When Lucy woke, the sun was streaming through the richly patterned curtains. She stretched luxuriously in the huge four-poster bed. In the distance, she heard the far-off guttering of a tractor engine. A voice called out and there was a response, too far away for her to make out the words. No traffic or sirens. These were the sounds of a working farm on a fine autumn day. She glanced at the high patterned ceiling and the wide sash windows. It was a large sunny bedroom, comfortably luxurious like the rest of the house. A one-hundred-forty-year-old farmhouse was a far cry from the suburban bungalow she’d grown up in.
She giggled when she saw her clothes and underwear strewn all over the room. Closing her eyes, she replayed the previous night’s lovemaking, a delicious film reel she wanted to savor. Unlike in the schoolroom, last night had been slow and tender. It was as if Josh had read her every fantasy and had brought her to life with loving skill. She couldn’t help but contrast Josh with Jason. Jason had been every bit the confident, skillful lover. Probably as a result of practicing on hundreds of women, she now realized. He’d had stamina and expertise, and yet, last night with Josh taught her that indeed he had lacked some crucial talents.
Last night, it had been all about her, her needs and her wants. And so, she had abandoned her inhibitions and allowed Josh to take charge completely. Now she felt wonderfully drowsy and content. Don’t get too used to this, a voice inside her cautioned. But this fine morning, she dismissed it. It was the weekend and worrying could wait until Monday.
“Just look at the sleeping beauty.” Josh appeared fresh from a shower, a white towel wrapped at his waist. She noticed again how strongly built he was. His skin glistened with water droplets. He sat down next to her on the bed. Turning down the plump duvet, he took in the sight of her naked and warm in his bed. Cupping one breast, he planted a kiss on her forehead.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
Lucy expected a kiss, but he leaned toward her and then brusquely shook his head. The cold-water droplets made her squeal.
“The bathroom’s all yours, ma’am. Did you bring some spare clothes?”
“Of course,” she answered.
“Great stuff. Get ready. We’ll grab some breakfast and head out. Today, you’re going to learn how a wine farm operates. “
***
“Your chariot has arrived, madam, hop on.”
It was the first time Lucy had ever ridden in a tractor. They left the pickup truck and were heading up into the higher slopes. The road was too narrow and rutted for a truck. Josh started the noisy engine and the tractor lurched forward. It was a brilliant, sunny day, and she was down to a t-shirt and jeans. There were other tractors in the vineyards and workers were busy loading grapes the color of crimson into crates. The crates were stacked onto the back of large trailers.
“Harvesting is mostly done for the day. We start long before sunrise, about 3:00 am.”
“That early, why?” Lucy asked.
“Because we need to pick grapes when it’s cool, otherwise, they’ll start fermenting before they even get to the crush pad.”
The workers waved at them and sometimes Josh stopped and chatted briefly to them. He spoke mostly in Afrikaans, the language widely spoken here. Lucy loved the sound of it; earthy, guttural, and lubricated by rolling ‘r’ sounds.
“The grapes will be taken to be crushed and sorted at our facility. Then it’s to the fermentation tanks and the serious business of winemaking begins.”
“You’ll have people stomping on the grapes in their bare feet?”
Josh smiled. “Nah, we have machines to do that. They’re much faster and not so gross!”
They were climbing high now. Looking back, she saw that Mountain Shadows was far beneath them. The valley was picture-postcard beautiful.
Josh stopped the engine.” Let’s give old Maisy a rest here,” he said, slapping her bonnet. “She’s older than I am. I learned to drive on her.”
Lucy couldn’t help but notice how in his element he looked. “My father used to take me up here before I learned to walk. When I was a child, he always told me the secret to winemaking is to take good care of your vineyards and your people.”
“How many people work on Mountain Shadows?”
He sighed. “Across sixty-two vineyards, at the moment, nearly a hundred workers are employed. Then we have those who work in the actual winemaking. Unfortunately, wine harvesting is highly seasonal, and the lives of wine workers have been extremely tough. But we try hard to keep these people employed. Out of season, we pay to have those uncultivated slopes cleared of alien species. The workers can also sell what they clear as firewood.”
“Hop down,” he said and extended a hand for climb down. “Look at those houses there.”
Lucy saw about twenty neat whitewashed, single-story houses.
