Casa Parisi

by Janet Albert

  "Or pronounce," Carolyn said. "Most people know casa means house so they should be able to put it together." She paused and then said, "You know something? I suddenly realized that I have no idea where you actually live."

  "I live in the white cottage at the bottom of the hill. It came with the winery and land purchase. It's right on the lake and I love it, although it feels quite strange to live alone after being with someone for so many years."

  "Now that I have Lisa, I don't know how I lived alone for so long."

  "You get used to having someone around," Lucia said.

  "And all that comes with it." Carolyn paused while they shared a moment of silent understanding. "You've got a great spot up here on the hill. The gardens, the vineyards and the views of the lake--it's like your little slice of paradise."

  "Devin would have loved this. I wish she were here to share it with me and at the same time I'm aware that we wouldn't be here at all if she were still alive." Lucia felt herself fading away into her private cache of memories. She and Devin dreamed about coming back to the Finger Lakes to live one day. They kept the crazy idea tucked away and pulled it out whenever their fast-paced life in Atlanta became too much for them.

  Knowing Carolyn was waiting, Lucia pushed her thoughts aside. "I never thought I'd be coming back here at all, let alone without her. This whole horrible mess has been like one big cosmic joke."

  "A tragic joke," Carolyn said. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Lisa."

  "I used to say the same thing."

  "We all say that when we really love someone, don't we?"

  "Yes we do and we all hope it's something we never have to find out." Lucia found it hard to move her mouth. She heard the thickness in her voice, the unsteadiness of her words. "Cherish every minute you have with Lisa. I don't have to tell you it can end just like that." Lucia snapped her fingers.

  "No you don't." Carolyn placed her hand on Lucia's.

  "All I have left of my life with Devin are my memories and they're beginning to fade a little more with each passing day." Lucia stared at their joined hands while she said that and then she lifted her eyes to meet Carolyn's.

  "I didn't come here to upset you," Carolyn said. "I can see why you avoided seeing me for so long. It stirs up too much pain, doesn't it?"

  "Yes, it does." Lucia let Carolyn's hand go. "But I need to talk about his. Luke says I should see a professional and I told him I don't want to do that. I'd much rather talk to a good friend like you."

  "I'm right here," Carolyn said. "Any time you need me."

  Lucia shook her head. "I'm not getting over this as well as I should. After Devin died I was totally devastated. I tried to be strong. I let Luke bring me home and I started a new life for myself. I went through the motions of living that life every day and yet I couldn't move on emotionally. I know I need to do that and I know that's what Devin would want me to do. She left me everything she had and I didn't deserve any of it."

  "Why do you say that?" Carolyn asked.

  "I took her for granted so many times. I'd get so wrapped up in that fucking job I had I'd forget to show her much I loved her. That's something I should have done every day we were together. I should have treated her as if each day might have been our last."

  "She knew you loved her, Lucia. I'm sure she did," Carolyn said.

  "I'm not," Lucia clutched her fist against her chest. She knew what she'd just said was a lie, but she couldn't seem to stop punishing herself, being hard on herself. "I don't know if I can continue to live this way." The frank bleakness of that declaration took her by surprise. She hadn't expected to say such a thing out loud. Having thoughts like those prowling around in the dark corners of her psyche was bad enough, but to verbalize them to someone else was even worse.

  Carolyn held Lucia's hand again. "Promise me you'll call whenever things get that bad for you. Please, promise me you will."

  "I promise," Lucia whispered. "It's just so hard for me to talk about it and most of the time I have no idea what I need."

  "That doesn't matter. I only want to be there for you and spend time with you. I want you to be a part of my life--of our life. We haven't seen each other for quite a while, but we were close friends once and I hope we'll be close again."

  "We will be. For a while there I was a total wreck and I didn't want to inflict myself on anyone. I've been hard to get along with and I've been told I've been a bitch."

  "Really? I've never thought of you as a bitch. You were always one of the nicest people I've ever known."

