by Bria Marche
“That’s damn funny. Why didn’t he recognize you, then?”
“He was busy texting on his cell phone when he bumped into me. I don’t think he even looked up when he made his lame-ass apology. You know it’s fate or kismet.” Tina chuckled and scratched little Kismet behind the ears.
“Maybe you should reintroduce yourself in a nicer manner and actually get to know him. Dan’s a pretty cool guy.”
“Or not. I don’t need a guy in my life—too much drama. Look at all the shit you guys have been through.”
“True, but sometimes I think we create our own shit. We all came out on the other side just fine. Sometimes we need a guy to blame everything on, or at least we think so. I like Dan, not to mention he’s smokin’ hot, sizzle… sizzle… like delicious bacon.” Sasha laughed as she jabbed her finger in Tina’s side. “Want a jar of apple butter to take home?”
“Abso-friggin’-lutely.” Tina looked at the clock and saw that it was close to noon. “I’m out of here. Talk to you soon, sister.” She gave Sasha an air kiss, scooped up her jar of apple butter, and traipsed through the soggy front yard to her car. She gunned the engine, spun around in the street, and headed straight for Vic’s house.
“Get this,” she said as she marched through the front door without as much as a hello. “The new boy toy in town that’s building Sasha’s deck is none other than the dipshit that knocked the Cokes down my shirt. Do you have any idea how cold it is to have a dozen ice cubes lodged in your bra and frozen to your boobs?” Tina made her eyes bug out like somebody in a stranglehold.
Vic laughed. “No, and I’m not in the mood to find out, either. So, what do you know that I don’t?”
“I was just at Sasha’s house, helping her move junk from the kitchen to the dining room. There he was. He’s the owner of the construction service that’s doing the work at the Victorian.”
“So, we’ll be seeing a lot of him. Is that what you’re saying?” Vic chuckled as she poured two glasses of Merlot and handed one to Tina.
“No, but probably… I mean, we can’t help it if he’s there when we are. Look how often we’re at Sasha’s house anyway.”
“And now maybe even more? Do we have a tiny bit of a crush on Mr. Coke Spill? What the hell is his name anyway?”
“His name is Dan Mason. It’s kind of a nice, strong, easy name to remember… huh?”
“Yep. Are you interested and thinking ‘Tina Mason’ already?”
“Hell no. I don’t need manflesh, or anything else, screwing up my perfectly content life.”
“Right… that’s why you’ve had separation anxiety ever since Karen picked up Claire.”
“Have not.” Tina huffed as she poured more wine.
“Time will tell, missy. Time will tell.”
Chapter Ten
With her duck boots on and socks pulled up to her knees, Sasha stomped around the vacant lot, wearing Josh’s tan, twill Carhartt jacket zipped up to her throat. She had Josh on the phone. “We have two days before the grapes are going to be delivered. I think the ground is dry enough to till up. Will you call the rental company and tell them to drop off a couple of rototillers today?”
“Sure, babe, not a problem. I can even get a start on the work if you don’t mind picking up J. J. later. He has softball practice after school, but they’re done at five thirty.”
“Okay. I’ll pick up dinner. How about KFC?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Maybe I can convince Aaron to give me a hand for an hour tonight. Give Mia a call—they can have dinner with us. That should make things easier on everyone.”
“Okay, I’ll call her now. I love you, Josh. See you later.” Sasha strolled over to watch Dan and his crew busy working on the deck footings. “Looking good, guys.” She smiled and waved.
“Where’s Ms. Klutz today?” Dan asked as he poured the concrete footers.
“Why… do you miss her?”
“Yeah, like I miss a festering rash. My coat was as stiff as a board after that incident. There were even ants crawling all over it from the sugar. Everything is fine now. I threw it in my mom’s washer when I got home.” He laughed.
Dan sank the six-by-six treated post into the concrete and leveled it. The men took a ten-minute break before starting the next section. Dan and Sasha sat on the forest-green Adirondack chairs, out of the wind, and chatted. Jeff and Bill sat in the truck, one on the phone, the other enjoying a Marlboro menthol cigarette.
