The Winemaker's Dinner: Entrée

by Dr. Ivan Rusilko

  Thoughts of waking up in an unfamiliar bed crept to the back of her mind, but she squashed them. “Mom, work is great. I’m getting to do things I never thought I would. I have to pinch myself occasionally to make sure I’m not dreaming.” She paused for a moment. “And I couldn’t be happier with Ivan. He makes me feel complete in a world that constantly tries to tear you apart.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear,” her mother said, sounding a bit teary. She scooped Jaden into a hug.

  “Love you, mom.”

  “All done,” three alcohol-laden voices sang as the cleanup crew made their way back to the table.

  Her mom dried her eyes with a napkin, but even a little tanked, Jaden’s dad sensed something was up. “All okay?”

  “Yes. We just had a little a mother-daughter moment,” her mom said. “It’s been too damn long.” She smiled as she raised her glass in toast, her eyes lingering again on Jaden. “All right, ladies and gentleman, I think it’s time for bed,” she added as she finished the last gulp of her wine.

  Five in the afternoon had turned into eleven thirty at night, and Jaden was glad when they all agreed.

  “You’re the boss,” her father quipped, draining his glass as well.

  The family Thorne hugged their long lost Jaden and bid her beau goodnight.

  “Thank you again for the invite, Lee.” Ivan shook her father’s hand.

  “Thanks for taking such great care of my daughter.”

  “Thanks for raising such a good daughter.”

  With that, her family shuffled inside and off to various bedrooms for the night.

  Relieved to be finished with the party, but not quite ready for the night to end, Jaden suggested she and Ivan go sit by the pond.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for this,” he whispered as he took her hand and followed her toward the moonlit pond.

  The water glistened as they settled into a wicker chair on the wooden deck. Crickets sang an endless song, accented by the occasional splash of a fish jumping. She rested her head on Ivan’s chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

  “Your family is amazing,” he said, fingering her hair.

  “I didn’t know how much I missed them.”

  “Your dad is a trip, and so is your sister. And your mom—that woman is phenomenal. I love chatting with her.”

  “Yeah, she’s taken quite the shine to you, hasn’t she? You must’ve sweet talked her while you were waiting for me at the airport.”

  “Well, what’s not to like?” Ivan said, earning an elbow in the ribs. “We did have a great chat before you found us.” He kissed her on the top of the head.

  “It’s beautiful out tonight, isn’t it?” Jaden willed herself to be in the moment, be present with Ivan. Move forward.

  “It’s magical.”

  “I could stay here forever,” she added, wondering for a moment if that might be possible. Then she sighed. “So, I believe you said something about a surprise coming up. I did let them know I’d be gone a couple extra days.”

  “It’s just something I wanted to share with you. It’s a first for me, and I love experiencing things for the first time with the one I love.”

  Feeling overwhelmed and unworthy, she decided offense was the only way to play this. The only way to keep herself together. “What—are we going to get another girl and have a threesome?”

  Ivan said nothing, but she could feel his dick harden against her back. “That would be a first for sure,” he finally said.

  “Is that right?” She repositioned herself and grabbed a handful of his growing excitement. She worked his erection through his pants. “So my boyfriend would like to have himself a threesome…maybe.”

  “Well, I would definitely entertain the idea.”

  His dick lengthened as she worked him even more vigorously. “So you want me to be with another woman in front of you?”

  “In front, on top, under. All of the above.”

  “Blonde or brunette?”

  “With you? Blonde.”

  “Big boobs?”

  “Mmmm…Same type of body as yours…with an ass till Tuesday.”

  “Hmm…” For a moment she considered paying him back for leaving her all worked up with nowhere to go in Meadville, but that seemed so long ago now. Love wasn’t a game. Instead, he needed to know just how devoted she was. She would do anything. Stopping abruptly, she stood before him, holding his eyes for a moment before she dropped to her knees.

  “Hey! I mean, I’m not complaining, but—hey…” He seemed to lose his train of thought as she resumed her work on his cock. She used her mouth this time, and his pants were no longer a barrier. The squeak of the wicker chair and the song of the crickets filled her ears, and she willed them to fill her mind, forcing the revulsion of that lost night away.

