“Please, excuse the interruption,” she calmly told the visitors. “But the man with the butterfingers is actually Leroy Sorrentino, the owner of Sorrentino’s. It was his family, his ancestors, who created this lovely winery. In fact, he can tell you much more about the agricultural side of the vineyard. And so, I will turn you over to him while I clean up that little mess. I’m sure he’ll be glad to field your questions.” She looked hopefully at him.
“Yes, of course.” He tried to keep the anger and indignation out of his voice, but he suspected it was futile. What on earth was she doing here?Why?
Brynna’s smile looked artificial as she set a package of clear plastic cups on the countertop. “We might need these today.” Then she moved to the other end of the counter and disappeared on the opposite side of the crowd.
The barn remained strangely quiet for a long moment, and Leroy had no choice but to take Brynna’s place behind the counter. He attempted a smile, trying to focus his attention on the guests, but his head was spinning.
“Welcome to Sorrentino’s,” he said nervously. “I didn’t expect to play host here today, but I’m happy to take any of your questions.”
“I’m curious if last year’s wildfires affected your vineyard,” a bald man called out.
As Leroy described the fire damage and recent restoration effort, Brynna stooped nearby, cleaning up his mess and setting the few unbroken glasses on a back shelf. But before he finished his explanation, she was finished. He watched Brynna quietly exiting the barn with the basket of broken shards while a portly woman asked if they ever made champagne.
“No, we don’t make champagne,” he told the woman in a flat voice. “That’s a little too festive for us.”
As Brynna dumped the broken glass into the trash barrel outside the barn, her hands shook uncontrollably. She knew it was from shock. Not from seeing Leroy, as much as it was from witnessing his reaction to seeing her. He was not a bit pleased. In fact, he seemed seriously angered. Not that she blamed him. No one liked being tricked. And that was probably how it seemed to him.
She hurried over to the house with the empty basket, but not wanting to go inside and face Judith or the others, she set it on the porch and started to leave. Her plan was to get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible. But as she headed toward the guesthouse, she realized how she’d abandoned Leroy to the big crowd and that he wasn’t used to hosting. Plus, he still needed to serve them wine and she knew that it was wrong to leave him like that.
As hard as it was to return to the barn, it was the right thing to do. So, composing herself, she held her head high and went back inside. Leroy was still taking questions, but she could tell the group was growing impatient. They’d paid to come here to sample wines, and it was up to her to handle it.
“I can take it from here,” she told Leroy as she started to uncork a bottle of Chablis. “Unless you’d like to.” She began to fill the plastic glasses, thinking it would be better to finish with the real glasses for the red wines.
“No thanks,” he said stiffly. “I’ll let you handle it.” He stepped away.
“Sorrentino’s is known for its variety of wines,” she said as she continued to pour. “Unlike some vineyards that only produce one type, because this is an old family-owned vineyard, it has preserved many of the old ways.” She continued to speak calmly and clearly, keeping her eyes on what she was doing, as well as the guests she was serving. She tried to imagine she was teaching a class of third graders. Somehow, all the while, as she worked from today’s offerings of Chablis to chardonnay to pinot noir to merlot, she managed not to look up to see if Leroy was still there.
It wasn’t until the tasting was over and the guests were being shuffled back toward the bus that she noticed Leroy sitting in a shadowy corner, just watching her. Not knowing what to do or what to say, she began to clean up. She put away the leftover wines, threw away plastic cups and napkins, filled a basket with used glasses, and wiped down the counter and tabletops.
Finally, she looked up from her work to see that Leroy was gone. Part of her felt relieved, but another part stung with the hurt of it. He had simply walked away without a single word. All that could mean was that he was very disturbed by her presence. He was angry. Who could blame him?
