Just a Taste

A relative took me to a wine tasting.

I was eight and had never tasted wine.

I didn't know what a wine tasting was,

but I knew what it meant to taste,

to catch glimpses or overhear snippets or smell the vapor

of the adult world

in which whole bites were beyond reach.

It was a fancy event,

all white tablecloths and elegant dresses,

and somehow they let in this kid

with shorts and pigtails.

I quickly became bored and slipped away

and whether my adult companion didn't notice

or didn't care, either way I was on my own

in a room full of wine.

Just like everyone else,

I reached up and took a plastic cup

of red, and swallowed.

It was sweet. It was delicious,

like kool-aid,

and I wanted more

but I was curious about the next table

and so I reached out and took another plastic cup

and it was bitter and so horrible.

And at the next table

and the next, I sipped with a sour face.

I looked around at the grownups

swishing and swallowing and smiling

and decided to go back to the sweet table --

but which one was it?

Only one way to find out.

I tasted and tasted in dizzying succession

but never found that sweetness again

until my relative found me under a table

and carried me, half asleep, out the door.

And I still wonder.

Now, grownup that I am,

I have bought wine by the bottle

and drink wine by the cupful

and have never, never found anything

like that first

taste.

* * *

Oneg in the Arctic kindly tagged me to participate in the Tag You're it Challenge (part of James & Oneg's Summer Writing Challenge Extravaganza) and I SQUEEEEKED this one in!

The challenge: "Pick a Vocal community and tag/nominate another writer to write a poem or 100-word micro fic about it BUT you only have 15 minutes to write!" (I liberally interpreted this to mean that title, picture selection, etc. wasn't included in the 15 minute limit.) I was assigned the Proof community.

I wasn't familiar with this Vocal community, so I had to do a little research. Turns out it's not about collecting evidence for conspiracy theories, dang it. Here's the description: "From happy hour to the top shelf, Proof has a drink for everyone."

Apparently, I'm not the only one who didn't quite understand what Proof is all about. Here are a few of the titles on the Latest Stories page:

• "Lake Water Found on Mars" (No, this article doesn't claim that Mars water contains alcohol. Though it's an interesting read.)
• "How to Land Jobs in Abu Dubai as a Fresher" (Is booze one of the perks? I doubt it.)
• "8 Biblical Prophecies That Came to Pass" (Proof?)
• "Revolutionizing Tech Giants: Microsoft and Google Unleash AI Power, Soaring Profits and Excitement" (Hmm ... this could be relevant if we start a new drinking game, based on the word -- or the suspicion of -- AI)

Of course, if you go to the Top Stories page, you'll find a more vetted selection. And that's how I discovered the BEST part of this challenge for me ... this piece by D. Thea Baldrick. Read it, please.