“Tina is very nice,” Sasha said, “just kind of guarded. I guess she’s seen her share of relationship drama from the rest of us. She’s not normally a klutz—you just surprised her, that’s all.”
“Me? Why would I surprise her?”
“It may not be my place, but I’ll tell you anyway. I never know when to keep my mouth shut, so why start now at my age?”
“Right, because you’re in your golden years?” Dan let out a full, hearty laugh. Sasha enjoyed her ability to amuse people. She didn’t even mind that at times they laughed at her instead of with her.
“Actually, I’m twenty-eight, but that’s beside the point. Tina said last week you bumped into her at Amelia’s and two huge cups of Coke tipped over, spilling down the front of her shirt, soaking everything from her neck to her pants. I think seeing you again startled her… and you know the rest. You have to admit it is kind of funny. It’s like that saying, ‘What goes around comes around.’”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but I barely remember that incident. It was just an accidental bump and an apology. I never even looked up. Seeing her here didn’t ring a bell with me, but evidently seeing me rang one for her. She must really think I’m an ass. No wonder she thought it was funny when I had cream dripping off my face.” Dan chuckled at the irony of it. “Payback is a bitch even if it’s accidental, right?” He grinned at Sasha and told her he had to get back to work. “Don’t tell Tina I know. We’ll see how this plays out.”
“Got it—not a word,” Sasha said with a hand gesture to show she was zipping her lips. She went inside to call Mia. They made dinner plans for seven o’clock. Josh and Aaron would begin the rototilling at five thirty and could get in at least an hour of work before their feast of chicken, courtesy of KFC.
***
The brass pineapple knocker banged hard against the solid wood door Wednesday at noon. Sasha and Tina sat at the kitchen table in the dining room, enjoying grilled-cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, and decaf iced tea. Lately, Tina appeared at the Victorian more often than usual, saying she needed to help the “preggers” around the house and that she didn’t want Sasha to injure herself, or the baby, doing whatever it was that she did every day. Sasha yelled cheerfully and ran to the window. A large cube van had parked along the road. She threw the door open and stood staring at the face of a very grumpy-looking man.
“Ma’am, I have 450 grape plants in the back of my van, and I can’t pull into your driveway.”
“That’s wonderful—I’m so happy.” Sasha was beside herself with enthusiasm. Her dream was finally becoming a reality, and the evidence was a van filled to the brim with Concord grapevines.
“Yeah… right. I guess what I’m trying to ask is who’s going to unload these vines?”
“Oh, no problem, I’ll be right back. Just hang out on the porch for a minute.”
***
Sasha slipped on her clogs and ran around to the back of the house. Tina watched her from the kitchen window as she reached Dan and his crew. Her hands pointed this way and that. Laughter was exchanged, and like magic, the men followed Sasha to the front of the Victorian.
That girl is selling something men can’t say no to. Humph… I’ve got to buy me some of that. Tina put on her shoes and walked outside. Might as well pitch in, she thought as she joined everyone at the back of the van.
The guys brought two wheelbarrows around to fill with vines. Tina gave Dan a sideways glance. He did the same but added a smile. Sasha disappeared into the shed and came out with a thick plastic tarp. She placed it at the
back of the van, loading it with grapevines so the guys could drag it to the lot. An hour later, the van pulled away from the curb, and Sasha, Tina, and the guys plopped down on the porch chairs.
“I’ll get the iced tea,” Tina offered.
“I better stay out of the way.” Dan smirked.
Tina turned back. “Good idea,” she said, slamming the door behind her.
***
Sasha and Josh stood in Arrivals at Kennedy International Airport Saturday morning. She felt giddy and nervous at the same time. Sasha hadn’t seen her parents for nearly a year. She’d been deeply involved with Jack the last time she’d flown to France. She was living the model’s life and carrying a snooty attitude with it. A lot had changed since then. Sasha was settled, sweet, and capable, with a home and a family and more on the way. Weddings would take place soon, and they still had an entire vineyard to plant. She checked the arrivals board, where the digital readout showed that the flight just landed.
