“I heard you had a bad night.” he murmured into her hair.
“I did,” sighed Elly, pulling back from him. “I’m sorry I’m pretty disgusting. Cadbury made very clear that he was not feeling well.”
“Can I help?” “No, I’m all done. I’m just exhausted. Come in.”
Isaac followed her through the door, wincing at the smell.
“It does smell pretty bad. Here, let me open the windows for you.” He went around opening all the windows in the apartment, and Elly was so tired that she didn’t even mind him poking around. He walked back out and sat by her on the couch, running his fingers down her cheek.
“Today totally sucked for you. And I don’t want to make light of it. But, I have something that might make you happy.” He kissed her mouth softly.
“You make me happy” she breathed.
“The feeling is mutual,” his mouth curved upwards. “Don’t distract me.” He laughed. “If Cadbury’s health permits it, I would like to take you somewhere next weekend.”
“Where?” asked Elly, as she imagined dancing with Isaac on the dimly lit streets of Paris.
“Well...” He paused. “You don’t need a plane ticket. We’ll be driving. It’s a surprise.”
Elly snuggled into his lean arms. “I like surprises.”
CHAPTER
TWELVE
“I hate surprises,” declared Elly as she plopped a thick bundle of milva roses into a terra cotta urn. “I don’t know why he can’t just tell me.” She added orange blossoms around the outside. “I don’t even know what to pack.”
Anthony smiled at her from behind his rosy glasses. “Well, he said you were driving, right? Then you know it’s somewhere in the Midwest still. Pack for warm, humid weather.”
Elly groaned. Her hair had enough problems without added humidity, and early June had proven to be sizzling hot. There were times when she still could not believe that Isaac wanted her. It was beyond explanation.
“What are you going to do with Cadbury?” asked Anthony.
“Oh, Kim and Sean are taking him. He loves being at their house. They have a huge yard and feed him bacon. He probably won’t even notice that I’m gone.” She sighed. “Which is kind of depressing.”
Anthony picked up clippers and began trimming an ivy topiary which was getting prepped for pale pink blown garden roses. “Are you guys staying in a hotel?”
“I’m not sure.” Elly paused at the thought. “Huh,” she said out loud and headed to the front. She placed the potted arrangement next to a small bucket of Star of Bethlehem blooms and sat down next to Snarky Teenager, who was mailing invoices.
“We’re friends, right?”
Snarky Teenager looked at her bewildered. “Um, you are my boss. You aren’t like my best friend or anything. Romy is probably my best friend. Or Michelle. Except that Michelle dated this guy that I dated like two months ago. I know because Kelly saw them together at Olive Garden… well, maybe Kelly is my best friend, she’s kinda -”
Elly cut her off right there. “That’s fine. We’re not best friends. But, can I ask you something?”
Snarky Teenager sighed obnoxiously. “I guess.”
“Okay.” Elly shifted in her seat. “Isaac is taking me away this weekend. To a hotel. Probably.” Please God, don’t let it be camping, she prayed. “Anyway, it’s been awhile since I’ve dated.”
“Yeah,” agreed Snarky Teenager as she licked an envelope. “Like 20 years ago.”
Elly imagined her getting a paper cut on her tongue and smiled. “Yes. It’s been awhile. If a guy takes you to a hotel for the weekend, does he expect, er, you know – intimacy?”
Snarky Teenager widened her eyes. “You are NOT talking to me about sex. Weren’t you married?”
The words still stung.
“Yes, I was married. I know about sex. Hopefully more than you do,” said Elly, though she doubted it. “But I’m not sure if that’s what is expected now. What do I say to let him know that I’m not that person? I’m definitely not ready for that. I’m an old-fashion type of girl.”
Snarky Teenager snickered. “Haven’t you guys been dating for awhile? Like, a month?”
“Three months…ish,” said Elly. “But it’s not like we see each other every day.” She paused. “Okay, more like every other day, but still, I’m not ready.”
Snarky Teenager’s smirk fell away when she saw that Elly was actually quite nervous. “Just tell him. He’s not going to jump you. Do you need some lingerie?”
