Page 18 of Until Next Time
My office is pretty simple. It’s got an oak desk in the center, and a small cognac leather sofa across from it. There’s little in the way of decor, but I do have a large fiddle leaf tree in the corner and a couple of framed photos of historic downtown Saddlebrooke hanging on the walls. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job. I’m the only person to use the space, so I’ve never needed much. But now that she’s here, I wish I spent more time on it. I want to impress her, and at the same time, I want so badly to not care.
“Nice place, boss.” Birdie breaks the silence.
Her playfulness is back, but the brightness in her voice isn’t there like it was earlier.
“Bird. Stop calling me boss.” I say as I motion for her to take a seat on the sofa, as I make my way around my desk to my chair.
“Whatever you say, boss.” She says, with an emphasis on the word, almost with a snarky tone, and I can’t blame her. I guess she thinks two can play this game.
I just shake my head and grunt. “So, I’m really grateful that you’re gonna do this mural. It’s going to be really something.”
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity. So… what exactly are you thinking for the mural?” She asks, while sitting in the most upright posture, one leg crossed on top of the other, her hands wrapped around my favorite mug resting on top of her knee, distracting me from her question. I lean back in my chair and rub the scruff coming in on my face while I try to focus.
“I actually don’t really have anything in mind. I was kind of hoping maybe you’d have some ideas, or maybe have a direction you’d like to go. You’re the artist, so I trust you and what you think would look best.” I say, because quite honestly I never really thought about having a mural in the winery before. I just knew I wanted to give her some sort of purpose, and I selfishly just want to be the man responsible for setting this girl free from what she thinks of herself right now. I want to watch her reclaim her spirit. I want to be there when she realizes how damn amazing she is.
“Wow, free reign huh? That’s a lot of trust in one person. What if I decided to paint a gigantic dick in the name of art.” She puts finger quotes around the word, “art.” I chuckle, and give her a shrug.
“Like I said, I trust you, and I’d trust that you’d paint an impressive dick. I could provide inspiration if that’s the direction you decide to go.”
She chokes on her coffee at that and starts laughing, shocked at what just came out of my mouth. She turns bright red, and so do I, because what the fuck did I just say?
“Oh, that won’t be needed. It’s not rocket science.” She laughs at me, throwing my words back at me, and I can’t help but smile at her smart mouth. She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrow at me.
“Touche.” Is all I can say. I think I’m short circuiting. This woman used my own insult right back at me, and I know right then that it must have really left a mark on her sweet heart.
“When should I start?” Birdie breaks through the tension that I put in the room.
“As soon as you can.” I say, looking at my desk, pretending to jot something down on my desk calendar.
“Great! Is now good?” She says eagerly, shifting on the couch like she’s about to get up.
“Uhh, yeah, sure. Let me show you the space and then maybe you can let me know what supplies you’ll need to get started.”
I stand and head towards the door, and she does the same. I lead us out into the hallway and back into the winery. There’s some regulars here sitting at the bar chatting while Greg is uncorking a bottle for them.
Fortunately for me and my winery, Saddlebrooke is a tourist town to a tee. It’s cute as hell, and I’m a grown ass man admitting that. It’s like a fucking Hallmark movie here, so the winery has a steady flow of patrons at all times of the day. Vacationers start drinking surprisingly early, apparently.
I greet them and introduce them to Birdie as head of the Southbound Winery art department. They shake her hand and she just laughs and says, “Dawsen is commissioning me to do a mural here in the winery. It’s so good to meet you both! I hope to be seeing more of you around here! Enjoy the wine. Make sure you try the Horton!”
I can’t help but laugh, “Norton, Birdie. Not Horton.” I tease.
“Oh, yeah, that’s the one. My bad.” She laughs it off and gives them a little wave. I know she’s just charmed my regulars by the way they’re watching her walk away, and I relate.Big time.
She follows me to the entrance of the winery where I stop in front of a large blank wall lined with small bistro tables.
“So, this is my canvas, huh?” She asks as she puts her hands on her hips while staring at the blank wall, taking it all in.
“That’s the one.” Is all I offer back.
She stares at it for a few seconds and a huge smile spreads across her face. “That’s gonna be one huge penis.”
“Dammit, Bird.” I just say, trying to stifle a laugh.
“Get to work.”
17
Birdie
