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She moves it so it’s in front of both of us as Ellen sits across from us with a smug grin on her face, far too pleased with what she’s accomplished.
“Oh my god,” Lauren says quietly and then repeats it again louder this time, jumping out of her chair. “Did you tell Jack? How did you...” she trails off, sitting down again and re-reading the email that’s in front of us.
“I reached out to all our local contacts. The usual ones we rely on for publicity and reviews and whatever, but then I thought, what’s the harm in emailing a few bigger names. I figured I’d never hear back, but then yesterday I got an email.” She shrugs, but I can tell she’s so fucking proud of herself.
“So, who is this guy?” I ask, not fully familiar with all the bloggers and reviewers like Lauren and Ellen are.
“He’s one of the biggest names in the cider reviewing community and somehow, who the hell knows how, but Ellen was able to get him to commit to coming out here for our opening. He has a massive following on Instagram and pretty much everything he touches turns to gold.”
“Not that we need it,” Ellen inserts, smirking at us. “The winery is a name on its own and would probably draw a crowd based on that, but I know Jack would like to make a name for himself, too.”
While Jack has always been a wine maker this is a new venture for him. His name doesn’t hold the weight like it did in Australia. He’s virtually unknown here and breaking into the cider making business has been a dream of his for a while. The cider tastes great and he’s done a damn good job of combining the look of the Somerville property with Apple Jacks.
Somerville’s has always had more of a feminine vibe to it and Apple Jacks is now its masculine counterpart. Somerville’s has been owned and run by women for decades and Lauren and Ellen are continuing that tradition. Someday, Olivia, Ellen’s daughter will take over and if Jack and Lauren decide to have kids, maybe one day their daughter will join the ranks.
I love the idea of the family business and the way everyone here works together to be successful. Not one job is more important than the next and they’ve never put themselves in a different category as their employees. They aren’t just the owners, they’re employees too. It’s why I love working here and why I’ll always be grateful to them for taking a chance on me. They deserve this exposure more than anyone.
“I’m so happy for you guys,” I tell them, smiling and wondering why Lauren hasn’t run off to share the news with Jack yet. “So, this guy will be here for the soft opening and then what?”
“Well, he usually posts pictures and his review on his social media pages and does a full write up on his blog. And I guess if he loves it all, then we hope it translates to visitors and customers and sales.” Lauren shrugs her shoulders, seeming a little more worried than she was just a few minutes ago.
“That’s exactly what will happen,” Ellen reaffirms with far more confidence than Lauren. “He will love it. It’s absolute perfection. The cider is delicious and the place looks so damn good, there’s no way he won’t.” She’s now looking at her sister, who looks like she might cry. I watch Lauren swallow hard and shake her head, the tears now welling in her eyes.
“We’ve kept this vineyard and winery running for the last ten years or whatever, but it’s always had its own name. We didn’t create this. It isn’t ours, but this is. Jack and I built this with all of your help. It isn’t our parents or our grandparents, it’s ours.”
“I don’t think you need to be thanking me. I just sent a few emails,” Ellen responds, humbly.
“You kept us on budget. You ran the books and the money end of all of this. Everyone here had a hand in making this work,” Lauren insists, turning to me now and smiling, gratefully. “I want you to help run the opening. I want you there helping with serving and talking with people. You’re the best we’ve ever had, Penny.”
“Geez, Lu, you’re going to make all of us cry,” I tell her, choking back the tears. “Of course, I’ll be there. Whatever you need.”
“Now why don’t you go find Jack and tell him,” Ellen says, shooing her along. Lauren jumps up from her chair, practically running out of the barn, but she turns around and scampers back to us.
“Penny, I want you to start the promotion in the tasting room. Start running the samples and the entries today. All the materials are in my office if I don’t see you later. Just grab them off my desk.”
She’s talking so fast and her excitement is contagious. The smile on her face is so wide it has her eyes wrinkling up at the corners. She’s walking away again but falls short of leaving once more.
“Oh, and thank you. Thank you to both of you. This opening is going to be amazing!” Lauren yells out the last part, her words echoing in the vast emptiness of the barn making Ellen and I laugh.
“She can be a bit intense,” Ellen teases, after Lauren leaves. “But I get it. She’s put so much into everything here. I feel like this will be her chance to get noticed without feeling like she’s been riding someone else’s coattails. She and Jack deserve this.”
“They really do. I’ve never worked for people who not only love their work but also value their employees as much as you guys do,” I say, commending both of them for all their efforts.
“It’s not hard when you have really amazing employees.” Ellen shrugs, looking down at her watch. “Speaking of employees, I gotta head back up to the office and finish up payroll if these employees expect to be paid for all their hard work.”
Ellen and I pack everything up, bringing it with us to the office where I basically exchange it for the materials I’ll need to start the cider tastings. I get everything set up in the tasting room, but realize I still have time before we open.
I step back and take a few pictures of the wine tasting room all decked out with the promotional materials for Apple Jacks and text it to Lauren. I figure she can use it on social media along with the other pictures I’ve taken. Maybe it’ll draw people to the winery and then subsequently bring people to Apple Jacks. Everyone loves a giveaway.
Seconds later she pokes her head into the tasting room. “The picture is great,” she says, holding up her phone to show me she got it. “I’ll get this up on Instagram and see if we can get some tasters.”
“We’re pretty booked already today so that should help get the word out about the free samples and the survey,” I reply. “I’m really excited about getting this going.”
“Me too. And I’m even more excited about the opening event even if it’s closed to the public. Why don’t you bring a date?” Lauren suggests as if she can sense that things with my online guy are working out. “Have you met anyone on the dating app?”
I pause for a second, trying to figure out if I could consider what I’m doing online as meeting someone. We have a great time chatting, but we still haven’t met. I don’t think I’d call him my boyfriend either, but I guess we are sort of dating.
“Yeah, I did meet someone, but haven’t met them yet,” I say, sounding confusing and silly. “Like we haven’t met in person, but we talk almost every night.” I pause again, giving my head a shake and wrinkling up my nose. “Actually, we haven’t talked either, just messaged through the app. It sounds stupid, doesn’t it?” I ask, feeling like what I’m doing is awkward as hell and hard to explain.
