As the sun went down and the sky turned an inky blue, the fairy lights came on and lanterns full of flickering candles filled the vineyard with a soft glow. The crowd sang and danced and ate and drank, giving the Vendemmia the welcome it deserved, and once I’d finished the never-ending queue of children, I found myself glamming up the adults, with festival-style smatterings of glitter. I took a moment to look around and absorb the party atmosphere, smiling at everyone having so much fun. It was a joy to see so many people pulling together to celebrate the harvest like this and I felt privileged to be included and to play a small part. To be involved with a community again. I could see why Holly and Xavier had found their home in these people.
I looked up at Paolo snoozing in his chair while Holly worked behind the bar, pouring wine and Xavier stacked empty food trays and packed them into boxes. Dinner time was officially over.
‘Are you guys OK?’ I called, as Holly handed over three white wines in exchange for a twenty euro note.
‘I wouldn’t say no to an extra pair of hands once you’re finished,’ she called over her shoulder.
Surely there wasn’t room for four of us behind there. I stood up to look but it was just Mia serving down the other end of the stall. ‘Where’s Tony?’ I asked.
‘He’s gone to get another couple of barrels from the cellar,’ Holly said, already onto the next customer. ‘We’ve nearly run out.’
I packed up my paints and powders and started stacking them into my bag.
‘Is too late for the sparkle?’ Viola asked, as I finished zipping everything up.
‘Never!’ I said, getting the glitter pots back out with a smile. ‘What colour would you like? Red? Gold?’
She settled on a green and silver combination, and I applied it to her soft, yogic cheeks.
‘Is beautiful,’ she said, admiring herself in the mirror. She offered me five euros, but I shook my head. ‘No charge for friends and family.’ I chucked the glitter glue back in my bag and went to help Holly on the bar.
‘Ah, thank God!’ she said, clearly at her wits end. ‘Can you go down the end with Mia?’
I nodded and gave her a quick hug as I squeezed past. ‘Is Tony still not back?’
‘No,’ Holly said, with a frown. ‘Actually, would you mind checking he’s not trapped under a barrel of wine somewhere? He’s been gone for ages.’
‘Sure thing,’ I said, reversing back out again. I danced my way through the crowd to the farmhouse and down to the cellar. The light was on and Tony was in there; I could hear him on the phone.
‘I’ve got a couple of things to wrap up here, so if it can wait a few days, that would be better.’
I wasn’t sure whether to backtrack or carry on down if he was busy. I decided on the latter, noisily clanking forward to make myself known. I didn’t want him to think I’d been lurking in the shadows. I gave him an awkward wave.
‘Gotta go man, call me back if you need to,’ Tony said, hanging up.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt… Holly sent me down to check you were alright.’
‘All good. Work are starting to miss me – you know how it is. A timely reminder that I can’t stay here forever, I suppose.’
‘Don’t say that,’ I said, the thought of him leaving sending my insides into a spin.
‘Not ready to let me go just yet then?’ he said, with a smile, hoisting a barrel of wine onto his shoulder.
‘Can I take something?’ I asked, looking around. ‘Something… small.’
‘Yes, grab that case of wine,’ he nodded over at the corner and we both staggered up the stairs and back to Mia and Holly.
‘At last!’ Holly said. ‘I was about to call missing persons.’
‘Fear not, the wine is here,’ I replied, putting down the case I was carrying, which was tiny in comparison to Tony’s barrel. ‘I presume that’s what you were worried about, and not us?’
‘Two white wines please, love!’ a man called, waving twenty euros at me.
‘And four for me,’ another lady said, as a queue formed behind her. The party was packed. Mia positioned Paolo next to the wine barrels to act as chief pourer, while the rest of us took the orders and the money. We were a good little team once we got into the swing of things.
‘Working again when you’re supposed to be on vacation,’ Tony said, as we served side by side.
‘I know! It’s all going on my CV when I get home. Good job I’m getting mate’s rates.’
