Page 100 of Kiss My Glass
“My feet are dying! They have frostbite! Why didn’t anyone tell me stomping grapes would be this hard? Or this cold?”
“You’ve been at it for five minutes, Danny!” I laugh. “I used to do it for an hour at a time! When I was only a kid.”
“I will have my revenge when we go hiking next weekend,” he pants. “Just you wait.”
“I’ll walk at my own pace, thank you,” I remind him. “Besides, don’t you want to stop and listen to the birds?”
“Can I stop and listen to the birds now?”
“Nope. You’ve got another ten minutes to go. Suck it up or be forever branded a giant weenie.”
“My legs will be stained red forweeks.”
“Yes, they will. Badge of honor.”
“Isn’t this great?” sounds a cheerful voice from the next bin along. Jordan’s in tiny shorts and a tinier crop top, and there’s a small crowd of men watching her, to which she is oblivious. “I love stomping. Best cardio workout ever.”
Jordan has been a regular stomper since she was ten years old. And the only person we know who never gets tired and never complains.
Unlike Chiara, who has never once volunteered and never will. She’s sitting with Ted on one of his posh picnic blankets, the both of them beautifully dressed, limbs elegantly arranged. She raises her glass to us. They no doubt sneaked in some champagne. No point in giving her the finger. She does not care.
It’s a record crowd at the crush, and we’ve only had one turkey incident, so I consider that a win. Iris is in her happy place making sandwiches, and the local farmers and Chiara’s dad have brought so much food, we’ll be sending everyone home with giant doggy bags. I’ll keep some aside for Ham and Luke, of course. They’re under the watchful eyes of Cam and Ava. Cam is happy to be out of the fray, Ava not so much, but she had the most names in the insult jar, and pig-minding is the punishment Danny chose. Cam and Ava’ll join us later, when we feed the stomping crew.
Nate wanders up with Shelby. He has a small bundle in his arms. Little Billy is still in that puckered newborn phase, but to all of us, she is the most beautiful baby in the known universe. And she’s a redhead. Not such a surprise given it runs in both families. Izzy and Max arrived last night, thrilled to welcome another member of the redhead club. The twins are both helping Iris make sandwiches, causing more than one person to do a double take.
“Just think,” says Nate to Shelby. “Only this time last year, I asked you to marry me. Andnowlook at us.”
They both smile fondly at the bundle, who doesn’t notice owing to being fast asleep.
“Save me, Billy!’ Danny reaches out a hand. “I’m too young to die!”
“He’s got that natural dramatic ability,” Nate remarks to Shelby. “It should transfer well to the small screen.”
“How are you doing, Frankie?” my sister asks. “First time stomping for a while!”
“Like riding a bike,” I tell her. “By which I mean pedaling it barefoot down a slippery glacier in the sub-Antarctic.”
“Take a break!” Shelby insists. “There are plenty of volunteers!”
“I know. I enlisted them.”
“You did,” says Shelby. “Thank you.” She pauses. “I’ll miss you when you go to L.A.”
I cease stomping and lean on the edge of the bin. “It’s not as far away as San Diego, you know.”
“I know, but still…”
“We’ll be here as often as we can,” I promise her. “We take our aunt and uncle-ing duties very seriously.”
“You’ll have to compete with the grandparent mafia,” warns Nate. “You’d think Shelby had given birth to a minor deity rather than a baby.”
I spy the three grandparents on another one of Ted’s posh blankets. They seem to be getting on famously, though it’s hard to tell with Danny’s dad.
“Thanksgiving’s going to be a riot, isn’t it?” I say to no one in particular. “And I’m not even going to thinkabout Christmas.”
“Can I stop now?” says Danny. “You have!”
“I paid my stomping dues long ago,” I tell him. “But yes, you can stop now.”
