It was apparent by the first commercial break that Karen wasn't as keen on "zoning out" as she thought she was. She ignored the breakfast cereal jingle on the screen and turned toward her friend.

"Claire, do you think I should dump him?"

She hesitated. For as long as Claire knew Karen, she could tell that the young woman had been interested in Rick. Things change, she supposed, but she also didn't feel right telling them to break up. "I think… you should do what makes you happy, Karen."

The brunette lowered her eyes, but Claire could see her eyelashes fluttering rapidly as she blinked away the mistiness from her eyes. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked you that. I know this is a decision I need to make myself. I'm… not a kid anymore. I need to start acting more like a grown adult."

Claire had a hard time blocking out the commercial for a talking stuffed animal singing in the background. "I think I do, too," she admitted. She thought of all the disappointment she had brought her parents with an uncomfortable twinge in her stomach. "Maybe it's something we can work on together."

Her words surprised Karen. She had half-expected Claire to deflect what she had claimed, telling Karen she was a capable adult already. She felt a bit of disappointment and brushed it away.

This is exactly why I'm so immature. I expect and demand things from people when I don't tell them what I want.

"Maybe I'll give him one more try… His birthday is coming up," Karen explained. "I'm going to make it super romantic. Instead of telling him what I'd want him to do for me, I'm going to show him. Candlelit dinner, wine under the stars…" Her face lit up. "I'm going to show up at his doorstep with a dozen roses! There's no way he won't find this interesting!" Her posture immediately straightened up and Claire smiled at the stars in her eyes. "I'm gonna get to walk along the beach with him! We can just get lost in the moment…" She let out a happy sigh. "He'll finally understand what it is I want…" Karen gave her friend a playful wink as the show came back on. "Maybe I've found my Demon Lord already and he just needs a little taming, eh?"

"Working hard or hardly working?" Duke took a spot at the trellis beside his new employee and chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

"Working hard! Always!" Cliff replied emphatically. He sped up his pace, eager to show his boss what he could do. Cluster after cluster of grapes fell into the basket heavily, his hands moving naturally with the clippers as if he had handled them his entire life.

Duke saw the full baskets surrounding Cliff. He would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed, but he knew all too well that no one could maintain that pace forever. "You keep up at that pace and you'll burn yourself out, son." He carefully began clipping some grapes himself.

Cliff flinched at the term of endearment. The last time he had been called that, his mother had been following him through the house, choking on her tears.

"We can talk this over, son…"

He could still remember the way his heart had twisted up in ugly anger and impatience. Cliff had haphazardly thrown his bag over his shoulder, his father's bow loudly clattering against the door frame as he moved.

"There's nothing left to say! I can't stand it anymore! I don't know how you could never see that!" Cliff's voice cracked. He wondered if she had ever really cared at all…

Her toned arm reached for his, her hand clenching his wrist tightly as her beaded jewelry jingled. "Cliff, everything I've done was for you!"

Her hold wasn't a loving one; it was possessive. He wrenched his arm away, ignoring the way her nails had accidentally scratched him in the process. He hated the way his decorated tunic made the same jingle; he hated the way the feathers weaved into his hair moved along with him, tickling his shoulders. "No, it was for you! It always was! And now it's time I did something for myself!"

"Please don't do this! I can't lose you, too!"

I'll never know if I can become something if I never try…

Cliff blinked, staring into the face of his employer as he reentered reality. Duke had his head slightly cocked in a questioning manner, and a slight air of concern could be seen on his features.

"N-no, I'm fine, really! I'm… I'm really grateful for this job!" Cliff hated that his stutter had come back in his nervousness. Did he sound insincere to him?

Duke smiled. Cliff's dedication to his new job couldn't be questioned. It could be argued that he was putting up an over-enthusiastic front as a new employee, but the sheer relief and joy in his eyes were too genuine for him to be pretending. It reminded Duke much of himself and Manna in their early years of running the winery together, eager to see what each day brought. Perhaps he was drawn to Cliff as he sought to relive those feelings.

However, as much as Duke liked his new employee, he couldn't help but notice that the young man hadn't said a single thing about himself since the grape harvest. Duke had been hoping for more childhood anecdotes and laughter among the grapevines. What he had found instead was a cheerful, but very serious worker. Cliff had been much chattier when he was harvesting with Claire. Now that they were working together, he wanted Cliff to feel comfortable around him as well.

Duke gave him a smile as he turned back to the grape vines. "So… where are you originally from, Cliff? I haven't heard anything about your hometown."

The young man almost dropped his clippers as his blood ran cold. He bit his lip; he was foolish for thinking a question like this would never come up. Here it was, a direct query, and so soon into his employment… "Uh… i-it's really far away from here…" he replied evasively.

Duke laughed. "Your mountain accent gave that away ages ago. Northeastern, right?"

"Yes… Very far out there…" Cliff continued with his work, and Duke noticed he had sped up a little.

