“She won’t have to stand trial, and she’s not going to prison,” I said. “But she will have to watch Steph and Zoe move to Paris—the exact thing she feared the most.” Steph’s decision had only been validated by her dad’s betrayal. When she had learned that Ian ordered Jeff’s murder, the shock had been so great she nearly fainted. Luckily she had David and Pauline to support her. Funnily enough the bond between them had only become stronger after Jeff passed away, and now Steph viewed her in-laws almost more like her parents than her real parents.
She was going to wait for the memorial service, and leave straight after. And return only for the trial of her dad, which was going to be tough on everyone.
“What’s going to happen to the Stewart Winery now that Ian is in jail?” asked Brutus.
“Raimunda has announced she’s taking a step back, and Kevin is going to be in charge from now on, with the valued assistance of longtime foreman Larry Scunner, and of course Dominic and Kevin’s future father-in-law. Looks like the plan to join both wineries is going to be fast-tracked now that Ian is gone.”
“What an amazing story,” said Harriet. “Almost beats the story of FuSSy’s success in turning Hampton Cove dry. We’re not there yet, but we’re working on it. In fact we’re thinking about taking our campaign to other towns, and maybe even the rest of the country. If all pets did what wedo for our humans, we just might succeed where Prohibition failed. Score one for Team FuSSy—one of my better ideas!” She looked proud as she said it, even though it had actually been Shanille’s idea, something she seemed to have conveniently forgotten.
I glanced at our humans, and saw a sorry sight: Uncle Alec was pushing his food around on his plate, Gran sat nursing a soda and looking sad, and even Scarlett, who’s usually always so happy and peppy, looked as if she was attending a funeral. In fact Tex was the only one who seemed to have come through this whole AA episode with his good mood intact. He actually seemed to thrive.
“Look what I brought,” said Odelia as she dug into a plastic bag she’d conveniently hid under the table. Two bottles of wine popped up. “One is from the Stewart Winery, and the other from the Kosinski Winery. I promised Kevin Stewart we were going to help him settle once and for all which one of these is the best. They’re both whites and are supposed to be crisp, dry and aromatic, whatever that means.” She gave her grandmother a radiant look. “What do you say, Gran?”
But Gran darted a quick glance at Harriet, then shook her head sadly, while seeming to shrink even more into herself.“Thank you, sweetie, but I’ll pass.”
“Me, too,” said Scarlett, first having checked with Harriet.
The Persian was shaking her head in abject disapproval.“What is she up to?” she said. “Max, you have to stop her. She’s pushing dope to drug addicts!”
“It’s not as bad as all that, is it?” I said. “It’s just one glass of wine, Harriet.”
Harriet gawked at me.“Not you, too!”
“Not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. So stop making such a big fuss. Our humans aren’t alcoholics, and neither are most of the people in this town.”
“What about Father Reilly?” she demanded. “Or are you going to sit there and tell me he doesn’t have a problem?”
“Marigold left, and he was going through a rough time. A personal crisis that led to him making a bad choice. But he’s all right now,” I said soothingly.
“I don’t believe this,” said Harriet. “Brutus—tell him!”
“Tell him what?” asked Brutus.
“Tell him he’s wrong! And recite the thirteen steps!”
“Oh, God, not again,” said Brutus. “I don’t even know them by heart.”
“Step one,” she began, and started droning off the steps.
“Sometimes I wish I had earplugs,” Dooley whispered to me at some point. “So I could drown out the sound of Harriet’s yapping.”
We shared a grin, which hadn’t escaped Harriet’s notice, for she raised the volume of her incantation.
“How about you, Dad?” said Odelia, holding up her two bottles.
But Tex hesitated, darting a questioning glance at his wife. When Marge nodded, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.“Why not?” he said. “Just a small glass for me.”
“Two small glasses, buddy,” said Chase, who was doing the honors. “We have to decide which one of these is the best. A responsibility we don’t take lightly.”
“Fine, two small glasses,” said Tex with a jolly expression on his face.
Gran and Scarlett looked on like two kids watching a third kid eat a gigantic piece of delicious cake while not being allowed to eat a piece themselves. They were both licking their lips as Tex poured the cooling liquid down the hatch.
“Pretty good,” the doctor determined. “Now let’s try the other one.”
“I want one, too,” said Gran timidly.
“So do I,” said Scarlett, just as quietly.
They both stared at Harriet, who was still going through her declamation.