Season of Change(90)

                “Very smart.” So like Christine.

                “In theory. In the interim, I made the mistake of going on vacation with my family.” She sighed, the weary sigh of the defeated. “While I was gone, Cami ordered the wine delivered ten weeks early and started blending it herself. I got back and tasted her blend. It was undrinkable. Instead of mixing small batches, she mixed nearly two hundred thousand gallons of wine. It’s sitting in tanks, ready for some poor soul to try to improve it so she can bottle it.”

                “Can it be fixed? Reblended, I think she said.”

                Christine shook her head. “Making a wine blend is like making spaghetti sauce. Once you have a strong negative note, it’s nearly impossible to blend it out. Cami wasn’t experienced enough to blend test batches in small quantities. She always thought I was too cautious, so she leaped right in.”

                “What a costly mistake.”

                “She’s doing the damage-control dance. She hired someone to design a cute label. She’ll bottle it and ship it out to some discount stores. She’ll be lucky to break even and luckier still if some review sites don’t associate her with the wine.” She clenched her hands in her lap. “Or me.”

                All the arguments they’d had about committing to making too much wine before Christine knew and approved of quality suddenly made sense.

                Beside him, Christine gave another heavy sigh.

                Of the two, she was normally the touchy-feely one. He surprised himself by reaching over and putting his hand over hers. “You know what you need?”

                “To move to another country? I hear they’re looking for winemakers in Chile.” She managed a weak smile.

                He shook his head. “French fries.”

                * * *

                “WHY IS MAKING money so important to you?” Christine asked, after she’d demolished her small bag of fries and washed it down with a Diet Coke. “You already have a fat wallet.”

                “I told you that night we went bowling.”

                “I thought we were beyond lies.” She gazed out the window.

                He shouldn’t have been surprised at how well she knew him. He’d already risked her respect by baring his scar. He wasn’t going to tell her the grim details. Besides, she was most likely giving notice in the morning. No matter what he said, she didn’t believe the partnership wouldn’t sell.

                They drove into Harmony Valley in silence.

                Slade stopped on Main Street in front of the old grocery store. “I need to text Flynn in case the girls are too much for him.” Not that the town was large enough that it was an inconvenience to go back and get them, but a left here would put him quickly at Flynn’s.

                Are the girls all right?

                Almost immediately a reply: All 3 fell asleep early watching a movie. No camping tonight.

                Slade put the truck back in gear.

                Straight ahead was the town square. Two turns right and he’d be at Agnes’s house. A right, a left, and a right, and he’d be at the Death and Divorce House.

                He wouldn’t take Christine there. If he did, he’d tell her everything. Then she’d understand why he had to recommend selling. And why he was going to recommend she quit to find another job.