  Ivan’s hands came to the back of her head and twisted in her hair. She let him guide her, taking him in to impossible depths and relishing the taste of him. With a sharp intake of breath, a hushed gasp, he tensed and came, clearly doing his best to be quiet. She stayed with him until the end, drinking the last drop of him, then buried her head in his lap.

  “Baby girl, I think it’s been too long,” he said after his breathing had slowed. “That had to be a world record. And you didn’t give me a chance to reciprocate!”

  “I just wanted to do something for you,” she said, looking up at him after a moment. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too, babe. But there’s nothing I can do for you?” He trailed his fingers along her jaw and down her neck, dipping them beneath her shirt.

  “Just stay with me a little longer,” she said, settling back into his lap.

  “Of course, my love.”

  With his warm, strong arms around her under the starry Colorado sky, she could almost feel at peace. But when they both began to shiver, she knew it was time to go inside. Taking one last look at the surreal pond, they started back to the house.

  “Where am I sleeping?” he asked as they crested the front door.

  “With me in my old room.”

  “Bahahahaha! No way. We’ve already risked enough this evening. That couch looks fantastic, and I will crash there.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, dear. I don’t want Lee thinking I have the balls to fool around with his princess right under his roof.”

  “Okay, okay. Fine.” She pulled a spare pillow and sheets from the linen closet.

  “Thank you, darling,” he said, leaning in for a goodnight kiss.

  “Absolutely,” she replied, kissing him with all she had.

  Chapter 21

  “Fool in the Rain”

  THE FAINTEST HINT OF MORNING streaked through the windows in the family room where Ivan had turned the couch into a bed. He snapped his eyelids open. “Fuck sakes…even on vacation I can’t sleep in,” he mumbled in a zombie-like haze. He sat up a bit and noticed Lee monkeying around with a trailer attached to his SUV outside. The chainsaws and axes indicated plans for a morning of cutting and splitting wood.

  He perked up. This would be the perfect opportunity to ask a man he barely knew the second-most important question of his life. Forcing the lazy side of himself quiet, he hopped up to find some clothing and, he hoped, join Lee in the woods.

  “Jesus,” he gasped as he noticed his erection. Morning wood knew no boundaries.

  With few resources to solve his predicament, he settled for securing it to his abdomen with the waistband of his boxer briefs. Then he covered everything with his shirt and headed to the restroom to alleviate the issue with a carefully aimed piss. Carefully aimed being the key.

  Tiptoeing toward the kitchen, he was startled to find Diane in his path to the bathroom. A hot cup of joe in hand, she sat reading on a stool at the island. Fuck. Play it cool.

  “Morning, Ivan,” she called.

  He couldn’t miss the startled look in her eye
s when she realized he wore nothing more than briefs and a tight white shirt. Her gaze moved from his crotch back to her magazine in one swift motion. He knew what she’d seen.

  “Gooood morning,” he replied, swinging his hands in front to cover his fifth appendage. “What are you doing up so early?”

  Turning her attention to her coffee, Diane said, “Lee always cuts wood in the morning. Jaden’s brother Justin usually helps him, but he stayed with a friend last night, so I’m up making his coffee.” She was cool as a cucumber.

  “Oh, I see,” he said as he slipped into another seat at the island, still hard as all hell.

  “Maybe since you’re up you can go with him? Help him out and chat. Get to know each other more.” She glanced up from her steaming cup with a smile.

  “That sounds like a perfect idea.” And it was also the perfect thought to deflate his erection with nervous energy. “Well, I’d better go change. Looks like he’s ready to go.”

  “He isn’t going anywhere yet. I have his coffee,” she said with a smile. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave without you. Jaden will be in bed for a while longer, I’m guessing, so enjoy your man time.”

  He thanked her, dashed back into the living room, and realized he had no idea where his clothes were. They’d never brought the luggage in from the car.

  “Oh!” Diane called. “I believe you’ll find your suitcase by the front door. Lee brought it in this morning.”

