Sweet, Sweet Wine

by Jaime Clevenger

  Ana had already changed out of her mud-encrusted clothes and was wearing the white cotton skirt from last night and a new tank top. Riley wondered how she’d managed to leave Joe and the winery. By the time Riley had left to go help out at Sharon’s friend’s house, Joe was inconsolable. He’d gone from cussing to crying and back to cussing, with Ana patiently absorbing all of this and intermittently offering suggestions on what could be done while Joe’s wife, who had a mouth far worse than her husband’s, added her two cents as well. The insurance agent had determined that they had specifically signed a waiver on the flood insurance, and there was no way the agency would cover any of the damages.

  Riley sank into the water, feeling her tense muscles release. She exhaled and dropped below the water’s surface, then came up for air as her mind slowed enough to consider her next breath instead of all the other thoughts that had been swirling around and around in her head all day. Chief among these thoughts, of course, was Ana. Riley got out of the water and sat on the deck that edged the hot tub. She let her feet dangle in the water and leaned back, looking up at the sky. Clouds had already begun to gather behind the Peak.

  Ana appeared a few minutes later. She stepped into the hot tub and found a seat opposite Riley. “What a strange twenty-four hours…”

  Riley knew that she was referring to more than the flood. She felt strangely satisfied that Ana had mentioned their night together now. They had worked today as strangers and were really barely more than that. The events of the last night had slipped into backstage and had nearly become something Riley wondered if she’d imagined.

  “Are you okay?”

  Riley nodded. “I’m exhausted.”

  Ana climbed out of the hot tub several minutes later. As she left, she brushed her hand over Riley’s shoulders. The touch sent a tremor down Riley’s spine. “Come to my room when you’re finished here,” she said as she left.

  Riley dropped into the water again. She watched Ana enter the cottage and closed her eyes, imagining the wet bathing suit being tugged off and Ana’s naked body underneath. She stood up and climbed out. She covered the hot tub, guessing that no one else would brave the coming storm for a soak tonight. She hadn’t thought to bring a towel and the wind chilled her skin.

  Riley considered knocking. She stood outside Ana’s door, trying to decide if the invitation to come over meant that formalities could be dropped. Ana’s door was unlocked. Riley opened it and hesitated in the doorway, thinking she should, in fact, have knocked, but Ana beckoned her forward. She was in bed, her hands folded behind her head and the pillows pushed up against the headboard. The sheets were pulled back, and she was wearing a loose white V-neck T-shirt that was even more enticing than the bikini had been.

  Riley noticed a bottle of wine on the nightstand and two wineglasses. “I don’t think I’ve ever drank this much wine.”

  “Are you suggesting I’m a bad influence? I usually don’t drink this much either.” Ana said, stretching to reach the bottle. “But Joe sent this one for you. As a thank you for today.” She uncorked the bottle and poured. Red wine swirled into the glass.

  Riley lifted hers and smelled it. “Berries?”

  “Raspberry pinot noir. Joe sent you a few other bottles as well. I think you’ll like the apple Riesling, but it didn’t seem to fit my mood tonight.” Ana took a sip and then set her glass down on the nightstand. “Do you want to shower first?”

  “Before what?” Riley asked, grinning. Ana shook her head. She leaned back against the pillows. Riley took another sip and then set down her glass. “Yeah, I’ll rinse off.”

  Before Riley had finished her shower, the door slid open. Ana was naked. She slipped inside and immediately wrapped her arms around Riley. “I’ve had a hard time not touching you today,” she said. She kissed Riley’s back and shoulders, then stroked her hands down Riley’s thighs. She moved from the back to the front and her caressing kisses continued up and down Riley’s back. Riley turned around to meet Ana’s lips with her own.

