Chapter Text
Red eagerly trotted up the steps to Liz’s apartment door and rapped on the knocker. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this excited. Or this nervous. Adjusting his weight from one foot to the other, he waited not so patiently for Liz to answer his knock. Eventually he heard her footsteps heading towards him and couldn’t help but break out into a huge smile when the door swung open and she stood there, as beautiful as ever.
‘Hey, Red. You’re early’, Liz said, smiling back at him.
Red glanced at his watch, although he knew all too well what the time was. He was very aware he was early but he just couldn’t wait to get their day started.
‘Oh, look at that, so I am. Apologies, Lizzy, I do hope I’m not imposing?’, he said as he looked up at her, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.
Liz smirked at him, seeing right through his ruse, ‘Of course not. Come in and sit down, I’m nearly ready. Of course it would help if you’d actually tell me what you’ve got planned for today? I’ve no idea what to wear’.
‘Oh, don’t worry about clothing, my dear. Just some jeans and a casual top will be fine. Nothing too fancy’.
‘Is that why you’re dressed up to the nines as usual?’
Red looked down at his cream three-piece suit and then back up at Liz innocently, ‘This? It’s my summer wardrobe. I always feel a light-coloured linen suit can be both smart and business-like and yet relaxed and casual’.
Liz rolled her eyes and headed for the stairs, ‘Okay, whatever you say. Help yourself to coffee, I’ll be back down in five’.
Red watched Liz ascending the stairs, unable to drag his eyes away from her ass. Once she was out of sight he blew air out from his cheeks and turned towards the kitchen. The past week had been pure torture for him. They had been getting closer than ever and it was all he’d ever hoped it would be. Liz had shown a recent fondness for taking his hand or his arm when they were walking and he’d caught her staring at his lips every time she thought he couldn’t see her whilst he was in the midst of one of his stories. The sexual tension between them was now palpable. However, Red felt that it was going to take something just a little bit extra to tip them over the edge and straight into bed. And he’d come up with the perfect plan. A whole week of wooing. He’d cleared her time off with Harold, convincing him that Liz had needed some R&R and that he himself had some business he needed to attend to. He hadn’t quite gotten around to mentioning that these two things were linked but Harold didn’t need to know that. And so today was the first day of what he hoped would be a wonderful week with his Lizzy; doing something new and exciting every day and, please god, bringing them together in every sense of the word.
Just as he finished pouring himself some coffee and flicking through Liz’s pile of mail, he heard her coming up behind him.
‘See anything that interests you?’
‘Oh, sorry, Lizzy. I just, well, I don’t get mail anymore. Not having an actual address that anyone knows. I was intrigued as to the current state of junk mail. It would appear it hasn’t changed all that much in the last twenty years’, he said as he screwed his eyes up to focus on a leaflet advertising viagra.
‘Why on earth would they send someone this out of the blue?’, Red said once he’d worked out what it was.
Liz snorted and took it from him, placing it straight in the recycling, ‘Very funny’.
‘Hmmm?’
‘Out of the blue? Terrible pun, Red’
Red burst out laughing and turned to pick up his coffee, ‘Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that. Unintentional puns are always the best, don’t you think?’
Liz didn’t know what to say to that so she just picked up her own cup of coffee and quickly finished it off.
‘Well, I’m ready if you are. Come on, let’s get this show on the road. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for me today’, she said as she took Red’s cup from him and hooked her hand around his elbow.
Red smiled broadly at her and led her out to the car, ‘I’m positive you’re going to enjoy it, Lizzy. I’ve put a lot of thought into each day’s activity for this week and I’m fairly confident I’ve managed to hit the nail on the head with every one’.
As Liz slid into the backseat next to him, after she’d said hi to Dembe, who was sitting in the driving seat, she couldn’t help but scowl at Red again, ‘You’re always confident, mister. It’s infuriating. However, I’m willing to give this a go. If only so I get the chance to burst your smug bubble at some point’.
‘Well, we’ll see, my dear. Okay, Dembe, hit the road’.
Dembe pulled the car away from the kerb and into traffic. Within twenty minutes it was clear that they were heading out into the countryside and Liz was now more intrigued than ever as to their destination. After nearly another hour, Dembe signalled to come off the highway and they started to make their way down increasingly small and winding country lanes.
