CABERNET ZIN (Cabernet Zin Wine Country) (18 page)

“Who?”

“Dad’s doc.” Tyler clunked his soda on the window shelf and rushed to the hallway, “Doctor Galley. Doc, my sister is here, can you see us?”

Claire called Joan and put her on speaker conference.

The doctor entered the room followed by Tyler as if he herded a basket of cats seething to run away.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Galley. I’m taking care of Mr. Vega.” He flipped the chart closed.

“I’m Claire, his daughter. My sister is on the phone from the East Coast. What happened to our father?”

“Tests so far show your father had a stroke. We’ve put him on several blood thinners and relaxants while we await tests. He has another Magnetic Resonance Imaging exam in a few hours. A delay because of the lab back up. We’re monitoring him but my experience says the damage is already done, in fact was done, when he stood up. Your bother did the right thing getting him calmed down and to the hospital as quick as he did so no additional blockages occurred. Your father is stable but we want to monitor and finish up with our tests to ensure he stays stable.”

“How long before he can go home?”

The doctor changed his stance, still uncomfortable even though he gave this kind of news daily to too many people, “I’m not going to sugar coat this. He’s going to be permanently impaired. There is a chance he could make a few improvements but overall the outlook is bleak with that kind of stroke. He will need someone to care for him. He won’t be able to live on his own, possibly he could be on his own for a few hours a day, but you’ll need to think of him as a five or ten year old child. The other option is putting him in a home but that depends on his financial situation, the combined family’s opinion on placement, and your financial health to be able to do that.”

Claire heard Joan draw a wincing breath. Tyler danced on his broken shoes with his hands in his pocket. Claire didn’t have any money and did not like the idea of plugging him into a home even if she did.

The doctor broke the stifled silence, “You don’t have to decide right now what to do. He will likely remain in the hospital for two or three days depending on his progress. I’m sorry about all this. I know it’s shocking.” The doctor’s phone wailed at his hip with a message. He pulled it out and touched the screen. “I need to leave. If you have more questions, I’ll be through here again late tonight. Or ask the nurses.”

“Thanks Doctor Galley.” Claire said. She motioned to Tyler to follow her to the hallway. They found an empty room across the hall, went in, and closed the door.

Claire asked Joan, “What do you think we should do?”

“I think it’s too early to tell. They have him on some big drugs. He could wake out of it tomorrow.”

Tyler said, “But what if he doesn’t? What are we going to do?”

Joan said, “Let’s figure that out when we know more. Claire, I don’t think I’m traveling. I can’t believe how expensive these plane tickets are and conference calling in like this seems to work. Claire you need to stop by Dad’s house. Check his mail and make sure his bills are paid. Maybe not today, but depending on what we learn tomorrow, you should check. He might have had a bill he was preparing to send. We don’t need the power getting turned off or anything.”

Tyler pulled out their father’s keys, “Here, Claire.” He pressed them into her fingers.

The weight of the keys made a prickly dread in her hand. Claire said, “What if this is it for him like the doctor said? What are we going to do? He never lived as if he had much spare money to afford a nursing home – those can be thousands a day. He might need care for years yet. More than the University retirement plans he might have.”

Joan said, “I can’t take him out here. Getting him here would be a problem and then the both of us already daycare our kids so we can work. We’d need to stick him in a nursing home here during the day and that just won’t work. I grade papers almost every night. Claire, I think you’d be the best option to take care of him.” Joan didn’t need to say why their brother Tyler would be a poor choice. Even though he was the oldest of the three of them.

Claire said, “Tyler did a great job getting Dad in the hospital. With my work, I don’t know how to do it.”

Tyler said, “I’m teaching a few surfing classes. But if I’m not on the beach I can’t find my customers to teach.”

“So what do we do?”

“Why don’t we figure it out tomorrow when we know more?”

“Sure.”

Claire walked out of the room. The phone felt as heavy in her hand as her heart. She knew she was going to have to be the one to take care of their father. She doubted that either of them would give her money for rent. None of them had any money to care for him properly. She needed to work to keep her apartment. “Tyler, maybe I should move in to Dad’s place and get rid of my apartment?”

“Move into Dad’s? He never repainted your old room. Maybe we both move back in?”

“If Dad wakes up as himself he would be angry. You know he threw you out on your own. He has you back to visit a lot but you can’t do that yet. I can’t keep him at my apartment nor keep the apartment if I have to quit and take care of him.”

“He’ll be fine tomorrow. Let’s see how these tests go. I think he will be fine. Everything will be back to normal in a week. You’ll see.”

She worried that he would not. Claire sighed as they stood in the hall, “I should tell Zack and get his advice.”

“Zack? Is that the guy Joan told me you were seeing?”

“I’m not seeing him. We’re just friends.”

“Joan told me he’s married. That’s not right. He’ll hurt you.”

“I can take care of myself. We need to focus on Dad.”

June

“Hey there stranger.”

Zack removed his gloves and put his arm out, “Claire!”

She came up to him and gave him a tight hug. Zack could feel the press of her breasts against his chest. He wrapped his arm around and held her. He didn’t let go until he felt her arms relax. “I’ve missed you. How did you find me?”

“I asked around and the girls at the winery seem to keep track of you.”

“I must have a reputation as a trouble-maker, I guess. It also helps that I’m the only one out in the field today.”

“Why didn’t you call when you got back out here?”

“You left me at the ice cream parlor and I … I didn’t know if I should call you.”

“I didn’t know either, the whole drive out here. I almost turned around and went back home twice, or more times.”

“Sorry.”

Claire took a breath and looked around, “What are you doing out here?”

“I’m going through the vines.” Zack pointed down the row, “See where the clusters of grapes hang down from the vines?”