He could tell that he was anxious. "Sasha had relatives out that way, you know. I've seen you and Karen around together occasionally. A bit fiery, but she's a sweet girl. Her parents and I have been friends for a very long time. Met her when we were teenagers..." He let out a nostalgic chuckle. "Jeff and I were close and he got swept away by Sasha when she came to Mineral Town… Now that I that I'm older, I realize how young she was, moving here all by herself… She said she wanted to start out fresh when she came here."

Cliff hadn't meant to reply aloud, but the words slipped out before he could stop them. "Ah, I-I can understand that feeling," he chuckled nervously, rifling through the grape vines; his hands were beginning to shake.

Duke noticed the young man's uneasy behavior. "You're pretty young yourself, Cliff." He quickly realized he hadn't checked anything about his new employee's background before hiring him. He had just assumed that Cliff was old enough to work at a winery, but he had never seen him drinking at the bar.

"Not that young. I'm twenty-four already." Cliff was shaking his head.

He was met with laughter. "Twenty-four? You're still practically a child. How long have you been on your own?"

Cliff was uncomfortable with all of the questions, but didn't want to displease his boss. He was afraid to meet Duke's gaze. "It's going on… seven years." He picked back up on his pace, eager to focus on anything else.

Duke's face fell.

Seventeen. He was only seventeen when he moved out…

"You know, we named this winery in honor our daughter," Duke said quietly. He paused. "It's been quite a few years now…"

Cliff looked up from his work and the color drained from his face, a little unsure of what to say. "Duke… I'm so sorry…"

He shook his head. "Ah, I made it sound like she passed away, huh? She's still alive… Off to some city somewhere. I talk to her on the phone regularly…" He hoped he sounded more cheerful than he felt.

The look on Cliff's face wasn't reassuring. "Oh…"

Duke could see that Cliff was struggling to get a feel for the situation. "She'll talk to me more than she will with her mother, but… she refuses to come home." Despite the number of times he explained what had happened, a lump still managed to form in his throat. "She ran away when she was just eighteen… Eighteen is so young; she was practically a child…" He shook his head. "She was a child…" Duke gave him a meaningful look.

Cliff grew paler, but he didn't say anything. He had a sneaking suspicion this comment wasn't only about Aja's age.

"She says that she's happier now, but I can hear the sadness in her voice," Duke continued, tucking the clippers into his pocket. He didn't feel like working anymore.

"Uh…" Cliff froze. He didn't know if he should continue working or not. The situation had caught him off guard and he was unsure of how to react. He stared at the ground. "H-have you asked her why… she… left?" He wasn't sure if the question was appropriate.

Duke had a sad smile on his face as he let out a sigh and wiped his forehead, looking up at the cloudy sky. "She was unhappy with us… She just got up one morning and decided to leave. She called us a week later and gave us a phone number we couldn't track, and she refused to give her location. We want to respect her wishes, but it's hard. And it really hurts us as parents, knowing our child doesn't want to be with us anymore…"

"I can't stand it anymore!"

He had really been eager to leave his remaining parent, hadn't he?

"Oh…" Cliff's stomach tied itself in knots.

Duke cleared his throat and the way he straightened his posture made Cliff aware he was trying to think of how to word what he wanted to say. "Hey… please don't be offended, but… as a parent, I have to ask…"

Cliff gulped.

"Are you a runaway, too, Cliff?"

Yes.

The young man's head was spinning and he felt faint. "I-I… uh… I-It's complicated," he stammered.

Apparently this was the wrong answer. "C-complicated?! It's a yes or no question!" Duke roared. "How am I supposed to feel about an answer like that? Am I keeping a couple of parents from finding their child?!"

Cliff dropped his shears in shock, nearly missing his feet. He was too stunned to pick them back up. Saying the wrong thing could cause him to lose his job and then he really might have to leave Mineral Town.

I promised I'd stay at Claire's side… That this could be home…

"I-It's not like that at all…" Cliff struggled to keep the emotion out of his voice. He couldn't think of anything worse than losing his cool in front of his boss.

Duke misread the tone in Cliff's reply and took it as a curt retort. "I'm surprised at you!" he scolded. "Do you want your parents to feel the way Manna and I do? It's been, what did you say, seven years now?"

I messed up.

I should have lied.

I lost my job.

Claire… I've let you down already.

The very thought of losing everything was too much for Cliff to take; he had shut down and put up his wall. He stared at the ground emotionlessly as Duke's admonishing words blended together in his ears.

"Give them a call at least and let them know that you're here in town and you're safe… Please tell me you've done that much… I'm wondering if I'm really doing you more harm than good by employing you…"

This final comment snapped Cliff back to his senses.

I have to fight for this. I can't give up.

