"I never thought of it that way."
Juliet leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. The interview was going well and her nerves had settled down. "Here's another of my favorite French sayings. 'The mark of a successful winery is the owner's footprints in the vineyards.'"
"That requires no explanation." Lucia grimaced. "And I'm ashamed to say you won't find my footprints in my vineyards. I've only been out there once or twice and I don't pay much attention to what goes on out there."
"I didn't mean to imply--" Juliet feared that she might have said the wrong thing, but Lucia did not appear offended in any way.
"I should get out there more often."
"You might want to do that, but the saying applies to me more than it does to you. It originated because traditionally, the owner was also the winemaker and it meant that the winemaker has to know what's going on in the vineyards. That's how we determine when the grapes should be picked and what wines to make from them."
"I'm glad you brought that up," Lucia said. "Luke wants to hire someone who'd be willing to be involved in growing the grapes. Your primary responsibility would be to make the wine, but we'd expect your expertise in the vineyards as well."
"That's what I'm looking for," Juliet said. "And don't let my appearance fool you. I'm stronger than I look and I'm not afraid of hard work."
"I'm sure you're not." Lucia stared at Juliet as if she were assessing her appearance. Lucia's gaze traveled the length of Juliet's body before coming back to her eyes without revealing what she might be thinking.
"One more question," Lucia continued. "We have seventy-five acres of land, fifty acres with mature vines on them and twenty acres of new vines. I'd like you and Luke to decide what to plant in the other five acres and in five or six years, I'd like to produce the amount of wine we're capable of producing based on our acreage. It would please us to no end to have twenty to twenty-five premium wines for sale by then. Do you think you can accomplish that for us?"
"I can and I will." Juliet let her promise hang suspended between them for the next few seconds. "You want a successful winery and I want to work in one."
Lucia cleared her throat and said, "As far as I'm concerned you're the person we're looking for." She picked up a couple of typed pages and handed them to Juliet. "Take a few minutes to read over this salary and benefits package."
Juliet smiled as she read an offer that far exceeded her expectations. At last she was going to be rewarded for all her years of hard work. She wanted to jump at Lucia's offer, but the voice of reason warned her to refrain from acting rashly. She owed it to herself to see the rest of the winery before she made a decision. "This is more than generous."
"I'm sure you'll prove yourself worth every penny," Lucia said. "Do you have any questions or concerns?"
"What about my work schedule?"
"I'll leave that up to you. You know what you have to do and I'm not interested in keeping track of you." Lucia stood up. "If there's nothing else right now, why don't I show you around?"
ONCE THEY WERE outdoors, Lucia pointed to a large industrial building. "Let's start with the winemaking facility. It's over there." The tour and the rest of the interview were solely for Juliet's benefit, not her own. Before they'd even exited her office Lucia had made up her mind that she wanted to hire Juliet. She'd heard all she needed to hear and she saw no reason to interview any other candidates unless Juliet refused to take the position. Juliet was the perfect choice for them in more ways than one and interviewing other winemakers wasn't going to change that.
Lucia liked everything about Juliet, her love for her chosen vocation, the way she presented herself, her well thought out plans and goals, and most of all, her energy and determination. Her accent didn't hurt, either, or the way she formed her sentences or the way her eyes lit up when she recited one of her enchanting wine adages.
Although Juliet's physical attributes were not essential to the job and they hadn't influenced Lucia's decision, at least not consciously, the fact remained that Juliet was easy on the eyes. Her femininity was understated, a trait that Lucia had always favored. She was pretty in a youthful way and Lucia liked the splatter of freckles across the bridge of her nose. It made her look as if someone had flicked a wet paint brush at her. And then there was something about the way Juliet's strawberry-blond hair fell around her face in barely tamed waves.
Juliet suddenly stopped walking and pointed to a different building than the one they were headed toward. "What's that over there?"
"That's our restaurant. We just opened it."
"You have a restaurant? That's wonderful!"
