Page 45 of WASP

Jack led her back into the tasting room and Max instantly spotted Annie standing to the side of her parents and Drew. “I’ll find them a table, you know, warm them up. Senior loves me,” Jack said smugly, straightening the plaid collar peeking out from beneath his navy blue sweater.

Max busied herself preparing water glasses behind the bar, gathering them up, making her way to the table where Jack had seated Annie and her family. She inhaled deeply as she approached the table, ready to impress.

“And speaking of the finest Norwich has to offer.” Jack beamed at her and Max found herself quietly touched by the way he was trying to proactively smooth over this interaction for her. But she didn’t need any help. These were just Annie’s parents, and there was no reason to be nervous. She hoped.

Jack clapped her on the shoulder, waving goodbye to make his way around to other tables, and Max noticed the way Drew’s eyes lingered, following his movements around the room.

“Hi, welcome in,” she started, ready to deliver her spiel to returning customers already familiar with their wines. “Whenever you’re⁠—”

Annie’s mother cut her off, a menu clutched in her hands. “Oh, we’ve been here plenty of times. We’re good friends of Dave and Kit Norwich—the owners,” she stated, looking directly at Max.

“Dave and Kit are great,” she said sweetly. “What can I get for everyone?” She shot a glance at Annie, who looked like she wanted to disappear, then to Drew, whose eyes were still lingering on Jack, to Annie’s dad, who grinned at her, blissfully unaware of the table dynamic in front of him.

“A glass of the pinot noir for me, please,” Annie’s dad said, handing her his menu.

“Merlot,” Drew added softly.

Max shifted her gaze to Annie, ready to take her wine order, but Colleen jumped in.

“And we’ll each have a glass of the sparkling rosé.”

Max stilled. Annie didn’t like rosé. In fact, Annie hated rosé—she had told her that back in December, and Max made a mental note to remember that fact.

“So two glasses of the sparkling rosé?” Max asked, allowing Annie to say what she really wanted, but she didn’t. She flashed Max a small smile she couldn’t quite decode as Colleen answered for her.

“Two glasses. Thank you.” She smiled politely as she handed the menus back to Max, who accepted them before moving back towards the bar.

“How’d it go?” Jack whispered in her ear.

“Fine. They are normal people, Jack,” she said in an even tone, focused as her fingers tapped the screen. “And besides, I met them at the Christmas party so this isn’t my first time interacting with them.”

“Yeah, but it’s your first time getting to really experience the Dillinger effect. C’mon, you had to have noticed.”

Max glared at him as she reached for the bottle of pinot noir and a glass. Yes, she had definitely felt the Dillinger effect—or whatever it was that caused both Drew and Annie to become such diluted versions of themselves. “I may have noticed that, yeah.” Her voice was cautious as she reached for the merlot next. “What’s that about?” she pressed, curious about Jack’s perspective considering he had known the Dillingers for forever at this point.

“We do not have nearly enough time to get into all of that right now.” Jack grinned as he pushed himself off the counter, leaving her as she poured the sparkling rosé.

“Okay, here we go,” Max said easily moments later, placing the glasses of rosé in front of Colleen, then Annie, handing over the remaining two glasses of red to Drew and Senior. “If there’s nothing else I can get you, I’ll check back in on you in a little bit.” She smiled politely, making the briefest eye contact with Annie, who was attempting to hide behind a long sip of her drink.

For the next twenty minutes, Max observed from afar, keeping an eye on Annie and her parents, not too close to the point of hovering, but close enough that when their glasses had emptied, she was there to see if they wanted an additional round.

“Only one for us, thank you.” Colleen squinted at the name tag pinned to her shirt, meeting her gaze once more. “Max,” she said, saying her name with twisted lips as if it were sour on her tongue. “Is that short for…”

Max stared at Colleen for a moment, the shock of the subtle rudeness of her still not knowing Max’s name stinging more than she thought it might. “Maxine, but I go by Max.”

“Maxine, that’s a very pretty name. Is it French?”

“I’m not sure. As I said, I go by Max.” Her smile was still politely in place, but her patience with Annie’s mom was waning.

“Mom, what’s with the questions?” Annie asked, shooting Max an apologetic look.

“I was just curious. We’re making small talk. I’m getting to know Max better since you two seem to be spending so much time together these days.”

Max froze; Annie’s cheeks went red as a flush spread up her neck. “Mom, stop,” Annie hissed, looking like she wanted to die.

“Oh,” Senior chimed in excitedly, “you’re Max!”

“I believe that has been established, yes.” She grinned, catching the mischievous twinkle behind Annie’s dad’s gaze. “I’m going to go grab that check⁠—”