Happy Hour (38 page)

And she did. He laid her down next to him and now kissed her, taking her
breasts in his hands he began to rub her nipples, then tracing them with his
tongue and sucking them, Alyssa cried out. Love, power, security, it was all
there between them as Darren entered Alyssa and together they moved slowly as
the tide rolled in as rhythmically outside the window. With intensity, she
urged him on and their rhythm grew faster, more passionate with Alyssa letting
go of years of anxiety, pain and fear and Darren’s love flowed through her.

He yelled out first and she soon after followed, their orgasms in sync,
their hearts pounding hard against their bodies—their commitment to love one
another cemented in that moment forever.

***

A few days later back in Napa Valley, Alyssa sat in front of her easel,
the photo of Louise and Ian pinned up in front of her she went to work, finally
finishing her oil
Protected.
It took hours, but at least she now knew
how to complete the painting. The little boy still reached for the wine, the
mother’s hand gently pushing it away. From the right top of the painting a
smiling face looked down upon the boy, casting light on the mother’s hand. The
illuminated face looking down on the scene was the face of Louise—one of Ian’s
mothers guiding the other.

Danielle stood over Shannon, who still had on her dress from the
baptismal. The poor girl was totally exhausted. She pulled the covers up around
her daughter and went to baby Shane. His bottom lip puckered out into a pout
and soft whimpers escaped from him. She picked him up, and as always when she
held her grandson, she was quickly encased in a field of warmth, and reminded
that her little Shane was pure love as he nestled into her chest. She sat down
in the rocking chair and whispered to him. “It’s okay, Shane, DeDe is here.
Shh, baby boy, shh.” The new nickname for Danielle had come from Shannon. When
she’d woken up, she’d looked at her mom and announced, “DeDe. That’s what he’ll
call you.”

Danielle kissed the top of Shane’s peach-fuzzed head and rocked him into
a sound sleep. After a few minutes she laid him back in his crib and covered
him up. She checked on Shannon one more time and then leaned over and kissed
her on the cheek.

She headed back downstairs to where her friends were cleaning up for her.
Mark, Tyler, Christian, and Darren were out back drinking good wine and smoking
Cubans—doing a total male-bonding thing. Maddie and Amber were watching a movie
in Danielle’s room, likely sacked out by now. Brian, Jeremy, Cassie, and Ian
were all shooting a game of pool in the game room. It was nice to have all of
them together tonight, and to finally meet Darren and Ian, too. With Alyssa
moving to Los Angeles, it would change things. But that was life, wasn’t it?
Always changing. Never the same.

Danielle stopped and leaned against the wall, watching her friends for a
minute. How lucky were they to have each other? She couldn’t have handled the
whirlwind of the last few months without them. She didn’t think she could
handle the rest of her life without them—her best friends. “Okay, ladies,
that’s enough. No more cleaning up. I have something special I want to share
with you.”

Jamie closed the dishwasher and Kat turned off the disposal. Alyssa set
aside the wine glasses that she’d been drying. “What?” Jamie asked.

“Come with me,” Danielle said and headed out the front door.

They reached the golf cart. Her friends looked at each other. “Get in.”

“I think we better listen to her,” Alyssa said. “She’s a grandma now and
you don’t want to mess with a grandma.”

“Shut up, Alyssa. I’m a DeDe.”

Danielle drove them down to the tasting room, a full moon illuminating
the pathway. She flipped on the light in the room and walked behind the bar.
She pulled out a bottle of wine and handed it to Jamie, then gave one to Kat
and one to Alyssa.

They looked at the wines. “What’s this?” Alyssa asked.

“Look at the labels.”

Their jaws dropped. “Danielle,” Jamie cried. “These are…”

Danielle nodded. “They are all three separate vintages. Each vintage and
label represents you three. Alyssa, yours is the Goddess of Light.” On the
label was a goddess who looked like Alyssa, her arms open and reaching upward,
light coming from her hands and surrounding her. “It’s a gorgeous chardonnay
that will fit your taste buds perfectly. Bold, buttery, aged in French oak, and
is as Californian as they come. To me, you represent the Goddess of Light
because you deal with everything with grace and light. You are a true artist
whether you’re at your easel or hanging out with us. And now look at you, with
what you’ve been through with Ian. You’ve come out of this with your son and
the man of your future.” Alyssa smiled at Danielle’s words.

