Chapter 5 #2
Fran sat poised on her stool at the head of the table, holding court as she so often liked doing when they were kids. She was happiest when all eyes were on her.
“I’m so glad we could do this this year,” Fran said, looking at each of the women around her.
“We’re all having babies of our own, and it’s getting harder to find the time to see each other, but you all really are my best friends for life, even you, Annie.
It’s nice that you’ve finally decided we’re worthy of your time again.
” She capped her words with a smile, but Annie knew her well enough to see the sneer that lived beneath.
That was definitely a dig. Thankfully, Rachel cut in before Annie’s impulse for confrontation kicked in.
“You have to make it through the diaper stage, then your life starts feeling normal again. And the next thing you know, they’re all grown up and turning double digits. But I don’t miss the baby stage.”
“I love the baby stage!” Leah chimed in. “Especially a fresh baby. When they smell all new and shiny.” She inhaled deeply, eyelids fluttering.
“I’m ready for it to be over,” Becca said. “Chase is absolutely useless with an infant. I’m tired of having to trade blowjobs for help around the house.”
What in the hetero-hell? Annie scrunched her nose as she took a sip of her wine, hoping to hide her disgust behind the rim of her glass.
“Oh, that never goes away.” Rachel waved her hand, laughing. “I gave Brian a blowjob this morning so he wouldn’t complain about babysitting the boys this afternoon. I made him promise that he’d go down on me at least once this week and, like, actually put in the effort to make me come.”
Again, what in the hetero-hell?
A judgmental laugh escaped Annie before she could rein it in.
Everyone was looking at her. “Oh,” she said quickly, “I thought you were joking. It’s just like, you know, a little weird to me, you having to trade sexual favors to get some basic-level parenting help from your husband, who also happens to be the father of your children. ”
For a moment, no one said anything. Annie, who had never been great with silences, let alone long, uncomfortable ones like this, kept filling it.
“If it were me, I guess I would expect a certain level of understanding that it’s not babysitting when it’s your own kid, and as an equal parent, it would only make sense for there to be a balance of the load that didn’t involve having to put out.
” She shrugged, taking the last sip of her wine.
Again, more silence followed until Becca spoke. “You wouldn’t understand, Annie. It’s different when you have a husband. That’s just what you have to do.” The rest of the table nodded in agreement.
“You’re right,” Annie conceded. “Who am I to have any judgment on that? As you said, I don’t have a husband.
” She smirked, sliding off her stool, actively fighting the words that were on the tip of her tongue but failing to hold them in.
“For the record, as the only one at this table who has experience going down on a girl—making a girl come is not hard. It’s actually incredibly easy.
So maybe your husband just sucks at it.” She spun on her heel, planning to make a smooth retreat to the bathroom to reset her energy, but instead her body collided with something firm.
“Oof,” Max grunted. An empty wine glass slipped from her hands before, by some grace of God, Max caught it, saving them all from the tiny shards of glass that would have undoubtedly gone flying in every direction.
“Oh shit, Max, I’m sorry—I—,” Annie stammered, reaching out to place a steadying hand on Max’s forearm.
“Great catch,” she breathed, their gazes catching, neither moving for a moment before Annie’s brain sent the signal to her hand that it was time to move, and lingering any longer would indeed be considered weird.
“No worries. I’ve got great reflexes. You ladies need anything else?”
“I think we’re all finished,” Fran said, her face twisted with displeasure from Annie’s outburst.
Finished? That was news to Annie, but she really shouldn’t be surprised, right?
“Yeah,” Leah followed, because of course she would. Leah and Fran had always been exceptionally close. “We all probably should be heading home.”
Max shot Annie a sideways glance. “Great, I’ll grab the check—”
“No need,” Fran interjected. “I talked to Jack about it already. It’s been taken care of.”
“Oh, alright then. Well, thank you for visiting Norwich Vineyards today. Hope to see you again soon.” Max nodded, blue eyes catching Annie’s again as she moved back towards the bar area.
“This was so much fun,” Becca said, standing and sliding one arm into her coat, then the other.
“So much,” Nikki added, nodding in agreement. “And we’ll see each other again in a few weeks at your mom’s Christmas party, Annie!”
