23. Will
CHAPTER 23
Will
T he last time I was at Florence’s family winery had to have been years ago. But from what I remember, not a lot seems to have changed. There’s a giant sign near the entrance of a long gravel road; it’s a white wooden sign with large brown lettering on it. Abbott Winery wine is served at all the bars in town, and the local market carries individual bottles.
This has always been a winery, but it wasn’t until Florence’s family moved in and put money into the land that it finally started to take off. They re-structured the fields to allow for better growth and added events and tours for those interested in learning the process of making wine and what happens behind the scenes. They also host speakers and events on occasion. I already know walking into this meeting they will gladly donate wine for the event. They love Millie as much as their own daughter, as does everyone else.
It’s no surprise that when she started to get into events that everyone in town would be chomping at the bit to help her and also book her. Her attention to detail is incredible, and I know it’s one of the things she’s worked on over the years. If her task lists have anything to show for it, she isn’t one to miss something. And if she does, like the random order the other day, Millie is still somehow a step ahead and back on schedule before the day is over.
It’s incredible.
I wish I had that kind of drive and motivation. I can’t fathom how she does it.
When I lived in the city, I never had to worry. There was always a steady stream of clients from word of mouth alone. Even when I was with Julia, it was easy. Well, in some ways it was hard, but I never felt like I had to push myself to do more.
And now, I find myself wanting to try.
What would it be like if I could save the record store? Could I launch my own business here, in Willow Pines? If I could find a way out, I would try. For myself, I would try.
Which is why this trip and planning for the rest of the event will go well because if for some reason everything goes to shit and I leave to go back to the city, at least this won’t all be for nothing. It’s safe to say I’ll be staying in town longer than the original two weeks.
“Will! Millie!” Florence’s mom greets us as we hop out of the truck. “So glad you could join us today.”
Millie runs over to her and grasps her in a hug. When they pull away, it appears as if Florence’s mom whispered something in Millie’s ear because Millie mumbles something, looks over at me, and they both laugh.
“Oh, come on, William, give me a hug. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you.”
“Hi, Mrs. Abbott. Sorry I haven’t made it over here yet,” I say sheepishly as we embrace.
“Nonsense. Millie hasn’t been over either, so you’re not doing too bad.”
Millie groans but doesn’t make excuses. Instead, she dives right into asking Mrs. Abbott about the winery. She knows a lot of the answers because of Florence, but Mrs. Abbott is loving it. She talks with her hands as we walk around the perimeter of the land. I’m glad we cut through the middle on the way back, because although this is interesting, I’m freezing my ass off, and I’d love to go inside to sample some wine.
“Okay, so here we have our most popular wines,” Mrs. Abbott says as she pours us small glasses of the winery’s most popular flavors. And to our surprise, she mentions the plan for the spring festival because she heard about it from Florence.
“Oh, I hope Flo didn’t ask anything of you. I would hate to put you in an uncomfortable position,” Millie rushes out, but Mrs. Abbott waves her off.
“I would have heard about it from someone else, if not from my own daughter. I’d be more than happy to donate a few barrels for the town. We weren’t able to do it last year due to low production, but this year has been good for us.”
“Only if you’re sure,” Millie says. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like we are pressuring them to help.
But Mrs. Abbott doesn’t. She shakes her head and lets us know she will send Millie an email with a few options and we can chat through more details next week.
“Thank you. Grandpa will be thrilled to have unlimited wine to drink,” I say with a chuckle.
“How is he?” Mrs. Abbott asks.
Millie looks at me with wide eyes. We haven’t had a chance to talk about what happened, and I haven’t even had a chance to digest it. I’ve hardly talked to Grandpa since then either, but he also hasn’t mentioned it. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t remember or if he’s too embarrassed by the state of the store.
“He’s not doing too well,” I say. “I’m, uh, taking over the store?” I say it like it’s a question because it still hasn’t hit me. It’s possible my subconscious doesn’t want me to recognize it because when I do, I’ll be forced to remember how much debt the store has .
“Oh, dear, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks.”
“Well, if you need help finding him a place to stay, I have a few connections to a home for seniors close by. If you remember, we had to help Florence's grandpa when you all were in high school.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks.” I somehow find it in me to smile, even though I haven’t even thought about having to move him somewhere else. Who knows how much something like that would even cost? Would that fall on me too?