"Please… Duke… I… don't have a family to go back to…" He struggled to breathe as his voice trembled. It was only a matter of time before Duke told him to leave… "I need this job…"

Duke looked at the quivering boy and frowned. He was just a scared kid that didn't need his hasty judgments. The man gave him an apologetic look before noisily slapping his forehead with his open palm. "Goddess, I'm an idiot… I shouldn't have presumed…" He had been so caught up in his grief over Aja that he simply accepted that Cliff was in an identical situation. Duke looked over at Cliff and saw that he was swiftly choking back down the pain which had overwhelmed him a moment ago. His behavior suggested that he never got the chance to properly mourn, and that he didn't know how to at this point. "Cliff… I'm sorry…"

The young man swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at his boss.

Everything's alright. He's not mad anymore. Turn it off. Be pleasant for your boss.

"It's okay; I'm fine." Cliff gave him a cheerful smile and picked his clippers off of the ground. He looked as if the conversation had never happened.

Duke was a little disturbed at how quickly Cliff recovered; it wasn't natural. He still felt guilty for his accusations. "Why don't you take the afternoon off? My treat – I'll pay you…"

"Oh, I couldn't!" Cliff stammered and laughed nervously, getting back to the grapes. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the afternoon stewing over their conversation.

Don't think. Just keep moving.

"Don't give it another thought. We've got wine to make!"

Duke still wasn't satisfied. "Well… If you insist on working, then I have another job for you to do."

"Of course." Eager to be of service, Cliff sheathed his clippers and awaited his order.

"We have a batch of chardonnay in the cellar that has just ripened. Why don't we give it a try?" He gave him a grin.

It felt like Duke was offering a reward. That was hardly necessary. "Oh! But-"

"We need to know if it's a good batch, right?" Duke winked. "Come on. Why don't you head down to the farm and see if your cute lady friend wants to sample some, too?" It was the least he could do for him…

Was their relationship already that obvious to everyone? Cliff wasn't sure what to make of it. He chuckled nervously. His eyes unconsciously drifted toward Mystic Acres and Duke found himself smirking; he had caught Cliff looking in that direction from time to time as he carried the baskets of grapes.

"Uh… I'm s-sure she's busy…" Cliff wrung his hands, and his boss noticed his face was flushed.

Duke chuckled softly. It seemed Cliff was still like a child in a few ways – perhaps his parents never got the chance to talk to him about relationships… If Manna were out here, she would likely be scolding him for teasing Cliff. "Okay, okay, I know when enough is enough. Go downstairs and fill a bottle from the cask of Chardonnay and bring it to the shop in five minutes; that's an order."

"Of course…" Cliff hoisted one of the full baskets at his feet to take down to the wine cellar with him.

Duke laughed. "Just bring the bottle; the grapes can wait."

"… I'll bring this one downstairs with me when I get the bottle," Cliff replied.

Duke knew he wasn't going to win this one. "Suit yourself. I'll see you inside."

Relaxing, cozy, dreamy…

Claire sniffed the bundles of bergamot in the basket she was carrying. She was grateful she was able to remember some of the places Cliff had pointed out long ago to her.

I wonder if he thought of that outing as a date…

Claire shook her head with a grin, sniffing the wildflowers. There was no need to flatter herself – they had only just met a few weeks before at that point and she was obnoxiously infatuated with Gray at the time. They had both come such a long way from that day. She could remember a time when Cliff scarcely spoke at all and most of their talking was in the form of recitations of prayers. She recalled everyone's reaction to them speaking together at the supermarket.

Now people comment on how talkative he's gotten…

She entered the doors of the clinic with a smile. Elli bounced up from her seat and greeted Claire.

"Wow, I'm so glad you could find so much! You must've gone deeper into the woods than I allow Stu to go."

Claire gave her a nod as the nurse accepted the basket and eagerly began weighing the plants on the scale behind her.

"Doctor Trent is in right now with his colleague."

Claire sniffed the air. "I smell roasted chicken." She realized at once how hungry she was.

Elli let out a soft chuckle. "I have some chicken and vegetables going in a slow cooker up in my apartment upstairs. I guess we could've taken everyone to Doug's, but we thought it would be easier to talk shop in a nice quiet place like this. And just between you and me, I've been wanting to give this recipe a try. Trent can be hard to please, as he only really eats low fat things, but I wanted to make something that tasted rich but still was healthy…"

The doorknob to the doctor's office rattled and Elli went rather pink, quickly finishing to her weighing of the bergamot and fishing some money out of the drawer to pay for it. "This is perfect! Thank you so much! Doctor Trent and Doctor Lovett will be so happy to have more of these for their project."

"Doctor Lovett…?" Claire's eyes blinked in surprise.

A familiar tall man with sandy brown hair was shaking Doctor Trent's hand. Claire's jaw dropped as the man's wife followed them out of the office.

She had blonde hair cut into a chin-length bob, painted lips, and a smart business jacket. The woman looked at Claire and they paused for a moment, taking each other in. It had been years, after all. Claire's heart jumped into her throat and her sapphire eyes widened as she caught her in a deep embrace.

"It's been too long, little Claire. You've gotten skinny."

Her jumble of emotions left her feeling weak. "S-Simone…?"

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading along. I'm eager to start busting all of this Cliff back story I've been dying to share. I'd love to hear what you think!