One-Merlot

It was a day like any other day. My crystalline foot nestled snuggly between the glossy lacquered hardwood planks that had become so familiar. The sun had just set the cue of the night, that routinely sent shockwaves through the weekend swing shifters. Day after day the cresting sun set in motion a cacophony of renewed vigor which permeated through us all.

Being surrounded on all sides, I knew my time wouldn’t come for some time, but the excitement and anticipation was palpable all down the line. Our young hostess stood facing the dinner guests, a disparate array of young and old, tall and short, but not entirely dissimilar. Debonair and elegant was how I would describe them best. This opulent behavior was a signature practice on the weekend date nights.

Time was passing quickly this evening, many of my neighbors were off to their assignments already, when lo a young man in his early 30’s, tall strong and seemingly poised was escorted to the bar beside me. The hostess gave the standard remittal saying, “Our apologies sir, your reservation has been delayed. We will find you a table shortly, but in the meantime please wait here at the bar and have a drink on the house! I will come find you when the table is ready.”

The man graciously accepted in a manner befitting his poise and responded in kind, “My dear, there is a young lady meeting me here. Her name is Sélene. Would you please notify me when she gets here so that I may bring her in?” The hostess nodded and rushed off to attend her duties; yet I was left quizzical.

Requests of that nature were rare. Why did he not just await the young lady’s text message or call? Obviously, I couldn’t ask. That would be impossible. Instead, I merely observed the young man as he placed his order.

As the bartender sat his 18-year scotch on the rocks in front of him and introduced himself I was able to catch the young man’s name. “Scott” he said, “Scott Dutson, thank you.” Scott, a good name, simple, clean, and without prejudice. Scott took a light sip of his drink and I saw on his wrist a band of lighter skin wrapping around it where a time piece should be.

How curious; no watch to check the time, no cell phone had been procured, and his request of the hostess, all of the factors were rather unconventional to say the least. Add to that his apparent laissez faire behavior with regards to his dates time of arrival, were all a bit bizarre.

Some time passed with severs rushing here and bussers scurrying there. Bartenders gliding back and forth across the bar with the grace of a master. There at the bar Scott sat patiently. Her never reached for a phone or asked for a hostess. He patiently waited for his table.

It was at this time that I felt the warmth of a server's touch. That touch I knew so well. My time had come! It was a feeling of ambivalence, for the intriguing man left me so very many questions. To think that the mystery would never be solve... Still, it was my time to shine in the brilliant lights of dinner time!

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Ahhhh!!! Light, light so bright! For years it seems I have been resting, sleeping, dreaming of my purpose. Dreaming of why I am here. I was born for a reason, that I have known from the start. And, here it is!

Around me on all sides are racks upon racks of shelves filled with an amalgamation of different types of boxes and containers. Some of them are wood, some are plastic, many are cardboard. The air is chilly here. My companion is wearing a light jacket as he brings me along. At the end of the corridor there is a large door through which we enter into a bedlam of motion. Men and women of varying appearance all dressed in white smocks with grease-stained yet tidy aprons are rushing by on all sides. Flames are spirting toward the heavens under the ventilation hoods, and the grills and woks are brimming with succulent meats and vegetables.

So many things to see, but no time to take it all in. My escort quickly navigates me through the room, after pausing to lock the large door behind us, to a set of swinging stainless steel doors and hands me off to a server.

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Waiting on the table, I watch the hostess sway through the room, and I notice that behind her follows Scott. The man at the bar, the benefactor of my ingénu curiosity, the days man of mystery. As they draw nearer to my table the excitement builds. Today I will serve this man, and perhaps I will solve his mystery.

Scott is seated across from me. He reaches up and removes the fabric mask from his face. Strong, confident, composure even still. It is apparent that his date has yet to arrive, but he remains unphased as he reaches for the menu.

I watch and listen as he gives his dinner order, two entrees, two sides, a cold appetizer and a hot. He’s clearly prepared for her arrival, but where could she be? It’s now well past an hour since their initial reservation... At the end of the order my excitement is at its zenith. The waitress removes the dinner menu and hands him the beverage list. Scott scans the pages for a moment and his eyes roll beyond the page. The universe freezes for just that moment as he looks at me. His deep penetrating eyes almost appear to see through me as he says, “I’ll take the Merlot. She always loved the Merlot!”

Frozen in the shattering impact of his words, my thoughts reeled. “She always LOVED...” he had said. A past tense. With definite finality. Oh, how I wish I could ask him for more. So many questions filled my thoughts. So many details could never be extrapolated from such a simple phrase. Why was he here alone? Why had he ordered for her, yet still eluded to her lack of presence? “Perhaps, he merely misspoke,” I told myself.

My thoughts continued to cascade, over and over, for the next few moments when the cadence was raptured by the touch of a gentle hand. I was lifted up, up into the air. Scott was looking at me with a saudade smile. Only then did I feel the rush, the exultation, the fulfillment. The Merlot had come!

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“POP!” Went the cork above me. Followed by a warm rush of air mixed with fragrances of salts and spices and baked meats of all kinds. Was I excited? Yes. I was excited. I was prepared. This is what I was born for!

I could see my benefactor gazing up at me from where he sat. His short blond hair brushed forward. His light five o’clock shadow rimming his barbered jawline. I felt a rush of pride at being the chosen one.

I was his Merlot, and I had found my purpose, or so it seemed.

That is when I began to flow, rushing and tumbling, bobbing and bubbling I traversed. To where, I did not yet know.

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It started with a familiarity. After all, Merlot has always been a popular choice. Ive met so many Merlots before. But as this velvety river of body filled me, I could feel something different. A synergy began to form around us and we began to meld and intertwine.

As we were set to rest upon the table, we could see the man, we could see the waitress as she lifted the glass across from us and began to pour, we could see the world, and we were one.

Our two distinct curiosities melded together. Our curiosity for life and our curiosity for this man merged and together we felt a burning desire to be fulfilled. To know ‘why’.

Scott reached across the table with one hand and wrapped his fingers around us. At the same time reaching for his own with the other. He lifted us closer to the other glass and then came the cling! The clash resounded sending reverberations through the room, through us. And he spoke. Not to anyone, not to himself. With a humorous smile pursing his lips he addressed us.

“My darling Sélene, I am so grateful you've arrived. I've been waiting all year for you! You see, 2020 was a terrible disaster for us all. Well, of course you know. You’ve been watching me. You know, ever since that last night. That night in the hospital. I knew you were there... When we finished our Easter dinner that night and your cough began to grow worse. We both laid in bed that night joking with one another. How could either of us have seen that someone so young, with such vitality could be taken by this fucking disease?”

Scott lifted his left hand and continued, pulling us closer to his left wrist, “Look, I even took my watch and my phone off. I left them home, the way you always made me do for Easter dinner. I remember how stubborn you would get when I tried to bring my phone to date nights.”

“Well, Sélene my love, tonight may be our last date night together, but you will always be a part of me. Always and forever, I LOVE YOU!”

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And with that, we felt our body touch his lips as we flowed into him. It was not the slow sip of a wine connoisseur but rather the guzzling of a desperate thirst. Down, down, down we went and with every inch we became, yet again, “ONE”.