Page 70 of Somewhere Only We Know

‘You did great today, fellas.’ Jono folded his arms, rocking back on his heels. ‘We’re picking Shiraz tomorrow, and Maggie’s staying here for a while and will be helping us too.’

‘Hey.’ I gave them a little wave. ‘Looking forward to it.’

‘Hey, Maggie!’ A girl in her early twenties in T-shirt, shorts and trainers waved back. ‘Remind him that he promised us an amazing breakfast tomorrow, will you?’

‘Um.’ I looked at Jono for confirmation.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned. ‘Sure. I hadn’t forgotten.’

‘An army doesn’t pick grapes on an empty stomach, Jono,’ said one of the boys.

‘I hear you.’ He high-fived them as they piled into the minibus, and we waved them off. ‘I’m going to make some tea. Want one, or do you want to unpack?’

I had a message to respond to from Kat, who wanted a full update on the Blue Mountains and what I was up to next; and Anna had emailed with a couple of questions. But I decided that spending more time with my new host ought to be top of my list. ‘Tea sounds great.’

He showed me round the back of the winery to a modest colonial style house, with a wraparound porch, and steps covered with herbs and plants in terracotta pots. There was a dog lying in front of the door, his tail thumping faster and faster the nearer we got.

‘Hey, buddy,’ Jono called out to him ‘This is Max. Max, say hi to Maggie.’

Max got up, stretched luxuriously and wagged his way towards me. I bent to make a fuss of him and while Max and I became acquainted, Jono led me inside, apologising for the state of the place.

‘The harvest is our busiest time. We barely get a chance to eat and sleep, so cleaning up takes a back seat.’

The kitchen was large and rustic and one of the most chaotic spaces I’d ever been in. It looked like someone had emptied out the cupboards and left everything on the surfaces. The sink was piled high with pans to be washed. However, the view through the window above it of the rows of green vines, stretching away as far as the eye could see, more than made up for the mess.

Half of the room was taken up with a long table and chairs, each with different coloured cushions on them. A huge floor-to-ceiling wine rack dominated one wall. Next to it was a double American-style refrigerator.

Max the dog settled himself on the tiled floor and I took a seat at the table. ‘No need to apologise. It’s lived-in, that’s all, and I imagine it’s a lovely room to spend time in.’

He laughed and took off his hat. ‘Thanks, it has its moments. As you can see, I’ve been having a sort-out. I thought we had a bread maker somewhere, but I can’t find it.’ He held up the kettle. ‘Mint, camomile or black?’

I opted for black and quizzed him about the conversation I’d overheard regarding breakfast for the pickers.

Jono gave a wry smile. ‘We’ve always offered lunch, but now our website states that we offer breakfast on picking days too. Another bright idea from Andrea. The kids who pick stay at nearby hostels. There are kitchens, but most of the kids would rather stay in bed a bit longer than eat. Feeding them breakfast here means at least we know they’re not out in the sun working on an empty stomach.’

‘Andrea is your ex-wife?’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded grimly. ‘This morning, the fan belt on the tractor needed fixing, I lost track of time, so unfortunately breakfast was bananas and a big bag of chocolate freckles. They’ll never let me forget it.’

‘What time is breakfast?’ I smiled my thanks as he set a mug on the table for me.

‘Why, do you like the sound of the menu?’ he asked, sitting opposite me. ‘Seven-thirty usually. We start picking at eight.’

‘Never heard of chocolate freckles, but as I haven’t met a chocolate I didn’t like, they sound delicious. But I was thinking that maybe you put me in charge of breakfast, that way you can concentrate on the vineyard?’

‘Maggie.’ He chinked his mug against mine. ‘You got yourself a job.’

We both looked up at the sound of a vehicle pulling up and a door slamming. Max trotted off to greet whoever had arrived, his tail already thumping.

A teenage boy popped his head into the kitchen. ‘Hey Jono, is Daisy ready?’

‘Hi, Tom!’ Jono seemed surprised to see him. ‘Er, sure, I’ll give her a shout.’

He’d only taken a few paces towards the hall when footsteps came running down the stairs.

‘Hi, Dad, bye Dad.’ Jono’s daughter flew into the kitchen, kissed his cheek and paused when she saw me. ‘Oh, hey. Maggie, right?’

I nodded. ‘Lovely to meet you, Daisy. I’m cooking breakfast tomorrow. Will you be around to show me where everything is, if Jono’s busy?’