Chapter 34: "Through the Grapevine"
My mind was already hard at work as I prepared for the job ahead of me. One moment I would allow the promise of the day to lift my thoughts to daydreams, and the next I would suddenly anchor them to reality. I wanted to find a way to turn the temporary work at the winery into something long term, but wanting that felt dangerous. It seemed like every time I wanted something, it managed to slip through my fingers.
I'm not going to make that mistake again, I told myself as I managed my stunted optimism. I was tired of being teased and cheated by my own thoughts. So why did I still have the sickening feeling of being made to hope?
Then there was working with Claire, which brought its own slew of daydreams and sudden crashes to earth. A part of me warned to keep a respectful and friendly distance, while a more shameful side of myself delighted at the idea of spending the day together stealing glances and light touches.
I'm not going to make that mistake again, I repeated, finding this unfounded hope just as difficult to wrangle.
I hurried down the inn stairs and my eyes searched for Ann, but she wasn't behind the counter. Instead, Doug was studying a large crate and dolly with Zack.
"I think setting it up over here will work best…" Doug suggested before he heard creaking steps and turned to grin at me.
"Ah, Cliff! Morning!"
"Hey, Doug, Zack. What's that?"
"A surprise for tonight. Are you heading to Duke's?"
I nodded, knowing Ann must have told him about the job. I scanned the dining room for her. It felt wrong to leave without saying something, a thought I acknowledged with a pang of guilt.
"Ann's in the kitchen," Doug told me with a knowing smile.
With a quick thank-you, I ducked into the kitchen to find Ann prepping for lunch. The room smelled like freshly cut cucumbers, and I felt a momentary wish to stay there all day.
"Are you going to say something or are you waiting for food?" she teased over the staccato rhythm of her knife against the cutting board.
"I've already eaten," I lied. "I'm heading out, but I'll see you tonight…if everything goes well"
"It will!" she declared with the same positivity she radiated when I told her about the job the night before. "And you're going to tell me all about it over pizza!"
"I can't wait," I said, my eyes on the food.
The morning was comfortable with the kind of weather that made a person seize the last opportunity of the year to open his windows. It was a short walk to Aja Winery, and I found myself examining it in the sunlight more closely than I had in the past. It had the same brick and ochre stone exterior like the other buildings of North Mineral Town. Ivy climbed up its walls and framed the shutter-accented windows. Before I could admire the vineyard, the winery door swung open and Manna charged out to greet me, Claire following behind her.
"Good morning! It looks like we have everyone here now, and on time too! Very good! Do you have anything to put in the store before you begin? Claire already dropped off her rucksack. No? Great! The grape harvest is one of my favorite yearly traditions, and I was so worried it would only be Duke and me this time! You would not believe how much coaxing I had to do just to get him to acknowledge we needed help. I'm amazed I managed at all! We had such a row; you should have seen it!"
Claire waved at me from behind Manna and I felt myself smile back instinctively.
"What are you telling them about me?" Duke called in a raspy voice as he sauntered over from the vineyard. He looked like a different person without his vest, bowtie, and pomade.
"Only that you are incorrigibly bull-headed."
Duke let out a loud laugh. "And here I thought it was something bad."
"I wasn't paying you a compliment."
"Which is exactly why I won't pay any mind to it."
"Why would you? You don't pay anything!"
"This again? Manna! I told you, Jeff added an extra zero!"
"Good morning," Claire whispered to me. I hadn't noticed how we had inched closer as the couple continued to argue. She looked fresh in the morning, wearing a clean set of her usual working uniform that'd I come to appreciate so much. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun. I already found myself transfixed by a missed strand of hair falling along her neck and managed to look away, feeling guilty and annoyed our time apart had not done enough to cure my staring.
"This bodes well for the day," she murmured.
"It'll be fine as long as they pay us," I chuckled. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting long?"
"It feels longer than it's been. Manna is especially excited today."
"…nearly collapsed when Sasha said '5,000G'! Can you imagine if—?" Manna continued without stopping to breathe.
"Can't we fight about this after the harvest? Claire and Cliff aren't here to enjoy the show!" Duke interrupted, throwing his hands out in exasperation.
Manna's large dark eyes grew wider as she remembered our presence.
"Oh, right," she breathed as she smoothed her skirts and flashed a welcoming smile towards us. "Well then, do a good job, now! I'll join you after lunch!"
With a final glare at her husband, Manna returned inside.
"I'd apologize if I was sorry for that," Duke grinned at us. "Right this way, kids."
