Chapter 23 #2
The kitchen was large and rustic and one of the most chaotic spaces I’d ever been in.
It looked like someone had emptied out the cupboards and left everything on the surfaces.
The sink was piled high with pans to be washed.
However, the view through the window above it of the rows of green vines, stretching away as far as the eye could see, more than made up for the mess.
Half of the room was taken up with a long table and chairs, each with different coloured cushions on them. A huge floor-to-ceiling wine rack dominated one wall. Next to it was a double American-style refrigerator.
Max the dog settled himself on the tiled floor and I took a seat at the table. ‘No need to apologise. It’s lived-in, that’s all, and I imagine it’s a lovely room to spend time in.’
He laughed and took off his hat. ‘Thanks, it has its moments. As you can see, I’ve been having a sort-out. I thought we had a bread maker somewhere, but I can’t find it.’ He held up the kettle. ‘Mint, camomile or black?’
I opted for black and quizzed him about the conversation I’d overheard regarding breakfast for the pickers.
Jono gave a wry smile. ‘We’ve always offered lunch, but now our website states that we offer breakfast on picking days too.
Another bright idea from Andrea. The kids who pick stay at nearby hostels.
There are kitchens, but most of the kids would rather stay in bed a bit longer than eat.
Feeding them breakfast here means at least we know they’re not out in the sun working on an empty stomach. ’
‘Andrea is your ex-wife?’
‘Yeah.’ He nodded grimly. ‘This morning, the fan belt on the tractor needed fixing, I lost track of time, so unfortunately breakfast was bananas and a big bag of chocolate freckles. They’ll never let me forget it.’
‘What time is breakfast?’ I smiled my thanks as he set a mug on the table for me.
‘Why, do you like the sound of the menu?’ he asked, sitting opposite me. ‘Seven-thirty usually. We start picking at eight.’
‘Never heard of chocolate freckles, but as I haven’t met a chocolate I didn’t like, they sound delicious. But I was thinking that maybe you put me in charge of breakfast, that way you can concentrate on the vineyard?’
‘Maggie.’ He chinked his mug against mine. ‘You got yourself a job.’
We both looked up at the sound of a vehicle pulling up and a door slamming. Max trotted off to greet whoever had arrived, his tail already thumping.
A teenage boy popped his head into the kitchen. ‘Hey Jono, is Daisy ready?’
‘Hi, Tom!’ Jono seemed surprised to see him. ‘Er, sure, I’ll give her a shout.’
He’d only taken a few paces towards the hall when footsteps came running down the stairs.
‘Hi, Dad, bye Dad.’ Jono’s daughter flew into the kitchen, kissed his cheek and paused when she saw me. ‘Oh, hey. Maggie, right?’
I nodded. ‘Lovely to meet you, Daisy. I’m cooking breakfast tomorrow. Will you be around to show me where everything is, if Jono’s busy?’
‘Sure, there’s no school tomorrow, so I’ll be slaving away for Dad anyway,’ she told me.
‘That would be really helpful,’ I said, but her attention had already moved to the boy jingling his car keys in the hallway.
‘Ready?’ she said, sidling up to him.
‘Are you two going somewhere … together?’ Jono asked, waving a finger between the two of them.
‘No, Dad, we’re going to sit in Tom’s car in the yard. Duh.’ She was attempting to be cool, but the tell-tale pink circles on her cheeks gave her away.
‘My Auntie Sue’s dog has had a litter of pups. Daisy wants to see them,’ Tom explained.
Do you like puppies? In a flash, Jackson’s face appeared to me in my mind’s eye. Our first date. In a dark forest by torchlight, the ebb and flow of the distant ocean waves creating our own personal soundtrack.
Jono relaxed. ‘Gotcha. Well, have fun. Drive safely with my daughter on board, Tom.’
Daisy grabbed Tom’s hand. ‘Then we’re going out for food. Bye, see you at breakfast, Maggie.’
After they’d gone, Jono puffed his cheeks out and ran a hand through his hair. ‘Jesus.’
‘Pretty girl,’ I said, sipping my tea. ‘How old is she?’
‘Fourteen.’ He smiled wistfully. ‘And growing up fast.’
Young to be dating a boy who already held a driver’s licence, I thought, but it was none of my business, so I kept my opinion to myself.
‘My girl is the best thing to come out of my marriage,’ said Jono, settling back in his chair. ‘What did Pete tell you about me and Andrea?’
Max returned from seeing off Daisy and Tom and chose to sit next to me, his chin on my knee. I stroked his head and bopped his black nose with my fingertip. He must have liked that because he stood on his hind legs and tried to lick my face.
‘The bare minimum. That you’d split up, that Daisy was living with you and that you could use a spare pair of hands during the harvest.’
‘Not only the harvest, to be honest. And we didn’t split up; she left me.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘I should never have employed a Frenchman.’
‘What do you mean?’ I gave him a quizzical look, hoping he wasn’t about to blame an entire nation for his wife’s defection.
‘She couldn’t resist his accent,’ he explained. ‘Even when he said, “Your dog has eaten his own shit,” he sounded romantic.’
I moved Max’s face away from mine, in case that had been a real quote from the Frenchman.
‘I can forgive her for leaving me. But leaving Daisy? Never.’ A muscle in his neck twitched.
‘I lost all respect for her the day she walked out. There’s no coming back from that.
Daisy cried for weeks. I can handle the dent to my ego, but Daisy doesn’t understand why her mum has chosen not to be in her life anymore. Poor kid.’
Max removed his paws from my knee, padded over to Jono and gave a single low woof.
‘I know, boy, it’s time.’ He set his mug down and got to his feet. ‘Time for his walk. I’m going to head out to the vines, check we’re on track for tomorrow’s picking. I’ll leave you to enjoy the view.’
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if I could go with him, but something told me he didn’t want company.
‘I’m not here to just enjoy the views, Jono,’ I said, as he put his hat back on. ‘Put me to work.’
‘Okay.’ He looked at me evenly. ‘Can you drive a forklift truck?
‘Um …’ I winced. ‘I’ll give it a go?’
He laughed. ‘Kidding. Don’t worry, there’s plenty to do, but for today, relax, okay? Make yourself at home. Come on, Max.’
I watched them head out, silhouetted by the setting sun, Max’s nose to the ground exploring the scent of his surroundings, Jono’s attention fixed on the field of vines beyond the fence. Cold and frosty England seemed a long way away right now, and I had no rush to get back.