2. Matt
Chapter 2
Matt
A s usual, I wake up early and make myself a cup of coffee. Only now I get to sit out on my back deck and watch the sun come up over the water. The small two-bedroom house I rented is down the street from my parents’ and overlooks Starlight Bay. Watching the sun rise here reminds me of the days when I would be sneaking back into the house trying to beat the rising sun after being out all night with Kylie. Now, I rise with it, with hope for a new day.
I hear a car door slam and head inside in time to see my mom walk through the front door. I put my finger over my lips in a hushed manner. “Liam’s still sleeping.”
She nods and heads for the kitchen where I hand her a mug to fill with coffee. “Come on outside with me.”
She makes her coffee then follows behind me, leaving the slider door cracked just an inch so if Liam does wake, he knows where we are.
We take our seats and she dives right in. “How are you feeling?”
I sip from my coffee. “I’m okay. Kind of funny how easy it is to fall right back into the rhythm of town.” I look out over the water. “I’m kind of excited to see how things run down at Grape Expectations.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m just a phone call away, and of course your dad will be there with you. He has a lot of knowledge about the winery. You know he and Paul spent a lot of time there together. Dad's actually been an employee there for the last year.”
I look at her in surprise. “No shit!”
She laughs. “No shit. He enjoyed learning the behind-the-scenes of picking the grapes and corking.” She sips from her coffee. “Keeps him out of my hair too.” She winks but continues. “Don’t ever feel you can't call us.”
I nod. “Thanks.” My mind churns over how to say this. “And thanks for…” my words linger. I swallow. Clear my throat. “For everything, I guess. After Gina left, it was hard to navigate how to be there for Liam.”
Gina and I met right after college. She was fun and driven. I fell for her instantly and we began to plan our life. I took a coaching job right out of school that kept me home, but she was constantly traveling for work. At first, I thought it was amazing how goal oriented she was, but when she was missing holidays to work or missing my games because she stayed late at the office, I realized we were on two different pages of what life looked like together.
She pats my hand. “He’s a resilient kid and he’s going to be just fine. You’re a great dad, Matt. And honestly, being here with family and your friends, I don't think you’re going to have to worry about him.” She ends that sentence with a tone that makes me look over at her. “You on the other hand…” she trails off, and I groan.
“Ma, I’m thirty-four, when will you stop worrying?”
“Never. I’m your mother. It’s what we do.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“I don’t want you to be alone, Matt. You’re too young. One bad apple shouldn’t ruin it for the rest of your life.”
I let out a breath. “Dating is the last thing I want to do right now. I have to focus on Liam, the winery. There’s no time for all the bullshit that comes along with getting to know someone.”
“What if you already know them?” I turn to her. She sips from her coffee looking out across the bay and I laugh. She looks like that Kermit the Frog meme about minding her own business. When, in fact, she makes everything her business.
“Whatever you’re trying to do, don’t.” I stand and she smirks. “Thanks for staying with Liam. You know where to find me.” I bend down, giving her a kiss on the cheek before walking back into my kitchen and putting the coffee mug in the sink. I grab my keys and get ready to meet this new adventure head on.
* * *
Pulling up to the winery, I chuckle to myself as I see the sign that reads Grape Expectations . “Uncle Paul, you were so corny.”
I’m immediately struck by the realization that the place doesn’t look as big as it did when I was a kid coming here. And it doesn’t look like as much of a party hall as it did when I was a teenager. Right now it just looks like a burden. It looks like it needs a lot of work and it looks like I’m going to die here in Starlight Bay.
I get out of my truck and grab the keys that were slid to me at the estate signing. The front porch squeaks as I step on it, but it’s sturdy so at least I won’t have to replace it. I tug on the beams, which feel solid, and besides the windows needing some cleaning, the outside seems in good shape. I unlock the door and it swings open. The sunlight pours in behind me, accentuating the giant open room in front of me. I take a deep breath and step through. It still smells just like I remember: a touch of vinegar, stale cigar smoke, and fermented grapes, but nostalgia is the strongest scent here.
I’m instantly taken back to the summer before my senior year. My family was celebrating my parents' twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and my uncle closed the place down for just our family and friends. It was late August and I had two-a-day practices for football at that point. I was looking forward to the beginning of my last season here at Starlight Bay High. I showed up late but I'll never forget walking through the hall and out to the back yard. The white lights strung from pole to pole accentuated the large flowerpot arrangements at the corners of the wooden patio. The DJ was playing dance music, and I watched as Kylie and my mom spun each other around on the makeshift dance floor. They were the center of attention and were the most gorgeous women in the place. My dad walked up next to me and clapped me on the back. “Are you getting a glimpse of your twenty-fifth anniversary?” For a split second I imagined that was what my own wedding would look like. My mom and my wife, having the time of their lives. While Dad and I looked on, knowing we were the luckiest guys around.
Instead, my wedding day was at the courthouse, with only me, my pregnant ex-wife, and her sister as witness. Liam was definitely a surprise, but one of the best of my life. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be a dad until it was presented to me. And if I had allowed Gina to continue running our life only based on how we advanced in our jobs, I would have missed out.
I move around the room, pulling chairs down from the tables. The place looks good, clean, and fully stocked. Mom said my dad and the staff basically ran the winery when Uncle Paul was sick. Of course, no one in town realized any difference because he still showed up most days, he just didn’t stay for twelve-hour shifts anymore, and occasionally he’d skip days altogether. I guess if anyone had really thought about it, they’d have realized it was strange for him not to be here. But when you’re so involved in the day-to-day, I guess no one had time to register that anything was wrong, they just enjoyed being here at the winery. So despite everything he was going through, he continued to give the town what they wanted.