Eventually, they were there. Once they pulled into the driveway of a large house set far back from the road, it was clear what they were going to be doing. Red had brought them to a vineyard. He peered at Liz from the corner of his eye and saw her smiling. Strike one to me, he thought to himself.
‘I’ve managed to negotiate with the owner of this fine establishment that we can have the place to ourselves for as long as we want it today. He’ll give us a tour and then we can conduct a wine tasting. Have you ever done that before, Lizzy?’
‘No, never. Well, unless you count working my way through the local store’s selection’
Red laughed and reached for her hand, squeezing it lightly, ‘Well, that’s a start. I’m sure you'll find it very interesting. Oh, and they grow Chardonnay grapes here. I know that’s your favourite tipple’.
Liz squeezed Red’s hand back and turned to smile at him, ‘Yes, it is. Thank you, Red, this should be great. And, okay, I’ll admit it, you’ve managed to succeed with day one’s plans’, she laughed at him before turning to look back out the car’s window.
They pulled up outside the door to the house and got out from the car. Immediately the door opened and a small man in his seventies appeared and walked towards them, smiling.
‘Mr Michaels, I presume? And is this the fair Elizabeth?’
Red shook the man’s hand, ‘Yes, indeed, on both counts. Pleased to meet you, Mr Fraser. Thank you so much for accommodating us here today, we can’t wait to get started. Oh, and this is Dembe’, Red added as Dembe came forward to shake the man’s hand. ‘He has absolutely no interest in the making or drinking of wine, for all my years of attempting to guide him that way’, Red said as Dembe raised an eyebrow at him, ‘but we needed a driver and so here is the poor man’.
‘Pleased to meet you, Dembe. If you don’t want to join us for the tour or the tasting, please feel free to make yourself at home anywhere on the grounds. We even have a pool if you’d like to cool off at any point?’
‘Thank you’, Dembe rumbled in his deep voice, ‘I may well do that’.
Red, Liz and Mr Fraser headed towards the back of the house, leaving Dembe to entertain himself.
‘So, where you folks from anyways? The big smoke, no doubt. You look like city folk’.
‘Elizabeth here is from DC, yes. I, myself, am a keen traveller. I’m not really sure I can call anywhere home. Although I have found cause to spend a lot more time than usual in the DC area of late’, Red added, smiling at Liz.
They headed into a large barn behind the house and Mr Fraser turned to start the tour, ‘So first up, please call me Bill. No need for formalities here. I’m gonna tell you a little bit about how we turn the grapes into wine in this here structure and then we can go have a looksy at some of the vines if you’d like. And then, the part I’m sure you’re most interested in, the tasting’.
‘Sounds perfect’, Liz said, sidling up to Red and holding him by his arm again. He turned to look at her and couldn’t help but smile at how happy she looked. All smugness about choosing this activity for her was now long forgotten, he was just ecstatic that he’d put a smile on her face after all her recent troubles.
Bill started telling them about the vinification process and they both listened intently, Red constantly interjecting with questions. Liz, who knew nothing at all about the science behind winemaking, had no questions she could think of but she loved listening to how enthusiastic Red was on the subject. And in Bill, he had found a fellow aficionado. The two of them were nattering away nineteen to the dozen in no time.
Eventually this part of the tour finished and they headed out towards the vines. Looking up, they could see row upon row of them as far as the eye could see. It was an impressive sight and one of which Bill was clearly very proud.
He led them into the nearest row and started to show them the grapes, explaining how far they were along in their growth cycle and when they’d be harvested. Red, once more, was straight in with more questions and insisted on tasting the grapes, despite knowing how sour they would be. Liz had to laugh at his face as he was forced to spit one out, rather than swallowing it.
‘You just had to do that, didn’t you? You knew it was going to taste horrible’.
‘Yes, I did, Elizabeth. But it’s all part of the learning process’, he said as he turned to wink at Bill, who was smiling at them both.
