Like a Fine Wine

Dan had a long drink and looked morosely at his plate. "Nearly eight years. Met a few women that I got along with, but that was it. A few one nighters but nothing serious. Ah well, shit happens. We get on ok, have the occasional 'friends with benefits' thing happening. Could be worse."

"Yeah, it could be, I guess. You get married to someone, then a few years later you find out they're not really who you thought. Surprise!" It was Miriam's turn to look despondent.

"You? Really? I thought you and Dale were good."

Miriam waved her glass at Dan. "As you said, appearances. We were getting on well when he was on site managing the mine in Sierra Leone. A couple of months over there, a couple of weeks here, then he was off again. I had my work so we never really spent much time together. Then he was stuck home with me. He was, is... unpleasant."

"Oh. Geez, sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, but it's fine. It's another reason I was happy to bail out of Melbourne and live in a shipping container. He was carrying on like COVID was my fault, and I was the one who had banned him from going back. Fuckwit. I had my own shit to deal with. I didn't need to deal with his work issues as well."

"So are you going back, now things have opened?" Dan asked.

"The office? No real choice, so yeah. Dale? Not sure. Ah, look. It's been brewing for a while. We've had a few fairly long, ummm, conversations about his career but he wants to work overseas. He likes the cash. FIFO work is fine by me, but I just wanted him to do his flying in Australia. Now, having him around all the time like a bear with a sore head?" Miriam gave a harsh chuckle and drained her glass. "Oh, and I found out he's got a site friend. That hurt."

"Shit. What a prick. Well, if you want, you can set up back here in the short term. I'm only around for a couple more days and I'll mostly be in the shed. No skin off my nose if you want to use the office. Security wise, it wouldn't hurt having someone around."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine now things have opened up. He was talking about us moving to Perth so he could fly out easily. That is not an option for me. A discussion we'll have very soon." Miriam topped up her glass again. "This is a very, very nice wine, Dan. You should be proud of it. May the Colline Meridionali winery win many awards!"

"Thank you. And may your buildings win acclaim."

"And I'd like to talk to you about that. Award season is looming. But I had better check your facilities again. Oh, and I need to show you that living area. I'll visit the amenities and meet you upstairs?"

"No worries," said Dan. He cleared the plates from the table and went up the staircase. At the time he had thought it was a bit odd Miriam asking if she could run her business from a worksite, but just put it down as another of the strange COVID compromises people had to make to keep working. Being separated from Dale explained a lot. It was also interesting. The image of her shapely arse on the stool came drifting back. This time he didn't swat it away.

He was leaning against the outside balcony railing thinking about her bum when he heard the lift door open. He looked over his shoulder at Miriam stepping out of the lift with her sandals in one hand and the bottle with two glasses in the other.

"Loo's good. All in perfect working order. So, shall we check out your bedroom?" She tried to suppress a giggle and carefully placed the wine and glasses on a table. "I definitely think I may have had one too many. That is so different to other Shirazs I've had."

"Yeah, nowadays a lot of larger places are more like labs than traditional winemakers. I wanted to rely on my skill, not what a forensic examination of a grape says I should do. I'm glad you enjoyed it though." He followed Miriam through the door that divided the office from the living area.

"So, obviously I didn't know Aly and you weren't really a couple. Umm, that's interesting. I'd decorated the lounge area and the bedroom with both of you in mind, but leaning towards the masculine. I can change it if you don't like it."

Dan crossed his arms and slowly nodded as he walked around. "Nice. Really nice. Spacious, good use of the view. TV and cooking area away from the bedroom. Split between the office and private areas. Love the large shower." He turned to Miriam and smiled. "It really is a self-contained apartment, isn't it?"

"Yep, that was the idea. After work, you close the door and leave it behind. Again, mostly recycled materials. The bed is a virgin, though. Nobody's slept on that yet." A little giggle slipped out, which made Dan smile broadly.

"I've got some cannoli downstairs, and a bottle of Recioto della Valpolicella. It's a dessert wine, but I don't know if you'd better have some. I think you're slightly pickled. Maybe a coffee instead?" he asked.

"Actually, I could do with a good coffee. It's been a long day. Cannoli? Yes, please."

"No worries. I'll be back in a tick."

Miriam sat on the couch in the office area. 'Well, that's a good outcome. One happy client. One happy, ruggedly good looking, pretty much single client.' she thought.