Lucia's laugh was subdued. "We think so. It's nice isn't it?"
"Very. What wood is it made of?"
"Rough cut natural cedar planks." The exterior of the building had the appearance of weathered wood and yet it was unmistakably new. Lucia remembered telling the architect that she wanted it to blend in with the landscape and complement the overall look of the other winery buildings. The design idea was based on one of the winery restaurants she and Devin had dined at years ago during a vacation in the Napa Valley. Thankfully, she heard Juliet speaking before her mind took her back to that vacation.
"Could we walk over there and take a closer look?"
"Why not?" Lucia led the way to the front of the restaurant. She hadn't planned to include this in the tour because she knew she would have to answer questions when Juliet noticed the name of the restaurant.
At the front of the building, Juliet stared up at the carved wooden sign hung over the entrance, the sign that read, Devin's Lakeside Bistro. "Who is Devin?"
Lucia's instincts told her to come up with something plausible, something other than the truth. Then she realized that was a bad plan. If Juliet worked for her, she'd find out about Devin sooner or later. Although she didn't have to reveal much, what she did say ought to be the truth. Lucia tried to keep her voice even as she answered Juliet's question. "Devin was someone who meant a great deal to me and I built this café in her memory. She was killed in a car accident a couple of years ago."
"Oh, dear," Juliet said. "I'm so sorry."
"It happened a long time ago," Lucia said. Devin would have loved the restaurant as much as she would have loved living in the Finger Lakes area again. And even though they'd never talked about owning a winery, Lucia knew that Devin would have loved that just as much. An overpowering, physically painful feeling of loss and despair cut through Lucia so quickly it almost made her knees buckle.
"Are you all right?" Juliet asked. "You seem upset."
"I'm fine. Would you like to see the inside?"
"If we have the time."
"We have time for a quick look." Lucia climbed the steps and unlocked the double doors. She continued into the main dining area, an expansive room with a vaulted ceiling made of natural wood beams. She noted that Juliet's eyes were immediately drawn to the immense floor to ceiling stone fireplace that occupied the entire back wall. "I know. The fireplace makes quite a statement."
"It's enormous!" Juliet spun around as she scanned the room. "And the view from these windows is breathtaking."
"I'd be perfectly content to look out at this scenery all day every day for the rest of my life," Lucia said. She felt her eyes tear up with emotion. Her words spoken out loud had made her own the fact that she would be in this place for the rest of her life, the only unknown factor being the quality of that life. Would it persist on and on, one hollow day piled upon the previous one, an existence rather than a life, an existence without comfort, peace, happiness, and love?
"I feel the same way." Once again Juliet broke into Lucia's thoughts.
Lucia turned away and dabbed at her eyes. She had better move this tour along and get out of the café before Juliet noticed how emotional she had become. With Juliet in tow, she showed her the rest of the inside areas and then took her outside so she could see the awning-covered decks for outdoor dining.
Juliet spent a minute or two taking in the scenery before her. "This is beautiful. Who wouldn't enjoy eating out here? I can only think of one or two winery restaurants that are this close to the lake and have views as spectacular as yours."
Lucia leaned against the railing and smiled. How could she not feel better while she was in the presence of such an upbeat person? "Why don't we go see the winemaking building now? I'm sure you can't wait to see it."
WHEN JULIET ENTERED the lab, she gasped out loud and covered her mouth with her hand. Leaving Lucia in the doorway, she flitted from one place to another caressing the stainless steel counters, touching a beaker here, a test tube there and tracing the tips of her fingers over the top of every piece of lab equipment within her reach. In the recesses of her busily engaged mind she saw her behavior from Lucia's eyes and wondered what Lucia thought of her.
"I never expected this," Juliet said once she settled in one spot.
"It's completely climate controlled."
"I couldn't ask for a better lab." Juliet faced Lucia, who appeared fascinated by her unrestrained gush of excitement. It occurred to Juliet that she might look ridiculous, but she didn't let that dampen her spirits as she inspected everything for a second time. "It's so shiny, so new, and so full of possibilities."