“I don’t know what to say. This is amazing, Danielle. Thank you.” She
wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes and glanced at Kat. “All three of
you have helped me through such a difficult time and to have this…” She held up
her bottle of wine, “To show what I, what we’ve come through is so thoughtful
and gracious.” She shook her head. “Thank you.”

Danielle smiled and turned to Kat. “And you represent The Goddess of
Love.” On the label was an etching done in gold, purple and red of Kat’s face
inside a pink-rimmed heart.

“This I have to hear,” Kat said.

“You do. I’ve never known anyone to love their family and friends as
ferociously as you do. Sometimes you love us so much you even get pissed off at
us.” They all laughed. “I watch you with Christian and your sons, and now with
Amber. And your friends. I’ve seen you forgive people for things that some of
us here might not be able to forgive, but you don’t stop loving, Kat. No matter
what, when it comes down to it, you love all of us.”

“Ah hell. I do love you all. Sometimes I don’t know why.” She laughed,
trying to make light of it.

“We know.” Jamie leaned her head on Kat’s shoulder.

“And you, Jamie. You represent the Goddess of Life.” The label showed
Jamie seated under a willow tree with flowers surrounding her. “I’m pretty sure
that you wanted to die right along with Nate. But you didn’t. You found the
courage to go on living. You found in yourself the woman who needed to live not
just for Maddie, but for herself. You’ve dealt with something we all hope we
never have to deal with, losing your soulmate, but you’re living again, loving
again, and, if I’m right, I think you’re having a fantastic time doing it.”

Jamie nodded. “You know that I would have never thought I could be happy
again. I didn’t think so. It’s different. I mean, there will always be a part
of me that hangs on to Nate and feels empty, but through you three and Maddie,
and Dorothy, and of course Tyler, I’ve realized that I can be happy and I can
love again. This means so much. Thank you. But what about you?”

“Goddess of Faith.” Danielle held up her bottle of wine. “I’ve learned
through all of this that the only things you can really count on are friends,
family, and faith.”

They all nodded and laughed in agreement, wondering what the next season
would bring. Would there be more trauma, more drama? Probably. Or, maybe not.
Maybe the four friends would find a lull, some respite from the ups and downs that
life had tossed their way over the long, hot summer.

They could hope so.

The trade winds coming off the Pacific Ocean shifted slightly, the soft
whispers of fall beginning to maneuver between the lush grapevines. Maybe like
the change of the seasons, their lives would soon reflect fall’s ease.

Danielle uncorked a bottle of her wine and poured them each a glass. They
took their glasses.

“A toast,” Jamie said.

Holding them high in the air, Danielle said, “To the Wine Goddesses.”

“To the Wine Goddesses,” they repeated in unison, clinking their glasses
together.

October rolled around and with it came the Harvest Festival, where
Danielle’s wines all scored above ninety points and were medal winners. Al’s
wines didn’t do so well. Stacey had another girl. Mark and Danielle are dating
and he is in back in his own home. Their relationship is blooming and moving
along nicely. They are in love with each other and know that their future is
together, but are waiting to do anything formal until Cassie is out on her own,
and Shannon and the baby have their own home. Shannon is looking to transfer to
SFU to finish her degree. She plans to live in the Bay Area and eventually
practice law. She has not given up on her dreams, and Shane has only added joy
to her life.

Jamie, Maddie and Tyler have dinner with Dorothy and Frank (Harry—who
loves that his beloved thinks he’s Frank Sinatra and sings “Blue Eyes”—off-key—and
“New York, New York” to her), every Thursday night and lunch on Sundays. Jamie
has taken over running Horsemanship for the Handicapped and scheduling riding
lessons for the trainers at the ranch, and although the money isn’t a chief
editor’s pay, the perks are fantastic. She and Tyler have lunch together
everyday at the ranch. Food is sometimes involved. Maddie is becoming quite a
horse girl and loves the horses, Tyler, and her new house, where she has a
picture of her daddy that she drew on a big white horse hanging on her wall.