Dan was thinking about his new building. Miriam really had woven some skill into the structure. It was functional but captured everything he wanted his winery to express. Modern, with a nod to his heritage. A bold first impression, but elegant when you looked closely at the details. Like Miriam herself. He smiled wryly as he poured two long blacks and placed them on a tray. She was a woman that was hard to keep thinking about only on a professional level.

"Here you go, Mum's cannoli and a coffee. A long black for this time of night." Dan said as he stepped out of the lift and placed the tray on a table. "I really like that lift."

"I noticed," Miriam said dryly and picked up a cannoli. She nibbled at a piece of the thin pastry shell, then licked the ricotta filling. As expected, the shell was delightfully crispy, and the filling was smooth but packed with serious flavour. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dan watching her. Miriam guessed he was waiting for her to comment on his mum's work.

"That is beautiful. Can't beat homemade Italian pastries." Miriam nibbled the shell down, exposing more of the filling.

"I'll let Mum know you approve of them. She loves getting accolades for her cooking." Dan watched her lick the cream out of the tube. A hundred different scenarios played out in his head, and most involved Miriam's tongue exploring a different cannoli shaped object. His gaze drifted towards the bedroom, but he dragged it unwillingly back. "What time do you have to leave?"

"About 7:30. I'll have a quick shower here, if that's ok, then I'll head off."

"No breakfast? How do you function?"

Miriam laughed, "God no, I need that fuel and some caffeine to kick start me. I'll pick up something along the way."

"Nope," said Dan with a shake of his head, "I'll be up at six anyway, so when you jump in the shower I'll make us an omelette and a coffee. Which then leads to my next point - you take the bed."

"Thanks, and thanks but no. It's for you. You need to have something I haven't played with before."

"I'll let that one go through to the keeper, but it's fine. You've been out here on your airbed for yonks, so you should have one night of comfort. Besides, you'll need to get to the shower in the morning and if I'm in there, it could be embarrassing. I can grab a quick shower after you're gone."

"Ok, thanks. That would be great." Miriam finished her coffee and stretched. "Right, back down to the car for the second last time."

"I'd better follow you down. I need to grab my stuff."

===

Dan wrapped a chain around a fence post and hooked it to the crane on the back of his old tractor. He could have easily paid someone to remove the old fences, but he didn't mind doing the work himself. Most of the heavy manual work at his family's winery had been done years ago, and his father now had employees to undertake maintenance. He found the work on his own property therapeutic and very rewarding.

"Cazzo! Bloody hell, you broke now?" Dan swore as the post broke in half and dropped back in the hole. He moved the tractor out of the way and grabbed a crowbar to break up the remains. "Well, at least you're pretty soft."

He rhythmically dropped the crowbar into the hole, and his thoughts drifted off to Miriam. 'Soft, and I wouldn't mind dropping my bar into her hole...'

Thud... Thud... Thud...

'Shame she's going back home. Ah well, I'm sure we'll catch up again. Better organise the official opening soon.'

Thud... Thud... Thud...

'That's it, nearly done. I'm just going to push in deep and wiggle around in there. Get you nice and loose. God, I need a fuck...'

Once the top of the broken post was below the ground surface, he fired up the tractor and removed the last few posts on the fence run. 'That'll do for now. Lunch is declared.' he thought, smiling with satisfaction as he drove back to the machinery shed. Once there, he picked up his phone he'd deliberately left on the bench. Amongst the usual flood of messages was a missed call from Miriam, and a follow-up message.

'Can I stay a bit longer?'

'Of course. Tonight? I was making pizza for dinner.'

'Thank you. Yes. Back about 6.'

Dan stared at the phone, wondering why Miriam had changed her mind about heading back to Melbourne. He quickly flicked to a news app to see if another COVID lockdown had raised its ugly head and sighed in relief when there was no mention of that. Thinking about possibilities, Dan recalled Miriam saying that the Bendigo project would be a major step up for her company if it came off, so it was possible she needed to stay fairly close to that project. That idea actually made little sense as the distance from his place was about the same as from her office. He shrugged to himself. He'd find out later.

===

"Hi."

Dan looked over his shoulder at Miriam and smiled. "Hi. Just checking the pizza oven. Didn't expect to see you back so soon. How'd it go in Bendigo?"