“They should be coming up the ramp any minute,” Sasha said while Josh held her hand tightly.
“You’re shaking, honey. Are you nervous?”
“Sort of. They’re in for a big surprise. I’ve changed a lot, Josh. I’m much different now than I was a year ago. Not only am I a different person, but they’re meeting you for the first time, and I’m pregnant.” Sasha chuckled, took a deep, calming breath, and kept watching.
“You know, you’ve never described your parents to me other than saying your dad is an actor and your mom is a homemaker. Oh yeah… also that they’re wealthy and own a chateau in the south of France… with a vineyard.”
“My dad is slender with graying hair and a mustache—very debonair, you know. He’s handsome and smart. My mom is a cutie pie.” Sasha looked up at Josh and grinned. “Actually, she’s beautiful and caught my dad’s eye right away, or so the story goes. She worked in food services at the movie lot when they met. Evidently, my dad would see her when he had lunch every day. He watched her, longing for her, until he got up the nerve to introduce himself. The rest is history. Mom has dark hair, like mine was, and she’s mysterious looking. I mean, she’s Russian, for Pete’s sake. I think I see them!” Sasha’s eyes filled with tears immediately when she was certain it was her mom and dad walking toward her. Smiles took over their faces the second they recognized their daughter among the crowd of people waiting. Sasha had given them advance notice that her hair was now short and blond. The waving began as their pace picked up.
Hugs, kisses, and more kisses took over the Renaud family as they embraced each other, and tears flowed.
“Papa, Mama, I’m so happy you’re here,” Sasha said as she held her parents tightly. “This is Josh, my fiancé, and here’s the little one.” Sasha rubbed her belly, showing off how proud she was of her baby bump. Nobody, not even her parents, would find out she was carrying twins until the party.
Josh shook hands with Sasha’s father, Gerard, and embraced her mother, Alina. “It’s wonderful to meet you both. Shall we?” Josh led them toward the baggage-claim area to pick up their luggage. He was sure they had plenty since they were staying for more than a month.
The drive back to Tarrytown seemed much faster than usual with the flurry of conversation going on. Sasha described the Victorian in great detail, knowing her parents would fall in love with it, too.
“Well, here we are,” Josh said as he pulled into the driveway.
Sasha had let Dan and his helpers know she and Josh would be having company and a party over the weekend. They’d take a few days off, giving Sasha her driveway back temporarily.
The expressions her parents wore said it all. They were surprised and impressed with the size and beauty of the Victorian. “Sasha, I had no idea…” Her father stood there, staring, flabbergasted.
She laughed proudly. “I know what you mean, Papa. I always thought I’d live in the city in an apartment, too. Isn’t she grand?”
Her father would know a beautiful home when he saw one. His chateau in the south of France dated back to the early 1800s, and it was magnificent.
“Come inside so I can show you and Mama around.” She showed them the Victorian, room by room, explaining how the library would be used for weddings, too. The photos of the deck and arbors were waiting for her father’s approval on the dining-room table.
Sasha and her parents sat with coffee and apple muffins, looking over the sketches of the wedding garden Josh had drawn months earlier. Then Sasha walked with her parents to the vacant lot. She wanted them to envision what they planned out on paper. The ground was tilled and the grape stock was waiting to be planted.
“This is wonderful, Sasha.” Alina still held onto a thick Russian accent. “We’re both very proud of you and your accomplishments. Josh, you have quite a woman here. She’s a different, more mature young lady these days. We’re excited for both of you.”
“We’ll get started on the vineyard next week. We don’t want the vines sitting too long before they’re planted. Everything will be beautiful by the time of the weddings.” Gerard gave his daughter a reassuring hug.
***
Cars filled the driveway and lined up against the curb while pink-and-blue balloons, tied to the porch rails, blew in the wind. A party was going on in the Victorian. Introductions had been made earlier, and the women were busy in the kitchen, preparing lunch. The men gathered outside for the moment—there was too much commotion in the house for their liking. They stood with their arms folded across their chests, resembling bobble-head dolls as they nodded in agreement. So far, the progress of the deck looked good. Grape stock would be planted, starting the next day, and all the men had volunteered to help except Mario. He joked about being really good at giving orders. He still had weeks of recovery to go through before he could even bend over without pain. Gerard was given the condensed version of Mario’s encounter with Sampson, the devil himself.
