offered, Lila let Zoe take over the chopping duties. She sat back on a stool with her new favorite drink. Thick and rich and decadent, conversation slipped to the background while Lila devoted every sense to her small cup. This was the kind of beverage you had to close your eyes to fully appreciate. She’d relentlessly banned sweets for so long now that she wondered if she was about to lose it like an alcoholic falling off the wagon. Annie would arrive at the store tomorrow morning and turn on the lights to find finding Lila guiltily bathing in a big vat of sipping chocolate.
“Liking that?” Annie teased, waking Lila from her reverie.
“What time is it?” Zoe hopped off the stool. “I just had a sec to stop by.” Pulling on her coat once again, she turned to Lila. “Almost forgot. I adored that clip of you on YouTube. It was fantastic! I can’t wait to see you at Ted’s. They have karaoke every Thursday.” And with that, she was out.
Stunned, Lila looked to Annie. With a sympathetic shrug, Annie said, “It’s a small town.”
“What, so everyone’s seen my YouTube video?” Amazing how quickly she could go from reclining into sipping chocolate bliss to standing at shrill attention with anxiety.
“Pretty much.” Somehow Annie maintained her nonchalance even as she delivered the crushing news. “I mean, you have to understand, it happened at Endicott which has long reach. Everyone in town knows someone who knows someone who has something to do with Endicott. They’re a supplier, or they’re doing some work on the buildings. Plus Big Bob’s been on this kick lately, buying small businesses. Like this woman, Mary, only has a couple acres, but she grows the best lavender. Anyway, she ran into some financial trouble so Big Bob stepped in—”
“I get the picture.” Lila groaned into her hands.
“So, yeah, you should pretty much assume people have seen it.”
“I bet Jake Endicott’s seen it.” Lila spoke to her cupped hands. “He made fun of me this morning.”
“Jake Endicott?”
“Yeah.” Lila rubbed her eyes. “I ran into him at the Peets on route one.”
“You sound so unhappy about that. Most girls around here break their toes tripping over themselves to run into him.”
“He’s just so… unpleasant. So smug and full of himself.”
“You know, Lila, I think you need to own this video more. You need some of this—” Hand up on her hip, Annie gave it some swagger: “Yeah, that’s right. I brought it. And I’ll bring it some more if you don’t watch out.” Dropping the attitude in favor of some old-fashioned finger-pointing, she continued, “There are wanna-be starlets out there would kill to have a YouTube video a couple thousand people watched. They’d be down in LA shopping it around right now, pitching a new reality show: Karaoke Party Crashers.”
“That could go on right after Jersey Shore.”
“For the classy viewers,” Annie agreed. “But, seriously, I bet people fantasize about quitting their job with a big ‘up yours’ at the holiday party, getting super drunk and going for it with karaoke. It’s priceless.”
“Only I didn’t quit, I was fired.”
“Details.”
“OK, well remind me to hire you as my publicist if I ever want to work on my image,” Lila said, appreciating, as always, Annie’s ability to take things in stride. Never her own strong suit, however, she still felt caught in the grip of mortification. Short of getting a massive personality transplant—and who knew where to find the surgeon for that procedure, never mind getting your insurance to cover it—she didn’t see herself acquiring Annie’s rock-solid confidence and self-image anywhere in the near future.
All Lila wanted was a quiet little job in a quiet little bookstore and a whole lot of sipping chocolate. That couldn’t be too much to ask for, could it?
Chapter 4: Get Into the Groove
Reclining on Annie’s overstuffed floral sofa, Lila took another sip of some heavenly red wine. She lacked the vocabulary of a wine connoisseur and hadn’t had much experience with the stuff, preferring fruity, girly wine coolers in college and uber sophisticated gin and tonics in the city. Closing her eyes, she took another sip and thought…velvety. Maybe a hint of cherries?
It was Friday night and Pete had gone out to the local bar with a couple of guys from work. Lila had come over to keep Annie company and had ended up putting Charlotte to bed. Reading her Goodnight Moon in the rocking chair, Lila had wondered at the peace and trust radiating from the plump 16 month old whose eyes had fluttered, then shut as Lila rocked.
“Enjoying that?” Annie asked, returning from the kitchen with some misshapen pieces dark chocolate, one of the perks of her job.
