I can still hear my mother’s voice sometimes, explaining the flavor notes of our wine to customers as they swirled their glasses. I can still see Laney and me chasing each other around the tables, hiding behind the large wine barrels topped with thick wooden slabs.
And I can still see the night I walked in with Sarah on my arm and told my dad we were engaged.
It’s that memory that chooses to haunt me at this moment.
A slap on my back pulls me from my thoughts almost immediately. “You look like shit,” Fletcher says as he hangs his arm around my neck and walks with me over to the bar that spans the entire length of the main wall in the room.
“Nice to see you too, Fletch,” I grumble as I take a seat at the bar and Fletcher follows my lead.
My sister comes up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek before turning to me. “You okay, Rhonan?”
“Just exhausted,” I breathe out. “The past two shifts have been insane, so let’s just say I’m thankful for a few days off.”
Laney lifts her eyebrows. “Well, if you want some help getting rid of those bags under your eyes, I have this new eye cream you should definitely try.”
“Speaking of which, please don’t talk about that shit in front of Ellis, all right? I don’t need my daughter getting a complex about her face at five.”
Laney eyes me curiously. “She brought that up?”
“Yeah, for the same reason you just did. Apparently, my eye bags are noticeable even to my daughter.”
“Well, she must have overheard me talking about it to Dilynne because I certainly wouldn’t have said anything like that directly to her.” She sounds offended. “But I’m telling you, this stuff is amazing. I’m selling out of it at the salon, and I can’t wait to see our wedding photos because I know for certain these bags will be virtually non-existent,” she says, pointing to her face. “Can’t you already see a difference?”
“No, Laney. I don’t study your eye bags.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Dilynne agrees with me.”
“What do I agree with?” Dilynne asks as she comes up to us, glass of wine already in hand.
“I was telling Rhonan about the eye cream we’ve been using…”
Her eyes light up. “Oh shit. Yes, Rhonan…” She pauses, tilting her head side to side as she assesses my face. “You could definitely use some of this stuff.”
I turn my attention to Fletcher. “Please talk to me about anything besides eye cream.”
“We could talk about the wedding,” he says. “Since that is the reason why we’re all here.”
Dilynne raises her glass to her lips. “Yes, please. I have some thoughts.”
Laney inhales deeply. “Why am I not surprised?”
When my sister scheduled this meeting with me, Dilynne—her best friend and maid of honor—and Fletcher, I anticipated being given a list of responsibilities for the big day.
I did not count on being ridiculed for the bags under my eyes.
But then Henley, Elodie, and Elliot all walk through the entrance to the tasting room and suddenly, I realize the entire wedding party is here.
“Sorry we’re a bit late. It was hard leaving Remy with Carol and Nick,” Elodie says, hugging Dilynne and then Laney before reaching back for Henley’s hand.
“Aw, how is my little niece doing?” Dilynne asks.
Elodie smiles just like she does anytime anyone brings up Henley’s daughter, who is quickly becoming her own at this point. “She’s great. Crawling and picking herself up, and so close to walking. But she’s also in this clingy stage right now and screams if she notices you leave the room. Henley and I had to sneak out of the house.”
I nod, smiling at the memories of my own daughter at that age. “I remember when Ellis did that. Joanne and I had a system down pat.”
Henley squeezes my shoulder. “It sucks, but we’re here.”
I remember the night Henley walked into this same room with a baby carrier and a diaper bag, revealing to all of us that he had a child he had known nothing about. I also remember going home with him that night and walking him through his first night with his daughter.
