Casa Parisi (15 page)

Lucia got through the rest of the interview without any problems. Now and then she glanced at Juliet who seemed engrossed in her answers. Whenever their eyes connected, they smiled warmly at each other.

Once Lisa finished Lucia's interview, she moved on to Juliet. Lucia watched Juliet as she answered questions with her usual eagerness. She was passionate about winemaking, but it was obvious that she didn't like touting her own praises. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair a bit curlier than usual, and she had an endearing habit of repeatedly tucking one wayward piece of hair behind her right ear.

"What are you hoping to accomplish at Casa Parisi?" Lisa asked.

"My first priority is to make great wines for the Parisis." Juliet paused, tapping one finger on her lips as though formulating her next thought. "I'm also interested in training students and becoming involved in political decisions."

"One last question. Where do you see yourself five years from now?"

"I see myself right here. I'm the head winemaker of an extremely successful winery and I'm standing next to Luke and Lucia in front of our impressive display of medals and awards." The next part was related with a sideways glance at Lucia. "I can see my picture on the cover of a wine journal with a caption that reads, 'Meet Juliet Renard, winemaker of the year.'"

Lucia noticed that the color in Juliet's cheeks had deepened. In all probability, she would be married and long gone in five years. Juliet had told her at dinner that she dated only occasionally and wasn't serious about anyone, but Lucia knew that could change in an instant. All it would take was a look, a touch, or one fiery kiss to turn her world upside down. The inevitability of it made Lucia sad. Her fondness for Juliet deepened with each passing day and the knowledge that she would someday leave them was hard to take.

"What is it?" Juliet asked as though she'd read Lucia's face.

"Nothing. I hope your five year plan comes true."

"I have a feeling it will."

Lisa turned off her digital recorder and sat back. "I think I have what I need. If I happen to think of anything else after I start writing I'll call you."

"We should head out soon," Carolyn said. "It's getting late and my mother wants us to stop by on the way home."

"I'm ready to go whenever you are," Lisa said. "Juliet, I'll call you in a day or two about that tour and wine tasting you promised me."

"Whenever you want to come is fine." Juliet stood up. "I enjoyed this and thanks for lunch, Lucia. I'm going back to the cellars to take care of a few things before I leave." She said goodbye to Carolyn and Lisa, hugged them and walked away.

"Lunch was delicious," Lisa said to Lucia as she got up. "I'll let you know when the article is coming out, assuming someone will publish it."

Carolyn made a face as she rose to her feet. "That's ridiculous."

"I know, but one should never assume," Lisa said.

"Pay her no mind, Lucia. She always says that and they always publish every article she writes without exception."

"I'll walk you to your car." Lucia hooked her arm in Carolyn's. "I'm so glad the two of you came this afternoon. Let's get together again real soon."

"We will, I promise. I'll call you next week," Carolyn said.

When they got to Carolyn's car, Lisa got in the driver's seat while Carolyn lingered outside for a few private words with Lucia. "How have you been?"

"Better. I'm doing better."

"I'm glad." Carolyn looked at the car. "I have to go, but don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk to someone. We can go out, just the two of us."

"That would be nice."

"I loved having lunch with you and Juliet. As far as I'm concerned, you have one of the best wineries and winery restaurants on the lakes, if not the best."

"That means a lot coming from you," Lucia said. "And Juliet is making amazing wines for us. I'll tell you about them when I talk to you again."

"Better yet, I'll come with Lisa and taste them," Carolyn said. "I'm happy you hired Juliet and I hope you like her as much as we do. She's extremely smart and she's very attractive don't you think?"

"Without a doubt," Lucia said. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing. I only said it because it's true."

"We're becoming friends, but that's the extent of it. If you have any ideas forming in that head of yours, get rid of them. She's straight, remember?"

"So she thinks," Carolyn said. "So we all think."

"What does that mean?"

"Let's just say Lisa and I have wondered whether she really is."

"No matter what she is, it's no concern of mine," Lucia said. "And don't go thinking I need you to find someone for me. I'm not ready for a relationship."

