“Of course.” She gestured to a small table at my elbow. A business-card holder held many different winery cards, but I quickly found Lit Wines and grabbed it.
“I have a bottle of the Shirley, if you’d like to charge it to your room?”
Should I? No. Would I?
“Yes, yes, I would,” I said.
She disappeared into a small closet—a magical closet it would seem—and returned with a bottle of the wine in question.
“You,” I said, aware that I was half-tipsy and overly tired, “are my new favorite person.”
She grinned, used to tipsy guests, no doubt.
I had every intention of pouring one last glass of wine and making a video about my day when I reached my room, but instead, I brushed my teeth and fell into a deep, blissful sleep.
Chapter 33
The next day we had a delightful breakfast and then launched into a Vine Friends presentation in a cozy conference room. There were nine of us, counting Donna. Once again, I took the seat at the very end of the table, feeling very much like the one person no one wanted to sit next to.
I’d been sure to shower extra well that morning, so that couldn’t be it.
After tasting nine wines, Donna had sandwiches and chips brought in. If I were going to remember anything about what I’d sampled, I was definitely going to need lunch. All those little smatterings of wine had begun to add up.
Apparently, I was supposed to use the spit bucket in front of me, but that seemed like a waste of perfectly good wine. As a result, I was feeling pretty good about Vine Friends at the moment. No doubt that was their strategy.
Since I’d been hoping to go out to the wineries rather than stay cooped up in the hotel, I gathered up my lunch and walked outside for a little sunshine. No problem with me eating out there, because those other women weren’t going to speak with me anyway.
I texted Suja to see if Lucky had come home yet. Hope surged through me at the sight of those three gray dots that said she was answering me. Then her words came back:Not yet.She did say Barney was doing better. I texted Abi to tell her that I had heard and was glad.
She replied with a simpleThanks.
I texted Rachel to tell her I was in wine country and that I could now see why she loved the place so much.
She didn’t answer.
I tried not to read too much into it, but she’d been so mad about that second video. I kept hoping she would think about what I’d said about posting it before her request.
Or maybe she’s just really busy.
Maybe.
I thought about texting my mom to tell her that I was being very independent right now, thank you very much, but just the idea made me sick to my stomach. She was right about how I’d made her the butt of several very public jokesandtaken her for granted.
What was I supposed to say to any of that?
Just the thought of Mom leaving and my poor Lucky out who knows where made my throat close up. Tears threatened.
Put all of it in your mental chest of drawers, Vivian.
But I couldn’t seem to put everything away so easily anymore. I swiped at my eyes and took several breaths in an effort to regain my composure.
No longer hungry or able to swallow for fear of tears, I wrapped up the other half of my sandwich. I still couldn’t make myself get up from the bench where I sat outside soaking up the sun.
Come on, Vivian, you need to at least finish your commitment here.
Finally, I stood and headed back into the hotel, pausing in the hallway outside the conference room when I heard my name.
“I don’t know why that Vivian person is even here,” said someone. I think it was Moe.