“The workers own their homes outright, and some of the most longstanding employees have a share in this farm.”
“All this is built on wine.” Lucy sighed at the valley below them, so beautiful and so productive.
“The Huguenots came here in the late sixteen hundreds from France. They brought their winemaking skills with them,” he explained.
“So how come you don’t speak French?” Lucy asked.
“The French language was lost centuries ago. The settlers adopted Dutch, which became Afrikaans, which you hear all around these parts.”
“What makes the de Lange wines so special?”
He rubbed his chin. “We have a hot climate, so our wines are big and bold, not so acidic.”
“Isn’t all this talk about wine just a bunch of showy nonsense?” she asked.
“Some of it,” he answered. “When I hear people get all flowery about wine, I immediately suspect they know fuck all about it.”
“I’ve never really liked the taste of it,” she said honestly.
“Don’t worry. If you’ll let me, I’ll show you,” he said as he affectionately ran his fingers through her hair.
“Where I’m from, it’s beer or tequila shots,” she said.
“I think I drank more tequila than water in my first year at University. It’s a wonder I’m still alive,” Josh said. “Come, let’s walk. There’s a place I want you to see.”
Josh hauled out a small backpack and placed it over one shoulder. They left the old red tractor and he led them on a path between vineyards. After a while, the vines petered out and the path became narrower. They were hiking into the mountains now. At times, the going was steep, and he held out a hand to her.
“So you’re pretty fit,” he said.
“Basketball. I played point guard,” she said by way of explanation. “You ever play?” she asked.
Josh smiled. “No one plays basketball out here. For me, it was rugby.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “It’s ultra-violent right? And with no safety gear. ’Cuz let me guess, real men don’t wear helmets?”
“Yep, like football, but not for girls. Here.” He handed her a water bottle. Making a salute over her eyes against the strong sun, she saw that Mountain Shadows was far below and now looked matchbox size.
They were close to the mountainside and the going was rocky and steep. As they walked through a grove of trees, they began to hear the sounds of rushing water.
“This way.” He grabbed her hand and cleared a tree branch for them both. They stepped into a small clearing and from above them, a waterfall fell from sheer cliffs. A deep and pristine rocky pool lay in dappled sunlight.
“Josh, this is amazing,”
“Sit down.” He patted the space beside him for her to sit down. He offered her some water and a stick of biltong, delicious dried and salted meat. Legs worn out from the climb, Lucy stretched out and closed her eyes. She inhaled the air, fragrant and clear, and listened to the sweet sound of the cascading waterfall.
“I could get used to this,” she said, and a soft smile spread across her face. “All your worries can just fade away for a while in a place like this.” When she opened her eyes, she realized Josh was looking at her intently.
“What’s worrying you, Lucy?” he asked.
She bit her lip. Months of secrecy had taken their toll. She hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to fall on the side of caution or trust.
“I was engaged to be married last year,” she said finally. Her voice shook slightly with the revelation. She didn’t continue immediately and just by looking her, her eyes sad and vulnerable and her voice shaky, it was obvious this was it: the secret. The reason for her skittishness and evasions.
“It ended badly,” she said, and he laid a supportive hand on her back.
“Things always end badly or they wouldn’t end,” he said matter-of-factly.
“No, you don’t understand. This wasn’t your average breakup. Have you ever heard of the famous American Senator Jack Palmer?”
Josh stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The name is slightly familiar, but I can’t put a face to it.”
“I was engaged to marry his son Jason. Doing so would have catapulted me into a life of privilege and prestige. The wedding was all set to go ahead. It would have been a glittering affair.”
“Did you love him?” Jason asked.
“The man I thought I loved was a lie. A total, disgusting, fucking lie.” There was still bitterness and great hurt in her voice.
“I discovered one week before the wedding that he had a secret life, one that involved numerous other women. He had been lying to me the entire time we were together, even having sex with other women in our apartment.”
“You dumped him. What on earth is wrong with that?”
“I didn’t just dump him, Josh. I exposed him on social media. I did it in the heat of the moment.”
“Hang on a second. I think I do recall something about this. A friend of mine who lives in the States posted something about it. I never actually read it because it didn’t interest me.” Josh’s face was serious as the truth hit home. “So you were the girl at the heart of the scandal?”