Alyssa and Ian hang out and watch
Pink Panther
movies regularly.
He has started calling her Mom, and is feeling fine. The doctors believe so far,
so good. He can’t wait to get back to school in the spring, and is looking
forward to meeting hot babes. He is a regular nineteen-year-old guy.  Alyssa
and Darren are planning a summer wedding to take place in Napa and they find
every day to be a good one. She has started doing mockups for Darren and
Charlie’s commercial productions, and has plans to open a second gallery and
give art instructions in a little studio close to the fish taco place in
Malibu, where she and Darren are looking to set up house. She makes it up to
Napa for an occasional Happy Hour, and when she can’t, she really misses the
girls. But she has found her family and she knows her friends are always there
for her. They’re constants.

Kat and her family are still completely dysfunctional, but they somehow
keep finding the love at the end of the day. Venus and Kat’s dad live in sin
together and are having way more fun than when they were married. Kat gave her
mom back the book on Tantra and her folks actually use it. Kat’s sex life, though,
is no longer sagging. Through hot yoga with Mom, she’s lost fifteen pounds,
feels great and enjoys playing spin the bottle with her Irishman. They put a
lock on the bedroom door. Amber spends more weekends than not with them. She
goes willingly with her mom, but knows that Mommy Kat is always there for her.
Jeremy is working at the restaurant with Christian, getting good grades and
plays on the water polo team at school. Girls are seriously after the kid, who
ironically is shy around them. Brian on the other hand, is not. One never knows
how they will turn out. If Kat had to guess four years ago, she would have
banked on the opposite being the case. The Sperm Donor is marrying a
twenty-year-old ski instructor, and moving to Tahoe. Darn! Brian’s teenage nastiness
has now turned its sights onto Dad and
Bridgette
. When Brian acts like a
little jerk, Kat thinks that Bri should probably go spend his Christmas break
with the Sperm Donor and fiancée, but that would probably be way too damaging
for Brian. She figures that they’ll muddle through the tough stuff. They always
do.

And—Happy Hours. Count on them. Sunday evenings. Fun, food, and the best
part of all friends.

Recipes and
Wine Pairings:

Danielle’s
Mexican Style Quiche served with Champagne or margaritas if preferred

pastry dough

1 large garlic clove

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 lb poblano chiles
(about 4 large), roasted and peeled

6 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup Mexican crema
or heavy cream

2 tablespoons finely
grated white onion (using small teardrop holes of a box grater)

1/2 teaspoon black
pepper

1/2 lb Monterey Jack
cheese, coarsely grated (2 1/2 to 3 cups)

Special equipment:
a 9-inch (2-inch deep) round fluted tart pan with removable bottom; pie weights
or raw rice

Put oven rack in middle position
and preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll out dough into a 13-inch round
on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Fit dough into tart
pan, without stretching, letting excess dough hang over edge. Fold overhang
inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Prick bottom all over
with a fork. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Line shell with foil or parchment
paper and fill with pie weights. Bake until pastry is set and pale golden along
rim, 20 to 25 minutes.

Carefully remove foil and weights
and bake shell until deep golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Put tart pan
in a shallow baking pan. Leave oven on.

Mince garlic and mash to a paste
with salt using side of a large knife.

Discard seeds, ribs, and stems from
chiles, then pat dry if necessary and cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips.

Whisk together eggs, milk, crema,
onion, garlic paste, and pepper in a large bowl until just combined, then pour
into baked tart shell.

Sprinkle cheese and chiles over
custard and bake until custard is just set, 50 to 60 minutes. (Center will
jiggle slightly; filling will continue to set as it cools.)

Transfer quiche in pan to a rack to
cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

To remove side of tart pan, center
a large can under pan and let side of pan drop. Serve warm or at room
temperature.

Kat’s Fettucine,
Goat cheese and Pancetta

1 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs. minced shallots
5 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature, cut up or crumbled