Maddy sat with her parents in the living room that night after dinner. She had washed off in the outdoor shower stall after coming back from the lake, and the scent of citrus soap still lingered on her skin. Her stomach felt pleasantly full of her mother’s penne with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh local broccoli. Idly wondering why it was that her parents had decided to start living without a TV, she dug a puzzle out of the closet. The box sported a sweeping photo of the Grand Canyon in an improbable shade of orange. She spread the pieces out on the shiny pine coffee table and sat down on the floor to sort them out.
The windows were open and the white lace curtains fluttered softly in the night breeze. Maddy’s mother was curled up in a big soft armchair, reading under a pool of yellow lamplight. Dad had stretched out on the slouchy green velour sofa. He looked like he might fall asleep any minute. Maddy snapped two puzzle pieces.
Her mother looked up from her book and cleared her throat. “Maddy, honey.”
“Yeah?”
She leaned forward. “Your dad and I were talking about your birthday and considering what you said last week.” Maddy’s heart leaped for a minute. Maybe they had changed their minds. “And while we haven’t changed our minds about a trip to the city, we understand that you want to see your friends.”
Maddy nodded. “I do, Mom.”
“So we thought that you might want to invite Brian up to the vineyard for a birthday dinner here. That way we can still be together as a family.”
Maddy considered the offer. It wasn’t what she’d had in mind, but it was better than nothing. At least they were trying. “Thanks, guys. I think that would be great.” Her mom relaxed visibly.
“I know this hasn’t been your ideal summer, honey,” she said. “But I want you to know just how much we appreciate all your hard work on the tasting room and around the place. You’ve done a really nice job.”
“Thanks,” Maddy said. “I’m going to go call Brian then, okay?”
Maddy’s room was filled with the scent of honeysuckle from the night air. Her dad had installed some screens, so now she could keep her porch doors open without getting eaten alive by mosquitoes during the night. She didn’t bother turning on the lights. Just enough light filtered in from the kitchen windows below. Maddy pulled on a pair of soft gray jersey shorts and a camisole and stretched out on her bed. She reached for her phone, ignoring the nervous feeling in her stomach. She and Brian still had talked only once since David had grabbed the phone, and it hadn’t gone particularly well. It was weird calling and not knowing if Brian would be mad or not. Hopefully, this invite would just smooth everything over. He could come up here and they could pick up right where they’d left off. Maddy smiled at the thought and speed-dialed Brian’s number.
“Hey, babe,” he answered.
“Hi—how are you?” Maddy said.
“Great.”
There was a moment’s pause and then Maddy said, “What are you up to?”
“Nothing—just hanging out on the couch, watching the Giants. Chad’s coming by—I think we might go over to Morgan’s in a while. She’s having some people over to hang out in her hot tub.” He didn’t sound angry.
“That’ll be fun,” Maddy said automatically. “Um, Brian?”
“Yeah?”
“So, you aren’t still mad?” she asked carefully.
“About what?”
Maddy couldn’t believe it. “You know, the last couple times we talked? And—” She didn’t really want to remind him of the whole David incident if he barely remembered.
“Oh, whatever. I’d completely forgotten about that. It’s no big deal,” Brian said. Maddy could hear the roar of the television in the background. “Yes! Touchdown!” Brian yelled.
Maddy fell on her back and stared at the ceiling. Incredible. Here she was, obsessing for days, worrying he was mad at her, going over everything in her head a thousand times, and he wasn’t even thinking about it! That was so typical.
Oblivious to Maddy’s inner turmoil, Brian went on. “So, did you ask your parents about coming down for your birthday?”
Okay, apparently we’re moving on. “I did,” she replied, “and we had the worst fight. I was so mad—they actually wanted to take me to dinner and a movie with just them instead of letting me drive to see you.”
“That’s typical of them,” Brian offered. “They’re so lame.”
Maddy felt a stab of defensiveness. She’d called her parents lame herself a million times, but for some reason, it seemed different when he did it. “Well, it turned out okay, actually. They said today that you could come up to the vineyard for my birthday instead!”
“Cool.”
Maddy waited for a moment, but he didn’t go on. “Cool? That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Yeah, well, it’ll be great to see you, but obviously it’s hard to get all worked up about a two-hour drive, followed by hanging out on a farm.”
“Well, I think it could be fun,” Maddy said quietly.
“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, what are you doing up there in No Man’s Land?”
“Oh, we had a good time today. We all went up to this lake that Fred knew about—Fred’s my dad’s business partner—and had a picnic, and David and I swam. It was beautiful. There was a little beach and a dock….” She trailed off.
Brian laughed. “Wow, swimming in a lake. I guess that guy’s rubbing off on you, nature girl. What’s next, volunteering for Greenpeace?”
Maddy sat up in bed. “It was fun! Look, you’ll see when you come up here—it’s actually really gorgeous. Wait until you see the room we’re fixing up—it looks so different than when we started. It’s all scrubbed and clean. We’re getting ready to paint it now.”
“You’re getting me all turned on talking about scrubbing and painting,” Brian scoffed. “I can’t handle it.”
“Stop. You don’t get it. I’m not just talking about the work. It’s just the whole feel of the place….” She struggled to find the right words. “I mean, everyone’s so much more relaxed—like, today, we watched six deer meet in the yard. Do you see what I mean?”
“No. What do deer have to do with being relaxed?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” They were quiet for a minute. Finally, Brian said, “Well, I think that’s Chad at the door.”
“Okay,” she said. She felt tired all of a sudden. “Do you want to come up on Saturday or not?”
“Of course I do. I’ll see you then, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Bye.”
“Bye, babe.” He hung up. Maddy clicked her phone off and fell back on the bed, stretching her legs up against the wall. She was irritated and didn’t know why. She really wanted Brian to understand, but for the first time he didn’t seem to get her. The vineyard was turning out to be different than she’d thought. Maddy examined her tanned arms, which were starting to show muscle definition for the first time in her life. She had never been outdoors so constantly and, honestly, it felt good. Being surrounded by the grapevines, trees, and flowers of Napa all day, every day, felt satisfying—like eating a really great meal. She was surprised at herself, too. David wasn’t the only one who hadn’t realized Madeline Sinclaire was more than a pampered city girl.
Maddy crooked her arm over her eyes and relaxed into the pillows. Maybe Brian will understand once he actually gets up here, she comforted herself. As she lay in the darkness, spinning pleasant images of her and Brian frolicking in the stream at the bottom of the field, Maddy realized that the cricket on the porch had been singing his nightly song for a while now. CHEEP, cheep, CHEEP, cheep. She hadn’t even noticed.