“Yep, I’m afraid so. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t done it. Just dumping him would have been enough.” Lucy shook her head, unsure of how to continue. “Even though Jason’s behavior was deplorable, when you see the power of social media to become a weapon, it’s scary. I didn’t realize at the time what I had unleashed. And apart from that, I’ve made powerful enemies. People like the Palmers don’t take stuff like this lying down. There was a horrible backlash against me on social media. All kinds of lies were put forth by supposed ‘friends’ claiming that I was nuts, a gold digger, vindictive, you name it.”
“That must have hurt. But scandals like this blow over. We live in the era of micro-attention spans. It sounds to me like this has already become history,” he said.
“No,” said Lucy definitively. “I spoke to my brother the other day and it seems like the Palmers may be using their political connections to squeeze our family business. The authorities are over-zealously auditing my dad’s business and someone is screwing with the zoning committee.”
Josh let out a low whistle. “Holy shit.”
“I’ve hurt people, Josh. I’ve always had a temper. Fiery Lu, my mom used to call me.” And at the mention of her mother’s name, a single tear slid from her eye. “It’s only with kids that I have patience,” she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
“Lucy, what happened to you was horrible, and you hit back. If you ask me, he deserved everything he got.”
“It was stupid and reckless, and now everything is a mess.” She put her head in her hands. She spoke at length about the Palmers and Jason’s political ambitions.
“I can see why you fled,” Josh said.
“I even thought of changing my name. But I couldn’t do it. I won’t let the Palmers rob me of anything else. I am Lucy Shepherd, goddammit!”
“That’s the spirit.” He put his arms around her and held her tight.
It felt so good. So utterly, thoroughly good to have told the truth and not to be shamed for it. “I’m hoping that if I can just keep a low profile, they’ll eventually leave me alone.”
“Good plan, and with any luck, it will work. Meanwhile, just live your life, Lucy. You don’t have to advertise what happened, after all, we are all entitled to our privacy, but you don’t have to hide it either. From here on out, just own it and try and move on. Hopefully, they’ll leave your family alone too.”
“God, I hope so,” she said. She let her head fall back. Already she felt just a little bit lighter having confided in him.
“I want to thank you, Lucy.”
“What for?” she asked.
“For telling me what happened. For trusting me with the truth.”
“I’ve been struggling to trust myself these days. To trust my judgment, and to trust others.”
“I can imagine,” Josh said. “But listen here. Now that we have your tragic past out in the open, I want you to know that I didn’t just bring you here to talk.” His face was straight, but his eyes were playful.
“Come on, city girl,” he said, taking off one boot off and then the other.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, unable to take her eyes off his naked torso. She allowed her gaze to linger as he pulled off his jeans. She didn’t believe she could ever tire of his spectacular body and the unassuming way he displayed it. This wasn’t a man who pumped iron in the gym, watching himself in the mirror.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he said and plunged straight into the inviting rock pool. “Whoooo hoooo!” he shouted. “Come on, scaredy pants.”
Lucy didn’t need any prodding. In a flash, she had her clothes off, flung onto a pile on the rocks. With complete abandon, she jumped into the icy water and stayed under a few moments. When she surfaced, it was with a gasp.
“God, it’s cold,” she said, breathing in great gulps. In the bracing water, she could feel her heart racing and her hands and feet tingling, but her mind felt clear and exhilarated.
Josh cupped his hand and drank. “Clear mountain water, nothing sweeter in the world.” With a mischievous grin, he slowly began swimming toward her.
“I have you naked and to myself, and no one can hear you scream over the waterfall.”
“I suppose I should be terrified,” she said, cocking one eyebrow in challenge.
“Damn right,” he said, and in seconds, he was with her. His mouth owned hers and she responded. Her hands dug into his hair and she could feel his body, a warm beacon in the achingly cold pool.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his hand cupping her face. “And I don’t give a shit if you’re the infamous exposer of scumbags on the internet.”
Lucy laughed. Her body was freezing, but her heart felt warm and happy. Happier than it had in years. “Beautiful and freezing my ass off.” She laughed.
The hike down from the waterfall was easier than the hike up. Lucy felt light and contented. The two of them rode down the slopes of the valley on the old tractor in the glorious afternoon sunshine. Josh stopped occasionally to point out something or to share a memory. They reached the truck and Josh drove over rutted farm roads.