  "You remember me as I used to be."

  "You're still you, Lucia. You haven't changed."

  "I think I have. I've done things I would never have done before just to get through this and keep my head above water. I've been drinking a lot."

  "You've done what you had to do," Carolyn said. "I don't know how you get over something like that, how anyone does."

  "You don't get over it, not ever. You become someone else, a stranger who finds a way out of the darkness, a way to survive."

  "What else can you do?"

  "There are other choices, you know."

  Carolyn took a second. "If you're talking about suicide, it's not a good one."

  "I know. Otherwise I would have opted out a long time ago."

  "I'm glad you didn't," Carolyn said. "No one wants to lose you."

  "I know and I don't want to die anymore. I want to live," Lucia said. "I just want to feel better while I'm doing it." Lucia faced her friend. Carolyn's eyes were moist with tears and overflowing with compassion.

  "You need to be with people who care about you. We'll make plans before I leave today." Carolyn sniffed. "Now hand me a tissue and let's get on with this wine tasting. You did promise I could try them all."

  "I haven't forgotten." Lucia handed Carolyn a couple of tissues and took one for her own use. "Let's begin with the chardonnay."

  "Yes, let's." Carolyn dried her eyes, blew her nose and held her wine glass out.

  Lucia poured approximately two ounces into Carolyn's glass and then read her the description of the wine verbatim from the tasting list. "'It was aged in oak for six months and finished with a hint of residual sweetness.'"

  Carolyn swirled the wine, breathed in its aroma and then slurped it noisily over her tongue before swallowing it. "This is outstanding. I detected vanilla and toasty oak aromas and a nice ripe apple flavor. I think a chardonnay can get a bit harsh if it's aged in oak too long."

  "Does that one seem harsh to you?"

  "No. The oak flavor is subtle enough to allow the other flavors to come through. It also has good acidity and just the right touch of sweetness."

  Lucia poured another sample of a different white wine. "We named this one Summer Winds. Vidal blanc blended with a little Cayuga. We've sold a lot of it."

  Carolyn tasted the wine the same way she'd tasted the first one. "It's good. Crisp and fruity and I can taste hints of tangerines. This would go well with a fresh fruit salad and it would be great as a sipping wine, well-chilled, on a hot summer day."

  "We could use comments like those when we write our descriptions," Lucia said. "I should write them down." She grabbed a notebook and a pen from under the bar.

  "Give me that. I'll write them down as we go along."

  Four or five wine samples later, Carolyn pushed her glass aside and ate a couple of crackers which she spread with an herbed goat cheese. "Luke did a great job with those wines. Let me take a break before I try your reds."

  "Getting woozy?"

  "Not really. My taste buds need a break," Carolyn replied. "Speaking of Luke, am I going to see him today?"

  "He's in the vineyards, but he'll be back soon. He can't wait to see you."

  "By the way, I'm thrilled you hired Juliet Renard. She called me after she came for her interview and she was ecstatic about the prospects of working for you."

  Lucia leaned on the bar. "Thanks for recommending her."

  "Don't you think it's remarkable tha
t we all went to Cornell? Juliet was Lisa's friend and I met Lisa and she introduced me to Juliet and we became friends. You and I were friends and now I introduced you to Juliet and she's going to work for you. Small world, isn't it?"

  "That sounds pretty complicated, but yes, it is a small world. And I think it could be more than mere coincidence. Do you think the fates might have brought us all together as part of some master plan?"

  "I believe in things like that," Carolyn said. "I take it Luke liked her?"

  "He was quite taken with her."

  "She has a great reputation and if what she did for the other winery is any indication of what she's capable of, your future will be in excellent hands."

  "You like her because she's a science geek."

  "We geeks have to stick together," Carolyn said. "But there are other reasons why I like her. I love intelligent women and she's a wonderful friend and a nice person."

  "She did seem very nice. Sensitive and artistic, I thought," Lucia said.