"I'm glad you like it." Lucia waited patiently as if to give Juliet plenty of time to admire the lab before she made her leave it. "Whenever you're ready, I'd like to show you something else."
"I'm ready. Lead the way."
At the far end of the winemaking facility, Lucia opened another door and held it for Juliet. After Juliet entered, Lucia went in behind her.
Juliet found herself in a modern lounge containing a leather sofa, a large chair with an ottoman, a small round table with four chairs and several lockers. Lucia opened a side door and showed her a large changing area. Off of it, another door led to a bathroom with a toilet stall, sink and a walk-in shower. This was getting better and better.
"I'm not used to so much luxury," Juliet said. "I won't have to go outside and walk to another building to use the bathroom and I could shower and change before I go home. You know how dirty this work can be."
"Not first hand, but I figured it out by looking at Luke and the other workers. That's why I had all this put in here. Come on, we have a lot more to see."
Juliet broke away from Lucia as they made their way through the building. She ran over to the DiFrechesci press and Milani crusher/destemmer and stood by them. With her hand she reached out to caress each one in the same way a lover would. "These are the very best you can buy."
Something else caught Juliet's eye and she dashed off again in another direction, this time to see the stainless steel fermentation tanks. They stood in a row, majestically, like a towering metallic Stonehenge. Lucia had scarcely caught up to Juliet when she took off again to get a closer look at the stacks of oak barrels lining one wall of the main storage area. "Are these French oak?" she asked Lucia as she touched one of the barrels.
"All the barrels on that wall are," Lucia confirmed. Then she pointed to the opposite wall. "And we have American oak barrels stacked against that wall."
"I like to experiment with American oak," Juliet said. "And the barrels cost a lot less. Unfortunately, only the French oak imparts the proper flavor to certain types of wines."
"That's why the wines aged in French oak cost so much more."
"You mean that's why they're
worth
so much more."
"I suppose that's more to the point." After a brief pause, Lucia asked a question. "What do you think of our winery so far?"
"Every winemaker dreams about working in a winery like yours. There'd be no end to what I could accomplish."
"Then you'll take the job?"
"I'd like to talk to Mr. Parisi before I give you an answer." It was all Juliet could do to keep herself from shouting out that she would take the job. She wanted to jump at the chance. Casa Parisi had it all and it excited her that she might be a central part of their future. Nevertheless, she'd have to work with Luke Parisi on a daily basis and she wanted to hear what he had to say.
"I'll take you to him after we finish here and leave you two alone so you can talk to him without me there." Lucia glanced around. "If you needed anything else in the way of equipment or whatever, we could get it for you. I want you to have whatever you need if you decide to work for us."
"Thanks, but honestly, I think you have everything."
"Well then, let me take you to Luke."
JULIET WAS QUIET as she approached Lucia's office about an hour later. Lucia was at her desk staring intently at her computer monitor which prompted Juliet to knock on the door frame before she stepped inside lest she startle her. "It's me."
"Come in and sit down."
"Mr. Parisi and I finished talking."
Lucia stopped what she was doing and focused her attention on Juliet. "I suppose he made you try some of our wines. He's so proud of them."
"He did and you both should be proud. They were excellent. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I think your husband is awfully nice."
"My husband?" Lucia laughed soft and low, but then she got serious again. "Forgive me. I'm not laughing at you. It's just that Luke is not my husband, he's my brother."
"I thought--my mistake." Juliet didn't know what else to say.
"It's my fault. I should have told you he was my brother when I introduced the two of you. I guess I thought you knew, I mean that Carolyn had told you. The three of us grew up in this area and we went to school together."
"Carolyn mentioned him, but she didn't say anything about his relationship to you. I just assumed with the same last name and all--" Juliet felt embarrassed. "You don't look that much alike and I hope I haven't offended you."