  Riley shut off the water as Ana’s kisses became more demanding. She followed her out of the bathroom, toweling off as Ana led the way. Ana pushed her onto the bed. Riley looked up at her, waiting. Ana took a sip of wine, watching Riley all the while. The rain had started again, pattering on the roof of the cottage and streaking down the windowpanes. Riley waited for Ana to set down the glass, then reached for her, pulling her down on top of her. Ana’s lips were full and warm. She kissed Riley’s neck and collarbones, then made her way down Riley’s chest. Riley ran her hand through Ana’s hair, damp from the shower. She wanted to feel Ana between her legs nearly enough to be willing to beg for it. Ana moved lower, kissing below her belly button, but before she reached the place Riley wanted her, she shifted position so Riley’s leg was between hers. She rubbed her thigh into Riley’s groin. As she moved faster, Riley heard her begin to climax, and a moment later a wave swept through her own body.

  After a while, Ana eased herself off Riley and went to use the bathroom. She came back to bed but didn’t lie down. She sat, propped up by overfilled pillows, and ran her fingers through Riley’s hair. “Are you asleep?” she asked.

  Riley was stretched across the bed, entirely relaxed, without even a sheet to cover her. Her eyelids were half shut. “Mm-hmm,” she murmured.

  Ana climbed on top of her again. She brushed a fingertip over Riley’s eyelids and down her nose and lips. “You’re beautiful, you know.”

  Riley shook her head.

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m telling you.”

  “Okay.” Riley wanted to drift to sleep, but she could tell Ana was too awake now.

  “My mom dated women for a while. I remember her saying how much she hated the fact that so many good-looking dykes didn’t think they were attractive. She was drunk when she told me that and probably would deny our conversation ever took place. Of course, she’d deny dating women as well. But to my mom, if a person didn’t dress well or didn’t act like they thought everyone in the room ought to be noticing them, then clearly they didn’t think they were attractive…”

  Riley opened her eyes. “Go back a minute. Did you just say your mom dated women for a while?”

  “It happens.” Ana continued, “She has always claimed to be straight, but at one point, there were several women she cycled through.”

  “So what does she think about you?”

  “If you mean, what does she think about this,” she motioned to Riley’s body under hers, “she has no clue. She hasn’t met anyone I’ve slept with since my old high school boyfriends. We haven’t had the best relationship for the past few years.”

  “Where does she live?”

  “Lodi. I go there for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Easter too if she’s in the mood to have a party. My mom throws a pretty good party, but then she drinks too much.”

  “Lodi’s in California, right?”

  “Yes. In the middle of nowhere.” Ana traced a finger down the center of Riley’s chest.

  “Is your mom the reason why you don’t drink much?”

  “I drink when there’s a good reason and then only good wine.” Ana pulled her hand off Riley’s chest. “My mom drinks vodka or anything she can get. And lots of it. She makes good mixed drinks as well. She was a bartender for a while. Why did I get us started talking about my mom? Can we change the subject?”

  “Okay. What did you want to be when you grew up?”

  Ana raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting that a girl can’t dream about becoming a business consultant? I happen to be very good at what I do.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  “I wanted to be an actress for a while, then an artist, but I get stage fright and my paintings of alfalfa fields weren’t going on anyone’s wall. Then I just wanted to be rich. I know, lofty goal, right?” She paused for a long moment before continuing in a softer tone, “My dad left my mom when I was five. She raised my sisters and me alone. We didn’t have anything extra, and I remember wanting to al
ways have plenty of money so I wouldn’t have to worry about the landlord knocking on the door. My mom wouldn’t ever pay the rent until the landlord was ready with the eviction notice. Damn, I’m back to talking about my mom.” She paused. “Can you hear the rain?”

  Riley nodded. The rain had changed from the early pitter-patter to a loud pounding against the shingles.

  “Rainy days make me want to go home.”

  “Does it rain a lot in Lodi?”

  “No. But I always think about going home when it rains. Some sort of primitive impulse to find a cave and take shelter from the storm, you know. I don’t really have a cave, though, so I think about my family, I guess. What’s your family like?”

  “There’s only my parents, my brother and me. Pretty normal childhood, I guess. And no one was trying to evict us. My parents both worked good jobs, but they’ve retired now. My brother is kind of a screw-up. He seems to know how to find trouble. When we were kids, if he wasn’t trying to burn down the house or choke the neighbor kid, he was keying someone’s car. He got kicked out of more than one school and, eventually, out of more than one sober program. I think I had to be the good kid.”