“Where are you taking me now?” Lucy asked although she really didn’t mind where they went.
“Tom’s place. He and Denise are expecting us for a braai.”
Lucy didn’t need to ask what a braai was, she knew it as the South African version of a barbecue, and it was usually a generous, relaxed affair. They drove past the winery and workers’ houses until they came to a large single-story house with a wide wraparound veranda. The architecture was the old Karoo style; tin-roofed and low-slung to counteract the fierce heat of the long summers. It was clear the garden was lovingly tended, and what the place lacked in grandeur, it made up for in charm.
“The Diaz family have lived here for years. Tom grew up in this house,” Josh said. As soon as they were out of the truck, children came spilling out of the house.
“Josheeee, Josheeeee!” yelled a little tyke with wild hair. Josh grabbed him and, in a moment, he was holding the child upside down while he squealed with delight. Seconds later, another identical boy came running out. Soon Josh held both boys on either hip.
Tom emerged from the house. “I didn’t know you had twin boys, Tom,” Lucy said. She had met Tom before, but only briefly.
“Yep, double the trouble but double the blessing.” He smiled with obvious pride.
“Come inside and meet Denise.” Tom ushered them up the steps and into the Diaz family home. Children’s toys lay scattered and a tiny girl in a walking ring pushed herself forward, smiling and lifting her arms to be picked up.
“Come, my girl.” Tom lifted the toddler. “This is our youngest, Hayley, and she’s a total daddy’s girl.”
Hayley flashed a gummy smile and Tom gave her a squeeze.
“And this is Denise.” In a large country kitchen, Tom’s wife put the finishing touches to a salad.
“Great to meet the woman who is taking up Josh’s time,” Denise said, wiping a hand on her apron before offering it to shake. Not what Lucy had expected, she was a petite woman, especially compared to the large, lumbering form of her husband, and she appeared fit and trim in form-fitting leggings and sneakers.
“Everyone’s been dying to meet the new American teacher. You’ve stirred up quite a bit of interest.”
Lucy hoped that Denise didn’t notice how she flinched at the notion of drawing attention to herself. She tried to steer the focus off herself. “You have a beautiful family.”
“Well, they sure keep me busy,” Denise said, sprinkling feta cheese onto a mouth-watering salad.
“Have you also lived all of your life in the valley, like Tom?”
“Heavens no, I’m a big city girl. I grew up and studied in Cape Town. I found a post here soon after I qualified. I’m a dentist,” she said, adding two large wooden salad spoons to a bowl. “And I’ll have you know that my root canal work is the best in the business.” She laughed.
Lucy was surprised. She didn’t picture Tom the farm manager having a dentist for a wife, and she found herself warming to her new acquaintance. “Do you miss the big city life?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing. I hear you’re from Chicago.”
“It’s been quite an adjustment, I can tell you, but I love the school and… let’s just say this place kind of grows on you. I actually…feel quite happy here.” Lucy was amazed as the words escaped her mouth and she found that she believed them.
“Every now and then when I need a change of pace, I head to Cape Town for a few days, maybe catch an art film or a concert. Perhaps one of these days we should go together, get Tom’s mom to watch the kids.”
“That would be awesome,” said Lucy. “Can I help you carry anything?”
“Sure, grab these plates and napkins and we’re all set.”
Lucy followed Denise into the back yard. Like the front, the back garden was lovingly tended with some large trees providing shade and a breathtaking view toward the mountains. The two men stood around a braai. A coil of thick spicy sausage known as boereworssizzled on the grill, as did herbed lamb chops. Lucy could smell the scent of cloves and rosemary.
“It’s certainly been a while since you’ve brought us a lady friend to meet, Josh.”
He squirmed. “Well, um, after the last few choices, I thought I’d better hang back a bit and refine my aim.”
“The astrology nut was interesting for a bit.” Tom grinned.
“What about the aerobics instructor?” Denise rolled her eyes and giggled. She bounced Hayley on her lap.
“What can I say, guys? I scratched the surface and found, more surface.” Everyone laughed, and it was clear Josh didn’t mind the ragging by old friends.
“Any plans to head back to Johannesburg, Josh?’ Denise asked.