Elly pushed herself haughtily up from the table. “I’m walking away now. Thank you for your help,” she snapped.
Grumbling to herself, she headed over to her desk. One glance at the clock told her that it was 10 am. Isaac was picking her up at 11. She had barely enough time to get cleaned up. Elly shut down her computer and stood over Snarky Teenager.
“Okay. You and Anthony are done at noon. Please remember to clean up completely, flip the sign and write down the deliveries for Monday. And don’t call me unless there’s an emergency.”
Snarky Teenager lifted an eyebrow. “A SEX emergency?”
Elly ignored her. “I’ll see you Monday. Be good.”
Snarky Teenager bit her fingernail naughtily. “You DON’T be good, okay?”
One hour later, Elly sat nervously in her apartment overlooking the street. Her suitcase was packed beside her. She felt lovely in her outfit, a light cotton sundress in pale yellow gingham, with black flip flops, and a big floppy straw hat. Isaac’s black Honda pulled up in front of the store. He honked. Elly awkwardly knocked her suitcase down the stairs and was closing her apartment door when Snarky Teenager walked past her on the way out of Posies. Without blinking an eye, she grabbed Elly’s straw hat off her head, quipped, “You are not 70,” and kept walking. Elly, dragging her suitcase behind her, walked up to Isaac’s car.
“Hey, beautiful!”
He popped the trunk of the car for her. Elly awkwardly lifted her heavy bag into the car and flopped into the passenger seat.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” she replied shyly. “I would love to know what ‘this’ is.”
“You’ll see soon,” he assured her, “It’s only a two hour drive.”
Elly sunk into disappointment. Two hours? Where was he taking her? A truck stop on I-70? She instantly regretted packing both her sundresses and beret. Elly glanced at the back of the car, which was still a total mess. There was clothing piled everywhere and what appeared to be a didgeridoo in the corner behind the driver’s seat.
“Sorry about that,” chuckled Isaac. “I kind of live out of my car.”
There was a beat of silence. He gathered her fingers in his and raised them to his mouth, kissing the tips of them softly. “I’m so glad we get to get away for a weekend. We are trying to record an album, and Tifah is being such an idiot about the whole thing. Gene is working overtime, and I’ve had almost no sleep the past couple of days. The balance between the bass and the lead guitar is a disaster, and Eddie is insisting that we bring in a cellist.” He pulled the car out of the driveway and headed toward the interstate.
For the next hour and a half, Elly listened patiently as he talked about his band, watching the city and its suburbs fall behind them into rolling plains. There were sporadic trees dotting the road, and pretty green hills that rose up every couple of miles. The many billboards that disgraced most of St. Louis’s highways slowly tapered off and Elly felt the weight of the week slowly float out the open window. The lull of the music, the whipping air from the open windows and the hum of the car calmed and invigorated her. She pulled out her hair-tie and let her blond curls fly wildly around. She felt sexy and free, with Isaac holding her hand. Truthfully, she was barely able to listen to him talk about his band, but she loved the sound of his voice. She was here, with him, in the here and now.
“I’m going to pull over for a bathroom break!” he shouted over the wind. “Is that okay?”
She looked back at him, her hair whipping around her. “That’s fine!” Fierceness overtook her and she pulled his face in for a kiss.
“Elly!” he laughed, “I’m driving!!”
She sat back in the seat. “I know.”
He pulled over to a McDonalds and hopped out of the car. Maybe I could get used to this, she thought. The new, wild Elly. We can drive around the country, living on scraps, being liberated, young and sexy. No brides, no drama, no Georgia in the rearview. Just me and Isaac, and I’ll kiss him whenever I feel like it. She flipped down the mirror to give herself a wink and shrieked. Me and Isaac and my awful HAIR! Her hair was not sexy-free. The front was plastered down across her forehead, resulting in a messy comb-over look. The rest of it was pushed back, mullet-style. Her eye make-up was smeared, and not in a sultry way. Also, she had a bug in her teeth.
“Well, that’s it for young and beautiful,” she said out loud, and went back to being just Elly.