Claire and I followed Duke between lines of vine-loaded trellises. It was impossible not to admire the fertile and bright vineyard. Sundrenched grape clusters hung heavy from the open canopy of green and red leaves.
"Each of you, take a basket and hand pruner. Cut from the top of the bunch's stem," he instructed us as he gently handled a cluster of purple grapes and snipped it free of the vine. He mindfully placed the fruit in his basket. "Be careful and avoid any leaves or debris with the grapes," he added, picking out a red leaf.
"Are they all ready to be picked?" Claire asked.
"Most are. Timing is everything with a grape harvest. Pick early and your wine's too bitter and undeveloped. Pick late and it's too sweet and unstructured. You need the right bittersweet balance. Manna and I already harvested our white varieties. Unfortunately, I held on too long to some of the more sun-exposed vines," he said, his tone souring as he pointed out a collection of shriveled grapes. "They're too far gone now," he spat.
"These are what I'm looking for," he practically sang when he spotted and freed a healthy bunch. The grapes glowed red as sunlight seeped through their skin. "Here, feel and taste it."
Duke gave us each a grape before dropping a few into his mouth.
"They look so small, like blueberries," Claire wondered as she rolled one between her gloved fingers.
"With your crops, it's all about increasing yield, right? Well, with my craft, less is more. A smaller grape packs a bigger punch! More concentrated juices, you know?"
"No wonder they tasted so good," I laughed softly.
"What?" Claire looked from her grape to me.
"Ah," I said, regretting I said anything, but already committed. "M-my dad would take me and my sister to a nearby vineyard a lot. She and I would steal grapes while he was in the store," I smiled at the memory, but my stomach turned.
"You would have been banned if you tried that there!" Duke declared with a toothy grin.
Not wanting to speak, especially around Duke, I bit into the small berry. The sugary grape burst against my tongue.
I wish I could bring some home for Ann.
"I didn't know you had a criminal record," Claire joked as she tossed her grape into her mouth and bit down. Suddenly, the color drained from her face and she covered her mouth. Before Duke or I could speak, she spit the half-chewed grape back out into her hand. "What is that?!" she cried out in horror as she stared at the small dark masses. In one panicked motion, she shook them from her palm and bent forward to spit onto the ground.
"Those aren't table grapes, city girl!" Duke erupted before bursting into a belly laugh.
"Are you okay?" I asked over the sound of Duke's roars. I gave her a reassuring pat on the back as I tried to bite back my laughter. "They were just seeds."
Claire let out a moan of relief. "Oh, thank the Goddess! I thought it was a bug!"
"Thanks for the laugh, but it's time to get to work!" Duke chortled before picking up his basket and beginning to clip grape bunches off the vines behind us.
"You heard the man!" Claire said with an embarrassed giggle as she gathered her tools.
I nodded, my shoulders shaking from my half-stifled laughter.
"Stop laughing at me," she ordered as she continued to laugh at herself.
I brought my hand to cover my smile. "I'm not…laughing," I assured her, my voice strained from the effort to keep it level.
"I can see it in your eyes!"
"You should be paying attention to your work," I said in a muffled giggle, trying to refocus myself and listen to my own advice. "No slacking off."
"Since when have I done that?" she demanded, heading to the other side of the trellis.
A few residual laughs escaped my lips as I began to harvest the first of the grapes.
"I still hear you!" Claire called through the leaves.
The sound of our shears and rustling of leaves soon disguised the last of my laughs. The vines gave a satisfying bounce when they were unburdened from the weight of their fruit. As my basket filled, a simple sense of accomplishment grew inside me. It felt so good to be useful again.
"Looking good," Duke gleefully acknowledged as he laid out the emptied contents of our baskets. "Keep this up and I just might get a nap later!"
He looked at me expectantly, and I simply nodded back. Inside I was overwhelmingly relieved I was doing it right.
With each grape bunch I collected, I grew more silent and focused. The baskets filled quicker, yet I was still careful not to bruise the grapes. As more and more grapes were picked from the vine, I could see through the other side.
Glimpses of Claire filtered through the reddening leaves. She was working just as hard. I watched her delicately place a full cluster of grapes into her basket before her blue eyes caught me. She smiled before I averted my eyes back to the job at hand. After freeing another bunch, I was the one who spotted Claire watching me. At being discovered, she laughed and looked down at the basket I was filling before picking up her pace.
