Of Wine and Women
They were at an outdoor concert sponsored by a local indie radio station - held at a small winery - and they were having a wonderful time. It was one of the best times CJ had had in recent years.
She and her friends were drinking enough wine to joke about putting them out of business, and she was loving it. Rarely did she throw caution to the wind and let loose, but this was the time and place to do it.
Where better? They had been lucky enough to snag table seating under an awning built on a hill at the back of the winery's gift shop. So, there was shade on this hot summer's eve, a birds-eye view of the small stage below on the leveled grass, and fun people all around. There were also guilty pleasures at the bottom of the hill; vendors with fried cheese curds, nachos, fried vegetables...things she normally limited or cut out of her diet, altogether, but not tonight. Oh, no.
She was listening to one of her favorite local artists perform live on stage, eating more cheese curds than a girl had a right to, and drinking copious amounts of wine. (By the end of the night, the six friends had consumed eight bottles of various flavored and oh-so-delicious varieties. Wise? No. But, that was never the point of this night...)
Blissfully, CJ wasn't the designated driver, so she was able to let go with no remorse. Letting the good times roll...er, flow, rather. Literally. Rhubarb wine...two glasses. Delicious peach...two glasses. Others, she sampled and would later have to be reminded of all she'd imbibed. For now, though, she was content to just be...and be a little out of character. She'd been working too hard for too long, and she was an adult, dammit. Didn't she have the right to behave like a teenager, if she chose? She giggled. Then, hiccuped.
Though she was getting fuzzy-brain, she did recall a couple of other concert-goers remarking to them how much fun their little group was having. Youbetcha! Most of the other attendees were on the grassy hill with blankets and coolers, and several of them would glance up at them and smile, from time-to-time. She and her friends were laughing, telling stories on one another, and having loads of fun. Plus, it had been a couple of years since they'd last gotten together, so...what happened at the winery...
And, oh, yes. Melinda had brought a cooler for them, as well. CJ vaguely recalled eating vegetable crackers with organic salsa, when they'd first arrived. She chuckled to herself, as she was munching on yet another cheese curd. 'It's called balance,' she thought tipsily. Somehow, the ever-responsible part of her brain coached herself to reach into the cooler for a bottled water. Then, she chuckled again, knowing full-well that she wasn't going to stop drinking her beloved wine anytime soon.
A small part of her felt a little guilty for her dwindling attention to the concert below but not enough to stop participating in the festivities where she was; at one point, they were all dancing with some of the others seated around them. It was fun, and this was her night. And, she'd mentally slap herself if she started to criticize herself tomorrow. This was what she came for - to have fun! Besides, if any of the others around them had complained, she knew that she would have behaved like a good little girl - so ingrained was the desire to please. Lucky for her, no such thing happened, and she was seriously free for one glorious night.
Later, when the concert was over and the stars were twinkling above, many of the guests still milled-about and socialized. The lights around the buildings had all been turned on, and the winery staff were already out and on clean-up duty. But, nearly everyone had a smile on his or her face, and even Security was happily interacting with those exiting - and those waiting for traffic to lessen, before leaving, like CJ and her group of friends.
She recognized one of Security as an off-duty police officer that she and Matt had worked with on more than one case. His name was Mark, and she smiled and waved when he looked her way. Soon thereafter, he approached their little group.
"Ladies," he said. "You were certainly enjoying yourselves, tonight." He smiled specifically at CJ. She nearly groaned aloud, wondering what it was going to cost her to get him to keep any of her antics to himself.
At the look on her face, he laughed. "You don't have to worry, CJ. My lips are sealed." Then, he looked at the other five women. "You do have a designated driver, don't you?"
Melinda spoke up. "I am. Only two glasses of wine...nearly three hours ago. I'm good. Except for having to babysit a couple of these lushes," she joked unrepentantly.
Dee and Becky stuck their tongues out at her, knowing she was referring to them.
Mark smiled. "Alright." He looked back at CJ. "You take care. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon, but I have to say I prefer a setting like this - not to mention the show." His teasing words let her know that he was referring more to her than the concert.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she razzed right back. "I'll be seeing you, and if you can keep a secret, there'll be a large coffee in it for you, when you need it the most."
"Deal!" Then, he sauntered off.
After a bit of harassment from her friends about the hot Security guy, they gathered their things and Melinda dropped them off one-by-one - save for CJ who was crashing at her place, tonight.
Saturday morning dawned early, and she was ever-so-glad that it wasn't a work day. She wasn't really hung over, but she was feeling the physical sluggishness that a night like before brought with it. And...there was the dull headache, but a couple of Tylenol would cure that.
Not needing to be anywhere, she and Melinda laid around and watched a couple of movies. Though, CJ drew the line at anything on Lifetime. She spent too much time dealing with real cases to watch the made-for-tv true stories that Melinda was addicted to. So, they settled on comedies. Like usual, though, Melinda fell asleep; she wasn't one to watch movies and fell asleep nearly every time. To which, everyone loved to teasingly hit her up with movie trivia that she would never know...but what could Melinda expect when she hadn't even seen the Wizard of Oz?
CJ smiled to herself at that. Then, she gave herself a mental pat on the back for a weekend well-done. It wasn't even halfway over, and she knew she'd adore it for a long time to come.
Monday morning found her with Houston at the LA County Courthouse. They were about to go into Superior Court 1, when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Turning, she smiled at Mike and said hello.
"It's time to pay up, counselor. I'm about to be grilled on the stand by the Defense, and seeing you was like a ray of sunshine to my heart...and my sluggish brain. How's yours, by the way? Still feeling any after-effects?"
'My lips are sealed, my ass...' she thought. The unrepentant scoundrel. But, she was smiling inwardly.
Sweetly, she replied, "Nope. I'm pretty tough. Even woke up and ate a big breakfast," she lied with a smile on her face.
"Atta girl," he grinned. "Now, about that coffee..."
Houston piped up, then. "I seem to be missing something."
At the same time CJ replied, "Not really," Mike stated, "You sure did."
After seeing the 'Do tell' look Houston was giving her, she turned to evilly smile at Mike and said, "Looks like you just forfeited your cup of joe, Officer Mike. Good luck in there." She turned to leave both men standing in their respective places.
"Wait!" Mike pleaded. "I was only joking, CJ. Besides, wouldn't you like to see my pictures? It was such a fun concert..."
Oh, the man was gonna get it. She turned, and watched him slightly wiggle his smartphone at her.
"How do you take it?" she asked, drily.
"One cream, three sugars. You're the best!" he said enthusiastically. Mostly because he had one over on her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just remember this, Mikey. I'll be laying in waiting."
"Don't I know it. But, I'm gonna milk this as long as I can. You were really something."
Rolling her eyes and catching Houston's amused but oh-so-curious ones, she said, "Don't even ask. And, if you so much as look at a single photo on his phone while I'm gone, you'll be representing yourself, this morning," she half-lied.
Houston just smiled, and Mike laughed aloud. She knew she couldn't trust either of them, but she wasn't worried about the price she'd have to pay - God only knew what snapshots Mike had taken, but she was probably just stuffing herself silly with cheese curds. He did have to work that night, after all. Still, it had been worth it, and she'd do it again in a heartbeat.
In fact, that was the plan for next month, as well. Same winery, another indie concert. But, this time, she'd be sure to get even with Mike. She had a whole month to think about it - and five devious girlfriends to help her out. The poor guy didn't stand a chance.
The two men watching her walk away didn't miss her trailing laughter, and at least one of them hesitated...wondering why he ever thought he could get one up on CJ Parsons.