Page 56 of Twin Babies For The Grump

She reaches across the table and takes my hands in hers. “Is there something else going on? With the baby? Or Owen?”

I shake my head. “No, in fact, everything turned out better than I expected. I just—”

“You don’t want to talk about it?” she asks when I don’t continue.

She rubs my knuckles, clearly worried about me. God, I must look horrible.

“No, I do,” I respond.

Getting everything off my chest is perhaps exactly what I need.

We start talking, the sun coming in from the window wall warming my back, soothing me. This is not the first time the two of us do this. Many early mornings were spent like this at the winery, talking about the problems we needed to solve at work, discussing about our families, and finding comfort in the silence, much like we do now every time I stop to take a deep breath.

My story with Owen sounds almost surreal when you put the events in order. The coincidence of meeting in San Francisco and here again, and the speed with which our relationship has developed makes Macy’s story sound far more plausible.

“I’m not sure what else is there to say. I thought Macy’s reaction was just a drunken rant but she went out of her way to destroy my reputation, and now this is affecting Owen and the winery. All this work for the contest will go to waste because of me.”

“What does that have to do with the contest and the winery? Tess, people meet at work all the time. And they form relationships. The same rule applies even if one of those people is the boss.”

“I know that, but the timing is just wrong. We had agreed to wait until after the contest to make things official, just to avoid rumors like this.”

Adela nods, deep in thought. “Did Owen react badly—”

“No. Nothing like that. He said he didn’t care; he just wants me to be okay. He even wants us to move in together.”

“Then why are you so worried? Who cares what the world thinks, Tess? You can’t control that. People will believe whatever makes them feel better about themselves. You can’t live your life with that fear.”

“I wouldn’t care so much if it was just me. I mean, I would—I don’t want to carry this reputation—but then I think about Thomas and Owen, and I just can’t—” Tears burn my eyes once again.

“I will step down from my position. You can take over. Or whoever Owen chooses. We’ll make a statement about this slander and then just focus on the competition.”

“First of all, Owen has already made his choice. He chose you. And he chose you for both the winery and his personal life. Second, stepping down will only benefit Macy. The rumor is already out there and by giving up your position it’s like you admit that you didn’t earn it. And third,” she pauses and reaches out to wipe a tear from my cheek, “your priority should be your baby, not what everyone else thinks.”

“I just feel like this is getting out of control. Everything happened so fast between me and Owen, and there’s so much work to do, and now this.”

“If you want to step down temporarily to give yourself some rest, I get it, but I doubt you’ll be at peace if you’re not there for the contest preparations.”

I chuckle at that. “I won’t,” I admit.

“Good. Now that that’s cleared out, don’t make any rush decisions. Talk with Owen about it and work things through together,” she says, the most somber I’ve ever heard her.

“I can’t believe you are so serious.”

“And I can’t believe you were dating our boss all this time and didn’t say a thing.”

We break into a fit of laughter and Adela takes over the conversation, jumping through different topics to make me laugh. When our mugs are empty and the sandwiches are gone, I make my way back to the estate alone.

I’m still burning with shame but those few hours with Adela really helped with not viewing this whole situation as a tragedy.

I’ve earned that position. I am going to have a baby. Owen is happy about the pregnancy. He wants us to live together. I do too. The wine we have prepared for the contest is a winner, I’m sure of it.

There are no other cars parked around the area which means that at least today we will have complete privacy. As I'm about to open the front door, I hear quick steps coming from behind me and before I can react Tipsy jumps to my side.

“What are you doing out here?” I ask him and he wags his tail, proud to have snuck out. I scratch his head and grab hold of his collar so that he can’t run off again.

Once we get in, I’m met with two pairs of big, brown eyes that clearly want out too.

“Not now,” I tell them and make sure to lock the door. Blanc is not with them, but I hear her paws tapping around the kitchen. Tipsy rushes to find his sister, and Bear and Bubbles follow suit.

---