Several more times I caught her watching my basket fill, and each time she would begin to work a little faster, sending the leaves of the grapevines shaking. It didn't take long for me to realize what she was doing, and I began to work faster too. A quiet contest steadily grew between us until we were both competing to win.
"I scored the jackpot getting you two to help today," Duke drolled as we rushed past him to empty our baskets again. "Let's hope my luck lasts to the horse races."
Claire and I practically ran through the rows, picking as many grapes as quickly as we could without crushing them in our hands. Each cluster she snatched from the vines pushed me to work harder.
"How many baskets have you done?" Her question sounded shaky between heavy breaths.
"How many have you picked?"
"No, I asked you first."
"Six."
"Ha!"
"How many?" I groaned.
"Six and a third."
"Oh, we're doing fractions? In that case, I've done six and a half," I said, proudly showing her my basket under the trellis.
"That's two-fifths at best!"
"Keep staring. It just widens the gap," I teased as I tossed another cluster into my basket.
It was several more baskets later when Manna called out that it was lunchtime. I hadn't realized how much time had passed during our competition. At the announcement, Claire sprinted to empty her basket first.
"I win!"
"Wait, we were racing too?"
"Try to keep up!" she panted.
"I wouldn't recommend that," Duke smirked as he emptied his basket and headed inside, Claire following behind him.
I hesitated in the vineyard, not sure what I should do. I hadn't brought a lunch, but I wasn't sure I could be trusted not to start eating grapes off the vine.
"Are you coming?" Claire called back to me.
"I'm not hungry." It was only a few more hours until I could eat pizza anyway.
"What kind of a host do you think I am?" Duke demanded. "You're not working all day without a bite. Hurry up."
We passed through the shop to Duke and Manna's. Their home was cozy from sunlight and relaxed furnishings, but the kitchen was even brighter. Copper pots hung on the wall and glowed in the natural light, filling the room with warmth. It was obvious the space was well-used and well-loved.
"Let's enjoy the weather while it lasts and eat outside!" Manna smiled as she handed us glasses of water we eagerly gulped down. "Oh, I have a treat for you two! We always celebrate the harvest with homemade grape juice and a fresh table spread. So guess what we're having?"
She began to pull out various fruits, cheeses, crackers, and nuts as she chattered excitedly. "The cheese from Barley's was always Aja's favorite. Duke and I were waiting for her to come home and help this season, but her letter must have gotten lost in the mail. Or maybe ours was lost? Sasha wrote her too, just in case, so it must have been her response! And Duke? Didn't you send her—?"
Duke passed Manna wordlessly, stepping through an open door to a connecting terrace outside. Manna didn't seem to mind as she pulled out a cutting board.
"Claire, would you like to help me? I know you've been practicing your knife skills! Show me what you can do! And Cliff, do you mind bringing the wine outside? I'm sure Duke would love a glass and some good company!"
Claire leaned over to whisper to me. "It sounds like they could use some regular help around here. Maybe if you chat Duke up a bit…?"
"What should I say?" I worried. I didn't want to say the wrong thing and mess up the job I already had again.
"I don't know, that you're motivated to do the job, you work well with others, you're constantly seeking to learn new things—all that phony interview stuff."
"Interview?" I whispered back, my worry increasing.
"It's that bottle on the table, Cliff!" Manna urged.
"Good luck!" Claire whispered before joining Manna.
I tightly gripped the neck of the wine bottle and followed Duke outside. The terrace was ivy-shaded and breezy. The streets ran along one side of it, while the other provided a gorgeous view of the grapevines. Duke was seated at a set outdoor dining table, recklessly tipping his chair back. As I approached the table, he smiled so broadly the corners of his eyes crinkled.
"Ah, there you are!" he said fondly. It was when I was handing him the bottle that I realized he was talking to the wine and not me.
Duke expertly uncorked the bottle and poured red wine into a large decanter near his seat.
"Gotta let it breathe for a bit. Speaking of…" he said before pulling out a slick steel case from his pocket and slipping a cigarette between his smiling lips. He offered the case to me. I silently shook my head. Only the sound of Manna's chatter carried outside.
"Enough about me! Claire, tell me all about how your farm is going! I must say, I've loved how the produce prices at the supermarket have gone down since you arrived! Those shipping fees drove up costs horribly, and half the time the greens would have already started to wilt in the store! Oh, that reminds me…"
Duke snapped his cigarette case shut.
"You're certainly close-mouthed, aren't you?" he noted as he lit his cigarette.
I chose my words carefully. "I…I think sometimes it's best to listen rather than talk."