“Not for the time being. There’s a great deal of work here that my father would have wanted me to attend to and besides.” Josh’s face took on a more serious look. “I think my mom needs me around for the foreseeable future. Of course, she says that she doesn’t. That she fine and all that, but I know Dad’s death was the biggest shock of her life.”
Josh put down his drink. “Hopefully, I can convince this lady to stick around for a while and keep me out of trouble.”
Lucy smiled, feeling both happy and self-conscious as Josh took her hand.
“And of course, there’s that other matter that always needs to be watched,” said Tom.
Denise shook her head. “It’s been quiet for a while, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. We’re talking about our neighbors, Lucy. The crew that moved into the old Martin’s farm six or seven years ago. They’ve been nothing but trouble since the day they arrived.”
Lucy nodded. She’d heard some vague talk at the school on the subject.
“The farmers to the west of us have been a royal pain in the ass ever since they arrived. My father actually had to take them to court. They brought out a rival to our Shiraz. They infringed on copyright after they almost entirely lifted our labeling. Dad won the case but it took a toll on him, as did all the other shenanigans.”
“I think they learned their lesson after the court case,” said Tom cheerfully.
Josh turned his wine glass carefully in his hand. “I really hope you’re right, Tom, but I always say hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Sun Valley appears to have big money at its disposal. I’m not convinced they aren’t biding their time until they try and pull something else.”
“Well, that can be tomorrow’s worry then,” Tom said. “Right now, the harvest looks great. The sugar content should be almost perfect for the Shiraz and we can harvest them.”
“After that, you crush and press them, right?” Lucy was just beginning to get her head around the basic process of winemaking.
“We won’t press them for a while. We leave them to ferment first,” said Josh.
“It’s only white wine grapes that are pressed immediately after the harvest,” Tom chipped in. “We don’t want the white wine grapes to pick up too much color or tannins.”
“Tannins?” Lucy asked the assembled company.
“Tannins are a type of polyphenol, a kind of chemical found naturally in fruit skins and leaves, and it gives wine its dry taste as well as its astringency,” said Tom.
“The deep red wines have the most tannins, which means they have that deep red color and heavenly dry aftertaste,” he added.
Lucy found herself interested, for the first time in her life, on the subject of wine. With the Palmers, she’d sat mute and shy while Jason and his parents had waxed lyrical about the qualities of the ridiculously expensive wines they bought and displayed. Senator Palmer had loved to entertain guests in his private wine cellar and impress them with what she was now realizing was probably faux knowledge. Here were the real wine aficionados. Unpretentious, hardworking people whose lives were completely bound up with the life cycle of a genuine wine farm.
“It looks like someone might be ready for a glass of Shiraz,” Denise said, noting Lucy’s sense of interest.
“I know just the right one,” said Tom, rising from his chair. Seconds later, he arrived with a bottle and four wine glasses. He uncorked the bottle and poured the rich, dark-red wine into a large beveled glass and handed it to Lucy.
“Go on, give us your verdict,” said Tom, and Josh merely watched with an appreciative smile on his face.
Lucy swirled the wine in the glass a few times as she’d noticed wine connoisseurs would. Carefully, she inhaled the aroma, rich and almost fruity. She took a mouthful and let it sit in her mouth for a few seconds. Fruit? Or could she taste the slight presence of black pepper? Once she had swallowed, there was a distinct buttery finish and delicious dry taste on her tongue!
The assembled company watched her, and everyone seemed eager to hear her response.
“Well, what can I say. A cheeky little number, rather naïve, but I’m amazed by its presumption.”
Josh, Denise, and Tom laughed uproariously. “What a load of shit!” said Tom.
“I think she likes it,” Josh said, a warm smile spreading across his face.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Lucy chided. “Actually,” she said, growing a bit more serious, “it tastes amazing. Sort of like a perfume, where you have the initial impression and that deepens and changes. I almost thought there was a slight taste of wood. Am I losing it?”
“Not at all, that’s the taste imparted by the oak barrels where the wine is stored to ferment.”
The four of them drank the wine and then ate a hearty lunch. The children played and when the wine was finished, another bottle was brought out. Lucy and Josh didn’t leave until the air was cool and the sun had dipped behind the mountains. When she warmly hugged her hosts goodbye, she did so knowing they were all neighbors and now friends too.
Life on a wine farm. Not quite where I expected I would end up. But I suppose there certainly are worse places!