Isaac walked back to the car.
“Geez”, Elly murmured to herself, watching his leg muscles flex with each carefree step. He was wearing a navy T-shirt with a school emblem on the chest, and dark plaid shorts that hugged his thighs. He was radiant. There was no other word for it (except for maybe super-model). Elly sighed happily.
Isaac leaned over her car door. “Can you get up for a minute?”
Elly exhaled the breath she had been holding and climbed out of the car. Isaac grabbed her shoulders gently and turned her around.
“And now,” he said, “we’ll make sure it’s a true surprise.” He lowered a black blindfold in front of her.
“Errr…what?” whispered Elly, “I can just close my eyes…”
Isaac laughed out loud. “Yeah right! I know you. You would not be able to keep your eyes closed. Do you think I can’t tell that not knowing where we are going is killing you?”
Elly smiled in spite of herself. He knew her! Isaac covered her eyes with the blindfold and tied a strong knot.
“How’s that?” he asked. “Is it too tight?”
Elly pressed her fingers over her eyes. “Nope.” She put out her hands out in front of her. There was a beat of silence.
“Where did you go?” she asked. She then felt warm breath on her face, moving from her ear to cheekbone, over the corner of her smile to her lips. Isaac kissed her gently.
“I’m here.” Then, after he had made her weak in the knees, he loaded Elly clumsily back into the car, her head smacking loudly against the door frame.
With the blindfold on, the next half hour seemed to drag on for eternity. Elly’s anxiety about spending the night together increased with each mile, an argument raging in her brain. Just tell him you’re not ready, she told herself, he might feel the same way. Yeah right, she answered back. He’s only dating you because he thinks it will be amusing to see what you look like naked. On and on it continued, until the hammering of voices became too much for her to handle.
“Isaac?” she asked blindly.
She felt his calloused musician’s hand slip into hers.
“Yes?”
He ran his finger down her lips. Way to make this hard, she thought.
“Look, um, it’s been awhile since I’ve dated, so I’m not sure what the protocol is, but….and this is weird to say, so please forget this conversation immediately, but…”
There was an awkward pause and she could hear Isaac tapping the steering wheel.
“I’m not sure that I’m ready to get intimate with you. I’m not sure what you were expecting, but I know we are spending the night there, and I didn’t know what you were…er..wanting…Oooohh this is so embarrassing…” Elly put her hands on her hot cheeks. “Is that okay?”
There was a second of silence, and then Isaac had his hand on her knee.
“Elly” he said, “It’s okay. We will only go as far as you are comfortable. We’ll just let things happen naturally, okay?”
Elly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Was that bothering you?” he asked teasingly.
“Yes. Yes it was. Also, WHERE ARE WE GOING?” Elly slapped his hand off her knee.
“No more touching until we are there.” Isaac laughed and turned up the music. “We’ll be there soon.”
Swaying in the blackness, Elly felt both anxious and excited. After what felt like an eternity, she felt the car screech to a stop. Isaac led her out a couple feet from the car and slowly removed her blindfold.
“Look around” he whispered, his mouth moving the tiny hairs on her ear.
Elly gasped. Somehow, they had left St. Louis and ended up in what seemed to be a New England Village. The car was parked on a ridge overlooking the town and a spectacular view. She grabbed Isaac’s hand and stood speechless. Blowing maple trees covered a picturesque valley lined with purple and yellow flowers. The center of town was bordered by steep river bluffs that cascaded down into rushing muddy water. She could hear tinkling water from a nearby stream, and just past the town, Elly could make out a large bridge gracefully spanning the Missouri River. To her right lay a sea of green vineyards. Lush vines snaked over endless staggered terrain that rose and faded into the horizon in neat tiny rows. Near each vineyard lay small wineries – stone buildings tucked into wooded corners and dirt roads. A gigantic bright red church that resembled a barn towered over the center of town – a bustling village with low laying brick buildings. It took her breath away.
“Where ARE we? This is incredible.”