  “Your parents know you sleep with women?”

  “I told my mom when I was seventeen. She nodded and said, ‘Yep, we knew you’d figure it out soon enough.’ I had expected her to ask questions or tell me I was crazy or something, but apparently my parents had decided I was probably gay when I was in grade school. Go figure.”

  “I wish things in my world were that easy.” Ana rolled off Riley and pulled the sheet and then the blankets up to cover them. She curled up against Riley. “Don’t leave in the middle of the night this time, okay?”

  Riley murmured in agreement.

  “I was pissed when I woke up. You were just gone. Do you know, you’re the first person who’s ever done that to me? And then you acted like nothing happened the morning after. Do you know what that does to a person?”

  Riley turned to look at her and was relieved to see the teasing expression on her face. “I’m not going anywhere tonight. I promise,” Riley said, closing her eyes. Sleep came quickly. She was entirely spent and deliciously warm with Ana wrapped around her body.

  * * *

  “The highway’s open,” Ana said. “Looks like last night’s rain skipped over the burn scar. The river is the same level it was yesterday morning.” She was dressed and holding a mug of coffee. “And there’s probably a hundred people already out on the streets with shovels and brooms.”

  Riley rubbed her eyes and rolled over to look at the clock. It was past nine. “I never sleep in.”

  Ana sat down on the edge of the bed. “No, I never sleep in. You just did.”

  “Wait, what day is it?”

  “Sunday.” Ana sipped her coffee. “Sharon’s coffee is better than usual.”

  Riley cringed at the mention of Sharon’s name. She’d promised Sharon that she’d pick up pastries at seven on Sunday. “What is she serving for breakfast?”

  “Banana pancakes.”

  “No pastries?”

  “What, you don’t like pancakes?”

  “I love banana pancakes. But I forgot to go pick up the Sunday morning pastries. She must have made the pancakes because I didn’t bring the pastries and she probably knocked on my door to remind me and then realized where I was sleeping.”

  “Wait, are you embarrassed because Sharon knows you were in here with me?”

  “No, not at all. But I am going to be embarrassed that I slept in and flaked on her. She’ll call me out on it as soon as I see her.”

  “She definitely gave me a raised eyebrow when she saw me.” Ana rested her hand on Riley’s arm. “Get out of bed before I decide to climb back under the covers with you.”

  Riley shook her head.

  Ana set her coffee down and crossed her arms. “Come on, there’s work to be done out there and you look good pushing a shovel.”

  “You said there’s a hundred people outside already. By noon, this town will be filled with volunteers.” Riley pulled back the covers, waiting. Ana sighed and kicked off her shoes. She took off her pants and then paused.

  “I’m probably going to get a text from Joe within the hour wondering where I am. And I’m expecting a call from my boss this morning.”

  “It’s Sunday. Turn off your phone,” Riley said, reaching for her.

  Bleary-eyed, Riley headed for the shower just before eleven. Ana was still in bed, stretched out naked on top of the sheets. Riley smelled her hand as she waited for the water to warm, enjoying Ana’s scent on her fingers. She stepped into the shower and reached for the fancy lavender soap that Sharon probably paid too much to keep in all the bathrooms. “Tomorrow is Monday,” she murmured to the water striking her skin. “Monday, Monday.” Ana was scheduled to check out tomorrow. She hadn’t wanted to bring this up last night nor this morning, but the reality of it now was impossible not to face. She wanted to ask if the flood had changed her plans at all, but that wasn’t the important question. Had the past forty-eight hours changed anything?

  Riley dried off and went to her side of the cottage. She had asked Sharon yesterday to use the laundry, and she now found all of her clothes cleaned and folded. Riley dressed quickly and went to the main house, hoping to be of some use in the kitchen cleanup at least.