  “Perfect. Thanks!”

  He dug through his bag, then trotted back through the kitchen, this time all the way over to the bathroom, still feeling a bit awkward about being minimally clothed in front of Jaden’s mom. He closed the door and splashed what seemed to be the coldest, freshest water he’d ever experienced on his face. He looked deep into his own eyes in the mirror. This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. Crush it! “Let’s do it,” he murmured.

  He changed into a pair of dark jeans and a blue T-shirt with sneakers. Reappearing in the kitchen, he snagged Lee’s coffee from Diane, along with one she’d made for him. She also gave him a big hug and a wink.

  “Wish me luck,” he said.

  “I think you’ll be fine.”

  When he stepped outside, he noticed the sky was a bitter gray that hinted at showers. Birds taunted each other as they twittered in the trees. He found Lee struggling to pack the trailer.

  “Coffee, sir?” he said, apparently startling the man half to death.

  “Ivan!” Lee barked. “What the hell are you doing up?”

  “It’s nine-thirty Miami time, so I’ve been awake for quite a while.” A little white lie couldn’t hurt. “Cutting some wood, are ya?”

  “Yep. It’s my exercise on the weekend. Plus it doubles as my therapy.”

  “Would you like some help?”

  “You don’t have to. I’m not even sure how long it this weather is going to hold anyway.”

  “I want to help, if that’s okay. I grew up cutting and splitting wood, so I’d love to say I got to do it in Colorado.”

  A smile snuck across Lee’s face. “Okay, then. We aren’t going too far. Just to the end of the driveway. I have some pines I want to clear out.”

  “Groovy.” Whew! Step one accomplished: get him alone.

  “All right, hop in.”

  Lee took the driver side as Ivan jumped in the front seat of the SUV.

  The two set off, but then came to a stop again not more than a hundred yards from the house. Damn! Needed a little more chat time than that. Ivan exited the vehicle, nerves and all. He began plotting his next move, but as they unloaded the chainsaws and axes, Lee broke the ice.

  “Fucking A. Nothing like getting out early in the morning and getting your hands dirty.”

  Step two: Establish rapport. Check! “Damn right,” Ivan agreed loudly. Shit! Too eager! “Not too many people appreciate the benefits of real work anymore.” Good recovery, he assured himself.

  Grabbing his belt and gloves, Lee continued. “So now, you’re a doctor who does what exactly? I’ve looked at your stuff online. Weight loss, wellness, physical enhancement, and sexual health? Hormones, supplements, and vitamins I get. But sexual health?”

  Laughing a little at the very general synopsis of his current life, he formulated his response. “Yeah, it’s basically making people feel good, look better, and—” He stopped himself from completing his usual tag line, which ended with fuck like a rockstar.

  “And?”

  “And have a better sex.”

  “Feel good, look better, and fuck like a rock star, you mean?”

  Ivan found himself speechless for the first time in a long time.

  “I read an interview or two you did,” Lee said, laughing. “Quite the job description. Rather impressive for someone your age.”

  Ivan exhaled as steps three and four checked themselves off: Make a joke and explain your job. “It’s fun to help people feel their best. Finding your essence is like finding the fountain of youth, in my opinion.”

  Lee nodded as he handed him the chainsaw and retrieved the ax. They turned to the pine trees that were about to get it. After setting the equipment on the ground, both men did a half-assed stretch to prepare. Just then it started to sprinkle.

  “Well, what do you say we get this party started?” Lee called as he pulled on his gloves and positioned his earplugs. He waded into a group of semi-mature pines and began to cut. Ivan found the aroma of pine in the air intoxicating, and it took him back to his childhood days of helping his father with this same task. One by one the trees fell, and he helped clear them from Lee’s path of destruction. Then, as abruptly as he’d begun, Lee stopped cutting, his tree lust satisfied. He clicked off the chainsaw and set it down.

  Ivan removed his earplugs and straightened up to stretch his back. “Not bad.”

  “Mission accomplished. Now, time to cut them into firewood.”

