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Lena:You’re welcome. =)
Tossing my phone back into my bag, I stand and walk back to the office. For the first time in a long time, I feel some peace within me.
I check the time. It’s 7:48 p.m. I need to leave. I’m supposed to meet Luci and Marcus for dinner at 8:00 p.m., and I’m going to be late. I leave everything sprawled across my desk, so tomorrow I can pick up where I left off. A few more hours of preparation, and I’ll be ready for my client meeting.
When I exit the building, the cold sucker-punches me, and the wind howls as it tunnels down Congress Street. Thankfully, the cab stand is at the curb in front of the building, and there are a few available cars in line. I sprint over to the first one, open the back door, and climb in.
“Hi. Giacomo’s in the South End, please. On Columbus Ave.” I open my pockabook and search for my phone to text Luci.
Lena:Running late. Just got in a cab & should be there in 15.
Luci replies instantly.
Luci:OK. See you soon. Me & M already drinking wine :)
Of course, they are. Luci is the reason I started drinking wine. I was never a fan of it, but that’s because I never knew what to order. We’d go out to dinner, and she’d pick a wine to pair with my food. Eventually, we graduated to drinking bottles with dinner.
When I started working at the Florentine, during our pre-dinner meeting, we would have an employee meal, which was always accompanied by a wine tasting. The owner wanted the staff to know about the wines we sold because it would make the upsell easier.
After I started working at Massimo’s place, I suggested he do the same because it made a difference at the Florentine in sales numbers. He was reluctant at first but decided to try it. After that, he hired a wine sommelier to work the dinner shift four nights a week, and he quickly saw an increase in sales.
The sommelier was impressive. The restaurant carried over 1,000 varieties of wine. Each night our employee meal was paired with a white and red wine, and we had a tasting accompanied by a short instruction. Our wine glasses only had two to three sips of wine in them, but it was enough to swirl the wine, take in the bouquet scent, and taste it. We’d learn about the best wines to complement the specials and menu items. It made the experience of working at a restaurant enjoyable and entertaining.
The dining room at Giacomo’s is full, as expected. It’s one large room with approximately fifteen tables and high-top counter seating at the back facing the kitchen. They serve Italian food, specializing in seafood and pasta dishes.
Luci and Marcus are sitting along the left wall. There is a bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio on the table, and their glasses are each half full. As I approach the table, Marcus stands and hugs me.
“Lena, I’ve missed you so damn much.” He squeezes me tight.
“Me too,” I say. I know we talked on the regular, but it’s not the same. “Feels good to be home again.”
“I’m super happy you’re back, too,” says Marcus.
“Hey, Luce,” I say. She slides down the banquette, and I lean down to give her a cheek kiss.
“Hi, Lena. We’ve nearly polished off the bottle waiting for your ass,” she tells me, giggling.
“That’s okay. I’m sure there’s plenty more where that came from. Luci, your hair looks amazing. When did you get it done?”
Luci’s hair is freshly cut, a typical short cut, extremely short in the back with longer pieces on top, and colored auburn.
“I went to see my uncle on Saturday. You know he loves to experiment with my hair.”
“I love it, as usual,” I tell her.
“Everything okay at work, Lena?” Marcus asks.
“It’s been quite the day. But first, wine.” I pull a chair out and shimmy into the seat next to Marcus. The restaurant is small, and the space is tight. I take my jacket off and hang it on the back of the chair as Luci pours me some wine.
“What happened now?” She holds her glass up, waiting for me to raise mine.
“Salute.” We clink our glasses, and I sip my wine. “Work kept me late. I have a removal hearing next week that I’m preparing for.”
“What’s that?” Marcus asks.
“It’s basically a trial for someone who has a deportation order. At the removal hearing, my client has an opportunity to make his case as to why he shouldn’t be deported.”
“Sounds intense.”