Millie must sense my internal dilemma, because she tells Mrs. Abbott thank you and to say hi to Mr. Abbott for us. She grabs my hand and we walk out together, not speaking until we get into the car.
“Well, that was good,” I say, trying to show that I am happy for her and this event.
“Will, look at me,” Millie pleads.
I tighten my hands on the steering wheel, so much so that my knuckles turn white from the tension. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The last thing I want to do is break down in front of her. Again.
“Babe…” Millie places a hand on my arm, her touch as light as a feather, testing to see how I’ll react. My chest rises and falls, and she rubs my arm. I drop my head to meet her gaze, giving her a sheepish smile.
“You called me babe,” I mutter.
Her hand stops for a moment. “I did?”
“You did…but it’s not the first time.”
“Hm,” Millie muses.
“I’m okay,” I say. I manage to peel a hand from the wheel and place it over hers. “I never thought about what happens next with Grandpa. I can barely afford the rent on my place right now while I’m here.”
“Why don’t we go talk to him?” Millie suggests .
“Right now?”
She shrugs. “Why not?”
I sigh and let out a groan. “I don’t want to do this.”
“We don’t have to. You can drop me off and you can go talk to him. Or not talk to him. It’s up to you.”
“Are you going to stay over tonight?” I ask as I turn the car on. I don’t need to sit here for the next fifteen minutes and risk having Mrs. Abbott coming out to check on us.
“That’s rather presumptuous of you, don’t you think?” Millie licks her lips as she teases me, and all I can envision is this morning.
For some reason, staying in my small apartment has become the default instead of her house. Not that I’m complaining, because she can stay in bed longer and walk over to the Rose & Ivy a few minutes before the store opens.
“I surmise that you like me, Millie. That’s not presumptuous,” I say, turning the wheel to guide us back onto the main road.
Millie scoffs. “Will, you know I’ve liked you for ten years. It’s nothing new at this point.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, but that was before. You were meant to be mine, Millie, before I even knew what it was like to kiss you.”
“Were?” she asks, and I go to respond but she quickly shakes her head. “Never mind, forget I asked.”
“You are already mine, Millie. Part of me has always known that. It’s why things didn’t work out with Julia.” I sigh as I recall the time I spent with her, the hurt I must have caused.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Millie says.
“I do, Millie. I…” I pause to regroup my thoughts. “I ran away when things between us became real. You asked me about moving, and I wasn’t ready. And I was scared and angry at myself for not being able to tell you what I was thinking. I mean, we never talked about it, but I figured at some point one of us would say something? I don’t know.”
“What was I supposed to do? Wait for you?” Millie asks .
“I know, I know. It was hard. It was like I had you, then I didn’t have you. At first, in the early days, it wasn’t as bad because I came home every month. And we, uh, you know, hung out. But as life got busier, it got harder.”
Millie stays silent as I talk, as I try to get my thoughts in order.
“So we both started dating other people, but I never saw someone exclusive to the point where there was a label. Until I came to surprise Jeremy at his bar opening party and you were there with someone else.”
“We were barely together, William. There was never anyone else, you must know that by now,” Millie says with annoyance.
“Well, when I got back to the city, I met Julia and started to date her to try and get over you.”
The silence in the truck is deafening as I wait to hear what she’s going to say. My relationship with Julia was never meant to be much more than a few dates, but I got comfortable, and she did too.
“What?” I finally say after I catch Millie staring at me for the third time.
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“Ask me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She crosses her arms.
“Ask me, Millie Mae. What’s on your mind?”
Millie lets out a deep sigh and crosses her arms tighter.
“Di—Did it work?” She stumbles over her words.
I’ve pondered over the same question, so I knew she would ask it.
“For a while, it did. Or at least, I didn’t think about you as much.”
“But?”
“Well, my engagement was broken off for a reason, love.”
Damn, when I feel around Millie, I feel deep , spilling all my secrets with ease. It’s foolish of me to admit to her that I’ve been in love with her longer than I can remember, so it’s the one way I can say it without voicing it.
“You’re not someone I can get over, Millie.” I’m glad we are at a stop light when I say this next statement because I need to make sure she hears me. “So, no, it didn’t work. I’ll never get over you.”