Page 21 of Blush
“Sadie, dear, you look very professional. I hope Mateo is teaching you all the tricks of the trade. And in the meantime, I must borrow your mother for a moment,” Vivian said.
Vivian motioned for Leah to follow her, and they walked to the lawn just beyond the veranda. She sat at a picnic bench under a patch of dogwood trees, surrounded by lush foliage: tall grassy stalks of saltmeadow rush, a blaze of orange-red trumpet vines, delicate wild geraniums in pink and white, and the New England asters that always reminded her of purple dandelions.
Leah slid onto the bench across from her, her back to the veranda. Vivian eyed the winery, making sure no one was close enough to overhear them.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
Vivian hesitated. No need to tell her how bad their money problems might be. She would spare her at least that. She contemplated, for a moment, how to ease into the news. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she felt. Best to just rip off the Band-Aid.
“Your father is selling the winery,” Vivian said.
“What? Why?” Leah looked stricken.
“It’s time.”
“Time? It’s our family business. Dadlivesfor this place.”
Vivian shifted uncomfortably. “Well, things change.”
“Dad always says winemaking is in his blood. That’s not something that changes. Is he sick?”
“No! He’s healthy as a horse.”
“Areyousick?”
“Leah, stop. Your father is fine, I’m fine. It’s just... this is for the best.”
“What does Asher say about this?”
“Asher supports this decision.”
Leah jumped up from the bench. “Well, I don’t.”
Surprised by the vehemence of her response, Vivian said, “I know it’s a big change.”
Leah stepped forward and grabbed her hands. “Mom, are you really okay with this? You built this place, too. It’s just as much your business as it is Dad’s.”
Vivian took a moment before saying, “I trust your father.”
She wondered if her daughter noticed the break in her voice.
Leah marched into her father’s office and found Asher sitting on the worn leather couch. His feet were up as he scrolled through his phone.
The walls of the office were filled with framed press clippings about the vineyard and her parents, including her favorite, her mother on the cover ofTown & Countrymagazine in the spring of 1990. She had been photographed in the vineyard, dressed in Escada. The cover read “Earth Mother: Vivian Hollander and the Rise of the Modern Matriarch.”
“Oh, hey, Lee,” Asher said, not looking up.
“How could you not tell me about selling the winery?” she said.
Asher looked up. His expression seemed puzzled. “Tell you? I thought you knew.”
“How would I know?”
He shrugged. “Mom? Dad? Why would I be the one to tell you?”
“I saw you this morning at breakfast. You never thought to mention what’s going on?”
Asher sighed. “Okay, look—I didn’t tell you because I knew it would start a whole big thing and I didn’t want to talk about it.”
