CHAPTER 26
“Oh, come on. You’re really leaving? You’ve spent this whole time planning her move to New Orleans.”
“Hi, Logan,” India said. “And hi, Sophie,” she added to Sophie, who was sitting alone at the bar, talking to Logan, who was standing behind it.
“Hey. Drink?” Logan asked.
“I’m actually going to sit at a booth with my… friends,” India said, loving how good it felt to say that she had friends.
“Cool. I’ll be right over.”
“Hey, India,” Sophie said.
“Hi. How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“She’s leaving,” Logan said.
“Leaving?”
“Bryce and I are moving to Los Angeles. We just got approved for an apartment lease. We’re moving after Christmas, which is crazy, but we’ll be back for the weddings.”
“You’re moving to LA?” India asked.
“Bryce got this great job out there, and she’s been going back and forth from there to here and still technically lives in Tennessee.
It’s been a bit of a nightmare, but now, yes, we’re moving.
I can work from anywhere, and she loves it there.
I went this past week, and I hate to admit it, but I really liked it, too.
We found this apartment that’s only fifteen minutes away from the office she’ll be working out of, and it’s in a cute neighborhood.
We might end up buying a house there, assuming we’d ever be able to afford one, but I wasn’t ready to commit to that just yet. ”
“Wow! That’s great. Congratulations!”
“Thanks. I feel like I have so much to do, but I can’t do any of it yet because I still have to live in my apartment and work, and Bryce is in Tennessee right now, packing up the last of her stuff.
It’s getting sent straight to LA. Then, she’s coming here to help me.
It’s a lot, but I saw how happy she was when we were there, and my situation here has changed, so I can move now. It just felt right.”
“Hey,” Maisie said, approaching India with Lainey and Paige since they’d driven separately.
“Hi.” India smiled at her. “Uh… Maisie, this is Sophie. And you probably remember Logan from the other night.”
“Yeah. Hi,” Maisie said. “And nice to meet you,” she added to Sophie.
“You too,” Sophie replied. “And I should be going. I have to make list after list of things to do before the move.” She stood up from the bar. “I’ll see you later?”
“I guess,” Logan said. “But you’re moving, so don’t be a stranger before you go. Let me know if you need help.”
“Thanks. I will,” Sophie replied. “Good night, India. I’ll see you later, too?”
“Sure,” India said, but she hardly knew Sophie, so she didn’t know how likely that would be unless there was some going-away party and she happened to snag an invite.
“And nice to meet you, Maisie,” Sophie added with a smile.
“You too,” Maisie said and took India’s hand.
“You want the booth in the corner?” Logan asked.
“That would be great,” India replied.
She walked with Maisie over to the corner booth and sat down, with Maisie sitting next to her and Paige and Lainey across from them.
“So… Sophie?” Maisie asked.
“Uh… Yeah. Sophie.”
“Is she an ex?”
“What?” India asked, laughing. “No. I hardly know her. She’s a friend of a friend, mostly, I think.”
“Oh,” Maisie said.
“And in case you’re thinking about something else, you should know that I just found out that she’s moving to LA at the end of the year with her very serious girlfriend.”
“Oh,” Maisie said in a much happier tone. “Got it.”
“You were jealous,” Paige teased Maisie.
“Not jealous. Just–”
“Marking your territory?” Lainey added.
“Shut up, both of you,” Maisie said as she laughed.
India wrapped her arm around the back of the booth and said, “I’ve met Sophie maybe one other time. She was at that barbecue thing Finley invited me to last month. She’s very nice. They’re making a movie about her and Bryce.”
“A movie?” Maisie asked.
“Yes. I guess they met in some interesting way involving a bar here and blogs or something. I only half paid attention when Jill told me about it at the barbecue. But, anyway, Bryce wrote a script, and there’s a movie.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Lainey said. “What would our movie be about?” she asked Paige.
“How you tripped over a soccer ball the first time you saw me and sprained your ankle. I was kind enough to pick you up and help you put ice on it,” Paige replied.
“That would be a pretty short movie,” Maisie noted.
“Well, we had sex after that and have been together ever since. No big conflict or that silly ‘will-they-won’t-they’ stuff in the movies.
It was always just yes, we will. Right, babe?
It’s perfectly boring in how not boring it is with this one.
” Paige laid her head on Lainey’s shoulder.
