Page 116 of While You Were Trending

“Yes.”

“You ever go viral?”

“More or less.”

I glance at her, but she doesn’t fill in the blanks.

“You invite everyone who goes viral?”

“Absolutely not.”

She doesn’t voluntarily elaborate, so we walk the rest of the way to the fermentation building in silence.

More sorting’s happening today, then in a couple days, when we’re done sorting, we’ll do the crush.

Ginny’s not here, but Pip is, dressed in a neon green miniskirt, white rubber rain boots dotted with lips, matching lips taped over her nipples, and nothing else.

Shade is activelynotfilming. “We got enough of this last time,” he tells me. “Eddie approved most of the rough cut I sent her over the weekend, so I’m just gonna grab the B-roll she asked for with sorting.”

“Dori’s monitoring the fermentation tanks for the grapes we already crushed,” Mabel tells us. “If you’re not too tired, you might pop over there and help her and record it now.”

“I can go all day and all night,” Shade says.

They both look at me.

So do Olivia and Samantha.

“Let’s do this,” I say.

And that’s how it goes for the next four days.

Everything’s hectic and busy as the grapes are sorted and the crush is completed and the fermentation progress is checked regularly.

There’s work in the fields to repair broken stakes and prep the vines for winter.

Plans tossed about for different names for the wines.

I don’t see Ginny.

In person. I see her in my dreams and in my thoughts and in the fantasies when I let myself indulge, but I don’t see her in person.

I don’t see the new resident.

I don’t go to the house.

Flow doesn’t either.

It’s good.

Ginny deserves her peace.

I’m doing the right thing.

Even if it sucks.

22

BRAVE MAGNOLIAS