- Lizzie
- Richard
- Serendipidy
- Tom
- Norval Joe
- Jared
- Tura
- Planet Z
RICHARD
Miracle?
Yeah, turning water into wine, just a cheap parlour trick really. It’s not like anyone checked the jars for the false water trays.
Feeding the five thousand? Well, did you see the food come out of the baskets? Of course not, because it didn’t! All misdirection and sleight of hand.
As for Lazarus: Well, it could have been anyone wrapped up in those burial cloths… And it was!
Of course, people want to believe in miracles, and nobody looks too closely in the heat of the moment.
You’re going to love my final trick… It’ll be the stuff of legends!
LIZZIE
Everyone sat at the table and toasted. Everyone smiled. Yes, that fake smile that goes well with wine and the possibility of a new job. He thought about the cool car he’d buy, the shiny new apartment, even the weekend lodge by the lake. And then he blurted out that stupid thing. He had to say it, didn’t he? Why? Because he was a moron. “This wine is not one of the best I have had.” No more job for you, you simpleton. Why had he decided to apply for a job at a winery? He didn’t even like wine.
TOM
Wine
I live in the wine county. No really. Not that sugar injected region known
as New York. Or that euro-trash region outside of Paris. I am talking
above the Napa Valley. A land hip deep in volcanic red soil. Of course,
having tastes buds raised in Chicago took a fair amount of time to mature.
Also getting over the idea of a bottle costing a day’s pay is, well now
reasonable, also took some time. When I was young wine choice was binary,
how its more taxonomical. But really, it’s all about the pairing. What
wine goes with Cap-n-Crunch.
SERENDIPIDY
When I bought the house, I had only one stipulation.
I didn’t care about the state of repair, the number of bedrooms or whether the shrubs were well-established and cared for.
The only thing I insisted upon was a wine cellar.
A large wine cellar, dry, and with thick, thick walls.
The agent thought I was a connoisseur; someone of refined tastes and an eye for quality.
Which, of course, I am.
And you could say, I do enjoy a ruby red claret.
So why not come over, sample my hospitality?
I’ll keep a space on the rack for you.
TURA
Wine
———
When the wine has been drunk, the bottle is discarded.
When a teaching comes into the world, it comes in a bottle, that being the individuality of the teacher, the time and place where he appears, and the types that he draws to himself.
One day, the teacher is gone, for such people live and die as do we all. The wine poured out, his students thereafter venerate the empty bottle, worshipping the dead husk of his teaching.
Those who would discard the bottle and seek the source of the living wine that he brought are driven away as heretics.
NORVAL JOE
The chief handed Mrs. Blanketmaker a slip of paper. “Here’s an Air BnB we’ve rented for you. It’s called ‘The Wine and Cheese, if You Please’ bed and breakfast. Apparently, they have a deal with a local winery and stock the place with a bunch of little sample bottles of wine and all the cheese and crackers you can eat. And you can stay as long as you need to find a new place.”
Billbert’s hopes lifted. “You mean we don’t have to move away?”
The chief winked at him. “Not yet, anyway. There’s still work to do right here.”
JARED
Anticipation
After their week in San Francisco, James was anxious to get to Napa. You could say it had been a whirlwind, his and Natalie’s courtship. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, thinking of how far they had come.
He breathed a little more easily once they had cleared the Golden Gate Bridge and were headed past Sausalito. He was never comfortable driving over bridges.
As he continued driving, he began to realize – he was still anxious. Not because of a bridge, but because of the little box in his coat pocket. And because of Natalie’s answer to his question…
PLANET Z
Never conduct a seance with a cheap bottle of wine.
Or candles. Or dishes.
You need the finest of everything to summon spirits.
The cheaper the placesettings and decorations, the weaker the gateway you will make between worlds.
And, should you manage to summon something from beyond, the harder it will be to send them back.
So, should you get lucky and entice a greater demon from the pits of hell to your living room with paper plates and Mad Dog 20, well done.
Not that I would call you lucky, seeing as you’re going to be stick with him.