I walk around the bar, stepping onto the mats behind it. I run my hand along the bottles and say out loud, “Oh, Uncle Paul, what were you thinking?”
A voice from behind startles me. “I’m sure he was thinking his favorite nephew can’t get by on good looks and charm alone.”
That voice. I throw a glance over my shoulder and Kylie Johnson is standing in the doorframe, the sun shining in behind her, making it seem like she’s an apparition.
“Kylie.”
“Hey, Matt.” I stare at her for a moment too long, remembering everything good about us together. It plays like a video on fast-forward in my mind right up until the point we said goodbye, somehow knowing, but not wanting to admit, it would probably be the last time we saw each other.
She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Golden brown hair that hangs over her shoulders, cutoff jean shorts that show off her legs, and a t-shirt that shouldn't be sexy, but is. Everything about my girl next door screams she’s innocent, but I know she’s anything but. She steps forward until she’s able to lean on the bar top. I stand still, watching her approach, one hand on my hip and the other holding tight onto the bar like I need grounding.
“I just heard you were back in town. How are you? It’s been a long time.”
I clear my throat and try to speak. I don’t know why I’m having such an issue right now.
Come on, yes you do, this is Kylie.
“I’m good. Probably just as surprised as everyone else that I'm here.” I laugh to myself. “It’s definitely not where I thought I would end up.”
She tilts her head slightly. “I was surprised to hear you were the new owner here, especially since I never thought you’d come back to Starlight Bay. I guess your Uncle Paul made sure you made it home.”
I shrug. “He never liked that I moved away to begin with.” I switch my stance, never letting go of her stare and also never letting go of the bar. I feel extremely off kilter right now. “Never thought he’d make me run the place though.” I chuckle and shake my head. “Also never thought I’d be divorced and a single father either.”
Jesus, what is wrong with me? Why am I word-vomiting right now?
She tilts her head the other way now, a small smile turning her lips. “I heard you had a son. Is he here with you?”
“He is. It’s just us. His mother moved across the country, taking the job that was more important than us,” I say it bitterly and with more anger than I want. Something crosses her face, and I’m sure she’s thinking back to my choosing football over coming home to Starlight Bay, and coming home to her.
“I’m sorry for that, but I’m glad to see you back here. What better place to raise him than where you grew up.” I relax a bit at her words. It feels like she’s giving me permission to have failed and come home.
“It was pretty great here, wasn’t it?” We continue to hold each other's eyes. “Especially the time spent here.” I knock on the bar top and clear my throat again, shuffling my feet before I round the bar. I flip on more lights that illuminate the rest of the hall. “I’m sorry, Ma did raise me with manners, it's just, seeing you is kind of taking me by surprise.” She smiles as I walk close and pull her into a hug. She lays her head on my chest, her arms circling my waist, and we hold on for a moment longer than old friends should.
She clears her throat and steps back from me, and the loss of touch is felt immediately. “I’m sorry about your uncle. I’ll always remember how nice he was to me. Even after knowing you used to sneak me in here to drink underage.”
“I used to sneak you in? You used to beg me to bring you in the back door!” I yell in outrage. She winks at me and I know she’s teasing. I laugh and drop my head. “The memories this place holds, right?”
“Yeah there are quite a few here.”
Breaking the silence that falls over us once again, I clap my hands. “You’re here to discuss your wedding.” My eyes drop to the ring on her finger and a feeling of jealousy comes over me. I have no right to that feeling. We never made promises, there was just an illusion of what would be. We broke it off, I broke it off, over fifteen years ago. I’m the one who stayed away, I’m the one who went off and got married and started a family.
“I am,” she says, almost hesitantly. I tilt my head at her, but she doesn’t look me in the eye; instead, she checks her watch. “He should’ve been here a little while ago. He had a meeting in another state and was flying in this morning. I haven’t heard from him, so maybe his plane got delayed.”
“Oh yeah, what does he do?” I look back under the bar and grab a rag then pick up the scheduling planner that sits next to the register. I wipe off two chairs and a table and motion for her to sit.
“He's an investment banker. It’s a family company and he’s being primed to take it over.”
“Wow, that’s pretty exciting.” I almost say it sarcastically because if anything screams the opposite of Kylie, it’s an investment banker. If she was saying she was marrying a fireman, a sports coach, those would make sense. But a buttoned-up, strict, white-collar guy? No way.
“It was in the beginning.” Her words bring my attention back to the present, but she still won’t look at me. “He’s away a lot, and training for the promotion takes up a lot of time. I’m sure there will be more free time once everything is complete.” I nod slowly, feeling like she’s trying to reassure herself more than me, and open the planner.
“I’m sure. Good news is that your time right now is filled with wedding planning. Which, by the way, I know nothing about, and as the owner of this business, I probably shouldn’t tell you that.”
She laughs. “Don’t worry. My sister has had this day planned for years.”
I sit back and smile. “Ah, good ol’ organized Sadie. How is she?”
“As organized as ever.” Kylie laughs again. “She’ll actually be here in a few minutes.”
“Well that’s good. It’ll be nice to see her. Does she need a job? Maybe I can hire her to be my assistant.”
Kylie’s eyes open wide. “This would actually be her dream job, so unless you’re serious, don’t say it because she won’t let it go.”
“Yes, a dog with a bone. I remember your sister well.”