  Sharon was in the dining area chatting with some guests who were clearly slow eaters. Riley ate a banana pancake, still sitting on the now-cold grill, and then set to washing the pile of dishes in the sink.

  “Morning, sunshine,” Sharon said, carrying several plates over to the dishwasher. “Before you say anything, I called over and had my baker send his son with the pastries. So, you can ease up on feeling guilty, but don’t stop scrubbing those pans.”

  “You know me well,” Riley said, smiling. “I thought you had to make the pancakes because I forgot.”

  “No, Sunday is the big brunch. I have pastries, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage and pancakes. I’m first class here.” Sharon leaned against the counter, a dishrag thrown over her shoulder. “So, this is just a fling to get Lisa off your mind, right?”

  “Ana leaves tomorrow. I’m not letting it go to my head.”

  “Hmm. We’ll see.”

  “How are things downtown? I’m guessing you’ve listened to the news last night and probably this morning as well.”

  “While you were up to better things? Yes, I’ve been glued to the news. And to the view from the front porch.” Sharon started drying one of the serving platters that Riley had finished scrubbing. “We’re getting a day of sunshine and then another storm front moves in. They’ll have the heavy machinery in tomorrow to clean up the boulders and all of the debris on the north end of town. There are still two streets that you can’t get to with a car. I have friends who live over there. They can get out on foot, but otherwise they’re stuck.”

  “Is there anyone in this town that you aren’t friends with?”

  Sharon smiled. “I can think of a few people who would likely cross to the other side of the street if they saw me coming.”

  “Sweet little you who never gets into anyone else’s business?”

  Sharon swatted her with the dishrag. “Speaking of other people’s business, I’m going over to help someone today with her flooded basement. It isn’t a crisis but she’s old and this whole thing has her frazzled. I’m going to bring some of the brunch leftovers as well.”

  “And you volunteered me to come along?”

  “No, but since you mentioned it, you could help me carry a few things.”

  * * *

  The basement stairs were slick with muddy grime, and Riley had to concentrate as she maneuvered past the first corner, carrying soggy box after box into the garage where Sharon sat with the old lady. She lined the boxes up against the garage wall and let Sharon take over from there, patiently going through the contents while the old lady shook her head in dismay. Sharon had sent Riley to borrow a sump pump earlier that af
ternoon. The machine was making the rounds from neighbor to neighbor, and Riley had promised to pass it on to someone else as soon as the old woman’s basement was drained. The basement had a cement floor and unfinished walls, but there were two windows, one of which had shattered in the storm when a log crashed into it. The log was still sticking through the window. Fortunately, there was little furniture in the space, but the number of boxes was staggering.

  Thoughts of Ana distracted Riley as she worked. She wondered if Ana would change her plans if she asked her to, but she knew she couldn’t ask. Riley had already decided to give Ana her phone number, thinking that there was a good chance she might come back through Denver sometime. But this thought only made her depressed. She was going to be waiting for what? For a call from this beautiful stranger, who knows when, to randomly hook up? They had decided to go separate ways for the day, with Ana expected over at the winery and Riley knowing she’d get roped into helping Sharon’s friend for the day. The few hours apart from Ana had brought Riley back to the reality of their situation. Ana lived in Napa and she lived in Denver. Despite everything Riley wanted to believe, Sharon was likely right. Ana was her rebound. Their relationship realistically couldn’t be anything more, despite all of the possibilities that swarmed in her mind.

  Sharon had to return to the inn to serve Sunday tea. She excused Riley from her job though there were still half again as many boxes to be moved. The old lady had enough to think about with the boxes in the garage and the sump pump needed time to work before they could really get any further.

  “You stink,” Sharon said as they came out of the house.

  “Good thing someone does my laundry.”

  “You’re welcome. But you need more than clean clothes.”

  They passed through a playground and then crossed the river. Branches were piled up on the park benches, and the swings were entangled with debris. Mud and rocks were strewn across the grass as was a large downed elm tree. They stepped over a log and Riley said, “Hope this wasn’t one of Deb’s logs. Any word from your park ranger?”