"I don't think any such thing. If you decide you're ready to start dating, you won't need any help from us. I only want you to like her because I put you two together."

"I do like her and she's perfect for us."

"Then I'm satisfied." Carolyn opened the passenger door.

WHEN SHE COULD no longer see their car on the road, Lucia gave in to a sudden impulse and walked to the cellars to see if Juliet was still there. She didn't feel like sitting in front of her computer or doing anything that required mental exertion. They had both said they might take the rest of the day off and beautiful days like this one invited you to be outdoors rather than cooped up in an office. Her line of rationale was persuasive, but the most compelling reason she didn't want to go to her office and work was because she wanted to spend more time with Juliet.

Juliet was in the lab washing beakers and test tubes when Lucia got there. She turned off the water and dried her hands when she saw Lucia come in.

"I felt like we didn't have a chance to talk much during lunch so I decided to come over," Lucia said. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. In fact I'm glad you did."

"I thought you were taking the rest of the day off," Lucia said.

"I was, but I really don't have anything to do at home."

"I don't have anything to do, either, and it's too nice to be inside. How would you feel about taking me out to the vineyards and showing me around a little? I can wait if you need to finish what you were doing."

"No, let's go. I'll let the rest of these soak."

"Do you want me to drive?" Lucia asked.

"We'll go in my car. I parked it out back."

JULIET DROVE ALONG a dirt road that withered down to the usual well-worn tire tracks they used to drive into sections of the vineyards. Once she reached her destination she stopped the car, got out and guided Lucia to a specific area containing neat row after neat row of immature vines.

"I wanted to show you the new vines Luke planted this past spring. They're baby riesling grapevines." Juliet squatted and touched one of them so gently it was as though she were stroking a newborn's cheek. "Aren't they amazing?"

"Yes. They're so small."

"Vines are a year old when they're ready to plant and they need another year or two of growing before they produce grape clusters. Luke and his crew train them to climb the trellises and they keep them pruned so they don't develop excessive leaf growth."

"Why do you worry about leaf growth?" Lucia asked. "Luke may have told me, but if he did, I forgot." Luke had probably told her a lot of things that promptly went in one ear and out the other. He'd asked her to go to the vineyards with him a hundred times and except for once or twice, she'd always found some excuse not to go.

"Too much leaf cover shades the grapes from the sun," Juliet explained. "They need full sun in order to ripen and they need to stay dry to protect them from molds and other diseases caused by excessive moisture."

"That seems obvious once you point it out."

"There's another reason, the most important one. Cutting away excessive leaf growth directs the plant's energy into the fruit." Juliet took hold of Lucia's elbow and guided her back to the car. "I want to show you something somewhere else."

Juliet drove to another section of vineyards and led Lucia to the vines she wanted her to see. "These are European vines Luke started after you bought the winery. He grafted them to the older native American rootstocks that were already here."

"I did know that," Lucia said. "I think."

"Those root stocks belonged to native grape vines that grew here for over a hundred years, like Niagara and Delaware. They're cold hardy and pest resistant, so Luke took the new, non-native vines and grafted them to the stronger roots. That way he ends up with more resilient vines that have fewer problems."

They progressed through the rows of vines a little farther until Juliet paused to pick up a handful of soil. She held it under Lucia's nose. "Sniff this, but be careful. I want you to smell it, not get a nose full of dirt."

Lucia sniffed a few times. "I smell grapes and the earth."

"I love that smell." Juliet let the earth fall from her hand and rubbed her hands to get rid of the residue. "Isn't it wonderful what you can get from the earth? Things look dead in the winter and in the spring they come to life again. It's nature's eternal promise."

Lucia was moved by Juliet's words. She could be so reflective and poetic when she spoke of things that mattered to her and Lucia loved to listen to her talk. Lucia wanted to share her zest for life, wanted to love her land and her grapes the way Juliet did. Instead of voicing her thoughts, she made an observation of her own. "That earth seemed dry. I get concerned when it doesn't rain, but Luke tells me not to. He said the grapes love hot weather and dry conditions."