“I am so happy you two didn’t work out. No offense, Maise. ”
“None taken. I’m also glad we didn’t work out.” Maisie placed a hand on India’s thigh. “Lainey and I are way better as friends.”
“Agreed,” Lainey said.
“So, what can I get for you?” Logan asked.
“Some kind of fancy drink,” Maisie said. “What should I have?” she asked India.
“For you or for me?”
“For me. I want to live a little,” Maisie said with a wink.
India smiled at her and then asked Logan, “Is Candace here?”
“When is Candace not here?” Logan asked back.
“Can you have her make me whatever she made me last time if she remembers?”
“She’ll remember,” Logan said.
“Can I have something minty?” Maisie asked. “I don’t care which alcohol.”
“I can ask,” Logan said and turned to Lainey and Paige.
“Oh, just a beer for me,” Lainey spoke. “And a burger. I’m starving.”
“Same,” Paige said.
“Do you want to eat?” India asked Maisie.
“I’ve got leftover pizza at my place. Want to have this drink and go back there with me and eat it?”
“Leftover pizza?” she asked. “Do I have to eat it cold?”
“No, I’ll heat it up for you,” Maisie replied. “In the actual oven, if you want, so that the crust is still crunchy.”
“You’re the best,” India said.
◆◆◆
“So, be honest: when was the last time you ate leftover pizza?” Maisie asked as she slid the pizza into the oven.
“It’s been a while. I’m not really one for leftovers.”
“No?” Maisie asked, closing the oven door and turning around to face her.
“I normally don’t eat a lot of takeout, either.”
“What do you eat, then?”
India laughed and replied, “I cook, Maisie. I also have a housekeeper. She prepares a few meals a week in advance for me and puts them in the refrigerator or freezer.”
“Aren’t those leftovers?” Maisie asked.
“No, they’re not leftovers from anything since I haven’t eaten them. And I meant takeout leftovers, like pizza, when I said that I didn’t eat leftovers.” India moved into Maisie and pulled her in by the hips. “Do you want to maybe watch a movie or something?”
“Yes. But you saw my TV and how small it is, right?”
“Yes, it’s TV-sized, and that’s fine with me,” she replied.
Maisie laughed and asked, “What is TV-sized, exactly?”
“It’s the size of the TV in your living room,” India said and wrapped her arms around Maisie’s waist.
“Can I maybe take a shower first? I didn’t have to play all that hard tonight, but I’m still a little sweaty.”
“I can keep an eye on the pizza,” she offered and kissed Maisie’s nose. “But you don’t have to take a shower on my account. You look great to me.”
“I’m not sure I smell great, though.”
India leaned in and pressed her lips to Maisie’s neck.
“You smell great to me,” she said, breathing her in.
“Ten minutes,” Maisie replied, sounding like she didn’t want to say it at all.
“Ten minutes. Okay,” India said.
Maisie disappeared into her bathroom moments later, leaving India to check the oven every minute or two because she didn’t know Maisie’s oven and didn’t want to burn the pizza.
When it looked done enough, she pulled it out and set it on the counter.
Not knowing where Maisie kept the plates, India decided not to look through her cabinets and sat down on the sofa in front of the modest television, checking email on her phone until she heard the bathroom door open.
“Sorry,” Maisie said when she came out wearing only a towel. “I forgot to bring clothes in there with me.”
India cleared her throat loudly and looked back down at the phone. Maisie laughed, found the clothes she wanted, and returned to the bathroom to put them on.
“Do you want to stay over? Tonight, I mean. To sleep. I mean, to sleep.”
India smiled and looked up as Maisie walked out of the bathroom again.
“You want me to stay over?”
“Yes. But you should know that my bed is pretty uncomfortable because I need a new mattress, and sometimes, after I drink, I snore.”
Maisie flopped down onto the sofa with still-wet hair.
“You’re really selling it, huh?” India laughed.
“Do you want to or not?” Maisie asked, laughing back.
“Yes, I’d love to,” she replied before Maisie stood up, grabbed the plates for them, put slices of pizza on them, and carried them over to her.
After that, Maisie returned to the kitchen, and to India’s surprise, she pulled down her wineglasses and got out a bottle of red from another cabinet.
“It’s not your stuff, but I got it at a wine shop. I was told it’s good,” Maisie said. “Want to open it for us?”
“You got wine?”