"Good, good." Miriam rubbed her arm and shrugged. "They liked my ideas, and I'll find out early next week what's happening. So that's good."

"You ok? You look a bit, I dunno, flat."

"No, I'm... good. Just been a long day. Thanks for putting up with me again. I appreciate it. It's good."

Dan came out from the kitchen and stood in front of her. He said gently, "Miriam, what's wrong? When someone says good that many times, they're not good."

She nodded. "Yeah, probably true. Actually, things could be better."

"C'mon, grab a seat on the couch and I'll get you a drink. Water, coffee, or something harder?"

"Just water, thanks." Miriam slowly sat down and stared at the wall in front of her.

Dan filled a large glass and sat on a chair opposite her. "What's up?" he asked, handing Miriam the drink.

"The arsehole's left me. He's got a permit to get into West Oz. He'll do the quarantine then stay over there." Miriam took a large gulp out of the glass. "Just an email. Not even a call. 'Better for his career' he said."

"Oh." Dan was lost for something to say. Lamely, he said, "That's not good."

"No," she snorted, "not good at all. And just to make life more interesting, he had my office packed up and put into storage so he could put the building on the market with vacant possession."

"He what? How? Why?"

"Dale took out the loan when I was just starting. He had the money, I was just his wife with an idea. He reckoned it was also the most tax efficient way of doing things. I didn't question it. He's been a CFO, so you'd think he knew what he was talking about. I signed a lease, but to be honest, I have no idea what the terms were. It was a month-to-month lease. I trusted him." Miriam carefully put the glass on the floor, then her hands over her face. "I trusted him," she sobbed.

Dan moved beside her and gently rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry. What a prick. Stay here for as long as you need. There's no drama with that. "

"Thanks." Miriam took a deep breath and tried to smile. "I'll be fine. It's the shock more than anything. Guess it could be worse. He could have just hired a big skip bin and dumped everything."

"That's true. And look on the bright side. If Bendigo comes off, you'd probably need to relocate anyway."

"I suppose. I'm getting more nibbles from regional clients than Melbourne, so I was half thinking about moving. Shit of a way for it to happen though."

"Life sucks at times. Well, I can help with a really good divorce lawyer, if that's the way you want to go. She'd enjoy flaying the skin off his financial hide and giving it to you wrapped up with a bow."

"Thanks. I'll think about it. To be honest, that hadn't crossed my mind. A taste of your wine has though."

Dan gave her a quick hug and stood. "Can do. I'm glad you're back, even if the circumstances are ordinary. I was getting a tad lonely." He poured two large glasses of wine and sat back beside her. "Stay as long as you need."

She flashed him a quick smile. "Thanks. Maybe a week or two until I can get my shit together."

"No rush. As I said, I'll be off soon for about a month. I need to tidy some things up, ship some stuff down, then look at opening the doors to the public. Oh, and hire some staff. Any ideas on that?" Dan thought the best way to cheer Miriam up was to distract her with other problems.

"I guess there's a lot of people who lost their jobs over the last couple of years." Miriam took a deep drink of wine. "Probably put an ad in the local paper, or talk to the local employment agencies about what skills you need."

"I'm lousy at the admin side. Guess that's the first person I need. If you're going to be here, would you consider helping me recruit someone? I'd like to do interviews onsite so they know exactly where I am."

Miriam took another sip and nodded. "I suppose I can do the initial screening, but you'll have to have the final say. They need to work with you, not me."

"True, but I trusted you with creating my business. You've done an exceptional job, so I wouldn't hesitate to hire anyone you recommend. I trust your judgement."

Tears welled up in Miriam's eyes and she buried her face in Dan's shoulder. "Thank you. Why couldn't he be like you?" She sat back up and sniffed. "This is so embarrassing. I've lost million dollar projects and not been this upset."

"Guess it's just the sudden shock of it all. And having your whole office put in a box and stored in a warehouse? That's not something that happens every day. I'm surprised you're not more angry."

Miriam took a large swallow and shrugged. "That comes and goes. I couldn't believe what I read on the phone, so I opened up my laptop to make sure I read it right. It didn't change. I tried to call him and it went straight through to voicemail. I yelled at it. I sat in the damn car for over an hour until a parking inspector tapped on the window and asked if I was ok. I must have looked like shit. Anyway, I drove off, bought some junk food, sent you a text, and here I am and I don't know what the fuck is going on in my life."