They soon headed back down towards the main house and barns and Bill led them into a small café that he ran onsite. ‘Okay, folks. Next up is the tasting. Now, as I’m sure you both know, it really should be about the tasting, rather than the drinking. But I just can’t seem to stop my visitors drinking more than they should, no matter how much I warn them to pace themselves. We’ve got a lot of different varieties here to try so I do recommend not swallowing every mouthful but I’m sure it’ll fall on deaf ears like it normally does’, he said as he looked at them with an amused twinkle in his eye.
‘And to that end I’m going to rustle you up some bread and cheese to fill your bellies before we start. Cheese is a great way of helping to deal with a lot of alcohol. Make yourselves comfortable, I’ll be right back’.
Liz and Red sat down at one of the small tables in the café and Liz reached out at once and took a hold of Red’s hand on the table.
‘Thank you, Red, this has been wonderful so far. And thank you for picking a Chardonnay vineyard, I know you prefer red wine’.
‘You’re very welcome, sweetheart. But no need to worry about the colour of the wine, I’m sure I can manage to force myself to enjoy it’, he chuckled as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
‘So, er, Mr Michaels…. What should I call you?’
‘Yes, sorry, I forgot to mention that early. I’ve been a little distracted. Just call me Ray, that’ll be easier than remembering a pseudonym’.
Liz winked at Red just as Bill came back into the café, carrying a tray heaped with lots of varieties of cheese and fresh breads. Liz looked up at Red and had to stifle a laugh as his eyes had opened wide in delight. He looked like a kid in a candy store.
‘Oh, my… Well, that all looks delicious. Thank you so much, Bill. Will you join us?’
‘I’d love to but I’d best go get all the things ready for the tasting. I didn’t have time this morning as I was working in the barn. I’ll be about an hour, if that’s okay?’
‘Absolutely fine. Take all the time you need. I’m sure Elizabeth and I can make short work of this delicious looking selection in that time’.
As Bill smiled at them and walked out the door, Liz looked at Red, ‘Are you kidding? There’s enough here for ten people!’
‘Well, perhaps…. But you forget we have a secret weapon’, Red said as he reached for his phone. After a brief conversation, Dembe appeared in the doorway, his eyes lighting up very much as Red’s had when he saw the food.
Liz rolled her eyes and shook her head at them. What was it with these two and their obsession with food? Dembe sat down and the three of them started working their way through their feast.
True to his word, Bill reappeared after an hour. He walked in and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Every morsel of the bread and cheese was gone. Red and Dembe were both sitting holding their bellies and looking pretty uncomfortable. Liz was just looking at the two of them, half amused and half appalled at what she’d just witnessed.
‘That is some pretty impressive eating, folks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone polish off the whole lot before. Well, certainly not just three people’.
Dembe raised his head from the table and groaned. Red attempted to say something but just huffed out air instead. Liz just sighed at the effects of their indulgence and stood up from the table.
‘Here, Bill, let me help you clear up after these two gluttons’
‘Much appreciated, Elizabeth’
The two of them quickly picked up all the plates and Bill carefully swept up the crumbs from around Dembe’s head, which had returned to the table. All the while Liz and Bill kept glancing at each other and trying not to laugh. Once they’d taken the tray back through to the kitchen and returned, Liz went up to Red and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind.
‘Come along now, Ray, we don’t want to keep Bill waiting, do we?’
Red stood up, groaning even more at this attempt to defy gravity, ‘Of course not. I think I could use a digestif as it happens’, he said as he winced at Bill, who was jovially shaking his head at him.
‘See you later, Dembe. I don’t imagine you’ll have moved by the time we’re done’, Red said as they left the café. Dembe raised his hand in farewell without managing to lift his head off the table.
The three of them made their way to the tasting room and as soon as they walked in, Red seemed to come back to life, ‘Oh, my, look at that array of wines. Wonderful. Mmm, and the smell in here is intoxicating. Probably literally’, he finished with a chuckle.
Bill took a few minutes to explain exactly how one should assess a wine, something with which Red was entirely au fait but Liz was listening intently. As soon as he was finished, he poured them each their first tasters and handed them over. Liz was studiously doing everything she’d just learned about appreciating the colour, the bouquet and, of course, the taste. Red had a quick sniff and then gulped the lot down in one.
‘I do apologise for my manners, Bill. I will take more time over the next few wines. But I really am in desperate need of some alcohol to help soak up all that cheese right now’.
