Lisa
We drop Ren and Nayeon back at the hotel before making our way back to the farmhouse. When Jennie and I get back to the house, we part ways. I go to my room briefly and rinse off for the night. I turn the shower on hot and feel the grime and rust from the store leave my skin.
By time I'm out of the shower, the house is quiet. Everyone has gone to bed.
Almost everyone. Except Jennie. She stays up. I go downstairs and I can hear her through the window. She's on the outside patio, pacing on the phone. She's in non-stop work mode. She's wearing her jacket, at least. It's a start toward self-care.
"Yes, Ren, I know it's last second, we all know it's last second." A pause. "Well, what can they offer us?" Another brief silence. "Okay, we can make that work. If we move the dress fitting to Thursday, that should give them enough time to set up during the day tomorrow... I'll let Roxanne know that you're coming over... you can coordinate..."
I decide that she needs a break. I go into the fridge until I find a bottle of unopened white wine chilling. I snag a wineglass, make my way out of the kitchen, and slide open the screen doors.
The mountains are black now and nearly blended into the darkening sky. The crickets wake up, and an owl hoots in the distance. Jennie is off the phone now. She's currently made herself at home on the wooden porch swing. Her shoes lie empty underneath the swing, her legs tucked underneath her, bare toes poking out. She's texting away on her phone, the bright glare illuminating her face in the near dark, but she glances up when I step outside.
"Your phone works." I comment.
She shrugs. "I found the sweet spot."
"Apparently." I lift the bottle and glass in offering. "I thought you might want to relax."
"God, yes. You read my mind."
I take a seat beside her. The porch swing rocks briefly under our combined weight before settling back down again. I reach into my back pocket, pull out a wine key, and uncork the wine before I give her a small pour. I hand the glass over. "Try that."
She puts her lips around the rim and swallows. I focus on her reaction. She seems to be considering something, taking another sip, and lets this one linger in her mouth a moment longer before swallowing.
"That's good." she says and hands the glass back over to me. I fill her up this time.
"It's a Riesling. The fruit comes from the vineyard outside of Cheongdo, which gives it that honeysuckle and citrus note. A dash of lemon to balance it out... and there you go."
Her eyes are locked on me now. "You know a lot about your wine."
"I should hope so." I twist the bottle around so she can see the label. "Sea Glass Vineyard. That's mine."
"Yours." She rolls the word around her mouth as though tasting it. "You made this?"
I feel an edge of a smile tug my mouth. "It's what I do."
"You're full of surprises, Ms. Manoban."
You have no idea, sweet one. I keep my tongue behind my teeth, however, and let out a brief laugh before leaning back.
She takes the bottle in her hand and investigates it. Even I like the packaging on this one, the bottle itself is teal green and cloudy, as though it's been sand-beaten.
"Why the name?" Jennie asks as she puts the bottle back down. "Sea Glass?"
"Mina and I grew up in Gangwon. When I was a kid, we used to walk up and down Jangho beach collecting sea glass and pretend that it was pirate treasure. I always liked the stuff. It takes a beating and just gets prettier. Not a diamond, but rough and beautiful in its own right."
I can hear Jennie's smile in her voice. "I think that's romantic."
"Maybe. For a nine-year-old."
Through the screen, I can see bright stars poking holes in the inky night sky.
"Aren't you sharing?" she asks and swivels her glass.
I shrug lightly. "I don't drink."
"What?" Here we go. "But..."
"But how can I own a vineyard without drinking? It's pretty simple. I just don't partake on the product."
"Oh." she says, though she still sounds unsure. "Isn't it hard, though?"
"No. Less questions. More drinking."
She obliges and tips her glass to her lips.
"How did the tasting go?" I ask.
"Poorly." she sighs. She shifts in her spot, and her toes press against my thigh. She pauses briefly and stares into her glass. "I think you might be right." she admits. She sounds morose when she says it.
"About?"
"Bambam." The chains of the porch swing creak lightly. "There's just... something weird going on with him and one of his... lady friends."
My back molars grind together, and my grip tightens around the neck of the wine bottle. "Do you think he's cheating on my sister?"
She must see the murder in my eyes, because she lifts her palm. "No! No... nothing like that. Just..." She sighs. "I don't know. There's something unresolved there. I have a sixth sense about these things."
"Right." I glance over at her. She's staring off and running her fingertip around the rim of her glass distractedly. "Unresolved issues." I prompt. "Something you know from experience?"
"Hey, whoa, look who's asking questions now." Jennie lifts a finger. "If I can't do it, neither can you."
As much as I try not to, a small smile quirks the corner of my mouth. "Fair enough."
The porch swing rocks lightly in the silence that follows. Outside, grasshoppers chirp and hiss.
"Tzuyu said something interesting during our cake session."
"Oh?"
"About you. And her." Jennie puts her glass to her lips but looks at me with big, questioning eyes.
I snort a laugh. "What happened to no questions?"
"That's not a question. It's a statement."
I sigh. "Well, here's another statement. I've never had sex with Tzuyu, if that's what she's implying." I lapse into thought briefly and then continue. "I went through a phase, certainly. But she was not part of it."
"Went?" Jennie lifts her eyebrows. "You took me to your hotel room after talking to me for a couple hours. There's no past tense about it."
I press my lips in a line.
Jennie's toes knead into my leg briefly. "I'm not judging you... I just... I don't know." She sighs. Her front pushes forward as she arches back in a stretch. "It is what it is."
With that, Jennie downs the remainder of her wine and then hands over the empty glass.
"It's late." she announces. "I'm going to bed."
As she gets up, Jennie's lips ghost my cheek.
That won't do. She's floating away like driftwood, and I feel a sudden, strong tug of desire to keep this woman close. I catch the side of her face and kiss her lips firmly. She tastes like citrus and my wine. She tastes like temptation. Her body softens as she melts briefly into my mouth. It's cool outside, but her lips are warm and her breath shudders against me.
And then, just like that, Jennie tilts her chin downward and she escapes my grasp. She averts her eyes, wets her lips, and pats the side of my face briefly. "Good night, Lisa. Thanks for the drink."
"Anytime."
The screen door clicks softly behind her. Just like that, she's gone and I'm short of breath.
What the ever-loving hell is this woman doing to me?
The wine stirs in its teal bottle. I pop the cork in and take it inside.