She stepped outside of the barn, and after glancing around to see that no one was nearby to see the tears now filling her eyes, she rushed to the guesthouse. Feeling ashamed and guilty and foolish, she started packing her things in a frenzy. It had been wrong to come here, wrong to take the office job, wrong to befriend Sophie. Wrong, wrong, wrong! And it was no surprise that Leroy was angered by it. She was a complete idiot to have done such a stupid thing and she deserved his wrath.
After her bag was packed, she straightened the guesthouse. Fortunately, it was already fairly clean, but she removed the sheets from the bed, gathered the towels from the bathroom, and gave everything a thorough wipe down. Then she removed all of the hand-me-down clothes from the closet and dresser, folded them, and left them on the bed. She didn’t want anyone to think she’d taken anything with her that wasn’t hers.
She neatly piled the used linens by the front door. As she stood, she reread the needlework Bible verse about filling the house with good things. But it was the same three words that grabbed on to her again.Wisdom, understanding, knowledge.More than ever, she longed for those elusive qualities—because she felt foolish, confused, and just plain stupid. She decided to ask God for help. She bowed her head and asked him to guide her.
After her prayer, she felt calmer. She didn’t have all the answers,but she suddenly felt the urge to write a note to Sophie. She knew the girl would be hurt by her hasty departure, so she sat down to write. After that was done, she felt the need to write an explanation to Leroy as well. He deserved as much. She wanted it to be short like the note she’d written to Sophie, but once she started to write, it was as if she couldn’t stop.
Dear Leroy,
I don’t know where to begin or how to explain to you why I am here. I have asked myself that very question dozens of times during the past week. It’s a very long story that started thirty years ago. But if you ever have the time, and if you truly want to hear it, I will be glad to tell you.
But for now, I just want to tell you I’m sorry. Very, very sorry. I’m sorry for so many things. Right now I’m mostly sorry for the way I’ve snuck into your world. Your beautiful world. How that happened is another part of the very long story. I’m sorry that you felt so blindsided by me being here. I was afraid that might happen, but it was like being on a train headed for disaster with no way to stop it. I just held on for the ride. And although some of the ride was scary, much of it was pure beauty. Almost too beautiful for words. Your beautiful daughters, your delightful grandchildren, your lovely vineyard and home. Your whole life, Leroy. It’s amazing and wonderful. You are a very blessed man.
I even feel I’ve gotten to know Marcie by spending time in this sweet cottage. I know she was a special woman, and I can tell that Sophie is very much like her mother. Of everything I’ll miss about this place, I think I will miss Sophie the most. And her sweet family. I hope I haven’t hurt her too badly. But somehow, I know she will forgive me.
I also know that as much as I love your wonderful world, I do not belong here. I was an uninvited intruder who deceived you and your family—and I am so very sorry. I didn’t mean todeceive. That was never my goal. But somehow it happened. I know that doesn’t excuse it.
I realize you’re very angry at me. You have every right to be. But I hope that, for your sake, you will forgive me. I hate to think of you going around in your beautiful world with unforgiveness in your heart. You don’t deserve that. So, please, try to forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. It will probably take me a while to forgive myself, but I will work on it.
Finally, I thank you for your hospitality. You might laugh that I have the nerve to call it that, but your wonderful world welcomed me like no place I have ever been. Your adorable guest cottage was a haven like none I have known. And your sweet Sophie ... well, I’ll never forget her. Like I already said, you’re a blessed man, Leroy. But I’m sure you know that. That’s what makes me believe you will forgive me in time.
Sincere apologies,
Brynna (aka Bree) Philips
She set the two letters on the little table, anchoring them with a mason jar of lavender and poppies that she’d set out just yesterday. Next, she picked up her phone. She was tempted to call Jan and beg her to come and get her, but she knew that wasn’t fair. Sure, Mike and Jan had pushed her to take on this fool’s mission and promised to fetch her if it fell apart, but it wasn’t their fault. She’d stayed on because she’d wanted to. Besides, even if Jan or Mike were willing to come, Yosemite was too far away, and it would take too long. She needed to depart tonight. She called a taxi service.
