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“Lu,” I say, lifting her hand to my mouth. “It’s all good, beautiful, I promise.”
“I can run him through things,” Oscar pipes up, taking a step toward us. “Show him the ropes and all.”
“Oscar,” Lu says at the same time as I laugh. “I’m sure you can, little dude. Come on, let’s do this,” I say, gesturing toward the shed doors.
Lu follows us out and walks us up to the main office, handing me some brochures to give out to the group as well as some vouchers for wine tasting and a discount in the restaurant. I have a vague recollection of tagging along on these tours as a kid, back when I spent the summer here, and I’m sure I’ll be able to wing this one with no problems.
After Lu leaves, we wander over to meet the group, Oscar apparently deciding he’s taking his wingman duties seriously as he runs through the introductions and explains how this whole thing’s going to work. I don’t miss the smiles a few of the guests have, the stifled laughs as the seven-year-old tour guide asks everyone to fall in and follow him down to the sheds.
“How about you let me handle it from here?” I ask, hand on his shoulder as we walk into the shed housing the broken crusher.
“You sure you got this?” he asks, deadly serious.
I wink at him. “Yep,” I say. “But I’m happy to get your feedback on my performance when it’s over. Deal?”
Oscar thinks for a few seconds before offering me his fist to bump. “Deal.”
The tour goes well, the guests all seemingly loving the easy banter that Oscar and I share as I take them through the intricacies of wine making and the difference in grape varieties, including the whole Shiraz/Syrah story and why Aussies call it one thing and Americans call it another.
Oscar chimes in from time to time with a few random facts about oak casks and cellaring length, explaining to the guests how these affect the taste. It’s funny to watch, particularly considering the kid isn’t even old enough to drink wine. But I have to hand it to him, he knows his stuff, even the guests can see that.
After we’re done, I take them all up to the tasting room and introduce them to Penny, who takes over. Oscar lingers, I’m sure hoping for a tip or two and so I wander back to the shed to finish what I was doing this morning.
By the time I’m done, it’s late, so I fire off a quick text to see where Lu’s at.
Lu: just finishing up…meet you back at my place?
I grin, as I type out a response. I don’t think I’ve spent a single night at the house she gave to me since this thing between us started. And I really kinda like that.
Me: sounds good. C u soon x
When I get back to Lu’s, I switch on my laptop and on a whim, log into skype. Almost immediately, I get a ping from my parents and I take a seat at the kitchen island as I wait for the call to connect.
“Hey!” my mum says as soon as it connects.
“Hey,” I reply. “Where are you guys?”
My dad moves into the shot, waving at me as he takes a seat and says, “Bordeaux.”
“Nice,” I say, nodding in approval.
“Your father’s drunk,” Mum replies, patting him on the knee.
I chuckle. “No surprise there. What time is it?”
“Nearly three.”
“In the morning?” I ask, shocked. I glance at the time on my laptop, mentally trying to work out the difference even though I suck at these conversions.
“Yep,” Dad replies.
“What the hell are you doing on Skype then?” I ask, leaning in to get a better look at them. Mum’s right, Dad does look a little drunk.
Mum shrugs. “It was your father’s idea,” she says as though this explains everything. “You know how he is.”
I laugh, even as I’m nodding my head. “It’s lucky you caught me,” I say. “I just randomly thought I’d log on.”
“Well, there was another reason,” Mum adds as Dad sits silently beside her, his eyes half closing.