“Suggestively?” Claire bit her lip.

“I suppose. I hadn’t thought of that before,” Zack looked at Claire’s twinkling eyes. His hunger for her expanded. He refocused, “What I do is make sure the leaves don’t cover the grapes. I clear the leaves out around each. You can see down the row where I’ve been.”

“Why do you need to do that?” Claire’s nose wrinkled up, a bit mocking, or playing.

“It allows the wind to make sure the grapes stay dry so no mold starts growing on them plus the sunlight gets in there and increases the intensity of the flavor.”

“I see. How long before the grapes are ready?”

“Some months yet.”

“Oh.”

Zack saw her turn away and look across another part of the vineyard. He looked and didn’t see anything but the grapefruit plantation in the property next to the vineyards. He pushed back his cowboy-styled straw hat and asked, “Hey, what’s going on?”

Claire shrugged her shoulders.

Zack came close and put his hand around her, turning her slightly. Tears rolled down her face. “I can assure you I had nothing to do with the lost dog, officer.”

Claire moved away, crossing her arms over her chest.

Zack took a step toward her, “I don’t know how to help if you don’t tell me what is going on.”

“Family stuff.” She wiped her tears away. “You don’t need to hear it.”

“You can tell me. Maybe I can suggest something – or just listen.” He took another step toward her. “But I have to warn you I might try to fix it.”

Claire showed a brave smile. “No. I’ve got it.” She wiped her face on her shirt sleeve. “Why don’t you not let me interrupt your work and I’ll hang out here with you.”

“That doesn’t sound too fun for you.”

“You’re helping though.” Claire rubbed at her face to wipe new tears away.

Zack put his gloves on and said, “Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you how to trim the vines.”

“What do you mean?”

“Here –” Zack stood behind her facing the trellis that dripped with fluttering dark green leaves and nearly hidden bunched grapes behind them. He placed his arms around her. “Slide your hands in my gloves and put your fingers against mine.” Zack started moving along the vine touching leaves with one hand and trimming stems with the other. It was awkward at first, they both laughed, but Claire quickly moved fluidly with him as if they ballroom danced. Zack loved the feel of her body against his, her warmth, how her arms touched and moved with his, and the smell of her so close, intoxicating. The sun lowered, casting longer and longer shadows over the field. How her graceful neck moved so close within range of his lips. He leaned …, stopped inches from her skin, and pulled back. He took a deep breath. “You are a natural at this trimming task.”

Claire slipped her hands from his gloves and turned into him. Her fingers came to his face as if she strained against a wall. “How much do you have left to finish?”

“I told our field foreman I’d get as far as the end of this row. I thought I might carry on into a few more for good measure though.”

“Now that I know what to do. How about I finish?”

“And what would you have me do?” Zack searched her face but no hints came.

“Get a bottle of wine from the winery and meet me at the top of that hill? I saw them setting up a wedding at the winery when I was asking for you. I’d like to see some of the reception without actually crashing it, since we are not really dressed for it.”

“It’s a big June wedding so it’s been busy over there - a very popular time at the winery.”

“Hey Martin, put a bottle on my account.” Zack held up one of the old slower selling blends from the prior year.

“Zack, I’ll put it down because we are required to track the entire inventory, but I’m not worried about you paying. You’ve spent all day out in that field. I really appreciate the help.” Martin came closer to Zack, “You’ve been helping so much … I’ve been talking with a few of the others on the management committee and we all agree that we need to pay you something. It won’t be a lot but maybe we can cover the hotel room you’re at?”

“That would be nice, Martin. You know, I’ve been using the work here as a cheap psychiatrist.”

Martin laughed, “Can’t have idle hands.”

Zack slid a pair of wine glasses in the back pockets of his pants, smiling to himself at remembering a movie where the romantic lead fell on similar pocketed wine glasses and was injured the rest of the movie. He walked past the rows where he had left Claire trimming and she had gone. He panicked. He looked to the dirt and saw her footprints leave the end of the row toward the winery complex. He thought about exploring for her but decided he had better go to their meeting place and wait or else they could both be needlessly searching. Especially in the darkness, that now hovered over the vineyard. A few brighter stars sparkled overhead.

“I’m over here.”

Zack ducked under the lowest trellis tension wires of several rows crossing up the hill toward her voice. He found Claire sitting on a wide blanket. The top of the hill held an old, fragrant grapefruit tree and several newly planted olive trees placed there to see if the winery might offer fancy olive oils in future years. The hill was too sharp to run grape trellises over without posts being pulled out elsewhere down the slope. The same ground cover planted down the rows of the vineyard topped the hill between the trees.

“I just saw the limo roll around the drive. The couple is getting out.”

“I like the blanket.”

“It’s my emergency car blanket,” she didn’t mention that the blanket was a gift from her father nor that he had given it to protect her in an emergency. She couldn’t hold back all of her tears. Zack saw how the drops leaped from the edges of her lashes like cliff divers disappearing into the surf and how she clenched her hands until they went away. He wanted to ask or say something but he did not know how. He took his boots and socks off and walked on the blanket with his bare feet. Claire pulled the hammer loop on the side of his overalls and he knelt down, almost forgetting – “Hey, I almost broke these.” He pulled the wine glasses out of his pockets.

“That would have been bad. I saw
Sabrina
a dozen times when I was young, that injury enabled his brother to get the girl.”

“I saw that movie, too.” Zack held out the goblets, “Hold these.” He took out his pocket knife and used the corkscrew, twisting it with expert speed into the stopper. He gripped the bottle tight and pulled roughly on the cork. It loosened in halting fits, wiggled and encouraged, until it came to the top. “Now listen for it.”