Bill laughed at him, ‘Well, you’ve got that the wrong way round but you just feel free to do whatever pleases you’.
Liz had a sip of her wine and moaned happily, ‘Oh, that is superb’, she said as she rolled it around her mouth. She then swallowed it. ‘There’s no way I’m going to spit that out. In fact, could I have a little more, maybe?’
Bill poured another small amount into her glass, ‘Thank you for the compliment, Elizabeth. I’m glad you like it’.
Liz nodded at him enthusiastically as she took another sip. Meanwhile, Red had also held his glass out for a second helping and smiled hopefully at Bill.
‘Oh, my. You two are going to be quite a handful pretty soon, aren’t you? It’s damn lucky you’ve got that strapping fella here to drive you home’.
Although Bill was taking his time with each new variety of wine and vintage, carefully explaining about the soil that produced each grape and the weather conditions that would’ve affected the differing flavours, within two hours Red and Liz were both completely drunk. Neither of them had spat out a single mouthful of the wine, insisting it was just too wonderful to waste. As Bill finished up his talk, he smiled at them both, happy that they’d both enjoyed themselves so much.
‘Okay, folks, that’s it. You’ve tried every variety we have’.
Red looked at him sadly, ‘Really? Oh, that’s a shame. Ah, well, I suppose we could maybe buy some to take with us?’
‘Of course you can, my friend. Which would you like?’
Red looked around the various bottles and then at Liz, ‘Which did you prefer, Elizabeth?’
Liz looked up at Red, ‘All of them. Every single one’.
Red laughed at her gently, ‘Okay, Bill, we’ll take half a dozen bottles of each one then. I’m sure we’ll fit it all in the trunk’.
Bill looked at them in surprise but nodded happily, ‘Right, well I’ll go get one of my boys to pack all that up with me and we’ll bring it around to your car. Should take half an hour or so. Feel free to do whatever you like in the meantime’.
‘Perhaps we could have another bottle now, just to pass the time?’, Red asked, a glint in his eye. Whilst he was most certainly drunk, the amount he’d eaten at lunch had helped him to keep from being quite as inebriated as Liz seemed to be.
‘Yes, indeed. Just pick yourselves one and take a couple of glasses. I’ll sort out the boxes for you’.
‘Thank you so much, Bill. We’ve both had an excellent day here. I, for one, will definitely be back’, Red said as he reached into his pocket and handed over a large bundle of notes to Bill.
‘Oh, Mr Michaels, that’s far too much…..’
‘Nonsense. I insist. Your hospitality and generosity has been delightful. Please, allow me to recompense you fully’
Bill shook his head but accepted the money, ‘Well, thank you muchly. That’s very kind of you, sir. I’ll allow you folks to take your time over that last bottle’.
‘Thanks you sho much, Bill’, Liz said then stopped talking abruptly, realising she was slurring terribly.
‘You’re very welcome, my dear. I do hope the effects of today’s tasting don’t keep you from enjoying too much of tomorrow’, he finished with a wink.
With that, Bill headed out of the door to find one of his sons to help him package their order.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Liz burst into giggles. Red turned and looked at her, surprised.
‘Whatever’s the matter, my dear?’
‘Red, I’m absolutely smashed….’, Liz managed to blurt out before descending into another fit of giggles. She reached out for Red’s arm and he went to her side immediately, helping to support her. He laughed lightly and turned them both towards the door.
‘Perhaps another bottle isn’t the wisest choice then’
‘Ohhhh…. No. No, no, no. We’re having another, mister. Go grab that last one. That was yummy’.
Red narrowed his eyes at Liz but she looked up at him defiantly. Sighing to himself he turned to fetch a bottle from the table. He knew he would never manage to persuade Liz not to have more if she were determined to do so. However, he knew he could easily manage most of the bottle himself so decided he’d just drink quickly so as to ensure she didn’t have too much more herself.
They headed on out to the yard and towards the vines, sitting closely together on the grass. Red poured them each a small glass of wine and handed Liz’s to her.
‘To you, Lizzy’
‘No, to you, Red. Today has been aaammmmaaazzzing’, Liz said and giggled.
