Page 15 of A Vineyard for Two
Harper finished the wine and retreated inside. She washed up, gave the benches another wipe, then walked through the house, making sure the doors and windows were locked, before stopping in the sitting room when she noticed an old photo album sitting on the side table. She picked it up and sat down in the reading chair and turned the first page. Her gaze paused on each image; memories came rushing back. It was incredible how a single image could trigger a memory thought to have disappeared for good. Harper smiled as she found a picture of her and her siblings sitting on the back of a tractor. She couldn’t see the driver in the image, but she remembered it was her father. Probably the last time he drove them in it. It had been the end of the spring holidays; she remembered, because it was her last term of primary school. They were celebrating the crop that had survived a harsh winter and looked promising for the harvest. A few weeks later, on their way back from the city, they never made it home. Georgia had raised them ever since.
Flicking through the pages, she found more recent photos from high school and during her breaks from university. They should not have been surprised she’d left. She hadn’t studied business to stay in a country town. Harper wanted something more. She wanted an adventure, a life away from a twenty-four-hour a day job that one year could be a success and the next a disaster, each season like a lottery. She wanted a bit more certainty than that, a bit more control. Did she have that, though? Harper wasn’t so sure anymore. But Leo was right, she should talk to Brookes, and now she didn’t really have a choice.
The last page of the photo album made her stop. There were two images. A photo of her and her siblings all together around the table, sipping wine. They all looked so much younger, so full of life and energy, without the woes of the world on their shoulders. The second photo was of her and Brookes, arms around each other, smiling as if nothing else mattered in the world but them. Not long after that photo was taken, everything had changed, and then she’d left. Now, she wondered if she’d made the right decision.
NINE
The alarm sounded before the crack of dawn. Harper’s head felt a little fuzzy from the previous night’s wine, but she had prepared for it with a glass of water and two Panadol tablets left on the bedside table. She quickly showered and dressed. When she went outside, her siblings and Georgia were already in the vineyard working.
‘Does the copious amounts of wine not have any impact on any of you?’
‘You’re out of practice. Don’t they have wine in the city?’ Zoe commented.
Harper ignored her.
Georgia said, ‘You know how it is. The early bird catches the worm. These three are competing as to who can get up the earliest and get more work done in the day.’
‘What’s the prize?’ Harper asked.
‘Bragging rights,’ Tyler said, slapping her on the back.
‘Fun,’ Harper said. ‘So what are we doing?’
‘Why don’t you sit on the sidelines? We wouldn’t want your city-hands getting a splinter or breaking a nail.’
Harper rolled her eyes. ‘Thanks Zoe, I don’t think I’m the one who has to worry about my nails.’
Zoe had always worn hers long and freshly manicured. Some people read books, tried fancy recipes, while Zoe had always enjoyed doing her nails and prettying herself up like a doll. She was attractive, and she didn’t hide it.
‘Whatever. Just don’t get in the way.’
Harper looked at Georgia, then at Leo. Neither of them commented. Today, she would have to fight for herself and the only way to do that was to do the work and not complain. Easy enough.
‘Harper, you go with Georgia and take this part of the vineyard. Tyler and Zoe, you take the southern end, and I’ll take care of the northern end.
She followed Georgia through the vineyard. Each row required attention. She watched as her aunt checked the vines, removed anything that looked dead or infected. Harper followed suit, taking her time with each one. Her family liked to do this by hand, and slowly, it gave a more personal touch to the vineyard and the wine at the end of the grape’s journey. In picking season, they hired backpackers to help.
‘Have you given some thought to what you’re going to do?’ Georgia asked.
Harper had thought about it half the night.
‘I’m not sure yet.’
‘Hmm.’
‘What are you thinking?’
‘It’s your choice, my dear. We all have to take responsibility for our choices and do what we feel is right for us. Even though sometimes the decisions are hard.’
‘It’s a shock. I just don’t understand how you could sit on this information for a year.’
‘They were the rules.’
‘Yes, but this isn’t a piece of jewellery. We’re talking about businesses and property and joint ownership. It’s not something that you can just take on overnight.’
‘Why not? People do it all the time.’
‘It just would have been nice to get some warning.’