Chapter Nineteen
Like at bitter&sweet, I sit in the car for a moment, mustering courage. But meeting Britt went about a thousand times better than I would have ever imagined, and with that thought, I stroll up to the front door with my peace offering.
I ring the doorbell with my elbow. It takes longer than I would have liked for the door to open since I’m laden with bags—and for a moment, I think he’s not going to answer at all.
Finally, Harrison is at the door, and wow, was Britt not kidding about his appearance.
In the four days since Harrison quit, he’s managed to grow an impressive amount of facial hair.
Not quite the mountain man Britt described, but still.
He’s wearing a housecoat that I doubt belongs to him and slippers that definitely do, as they have the Australian flag on them.
He sees me notice them. They were a gag gift from Ryan, he explains. The floors are cold, and Milo sheds—anyway, sorry, what are you doing here? he asks.
The bags I’m struggling to keep in my arms are getting really heavy, and I realize that I maybe should have brought them in after the front-door conversation that we’re currently having. Sorry, can I put these down first?
Oh, sorry, yeah. Come in, he says and takes the multiple brown bags out of my hands.
The inside of the farmhouse is just as beautiful as the exterior, and he leads me to an open-concept kitchen with beautifully restored barn board beams. From the next room, I hear the TV and what is unmistakably the reality TV yacht drama show.
Good choice of television, I offer as he puts all the bags onto the dining room table.
Is it, though? he says. I don’t know why I’m watching it, but I also can’t stop. So, what can I do for you?
You’re the last stop on my apology tour, I say. I’ve already stopped by bitter&sweet and spoken with Britt. She’s really nice.
I do feel like I may have mentioned that once or twice, he says, a bit sharply.
Anyway. We figured out the food-poisoning situation. Linda, you know, the sort of loony one, gave her bad cheese. We think on purpose, but we can’t prove it. And I also figured out what happened with the cider, I think. It wasn’t your fault, Harrison.
Only Charlie and I have access to the tank rooms, he says and sits down at one of the chairs. And you, I suppose. I don’t see how it couldn’t have been me, though I really can’t figure out what happened.
Barb also has access, I say. I haven’t asked her about it yet, so take this with a grain of salt.
But I think she wanted my aunts to come back.
Maybe permanently. And this was her way of making that happen.
She would know how to do it, too. She used to help them make the cider in the early days before Charlie came aboard.
Barb? Orchard Barb? says Harrison, incredulous.
The very same. But we can deal with that later. I brought a peace offering. I gesture to the multiple bags across the table. I didn’t want you to leave without ever having tried Big Jimmy’s Barbecued Meats.
Wow, he says, looking into the nearest bag. Did you order one of everything?
Yes. I blush. There’s more in the car.
We bring it in, and the spread covers the table. I do have to consider, for a moment, that maybe this is a little unhinged. I sure hope Ryan and Britt like ribs and brisket.
I was not wrong to want to go here, announces Harrison. I think any potential dates would be really impressed by this. He gestures to his brisket with a plastic fork.
This is…better than I remember it being, I say, and it’s true, but not necessarily because of the food.
So, what’re you going to do about Linda and Barb?
I sigh into my coleslaw. Linda is a lost cause. We can’t prove she gave us bad cheese, and even saying that sounds insane. But now Ryan and Britt know to give her a wide berth, I say. Barb…I don’t know. I’ll talk to my Aunt Jenn tonight.
Your aunt is here? he asks.
Yeah, Barb’s little stunt worked, in the end, I say. She’s back. She’d, uh, love to meet you. If you’re up for it.
Harrison looks a little uncomfortable. I’d love to meet her, too, but is that…weird now?
Well, first things first. Britt told me your flight doesn’t leave until the new year.
You’re welcome to keep working until then.
We still have one more Wassail weekend left…
and then there’s Charlie’s retirement party.
I look up at him. We had been dancing around each other’s gaze for much of the conversation, trying to keep things light, but at this, his eyes meet mine.
Charlie’s officially retiring? he asks.
His party’s next week, but he won’t officially leave until we…find his replacement, I finish and look down at my plate. And I know you’re going home and that the flight is booked and everything, but I have to ask you first, whether you’d consider, maybe…taking that job. And staying.
He pauses for a moment and then smiles. They make return flights, you know, he says. The plane can come back.
You’d take it? The job?
After a visit home, he says. My parents sounded excited to see me, and my sister’s coming in all the way from Brisbane for the occasion.
Which is…far away?
An eighteen-hour drive from Melbourne, yes, he says. But she’s flying in. You’d like her. She’s in finance, and she and her husband have three cats.
We sit and talk for a while and eat quite a lot of barbecued foods until we’re both stuffed. We talk about everything and nothing, and we dance around what I really want to ask. Finally, as we’re cleaning up in the kitchen, Harrison is the one to get to the point.
When I take the full-time job, he says, and I appreciate the when instead of if, how does Boss Kate work, then?
Boss Kate is gonna boss, I say. But I have given that some thought. I mean, my aunts started this thing as a couple and then hired their friends. It’s been a messy place from the start, when you look at it that way. So maybe the line…can soften a bit. Where my cider maker is concerned, anyway.
Your cider maker, he says and steps a little closer. You know, I don’t mind that at all.
I blush and turn to face him, dropping the dish I was cleaning back into the sink. I mean, it’s true now, right?
In more ways than one, he says and closes the distance between us. I tiptoe to meet him, and it’s my favourite kiss of my whole life, even though my hands still have suds on them as they wrap around his shoulders. He has a dish towel thrown over one side, and I don’t mind that, either.
We hear the front door open and break the kiss slowly rather than springing apart like we have in the past. Milo runs in and jumps all over Harrison, which ends the kiss for real.
Why does it smell like meat in here? yells Ryan from the front entrance. Did you roast an entire animal somewhere in this house?
Sue me for having hobbies! Harrison yells back.
Britt walks in and smiles. Ah, she says.
I should go, I say.
But we have a party to plan, says Ryan, coming in with a case of their cider.
Harrison looks at me, confused.
The Wassail party next Sunday, I say. That Britt and Ryan are going to host.
He grins and pulls me into another bear hug, and I think I might become a hugger yet if this is what I have to look forward to.
Britt and Ryan dig into the insane amount of leftovers that still remain, and by the end of the night, I do have to admit: Britt and Ryan are really nice.