Duke let out a short "Ha!" that rocked his body. "Manna will be thrilled to know that!"
I gave him a tight smile.
Duke leaned back in his chair again and let out a smokey exhale as he gazed out at his vineyard. Cigarette smoke swirled up to the ivy in the sunlight. "You and Claire are hard workers," he eventually said.
"Thank you," I said, my eyes burning.
"Hard workers are rare these days, at least around this place," he said before taking another drag of his cigarette.
"I wouldn't say that. I'm impressed you and Manna manage a plot this size on your own."
Duke grumbled irritably and breathed smoke. Feeling like I said something wrong, I debated whether I should speak at all.
"You know anything about winemaking?"
I shook my head.
"Hmm," was all Duke said, but he still managed to sound disappointed. It was obvious things weren't going as smoothly as Claire hoped. Remembering the advice Claire gave me, I tried again.
"But I'd be eager to learn. I'm always looking to learn new things…"
My voice trailed off and I stopped myself. The words sounded shallow and empty. It didn't feel like something I would say. With a quiet breath, I decided to take a chance.
"I know about wine-drinking, at least," I joked and raised my empty glass.
"Something we have in common!" Duke laughed and examined the decanter. "Give it a few more minutes and it'll be ready."
"I've tried a few of your wines."
"Oh yeah?" he mumbled before taking another drag. "Manna says you can tell a lot about a person by the wine they drink. Which is your favorite?"
"The pinot noir, I think," I decided, thinking back to the many glasses I'd enjoyed since arriving in town.
"You think?" he challenged, raising his thick eyebrows.
"Pinot noir," I said more confidently.
Duke shrugged. "Too sensitive," he declared with another puff of smoke. "Its grapes are thin-skinned, its roots need to be strong and planted deep, and its vine requires a lot of pruning," he explained. "All in all, it's incredibly difficult to cultivate."
"Well, that makes it even better to drink, doesn't it?" I defended.
Duke's eyes crinkled with another grin. "Of course. If given the proper chance, it can be truly exceptional."
Manna and Claire stepped out onto the terrace with lunch. Claire immediately looked at me for some sort of sign and I gave her a small smile as she set down a beading pitcher of fresh grape juice. Manna, on the other hand, was not smiling.
"Duke, you're smoking?!"
"I'm not inside," he said matter-of-factly.
Manna practically dropped the food on top of the flatware.
"You know that's not the issue. Don't you remember what the doctor said? 'Smoking—'"
"To hell with that doctor," Duke vented before inhaling deeply from his cigarette. I let out a quickly cut-off laugh that caused Duke to flash a smokey grin at me. He was obviously pleased to get a reaction.
"I'm sure he doesn't mean that, Claire. Duke is so hopelessly stubborn."
"Yes, I remember hearing something about that earlier," Claire teased.
"I do as I please," Duke asserted as he reached for the decanter.
"Would you please put out that cigarette then?"
"The smoke keeps the flies away!" he protested as he filled his glass.
"Duke…!"
"As you wish." Duke set down the decanter to take a ridiculously long inhale that sent the end of his cigarette glowing closer to his lips. Manna grabbed the cigarette from his fingers and put it out as he slowly let out a stream of smoke, but the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.
"Why Manna puts up with me, I don't know," Duke said as he wrapped his arms around Manna's waist and pulled her down onto his armrest.
"That makes two of us," Manna giggled.
I looked over at Claire, who seemed just as lost as I was by the sudden shift in their mood. I couldn't resist staring at the platter of food lying untouched on the table. Would it be rude to—?
"Cliff here says pinot noir is his favorite wine. What do you have to say about that?" Duke asked before filling my glass.
Manna's large dark eyes focused on mine. "You're dedicated, romantic, and moody."
Claire let out a laugh.
"I don't know about that," I said, feeling my face warm as I took a drink.
"What about you, Claire?" Duke asked.
"Oh, I usually just drink whatever someone else suggests."
"You don't have a favorite?"
"I'm not sure…"
"You bought that one dessert wine," I reminded Claire.
"That's because it was the cheapest bottle."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Duke said as he slowly shook his head.
"Well, I could try and work backward!" Manna announced. "Hmmm…" she said as she studied Claire. "So, you're someone who is open to new things and likes to focus on the here and now?"
"That's a nice way of saying indecisive and cheap!" Claire laughed.
"Wait here then!"
Manna jumped to her feet and bustled into the house. When she returned, she poured a fizzing white wine into Claire's glass.