  "She is, come to think of it," Carolyn said. "By the way, Lisa wants to interview you and Juliet sometime for an article. She says both of you are very newsworthy. Very few women own wineries and Juliet is one of only two female winemakers. Yours will be the first winery around here to have a woman owner and a female winemaker."

  "I like the idea of making history," Lucia said. "Tell Lisa she can interview us. We need all the publicity we can get."

  "Lisa said to let Juliet settle in and then let her know when you're ready." Carolyn paused as if she had something on her mind. "Juliet's pretty, don't you think?"

  "I guess she is. Straight, too, I assume?" Lucia added.

  "It seems so. I know she dates men every now and then."

  "That's great. Lisa had better get that interview done sooner rather than later. Juliet's liable to run off and get married before we get through a second harvest."

  "God, I hope that doesn't happen."

  "You and me both. And for the record, I did notice how attractive she was. She looks French, if there's such a thing, and more like an artist than a scientist. What made her even more appealing was how intense she was about being a superior winemaker. Her enthusiasm and her passion sparked a renewed sense of optimism in me."

  "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

  "In my case it is," Lucia said. "Are you ready to try some of our reds?"

  "Bring them on."

  Chapter Six

  JULIET PARKED HER car in front of the barn at Casa Parisi Vineyards just before eight o'clock. Her vacation had served its purpose, providing her with a much needed mental and physical break. She had driven to Montreal to visit her father and had stayed there until Thursday morning. The rest of the week was spent at home stocking up with groceries, doing every piece of laundry, and catching up on her reading. Once Tuesday rolled around she was sufficiently bored and more than ready to start her new job.

  As soon as she walked through the door of the barn she spotted Luke standing by one of the display racks in the sales area. "Good morning, Mr. Parisi."

  Luke flourished an expansive smile. "And a good morning to you, Ms. Renard. I'd recognize that accent anywhere."

  "I guess it gives me away, doesn't it?"

  "Let's just say I'd know it was you without seeing you." Luke pulled bottles of wine from five or six open cases sitting on the floor near where he was standing. One by one, he slid them into the appropriate racks. "You look rested. How was your vacation?"

  "Very nice," she said. "But now I'm excited about getting started."

  "That makes two of us." Luke brushed his hands off on the sides of his jeans. "I'll finish this later. How about some coffee before we get started?"

  "I'd love some. I didn't have any at home," Juliet said as she followed him to the bar. "But don't make it just for me."

  "It's already made. We make it every morning." Luke set a couple of mugs on the bar along with napkins, sugar, milk and two teaspoons. "I don't know about you, but I can't start the day without coffee."

  "I can't either. I need at least one cup." Juliet fixed her coffee and took a sip. "This is really good. What is it?"

  "It's hazelnut cream." Luke drank from his mug. "Lucia brought it in one morning and now I'm addicted to the stuff." He stared at Juliet for a moment before letting her in on his thoughts. "Have I told you how good it is to have you with us?"

  They chatted while they drank their coffee and when they were done Luke cleared everything away. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the staff tomorrow. Susan and Dennis are graduate students from Cornell who are working with us as part of their work-study program and we have two full-time employees, Kim and Rob. That's all of us except for a few part-time vineyard workers and a crew of seasonal workers that help during the harvest. Oh, and there's the café staff, but they're not here today."

  "That's all right. I'll meet everyone eventually."

  "Yes you will, Ms. Renard. Now where would you like to begin?"

  "First of all, call me Juliet. There's no reason for us to be formal, is there?"

  "No there isn't. You'll soon find out we're not formal around here. But if I'm going to call you Juliet, I insist that you call me Luke."

  "I feel more comfortable already." This was one of those rare moments in life when you know something with absolute certainty and Juliet knew she was going to get along famously with Luke Parisi. Beyond that, she had an inexplicable feeling that one day she would be grateful for having met him and his sister. It was as if their coming together was predestined. For now, though, he had asked her where she would like to begin and she still owed him an answer. "Why don't you tell me about your wines? I'd like to know what you're currently selling."

