It was Thursday morning and traffic in downtown Fredericksburg was just picking up. Chloe pulled her Prius up in front of her dad’s tasting room, Winsome Winery. She felt so much pride every time she stepped up to those bold letters etched in the glass. It was early June, and her summer break at UT. She had insisted on helping her dad at the tasting room as the tourist traffic swelled in summer and seemed to only increase every year.
She stepped inside and instantly smelled the scent of Mexican pine and leather furniture that was familiar and comforting. “Dad, I’m here!” she said as she made her way around the long bar to put her purse and water bottle on the shelf below and began taking the barstools off the bar top and turning them right-side up to place evenly in front of the counter.
Zach came out from the storeroom with a white case of bottles. “Hello, sweetie!” He gave her a kiss on the cheek before putting down the box. “Here’s some extra bottles of the Viognier. That’s been a big seller so far, and I figure we should be prepared.”
Chloe nodded and hummed as she went about her business. She watched some tourists pass by the picture window peering in. Chloe waved to them and mouthed, “Open soon!” as she pointed to the business hours on the door.
Zach turned on the rest of the lights and started pulling the slender bottles out of the box, placing them in the custom cut cubby holes behind the bar. The shelving behind the bar took up the entire expanse of the wall, creating quite an impressive display of bottles. The butcher block counter underneath held rows upon rows of shiny glasses just waiting to be filled.
Chloe turned on the WiFi speaker and started the playlist she had created for the tasting room earlier that year. A combination of acoustic, soul-inspired singer-songwriters with just the right mellow, but high vibe.
“Oh! I meant to tell you, I talked with Lillie today and she gave me the number of that duo you were looking to book,” she told Zach.
“Excellent,” he said, as he stayed focused on his bottles. “I’d rather have her and Paul, but we have that bachelorette party reservation and I promised them live music.”
Chloe nodded and surveyed the room to see what else needed to be done before opening. She went to the back patio and grabbed a broom to sweep off the seats. Turning on the hanging lights, she remembered how beautiful it was when Lillie and Paul had their wedding there, and how she loved capturing the candid moments with her camera.
Lillie was Kate’s sister, and she had spent time as a touring musician in France before returning to the States unexpectedly pregnant. Chloe shivered at the thought of having a baby at her age, but Paul ended up coming from France to live with her and a few months after the wedding they had a beautiful baby girl, Emma.
After their breathtaking musical performance at the wedding party, it was agreed that they would be the “house” band at the tasting room. People came from all over to hear Lillie on her violin, with her hauntingly beautiful voice, with Paul backing her up on exquisite guitar.
The instant Chloe met Lillie they bonded. They were just a few years apart in age, and it was like they were cut from the same cloth. She cherished their friendship and helped watch Emma when she could, although they had gone back to France to visit Paul’s parents for a few months.
Coming back into the main tasting room, she went behind the bar next to her father and began putting pouring spouts onto the bottles he was opening.
“How was your trip in?” he asked her.
“Perfect. Not too much traffic at all,” Chloe responded, gently nudging a spout in.
“You know, you’re always welcome to stay at the house when you’re working multiple days in a row,” Zach reminded Chloe.
She laughed. “You say that every time, but I like going back to my own place, and it’s not like the tasting room stays open that late. Besides, what if Kate comes to stay?”
Chloe had grown very close to Kate, but still felt a bit awkward sharing her father’s home with someone else. Kate had definitely won her over with her warm spirit and big heart. Chloe knew it was only a matter of time before they would be tying the knot as well.
“There’s plenty of room. And Kate prefers to stay in her trailer most of the time so she can focus on her writing,” Zach said as he broke down a box to take back to the storeroom.
Chloe knew that if he had his way, she’d be living with him full-time in Fredericksburg. It’s not that Chloe didn’t want to spend time with him, but she loved her independence.
“Ready to open?” Chloe sang as she headed to the door.
“Yup. Let’s do it!” Zach said, taking the last empty box from the bar into the storeroom. He heard the bell on the door ding as Chloe unlocked it and put a wooden easel outside on the sidewalk announcing Live Music @1pm.