“Oh my,” Lila agreed, taking another sip of the wine.
“It’s an Endicott cab.”
“Cab?”
“That’s what you have to call cabernet sauvignon now that you live in wine country,” Annie explained. “And you have to start developing strong opinions. And using words like ‘bold’ and ‘versatile’ to describe wine with a straight face.”
With a smile, Lila agreed, “I’ll work on it. I’m going to make some French onion soup tomorrow. This would go so well with it.”
“There you go! Already pairing your wines.” Annie gave Lila a crash course in wine pairing, which essentially seemed to mean eating something that tasted good with what you were drinking.
Lila took another sip. “Maybe I’ll try some chili, too, this weekend.” Life these days was all about soup. Minestrone with little meatballs and spinach added at the last minute. Butternut squash with granny smith apples and a dollop of plain yogurt in the middle. Vegetable chicken with barley just the right amount of chewy. After years of never cooking, Lila had gone soup-happy, trying out recipes from a local cookbook as well as Gram’s vault.
“And bring some in for Godfrey?” Annie asked.
“I think he’s starting to expect it.” Lila had gotten in the habit of bringing in some soup to the shop for lunch, a Tupperware container for her and one for Godfrey. He really looked like he could use some soup. They never took their lunches together—someone always needed to be out on the floor—but he had started asking at the end of the day, “What are we having tomorrow?”
“So Charlotte went right to sleep with you,” Annie remarked. “She usually just wants me or her Grandma.”
“It was so sweet.” Lila loved how comfortable Charlotte was growing with her. They were spending a lot of time together these days; Lila had even babysat one afternoon last week when Annie needed to run a few errands. Charlotte had strong opinions on a variety of topics and liked to express them in a near constant and incomprehensible stream of babble. Lila and she would engage in full-fledged conversations about absolutely nothing while stacking blocks or arranging teddy bears.
“She’s sweet when she’s asleep,” Annie laughed. “That one’s a talker. I wonder where she got that from?” Annie asked, tongue firmly placed in her cheek.
Taking another sip, Lila’s eyes lit up. “Hey! How about not just coffee in the shop, wine too?” Over the past couple of weeks, Annie had been talking quite a bit about the coffee shop she planned to open one day. Her excitement was contagious and Lila had definitely caught the bug.
>
“Hmm,” Annie sat back with the idea. “I like where you’re going with this.” As the clock ticked softly up on the mantle, the two friends drank wine and hatched extravagant plans for the café. Before the night was out, they’d finished that bottle of wine and decided that they’d co-own the coffee shop. It would feature gourmet coffee, local wine, handmade chocolate, French pastries, New York-quality bagels and local art. For music, they’d alternate between live music and 80s hits personally selected by Lila.
“This is going to be so epic.” Annie offered her glass.
“It is going to Rock.” Lila clinked her glass, toasting to their new endeavor.
* * *
Gazing out the window of her apartment cozied up with her morning tea, Lila realized it wasn’t raining. January had produced a nearly constant downpour. Today, however, it was February. Seized suddenly with the urge to go for a run, she pulled on her sneakers and sweats, scooped up her hair into a ponytail and headed outside.
The mist felt cool on Lila’s cheeks as she set out in the morning fog. She decided to take the flat, paved, touristy path alongside the ocean. She was itching to start exploring some of the twisty, winding trails that snaked all over a local map she’d tacked up on her kitchen corkboard. That would have to wait, however, until the end of the rainy season when they turned from mud slides back into trails.
Striding along what amounted to the edge of a cliff, Lila felt the giddiness of a hamster released from its treadmill. Touristy path though it was, it still offered postcard-perfect views of the rocky coastline. And what was this strange sensation of passing scenery? Fresh air? Where was the fluorescent lighting of her gym? The pumped-in air, the rows of flashing TVs? And how about that constant thump of techno?
She’d been vaguely aware that the San Francisco Bay Area was world-renown for its natural beauty, but work deadlines, a tight budget and all her vacation time spent visiting family back East hadn’t exactly lent itself to a lot of exploring. Now that she was out on a path with lazily circling seabirds above and crashing surf below, she had no idea what she’d been doing with her time.
Christmas in Wine Country Page 7