"I went with something light-bodied and fresh—prosecco," she explained as we watched Claire take a drink. "What do you think?"
Claire's neck tensed as she forced herself to swallow it. "It's good," she said in an awkwardly high pitch. "…but I don't think it's for me."
"Then maybe it's time to work on yourself until you become the wine you want to drink?" Manna teased her.
"Manna, leave the girl alone!" Duke laughed.
"Now what am I going to do with this bottle I opened?"
"I could drink a glass," I offered.
"Oh, I'm sure you could!" Manna winked, making me blush from her insinuation. "But I think I can use it in the kitchen. I have a delicious buttered salmon recipe it could work for. Maybe I'll share it at our next cooking class, Claire! We have too much to drink at the table anyway!"
"No such thing," Duke laughed as he refilled his glass. "Now stop fussing and sit down and eat!"
As we ate, flies buzzed around the table and Duke made a show out of waving them away. I noticed Manna talked less and listened more as lunch progressed. It was as if she had a headful of thoughts she had hoarded and finally released. Instead, she seemed much more interested in encouraging Duke and me to talk. After I finished my wine, I switched to drinking fresh grape juice with Claire. Once we had eaten our fill, Manna collected the empty dishes and carried them back to the kitchen.
"Duke, do we have any dried apricots?" she called after some time.
"I don't know, did you buy any dried apricots?"
"Just help me look!"
With a heavy sigh, Duke hoisted himself out of his seat and joined his wife. Whispered arguing carried from the kitchen, and though I couldn't make out the words, I had a feeling it wasn't about apricots. A sudden laugh from Claire pulled my attention away from the couple.
"What?" I asked when I realized she was staring at me.
"You look like you're wearing lipstick."
"I bet it looks more like I ate lipstick." I held out my tongue to find it stained deep purple. "Does it look good on me?" I asked with a grin.
"Yes, it really pops against your skin tone. What about me?" she asked with overly-pursed purple lips.
"I think strawberries suit you better than grapes, but I like both."
"Strawberries?"
Before I had to explain, a voice from the street rescued me.
"Hi, Claire!"
"Elli!" Claire rushed to meet the nurse at Duke and Manna's fence.
"Trent wanted me to drop this off for you while I was running errands," she said, handing a small bottle of sunscreen to Claire. "You do look a little pink."
"Thanks, Elli. Will you tell him I said thank you?"
Elli smiled and nodded before she waved at me.
"Hi, Cliff! I didn't know you would be working here too! I'm certain the doctor would have sent a bottle for you if he knew."
"It's alright," I called over to her.
"Are you coming to the bar tonight?" Claire abruptly asked Elli.
"No, my grandmother hasn't been doing well lately with these cooler nights; it's best if I look after Stu as much as I can. I already gave Karen a care package from Trent and me this morning. I have a feeling she'll need it tomorrow! Feel free to stop by the clinic in the morning if you're feeling unwell. We usually see a few bad headaches the day after Karen's birthday."
Manna and Duke reemerged from the kitchen without apricots. Manna quickly spotted Elli and called over to her.
"Elli! You look like you could use a break! You know you can't pour from an empty cup!" she cheered, grabbing the decanter. "Pull up a chair and join us!"
"Another time!" she said in time to stop Manna from pouring her a glass. "I need to get back to my errands. And Duke," she said, taking on a playfully scolding tone, "I can smell cigarettes."
"I'll keep trying for you, dear," Duke promised with a smooth smile.
"I suppose it's for the best," Manna pouted as she waved goodbye to Elli. "Our lunch is stretching on too long, and the grapes are waiting!"
Before we returned to the vineyard, Claire added the sunscreen to her rucksack inside. Our grape harvesting was far more relaxed after lunch. Manna and Duke argued and flirted just as much in the vineyard as they did over lunch. It was interesting to see how flushed and young they looked as they worked beside one another.
"He's very handsome," Claire whispered to me through the trellis.
I snorted. "I didn't realize Duke was your type."
"You see it too, don't deny it! Everyone gets like that when they're doing something they love."
"I think I know what you mean," I nodded, thinking of the times I stole glances of her on the farm.
The more we all labored together, the more I wondered if it was easier for me to bond with people I worked with. Wasn't that the relationship I had with my mother towards the end of things? Just working together every day? The thought made my chest ache and I let out a sigh as I clipped at a cluster of grapes.
"You okay?" Claire asked.
"Just a cramp in my hand," I lied and rubbed at my palm. Claire's pale blue eyes watched me closely.