Isaac pulled her into his arms. “Welcome to Hermann, Missouri, the hidden jewel of the Central Midwest. My parents use to visit the wineries here every year when I was growing up. I hope you’re ready to drink some wine and relax.”
Elly kissed his cheek softly. “This is incredible. I feel like I’m in a different world.” She gazed over the picturesque town. “I can see myself living here one day.”
Isaac grinned. “Good. And while I have you stunned, I have another card up my sleeve”
“You brought cannolis?” asked Elly hopefully.
Isaac laughed. “I can’t promise pastries, but I can promise dessert wines. I arranged a private winery tour for us at Red Cedar Winery, which is the oldest of all the wineries here.”
Elly felt herself sway with the succulent romance of it all.
“Are you ready to go?” Isaac asked. She leaned against him and took it all in: the smell of him, the landscape laid out in front of her and the feel of warm air on her face.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“Lunch first?” he asked swinging her hand like a little child.
Elly grinned. “Always.”
After lunch at a questionable deli, Elly held tight to her stomach as Isaac wound his zippy car up the bluffs. It had not been Keith’s, not by a long shot. Looking at her little greasy sandwich, with too much mayo and not enough veggies, Elly had greatly missed Keith’s mastery of the bread and meat. She felt her stomach grumble with each minute, compressing more and more uncomfortably inside of her. Isaac, thankfully, had not noticed.
“Red Cedar Winery is the most awarded and famous of the Hermann Wineries. Their Dogwood Red label is all my parents drink. They fly out every year just to taste it fresh, and then ship home about twenty cases.” Isaac ran his fingers through his lush hair. “The taste of that wine reminds me of a good portion of my rebellious adolescence. I remember laying on the couch, drunk out of my mind with a glass of Dogwood Red lying next to me, with my girlfriend playing guitar….good times, those memories.”
Elly nodded, thinking that that sounded like the worst time ever. Her memories of her teenage years were very different. Painfully shy, chunky and a lover of books, Elly didn’t exactly fit in with the popular kids. She did fit into lockers, however, which was something she had learned her junior year. Elly was pretty sure that Isaac would have never noticed her in high school. She laced her fingers through his, resting lightly on the gear shift. She was so lucky to be here, here with him, and she pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dre
aming. The moment was sweet, but interrupted by a loud stomach grumble.
“What was that??” Isaac cried, laughing.
“It was my stomach! I swear!!”
Three more stomach eruptions later, with Isaac in tears and Elly barreling down against the seat, the little Black Honda parked in a small stony alcove in front of the winery. The main building for Red Cedar Winery was an old vermillion brick Colonial building with large navy shutters. A small balcony ringed with ivy and white flowers hung over the petite red door. Hoping to find a readily available bathroom, Elly pulled the door open and was greeted immediately by two glasses of wine, held by a kind looking gentleman in a flannel shirt.
“Welcome to Red Cedar Winery!” he said cheerily.
Elly accepted the wine with a pained smile. “I love this place already,” she whispered to Isaac.
He downed his glass in a gulp. “Ahhh, childhood,” he sighed.
Elly sipped hers slowly, trying to not upset her already turbulent stomach, which rumbled with each step. As dozens of elderly people filtered in, the tour began. Holding Isaac’s hand tightly, she followed the tour guide, a friendly, 60-something year man who reminded Elly of a hippie Santa Claus.
“Welcome to Red Cedar!” he declared. “Our winery celebrates 142 years of wine-making heritage. Red Cedar combines old world tradition with the newest wine-making technology in the world. This particular winery is owned by the Patton Family and has been passed down through seven generations.”
“Awesome,” Isaac mused.
Elly rolled her eyes. The tour guide led them out the broad doors and down a steep path that led to a fabulous garden canopy. The view was magnificent, with tiny café tables overlooking the vineyards. White haired couples leisurely sipped wine on the balcony as waiters strolled past wearing white gloves.
“This is our pavilion,” said the guide, waving his arm like a pageant contestant. “You can enjoy a glass of wine here before we walk down to the vineyards. I would start the tour out with our infamous Dogwood Red, or maybe our Bitternut Rose…”