Stone cocked his head, looked at us both, but didn’t put together the big picture.
I nudged Aaron. “You ready to show them the other.” We both leaned down. “I don’t think they have put together that you own Sun Harvest Winery,” I whispered to him as we got the bottles out. We ensured the labels were facing toward our bodies.
“This is the star of the show. Delizioso serves Sun Harvest as their house wine. Since they are a Michelin-star restaurant and I happen to know the family, I thought an exclusive wine would be nice.” He turned his bottle around, setting it on the counter. I added my bottle next to his.
I looked around the room as everyone’s eyes widened, mouths dropped open, and people gasped. I guess news of the wine had not spread as far as I had thought, or just seeing it in front of them made it hit home.
Stone was the first to speak. “Holy Fuck, it’s real.” He picked it up with reverence. “How did you pull this off? Sun Harvest is local, and its wine is amazing. I wish they were more accessible. Some smallerrestaurants could benefit from having it on their wine lists.” We looked at each other with huge grins on our faces.
Stone continued. “Do you know the manager? I have been out there a few times and talked to Jose, and he’s a good guy who will sell me cases wholesale. He didn’t have any pull or control over production. I could never get a meeting with the owner, though.”
I spoke up. “I know the owner very well. “
“Fuck you. If you knew the owner, you would have told me by now. Seriously, I want to know how you arranged this. I have tried to get an exclusive wine, not only with Sun Harvest, and it’s not all that easy to do.” Now, he looked at Aaron pointedly.
“He does know the owner.”
Stone shook his head. “You too? No wonder you all get along with the same bad sense of humor.”
“It’s me.” Aaron looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“What’s you?” Stone looked at us, confused.
“Sun Harvest.”
“Huh?” Stone looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “What is he saying?"
I said very slowly, making it like I was talking to a five-year-old. “Sun Harvest is him.”
Stone opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked across the room at Forest, who shrugged his shoulders. Everyone else looked at the three of us and tried to catch up with the conversation. Stone started to look like a fish trying to get air.
“Can you repeat that? I am certain I misunderstood.”
I repeated it slowly. “Sun Harvest the winery. He owns it.”
“You are kidding right now?” Stone seemed genuinely in shock.
“I am not kidding you,” Aaron spoke up. “Sun Harvest is my side hustle. I hope to make it more than the local winery with your brotherhere. I have won some awards and have had many offers, so I am thinking about more wine and less plywood in my future.”
Stone walked over and nearly pushed me across the room. He gave Aaron an awkward hug. “You are. I can’t. I just can’t.” He walked out of the room.
I moved back over next to Aaron. He whispered. “What was that?”
I turned toward him. “No idea. It was weird even for Stone.”
“Okay, now that the secret is out, let's open one of these bottles.” I clapped my hands, and someone handed me a bottle opener. “Aaron said these should be bottled and at the restaurant in a few weeks.”
Stone walked back into the room and snatched the bottle opener and bottle from my hand. “I’m not letting a sports agent pour this beautiful nectar.”
“I think we are out of our league now.” I cuddled next to Aaron. We stepped back and watched Stone pour wine for himself, our parents, Aunt Cecelia, and Uncle Giovanni. I knew they would love it, but I watched them all as they swirled and sniffed. They raised their glasses and took a sip. They held it in their mouths and breathed through their noses. Stone ensured they all knew how to properly taste wine, which was vastly different from drinking wine. They were doing it very synchronously, and then they all swallowed.
Cecelia was the first to comment. “That is incredible.”
Papa and Uncle Gio looked at each other, embraced, and patted each other’s backs. My mother let a tear slip down her cheek.
Aaron leaned towards me. “I guess they like it?”
“They like it.” They are Italian, and everything is dramatic. We looked towards Stone.