  “Perfect.” Ivan began building up to the inevitable question. “Your family is great. You guys seem like you just fit together. Thank you so much for allowing me to join the celebration last night.”

  “It was our pleasure. We love to have fun together, that’s for sure. So what’s your family like? You’re from Pennsylvania, right?”

  Okay, good. He took the bait. Step five: Confirm family values. “Yep. My family is amazing. I consider us educated hillbillies. We work hard, play hard, and enjoy life. I am a lucky man to have such a great support system.”

  “Educated hillbillies, eh?” Lee laughed. “I hear you there. Your parents still together?”

  “Thirty-five years and counting. My mom is a saint—she has to be to deal with my dad’s antics.”

  “Yeah, so’s Diane.”

  Both men laughed and then Lee added, “So values are important in your family.”

  “They’re essential,” Ivan replied.

  “Good. You ever been married or have kids?”

  Jesus. I thought I’d be asking the questions. “Negative on the marriage, but I got close once. And no. No kids that I know about.” He shut his eyes as soon as it was out of his mouth. He would’ve slapped the back of his own head if it wouldn’t have made him look even stupider.

  “So you get around, then?” Lee’s eyes narrowed.

  “Ahh, no. It was a joke. I mean, I didn’t mean it. Wow. That was rather poor joke selection on my part,” Ivan said, embarrassed.

  “Haha! I’m just kidding you. I grew up in the Woodstock era, remember?” Lee winked. “Why close but never married?”

  Ivan choose his words carefully this time. “Some things just aren’t meant to be. It wasn’t the right time for us, and it turned out she wasn’t ready.”

  Lee stood silently for a moment, then adjusted his belt as he bent down to fill the gas tank of the chainsaw. “So what’s your five-year plan? Where do you want to be in five years?”

  Each question upped the stakes and fanned Ivan’s nerves to flame. This wasn’t one of the steps! He’s throwing bonus questions in here. He
’s cheating! “Well, I just opened my own medical wellness center, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s more like a medical spa for the rich and famous. Eventually I’d like to franchise it into a brand and move it out globally—so fingers crossed. The money is good now, and the security is too, but I always say, the second you settle for normalcy you lose humanity. Maybe I’ll try writing a book someday. Who knows.”

  “Quite the entrepreneur,” Lee said, looking up at him from a bent knee.

  Jesus, is he going to propose? “I try…” Ivan managed. Express financial stability: done. And that means all done. Just the big one left. He took a deep breath.

  “And where does Jaden fit in the equation?” Lee asked, beating him to the punch.

  Wow. Shit. Fuck. Umm. Ivan’s chest began to burn and freeze all at once. He swallowed hard. This was the opportunity he’d waited for. To ask this man the question every father expects and dreads at the same time. The one that involves handing over his daughter to some kid who thinks he can make her happy. Nervousness wasn’t a big enough word to describe the feeling now running rampant in his body.

  A shiver passed through him, and his palms grew slick with sweat. His heart raced. How are you going to answer this? You’re good at this—use that quirky shit. You’ve been interviewed in front of all sorts of crowds. You’ve played this out in your mind time and time again. Use the love analogy. No, use the life speech. No, try the “One” analogy. And then, in a moment of clarity, his heart screamed, “Shut the fuck up and speak from me!”

  As a bird chirped in the distance and the sound of rain danced through the tree branches, Ivan settled his thoughts, focused his heart, and calmly said what he needed to say. “Sir, I would love to see Jaden as the center of my universe in five, ten, and twenty years—for the rest of my life.”

  Lee stopped fumbling but kept his gaze down as the rain began to pick up speed.

  “Your daughter has shown me what the meaning of life really is. It isn’t cars, it isn’t fame, and it isn’t money. It’s an essence. The essence of complete and utter admiration for another being. In her I’ve found the essence I never thought existed. Your daughter is more a part of who I am than I can explain. She gives me meaning.” Like a love-drunk fool in the rain, Ivan stood looking down at Lee, who continued to study the grass. “God willing and with your blessing, sir, I’d like to ask her to join me in marriage.”