The Christmas party. Dread instantly welled up as the thought of her childhood home packed to the gills with everyone her parents had ever rubbed elbows with, all getting a little too drunk on eggnog, made her sweat.
“Oh yeah, so excited for that,” Annie lied through her teeth, leaning forward to accept Nikki’s goodbye hug.
“It’s a tradition. Wouldn’t want to miss the Dillenger Christmas party. It’s the best people watching of the year,” Leah added and they all nodded in agreement, exchanging one last hug before beginning to move towards the exit. Annie peeled off from the group to head to the restroom.
She took a moment to herself—thank God for single occupancy restrooms—to splash cool water on her cheeks.
She ran through the entire afternoon in her head, analyzing every comment, every observation, and every little dig, not liking the picture that was crystallizing in her mind that her friends—the people she had known for her entire life—were so different now, but somehow exactly the same.
Now they had babies and husbands, and I’m-better-than-you attitudes that only seemed to have amplified with their individual returns to Wellington Point.
Annie was the only one who seemed aware that the changes had happened and she didn’t quite know what to do with that.
She patted her face dry with the crinkly brown paper towels, the eco-friendly ones that always made her wonder if they were truly eco-friendly or if it was simply the result of some successful corporate greenwashing campaign.
She fished two small tubes from her pocket, mascara and lip gloss, applying fresh coats of each before heading back into the tasting room, deciding that if the winery was closing in thirty minutes, that was enough time for one last glass of wine.
Annie spotted an empty stool at the end of the bar, smiling in delight that it happened to be the end Max had been working all day.
“Decide to stick around a little longer?” Max asked with a grin as Annie slid onto her seat, the toes of her boots kicking slightly against the wooden bar.
“Yeah, you know, the vibes are good so…” Her voice fell off as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment because what was that? Good vibes? Really?
“If it’s the vibes from that table with your friends, I might have to seriously question your judgment.”
Annie’s eyes trailed down, finding a small, uneven stain soaked into the surface of the bar.
She let out a small laugh before meeting Max’s gaze again.
“You should question me. I don’t think I’m a good judge of anything right now.
Relationships, friendships, any kind of ‘ship’ really.
” She giggled nervously, trying to cover her shortcomings with humor.
Max arched a dark eyebrow, throwing her a smirk Annie wanted to get lost in. “I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion so fast. What can I get you?”
It took Annie a moment to register that Max was asking about her wine selection. “Uh—hmm, you pick for me. Anything but rosé. I really hate rosé,” she said.
“Wow, so much trust so soon? We barely even know each other. I’ve got just the thing.” Max winked, turning to head down the bar where she grabbed a bottle from the reserve fridge.
Okay. The flirting. And the winking. It was definitely happening. And not by accident. Annie had paid extremely close attention to Max’s movements all afternoon, observing how she was with other customers. Not a single wink thrown. Except to her.
Heat bloomed in her chest as Max set down a fresh glass on the bar in front of her, meeting her gaze with a smile.
“I grabbed this for you.” She slid the glass across the bar.
“It’s last year’s vintage cabernet franc.
I know it gets a bad rep for being too specific for its flavor profile, but you seem to have an open mind.
Plus, I know you like reds since you ordered one at the club the other week. ”
Annie took the glass, swirling the liquid gently, raising it towards the light as she’d always seen people do with red wine.
Max laughed, leaning forward slightly, her palms spread flat across the expanse of mahogany. “Do you even know what you’re looking for?”
“Not a fucking clue.” Annie didn’t know where that response had come from—probably all the wine she had consumed that afternoon—but a wave of boldness washed over her.
If Max could flirt with her, Annie could flirt right back.
She tossed a look over the rim of her glass, hoping it came across as flirty and assured, before taking a sip, the earthy bite of tobacco and black cherry hitting her taste buds.
Max’s eyes never left hers as she lowered the glass, running the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip. “Delicious.”
A pleased sensation rushed through Annie at the way Max’s gaze lingered on her mouth a little longer than it should have.
“I thought you’d enjoy it,” Max said.
“You were right.”
“I usually am about most things.”
“And she’s humble too,” Annie joked, grinning into her glass.