Dan topped up her glass. There was nothing he could say that would make things better. He'd never been in her situation, but it was obvious that Miriam just needed time to vent and process the shit that had landed on her.

"Fuck him. Sorry, I'm swearing a lot." Miriam said, and emptied her wine.

"All good. Doesn't worry me." He stood and gestured to the oven. "I've got to push the fire to the sides and sweep the base of the oven. Can I interest you in a pizza? I don't have a lot of toppings. Just mozzarella, tomato paste, salami, mushrooms and an onion."

"That sounds wonderful. Beats the bucket of fried chicken and soggy chips I had." She followed him over to the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?"

"Sure. Slice half a dozen mushies and the onion, please. The dough's resting in the bowl over there. It should have risen enough. Sprinkle a bit of flour on the bench, then tip it out." Dan glanced at Miriam. Her cheeks had a red tinge from the wine, and she was chewing her bottom lip. Not unexpected, considering the circumstances.

Miriam found a cook's knife and rapidly chopped the vegetables. She picked up the flour and liberally sprinkled it on the stainless steel bench. "Shit!"

Dan heard the thud of the dough hitting the bench and turned around. He burst out laughing at a flour covered Miriam. "Oops. Used a bit too much flour, I see. Guess you should have changed first."

She scowled at him. "You think? You could have said something, like 'Miriam, I think you'd better change out of that really expensive blue dress before you do any cooking'. Geez."

"It wasn't my place to say, although I did wonder if you realised what you were still wearing. I'll nip down and grab your bags to say I'm sorry, if you like. Meet you upstairs?"

"Yeah, ta. Just the two suitcases thanks. Bloody hell, what a day."

===

"You look a bit more relaxed." Dan said, glancing at his guest. After Miriam had changed into a pair of leggings and a tee shirt, they'd made their dinner and moved to the cafe deck to watch the sun slowly descend.

"Hmm? I guess. I'm more pissed off at the moment. I really want to drive home and see what that arsehole has left behind so I can do nasty things to it. But," she sighed, "that's counterproductive. I'd prefer to screw him out of every cent I can and I don't need him accusing me of malicious damage and ruining that goal."

"Good to hear." Dan leaned over and clinked his wine glass on hers. "To a fruitful settlement."

"Thanks. Bottoms up." Miriam finished her glass and sighed. "This is a beautiful spot. I'm so good at this job. When are you heading back?"

"What's today? Thursday?"

Miriam nodded.

"I was planning on heading off tomorrow afternoon, but I'm going to stay until Sunday morning. I did a bit of browsing the competition's websites and I'm thinking about having a look at a few on Saturday to pick up some ideas before they realise I'm here."

"Not a bad idea. I did the same when I was scoping your project, although that was pre-COVID. Things may have changed."

"True." Dan shuffled around to look directly at Miriam. "Can I ask a favour?"

"I suppose. I can't really refuse the guy who's letting me use his office."

"Well, you could. Please come with me? It looks strange when a single person rolls up for tastings. You're never sure if they're doing a review or casing the joint."

"Ooo, a spy! Sure, I can do that."

"Great, thanks. And you can have the bed again to say thanks."

"I won't argue. It's nice and comfy. You really should try it."

===

Dan hummed happily as he walked through the vines, making sure the irrigation drippers were all working. It was a job more suited to someone on a quad bike, but he didn't want to leave one in the shed while the place was vacant. Also, he had to admit, it was just busy work. It didn't need to be done but after Miriam's news he felt obligated to see she was ok. It was also the reason he asked her to go snooping with him.

'You're an A-grade bullshit artist, Dan,' his subconscious said.

'I know,' he replied. 'I like her. I like her a lot. And before you conjure up some pornographic situations, she's going to remain just a friend.'

'Good luck with that idea. She looks pretty hot in those skin tight leggings, doesn't she? They don't leave a lot to the imagination. The frontal form fit is very interesting.'

'Yeah, true on both counts but that's beside the point.' Dan looked up at his building as he heard Miriam yell from the top deck. He checked his phone and realised it was lunchtime. He waved at Miriam and strolled back.

Miriam waved back and leaned on the railing. She hadn't really accomplished much for the morning. Every time she started on one of her other projects, her thoughts drifted back to yesterday. Preparing a couple of toasted cheese and salami sandwiches was the highlight of the day so far.