One bottle

Anaya was having an extremely bad day. Another week had gone by and she didn't make one dime of money. She had quit her job last year as a therapist to pursue her passion, her dream, her God given gift, and became a spiritual teacher entrepreneur. She taught esoteric science, metaphysics, magic, incantation, and the spiritual unknown. But things had not been going as planned. Her savings were depleted. Her marriage ended and her family took her for a joke.

"Why can't I just get it together?" Forever questioning her decision of pursuing her dream. "I have $85 in the bank, it's Friday and I need to feel good. I need to relax, I need a little unwinding time." Constantly talking to herself, because all her friends had deserted her, she had no one else to talk to. She convinced herself to buy some wine.

"I'm going to the liquor store to buy the best bottle of Merlot my money can buy". The liquor store was 4 miles away from the house. She jumped into her 2017 convertible neon blue Z, revved it up, backed out her driveway, and hit the road. The sound of the screeching tires satisfied her rebellious nature and upset some of the neighbors too. Anaya didn't worry about anything, she loved it.

She pulled up to the store with the top down, long hair, and no care. That day, she was dressed casual. She had on black Jeans, shiny burgundy high heel Dr. Martens, a gold spaghetti strap shirt, and a leather jacket to keep her warm from the spring breeze.

She walked in the store and looked for the wine section. "There it is, aisle 9". Anaya spoke softly to herself. She didn't want everyone one to think she was crazy. She walked down the aisle and noticed a very tall man walking down the aisle coming from the other end. She thought nothing of it, until he stood right next to her, on the right side of her shoulder. His expensive colonel rose up her nostrils, and landed on the tip of her tongue.

"He smells nice" she thought to herself. Anaya was a beautiful, attractive, confident woman. But, she wasn't really interested in dating at the moment, because she had a business to run, and she was just getting started.

Anaya reached for the bottle of Merlot. Made in Napa Valley, it had 15.3 percent of alcohol, at the price of $55. It was perfect. Just the right level to set the mood she wanted."Now I have money left over to get a bite to eat at the vegan restaurant downtown." Again speaking softly to herself, but still out loud. Suddenly there was a problem, she noticed a hand reaching for the same bottle. There was only one bottle left, and two people who wanted it. "Excuse me," Anaya looked directly into the eyes of the devastatingly handsome man that stood next to her and spoke of her peace. "You know I was actually here first, and you didn't grab that bottle until I reached for it." He finally spoke " I waited for you to make your choice, it just so happened to be the same as mine." He smiled as he held the bottle. Anaya's blood pressure was boiling. "Are you serious, are you playing with me right now? I have had an extremely bad day, no, a bad week, no, a bad year as a matter of fact, and all I want is a bottle of wine to relax, ok! I don't know what kind of tricks ya playing, but not me, not now, and not today. Go play with the lady over there on aisle 8 in the beer section. That seems to be where the trash likes to hangout." Anaya lost all of her composure at that point and yelled at the beautiful handsome man. He laughed and said "haha, I guess you really do need this bottle." Anaya began to cry and whimpered as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I mean no disrespect. You can keep it. I will find another". "No, this bottle of Merlot is for you." He said kindly to her, as he wrapped his arm around her waist to console her. "Come let's go check out at the counter. I'm buying. Please take it as a gift." "Ok" Anaya said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. He grabbed her hand softly and they both walked to the checkout lane.

As they were standing in line, Anaya noticed that this strange but handsome man had on the very exact thing she had on. He had on a pair of black Jean's, dark burgundy Dr. Martens, a gold Polo shirt, and a black leather jacket. It was like they were twins. Even the cashier noticed and said. "Y'all look cute together with the matching outfits." They both looked at each other and laughed. "Thank you" they both said simultaneously. The cashier handed over the bag with the receipt and they both walked out of the store.

"What is your name, beautiful woman?" He asked as he gazed down into her eyes. "Anaya, what's yours" she answered and returned the question, looking deeper into his eyes. "Michael" he said and asked " Do you want to get a bite to eat? I know this great Vegan place downtown, they have the best wine. It's my treat." Anaya was about to say yes, but then, she said to herself " I don't even know this man." Before she could even say a word, he spoke "we can go in separate cars, that way you will feel comfortable and you can leave at any time. No pressure from me at all. However, you can follow me if you want to." Anaya replied " I like that idea. Sounds fantastic. My car is parked over there. It's that neon blue Z." Michael replied "Sweet ride, I like that blue. That's my car over there to the right. It's the red two seater Porsche." "That's hot Boo, hay check you out" Anaya was now somewhat flirting with him. She was getting excited. He handed her the bottle of wine at her car door, waited for her to get in the car, and then got in his car and revved the engine. Anaya laughed, "haha" she liked his style. Michael took off, and she was right behind him.

They made their way to the 35E freeway. It was 5 o'clock in the evening in Dallas,Texas. It's usually heavy traffic on the freeway, but since the Covid19 pandemic, traffic had not been so bad in the evenings because a lot of people are working from home. They were both in the fastlane, going 85mph. It was evident, they were both having fun. Anaya had the top down with a pair of shades, while listening to her favorite 90's hip hop band "The Fugees." She was waving her hands in the air. Michael had his shades on as well. He was listening to Rock and Roll from the 80's, dancing to his favorite song by Aerosmith.They exited the freeway and entered into the Exotic Vegan restaurant parking lot.

Anaya was the first to step out of the car. She didn't wait for Michael to come to her door. She was a little dusty on dating and she wasn't sure on what to do. So she just got out,walked onto the sidewalk, and waited for him to get out of his car. As he walked up to her, he said "I am so happy you made the choice to have dinner with me this evening. You are extremely beautiful. It's a pleasure enjoying life with you at this very moment." He grabbed her hand and they both walked into the restaurant together, holding hands as if they had been dating for months.

Once they were seated, the waiter took their orders. Michael ordered the most expensive bottle of Merlot. The waiter came back to the table with a bottle and two tall wine glasses. He poured wine into both glasses. Anaya was full of joy. She grabbed her glass and glided it over to her mouth. Before she could even take a sip, the aroma of dark flavorful grapes filled her nose with excitement. The wine flowed to her lips, tongue, and then down her throat. The sensation from the smell and touch of the wine put Anaya in a frenzy. Finally, the moment of peace she had been desperately longing for.