"He's right. They don't do well in soggy soil and wet vines are prone to all sorts of diseases. They need rain as long as it's not excessive. They have long roots and can get water from deep within the earth. They use water conservatively, thrive in poor soil and you don't have to give them much in the way of fertilizers and nutrients." Juliet paused and studied Lucia as if something had occurred to her. "I hope I'm not telling you things you already know."

"I should know everything you're telling me. It's basic stuff and I'm sure Luke went over it at some point." If he had, Lucia hadn't retained much of the information. Being out here with Juliet made her aware of how terribly out of touch she'd been. "I own these vineyards and I haven't bothered to look at them. I need to change that."

"You're here now. This is a good place to start."

"Better late than never I suppose." Lucia saw compassion in Juliet's expression and it occurred to her that Juliet was much kinder to her than she had ever been to herself.

"Did you know that every vineyard has its own
terroir
?" Juliet asked.

"What's that mean in English?"

"It means the sum total of everything that makes your vineyards unique, the soil, the elevation and slope of the land, the sun exposure, and every single nuance of climate and growing conditions. They all affect the grapes." Juliet touched Lucia's hand. "Tell me if I'm talking too much. I get carried away."

"I like when you get carried away and I'm enjoying this." Lucia was tempted to take Juliet's hand and tell her she loved listening to her talk about anything--water, sunshine, dirt, or anything at all--because she loved the sound of her voice, her accent, and the way her eyes sparkled. But in the end, she decided not to.

"Are you sure?" Juliet appeared to be searching Lucia's eyes.

"One hundred percent."

"Good because I have another saying along those same lines and it goes like this, 'The fruit speaks of the special place where it was grown.'"

"That's another way of saying the same thing," Lucia said. "Every wine region has distinctive characteristics and that makes their wines taste different from the same wines made in other places."

"Exactly. Our chardonnays would never taste like the ones made in California and our rieslings would never taste quite the same as the German ones. Our wines are unique because our climate is unique." Juliet began walking through the rows.

"I want to thank you for bringing me out here," Lucia said once they were standing in front of another section of vines.

"Why don't you come out here with me once in a while? I'll explain things and show you what we're doing."

"Are you busy this Saturday night?" Lucia asked abruptly.

"Excuse me?" Confusion registered on Juliet's face.

"Are you busy this Saturday night?"

"Did you want to come out to the vineyards?"

Lucia laughed as she understood how Juliet arrived at that conclusion. "No, that's not what I had in mind. It sounded like I was saying that, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did."

"I shouldn't have come out with it like that. I wanted to know if you were busy because I'd like you to have dinner with me at my cottage."

"I don't have any plans." Juliet seemed genuinely excited. "I'm not going to work this Saturday. These six-day weeks are taking their toll

and I need to cut down." "Would you rather I came down to Ithaca since you won't be up

here? We could go out to eat somewhere instead." "I don't mind driving up to your place." "Good. I haven't cooked in a while and I thought I'd make one of

my favorite dishes. If it's nice out, we can eat by the lake." "Do you want me to bring anything?" "Just bring yourself."

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, Juliet fell asleep earlier than usual and slept soundly until ten-thirty the next morning. Sleeping in excess of twelve hours proved to her how right she'd been when she told Lucia her long days had taken their toll. The second her eyes popped open she began to anticipate her upcoming dinner with Lucia. She mulled over what she would wear, what topics they'd discuss and every possibility the evening held in store. It was a dinner invitation from a friend and yet she was more excited about it than she could have envisioned.

To make the day go quickly, Juliet did laundry, cleaned the kitchen and made a pot of vegetable soup for the upcoming week. All those activities helped and still the hours seemed to drag. After putting the soup away and sweeping the kitchen floor she ran out of busywork. Around three in the afternoon, she decided to get showered and dressed so she wouldn't make herself nervous leaving it to the last minute.