“Yes, but I didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on it. I just wanted to have something here for when you were over. I have this one and two other bottles. We can try any of them if you don’t want this one. It’s a merlot.”
India walked over to her and looked down at the label.
“This is a good brand. I’ve never had their merlot. Are you sure you want this with me? I can’t finish the bottle.”
“I’ll have a glass with you, yes.”
“Won’t that make you snore more?” India teased.
“Sounds like you’ll be finding out in about two hours or so,” Maisie replied.
India laughed a little and poured wine into glasses. She always preferred to decant her wine and let it breathe properly before she took the first sip, but this would have to do.
“Hey, I know the answer to this question already, but no wine decanter, right?”
Maisie laughed as they sat back down on the sofa and said, “No.”
“Can I buy you one?”
“For this wine? I doubt it’s really worth the expense.”
“All wine is worth it, even the cheapest reds.”
“What about the stuff in the boxes?”
“Oh, God,” India said and rolled her eyes while Maisie laughed. “Do you know why you aerate wine?”
“I’ve heard it makes it taste better.” Maisie shrugged.
“When you aerate it, the wine directly interacts with the nitrogen and oxygen molecules, causing the rapid evaporation of the bitter-tasting and bad-smelling elements that accumulate in a bottle while it’s stored.
It also helps separate the sediment, which will settle to the bottom of your decanter, so you’re left with a more flavorful wine and aromatic bouquet. ”
“You sound like a brochure I’d read if I ever went wine tasting,” Maisie said.
“Wine is worth appreciation, Maisie.”
Maisie turned serious in that moment and said, “Okay. Tell me more.”
“Really? We don’t–”
“Yeah. You care about this stuff. Tell me more.”
Maisie leaned back against the sofa and waited.
“You want me to talk you through the whole thing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” India replied. “Do you have a pitcher or something?”
“I think I have one I use for tea sometimes.”
“That’ll work for tonight, at least,” India said, standing up. “Do you have a candle and a lighter? I can show you how to pour, too.”
“There’s a candle involved in wine pouring?”
“Sometimes,” India said. “So, candle?”
Maisie smiled, nodding, and stood up to join her.
“I will find you a candle.”
Minutes later, they stood in the kitchen as India poured some of the wine into the makeshift decanter and explained more about the aeration process.
Maisie lit the candle for her, and India poured the rest of the bottle into the pitcher.
She pointed out how the candle lit up the dark-green bottle, indicating where the bulk of the sediment had rested, allowing her to stop pouring before it dropped into the pitcher.
“Some people prefer to pour that in as well because you miss a little of the wine when you leave it in the bottle, but I’d rather just leave it in there. Do you know how to taste wine first? The process?”
“Assume I know nothing,” Maisie replied.
“Okay. Well, let’s get our glasses, then,” India said and walked back to the table where they’d left their glasses. She brought them back, handed one to Maisie, and added, “We’ll keep it basic tonight.”
“Yes, beginner-level, please,” Maisie requested.
“First, look.”
“At you? No problem,” Maisie teased her. “You’re very pretty.”
India laughed and said, “At the wine, babe.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Color, opacity, and viscosity.”
“I know what one and a half of those words mean.”
India laughed again and walked Maisie through looking at her wine before smelling it, checking for the bouquet, and finally, taking a small sip and letting the flavors of it roll over her tongue. She listed some things to look for, like fruit, herb, or earthy flavors.
“Do I spit it out?” Maisie asked with the wine still in her mouth.
India laughed at that, and they both had to spit their wine in the sink, or they would’ve ended up spitting it at each other accidentally.
India hadn’t ever had this much fun with wine.
She had always loved it – the craft of making it, the learning about it, the trying and tasting, and even the buying and the auction process – but she had never truly had fun with wine like this before.
She’d never thought she could have this much fun with wine before.
Now, Maisie was taking another sip, and after holding it in her mouth for a few seconds, she told India that she tasted grapes, which made India laugh again before they returned to the sofa and ate their pizza, with Maisie making up flavors she tasted in her wine.
“I think now I taste the Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries. You know the cereal?”
“What? You do not,” India said in exasperation. “And no, I’ve never had that cereal.”
“What?” Maisie said, rising instantly. “You’re serious?”
“You have some here, don’t you?” India asked.
“Yes. And you’re trying it now. It’ll be our dessert.”
“This isn’t a dessert wine, Maisie,” she said after her, but Maisie was already in the kitchen.