  "You can taste them if you want."

  "I will taste them and soon, but I have to do that later in the day. Why don't we just talk about them for now?"

  "Fair enough," Luke said. "I've made wines from our first two harvests using only a portion of our grape crop. The rest I sold to other wineries because it was too much for me to deal with." Luke shrugged his shoulders. "I did as much as I could and we didn't want to have grapes rotting in the bins."

  "You did what every new winery does," Juliet said. "From now on, we'll be using all of your grapes, I promise you that. Within the next four or five years you're going to have an extensive inventory of wines for sale."

  "We want our winery to be one of the best. And we don't want to be making inferior wines. When you taste the ones I've made so far I want you to be brutally honest."

  "I'll tell you what I really think," Juliet said. "Lucia told me what you both want and I want to assure you that your hopes and dreams are in good hands with me."

  Luke's face lit up. "We're going to do all right, you and me."

  "I know that, Luke. Now, why don't you show me your most popular wines, the ones that sell the most and after you do that I want to know which ones are your favorites and which ones are Lucia's favorites. When we finish with that, I'd like you to take me to the cellars and show me what you've got aging and what's being stored. That way I can take over as soon as possible."

  "That's going to take some time."

  "We'll keep at it until we get it all done," Juliet said. "Oh, and I want you to let me know if any wines are ready to be bottled so I can get that done as soon as I can. I'm sure you'll need more wines for the summer and fall tourist rush."

  "The more the better," Luke said. "You're a take charge person. I like that." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a keychain and a set of keys. The keychain was a miniature pewter corkscrew with the winery's logo on it. "These keys are for you." As he separated each one, he explained what it was for.

  "Thanks." Juliet took the keys from him and put them in her pocket. "Lucia said you would like me to be involved in the vineyards."

  "That's true," Luke said. "I want your input every step of the way."

  "Then you'll have it. Whenever you can, take me out and show me what grapes you have growing so we ca
n talk about the wines we're going to make from them."

  Luke nodded. "We ought to get down to business, then. It'll take us weeks to cover everything."

  "We'll get through it in no time. I catch on quickly."

  "Let's start with the wines." Luke picked up a tasting list and went on to tell Juliet the story behind the making of each wine. Once he had covered the entire list, he took her into the sales room and showed her the wines on the display racks. They talked without interruption until lunch time.

  Around one o'clock, Luke announced that he was hungry. When Juliet told him that she hadn't brought any lunch, he said, "We like to eat around here and I won't have you going hungry. I've got cheese and crackers in the back room and some fresh fruit I cut up this morning. Would you like to try one of our wines with lunch?"

  "I would. Could we sit outside while we eat?" Around the lakes, winters were long, stinging-cold and bitter. The spring, when it reluctantly showed up, was full of damp and chilly days. That meant when warm weather finally burst on the scene everyone wanted to be outdoors to soak up each precious ray of sunshine.

  "We'll do that. Wait here." Luke returned in a few minutes with the food. He poured two full glasses of chilled white wine and handed them to Juliet. "This is that chardonnay I told you about. You carry these and follow me. We'll sit out on the deck."

  Once they were situated, Juliet took a sip of the wine. "This is good, very good. I can see I'll have to make some very superior wines to live up to your standards." The look on Luke's face clearly implied that her compliment had meant a lot to him.

  The warm day was tempered by a cool breeze. Juliet tucked a renegade band of hairs behind her ear to keep it from tickling her face. The sky, resplendent with massive cloud formations, had taken center stage in another show of splendor produced and directed by Mother Nature. The color of the lake matched the color of the sky as though the sky had tipped over and spilled its bright blue tint into the water.

  "Look how the surface of the water sparkles," Juliet said between a slice of apple and a wedge of cheddar. "It always makes me imagine that tiny silver rafts are floating on the surface. Or maybe sequins."