Sasha called out from the kitchen window. Lunch was ready, and the games would soon begin. Streamers and balloons filled the library along with plenty of chairs for everyone to sit comfortably on, especially Mario. Two chairs sat center stage in the middle of the room for Josh and Sasha. A table holding a platter of cupcakes and plates sat next to them. The color of the cream-filled centers in the cupcakes would reveal the sex of the baby. What nobody knew was that all the cupcakes were filled with a mix of pink and blue cream centers. Each guest had to wear something that was blue or pink, depending on what gender they thought the baby was. The winners would get a token gift. The joke was on everyone since Sasha had bought plenty of gifts: at this party, they would all win.
After lunch, the group gathered in the library. Sasha took a head count of everyone wearing pink. There were seven. That left four people thinking the baby was a boy. They played games, such as pin the diaper on the baby, for Starbucks gift cards. Everyone had to come up with a name and say which gender they thought the baby was and why they’d chosen it. Finally, the time for the reveal was upon them. Sasha and Josh walked around the room together, handing out cupcakes from a platter. The crowd had to wait until their hosts were comfortably seated in the center of the room. Sasha would call out when it was time for everyone to take a bite.
“Okay, is everyone ready?” Sasha tried to build up suspense by prolonging the initial bite. “On the count of three…”
“Oh, for craps sake,” Vic said. “Go!”
The guests bit into their cupcakes and quickly checked the color of the cream. Looks of confusion covered their faces.
“Sasha, I think the bakery made a mistake. There’s a mix of both colors.” Karen looked at the center of Mario’s cupcake, which was the same as hers.
Sasha and Josh wore Cheshire-cat grins as they began laughing. “Okay, the jig is up… we’re having twins, a boy and a girl!” Sasha laughed in delight as everyone screamed.
Her parents cried, the girls cried, and the guys cried—maybe a little. Now that everyone knew there would be two babies, Sasha thought of the perfect
way to fund the twins’ college accounts. Each woman was welcome to spend five minutes rubbing Sasha’s belly that carried, not one, but two precious babies! In Sasha’s mind, that was a golden opportunity if there ever was one. It would only cost them a dollar a baby.
“Sasha, you know that only comes to eight bucks, don’t you?” Tina snickered.
“No, it comes to ten dollars. You can’t forget my mom.”
“You’re going to charge you own mother to rub your belly?” Mia laughed.
“Yes, I am. It’s all about the children, you know,” she sniped.
The party turned out to be an overwhelming success, and Sasha now had ten dollars safely stashed in her pocket to open the twins’ bank accounts with.
Chapter Eleven
Planting day finally arrived, the long start of digging and planting 450 grapevines in Sasha’s vacant lot. The pallet of reclaimed bricks sat on the edge of the driveway, waiting to be set in place on the cement slab. Dan and his helpers worked on the deck as Josh, Sasha, Alina, and Gerard began to measure out the lot for row placement. There would be six feet between each row. The lot could hold ten full-length rows—five on each side of the wedding garden—and ten half rows with the bricked ceremony platform in the center. Dan measured the amount of space he would need around the slab for the pergola.
Tina showed up at lunchtime, surprising everyone. “Hey, guys, I’m here to help. I don’t have any more appointments today.”
A sly smile crossed Sasha’s face as she acknowledged her friend’s presence. She glanced at Dan. He was already checking out Tina. Sasha, her mom, and Tina sat on the green Adirondack chairs, trying to come up with a pattern for the bricks. The brick pattern and placement had to be beautiful and sturdy since it would be the highlight of the wedding garden. Sasha liked the Herringbone pattern she’d found on her iPad. Now, if they could figure the math correctly, the bricks should fall into place perfectly.
Dan took a ten-minute break along with his crew. Sasha noticed him walking in their direction, and she kicked Tina’s leg.