The sun was beginning to set by the time all the ripened grapes had been harvested and laid out.
"Thanks for helping out. Guess this is the part you've been looking forward to," Duke said as he placed my pay in my hand. I resisted the urge to count it out again in front of him, but Claire didn't.
"Thank you for the work," I said, relieved the day had gone well.
Manna nudged Duke with her elbow.
"Uh," Duke began. "You're welcome…and, uh, look forward to tasting the wine of the grapes you picked."
Manna nudged her husband harder, and he grunted at her, obviously annoyed and reluctant.
"Don't you have something you want to ask?" Manna urged her husband.
Duke let out a defeated sigh. "Cliff, what do you think about working here at Aja Winery full-time?"
"The harvest is over, but winemaking is a year-round job!" Manna beamed.
I felt my mind go blank.
"Cliff?" Claire prompted.
"Really?" I asked cautiously, thinking they may be playing an unfunny joke, but no one was laughing. "You're serious?"
Manna nodded happily. "With Aja gone off to the city, it's awful hard for just Duke and me!"
Duke grumbled at her words, but I barely registered it.
"Thanks, you, uh, you won't regret it," I said, awestruck.
Duke stiffly held out his hand, and I gave him a weak handshake.
"Well, if you two are anything like me, I know you're ready to get to the bar already. Karen told us old-timers to stay away tonight. Go out and celebrate for the both of us," Duke said, a smile returning to his lips.
"But not too hard!" Manna added. "Be here by ten-thirty tomorrow, and we'll get you set up!"
I was still staring in disbelief when Duke and Manna disappeared inside the winery. The moment they closed the door, Claire whirled to face me.
"Cliff! You just landed a job!" she nearly squealed.
"Did I?" I wondered, a slow smile spreading across my lips as I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know…"
"You don't know what? You heard them! 'Be here by ten-thirty!'"
"I…I don't know what to say," I said with a breathy laugh. I couldn't collect my dazed thoughts. All I could focus on was the way she was smiling at me.
I reflexively caught Claire's hands before they could wrap around me. Her sudden attempt to hug me stunned me more than the job offer.
"Sorry, I—! Sorry," Claire laughed it off as she freed her arms, and I wasn't sure if I should be proud of or annoyed at myself for stopping her. "Congrats!" she said, slapping the side of my shoulder instead. "Wait until you tell everyone!"
I smiled at the idea and fought the urge to run straight to Carter. I could picture how happy he'd be… Then it dawned on me.
I have a job, I told myself. I can make money. I can pay my bills. I can buy whatever I want to eat. I can save up to buy my own land.
I can stay.
The realization gave me the courage to say exactly what I wanted to in the moment.
"This is all thanks to you, Claire," I stressed, hoping she would understand the rush of gratitude and affection I felt towards her.
She flashed my favorite smile at me. "Don't sell yourself short!"
I couldn't stop smiling and ran my hand through my hair again. The entire situation was almost too much to handle. One thing was for sure though—I was ready to celebrate.
"C'mon, let's go to the inn!"
"I need to go get ready first," she said, shaking her head.
"You can get ready at the inn. They have a bathroom."
Claire let out an amused scoff. "You're such a man. I need to change, fix my hair…" she said as untied her hair.
"You look great," I assured her, admiring the way her hair fell into large messy curls.
Claire looked away and smiled. "I do have Karen's present in my rucksack already…"
"So, let's go!"
"Fine," Claire granted. "But if Karen says something, you owe me a drink!"
"I'm buying you a drink anyway!"
"You really need to manage your money better," she laughed.
"I'll start doing that tomorrow," I promised as I took a few steps back towards the inn and gestured for her to come closer.
With a final shake of her head and laugh, Claire followed me to the inn.
I loved writing Duke! He and Manna are going to be playing a big part for the rest of the story. PSA: don't smoke, obviously.
Manna and Duke's interactions were inspired by Durotos' portrayal of the couple in "The Shy Newcomer"!
I picture Duke and Manna's place as one of those country homes in Provence. It took all the restraint I had not to drop lavender fields or olive groves in Mineral Town, haha. I had a blast writing this picturesque little place. How could Aja leave it?
I'm not making any promises, but I think I may be able to get at least two chapters out next week since I'll have a break from class. Karen's birthday looks like it's going to be a three-chapter set. There are some moments in it I've been wanting to share and I can't possibly wait three weeks to do it. I've gotten way more into writing this story than I initially anticipated!
It's party time next chapter, and Cliff is in the mood to let loose.
