Page 74 of Just Trouble

“Rhodes Vineyard,” Noah says, identifying a pin by its location.

“Mackenzie Rhodes came in to see me yesterday, with a sampling of their wines. They’ll be featured on our menu and in our pairings. Here are three micro-breweries I intend to check out. This place here dries fruit and vegetables, and mixes their own herbal teas from dried local ingredients. This guy works with native plants and ingredients traditionally used by indigenous peoples. I cannot wait for that appointment. Here’s a mill, grinding local grains.” The enthusiasm is coming off her in waves and I wonder how she’s going to check out all of these places.

“Why heritage varieties?” Noah asks when she pauses for breath and Merrie launches into a soliloquy that would make Taylor proud, listing the advantages of old varieties of plants, their flavours and distinctions even within each type.

“Apples are great, sure, but what about all the specific kinds? I’m going to do something different with a Crispin than a Spy, with an Empire or a Jonathan instead of a Macintosh. There are hundreds of varieties of apples, some ripening late, some early, some storing well, some for cooking and some best for eating fresh. The possibilities are fantastic.” She surveys her map with obvious anticipation. “Stir that up with classic French bistro cooking, simple foods, great ingredients, comforting flavours and sometimes surprising combinations.”

“Isn’t that going to be expensive?”

“No! The menu will have a range of options, something to suit everyone. A daily pizza. A daily soup and sandwich. A dinner special. I’m thinking of a fixed price special with soup or salad, the daily special dinner and dessert. Crème brulée with local butter. A fruit crisp with a mix of berries, served warm with locally made ice cream.”

“So, you’d be featuring local farms and their products.”

“Absolutely. Farm-to-table is about fresh. And in time, I’d love to add a retail area, where you can pick up a carton of that ice cream on your way home to enjoy later. I want people to have a great meal, to feel like they can come here and discover something new, but also that we’re all learning more about our neighbours and what they do. I’m going to put a bulletin board just inside the window, where anyone can post a flyer about a local event. I’m not from Empire but I want to be part of it.”

“You have big plans.”

“I have plans. Iloveplans. What about a farmer’s market in town? What about a grocery store stocking all the ingredients I use and more, or a cooking class once a week, or a food box delivery featuring all this good stuff? What about kids learning how to cook after school? What abouteveryonelearning how to cook? We are in the middle of an area offering a bounty of great food. Let’s dig in. Let’s appreciate it. Let’s eat well together.”

Damn. An impassioned Merrie is impossible to ignore.

“When are you opening?”

“The Thursday before the holiday weekend.”

“May 15?”

“That’s the one. Reservations are available on the website. We open for dinner at six.”

Noah wraps up the interview, visibly excited, and Merrie agrees to share the link on her new website. We part ways with plans for more interviews and I pause before I head back to the motel.

My guitar is calling, that song demanding that I work out the details and write it down. I stare at the law office across the street, though, wishing I could celebrate this moment with Daph.

I’d even risk frostbite, because she’s not wrong to be disappointed in me.

How could I do the one thing I always insisted I’d never do, and not even remember? There is no comeback. There’s only penance and the need to make it right.

Until I manage that—if it even can be done—I’ll leave Daph alone. I want to go back to her with everything together, and I want to start over, show her what it means to want more.

Tomorrow I’ll pick up the paperwork from her and take it to Sylvia. I’ll bet Daph leaves it with the receptionist for me, and maybe that will make it easier to keep my resolve.

For tonight, my company will be my guitar. That’s not all bad. The music is back because of Daph, and this first song is for her.

It feels right and I’m going with that.

19

DAPHNE

Tuesday starts off hectic and only gets worse. I barely see Luke when he comes to get the proposal because I’m on the phone with the feds about paperwork from Cavendish Enterprises. It’s my dad who walks through the details with him and sends him on his way.

I’m still on the phone when Luke leaves.

The day drags out, filled with cross-checks on documents for the feds. I talk to the human resources coordinator at Cavendish Enterprises several times, checking dates and details that are somehow different between various forms. We’re getting it all sorted when she asks me to hold.

A moment later, she’s back. “If we’re done, Daphne, there’s someone who’d like to talk to you.”

“I think we are,” I say, curious.

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