Red smirked at her and quickly downed the whole of his glass when she was turned away from him slightly, looking out over the fields. He then poured himself another one and hid the bottle behind him.
When Liz turned back towards him, she decided she really wanted to get even closer so shuffled so that they were touching from foot to shoulder. She then rested her head on him and sighed happily.
‘It’s so beautiful here. We should get out of the city more often’.
Red’s heart soared at Liz’s use of the word ‘we’.
‘I’m glad you like it, my dear. And I’ll take you anywhere you want, anytime you want. I hope you know that?’
Liz smiled up at him and took his hand, wrapping her fingers around his, ‘Yeah, I do. Thank you’.
Twenty minutes later, they had finished their bottle and they headed back down towards the car. Red had managed to drink about three quarters of it and thankfully Liz hadn’t noticed his subterfuge. However, now Red was feeling very much the worse for wear and could tell that he had started to weave a little, rather than walk in a straight line.
As they drew near the car, they were puzzled to note that Dembe was nowhere to be seen, ‘That’s odd. He wasn’t still in the café when we walked past. I wonder where he could be?’, Red pondered, turning in a circle and looking about the place.
‘Maybe he went for a swim after all?’
‘Ha! I doubt it. With all that cheese in his belly he’d have sunk like a stone’
Before they could wonder further, Bill appeared from the house and walked towards them.
‘Hey there, folks. Your car’s all packed and ready to go’.
Red raised an eyebrow at Bill questioningly, ‘It is? But isn’t it locked? Where’s Dembe?’
Bill smiled and pointed at the back windows of the car, ‘He woke up long enough to pop the trunk for us and then went straight back to snoring away’.
Red and Liz both bent at the same time to peer into the back window of the Mercedes, bumping heads slightly as they did so.
‘Ouch, Red! Watch where you’re throwing that big melon of yours!’
Red rubbed his head and frowned at Liz, ‘I think you’ll find it was your melon that was in the wrong this time, my dear. Anyway, it appears Dembe is out for the count’, Red finished as he smiled fondly into the back seat, ‘Maybe we should let him sleep a little longer?’
‘Well, we could. But if we do, I’m gonna want more wine’
Red quickly decided this was not a good idea and turned to knock on the window of the car, waking Dembe up, ‘Hmm, well, actually…. Thinking about it, maybe we should just get back to D.C. Dembe can sleep all he wants once you’re home’.
‘Spoilsport’
Red opened the back door and Dembe blinked up at them, ‘Is it time to go?’
‘Yes, my friend. Will you be all right to drive?’
Dembe nodded as he hauled himself out from the car, ‘I had better be judging by the smell of you two. Did you spill more than you drank?’
Liz snorted and poked Dembe in the ribs, ‘Very funny. No, we didn’t, you big cheese monster, you’.
Dembe frowned at Liz and then burst out laughing, ‘Oh my, you’re both legless, aren’t you? Even you, Raymond?’
‘Rather less so than Elizabeth but yes…’
Dembe turned and help Liz into the car and Red headed around to the other side, stumbling slightly over a small stone as he did so. Liz saw this and started to laugh again, ‘Oh, yeah, much less drunk than me’.
Red chose to ignore Liz’s jibe and instead held his hand up to wave to Bill, ‘Thank you again, kind sir. Today was wonderful. I hope we shall return soon’.
Bill raised his hand in farewell and nodded to Red, smiling at him broadly before turning back towards the house.
‘Okay, Dembe, to Liz’s place, please. And, er, if you could take the bends as slowly as possible, that’d be admirable’.
Dembe pulled away and they were soon on the road back to the city. By the time they were on the highway, Red and Liz were both fast asleep in the back seat, each leaning towards the other. Dembe wished he could take a picture of them but he knew Red would seek revenge for such an act. Just as he was having this thought, Red started to snore loudly and Dembe had to stifle a laugh as Liz reached out in her sleep and whacked Red on the chest, mumbling something under her breath. Red jerked up and stopped snoring but didn’t wake for a second.
Soon, they got back to Liz’s house and Dembe pulled up directly outside. He switched the engine off and got out, slamming the door loudly to help them both wake up. Red’s eyes opened like a shot but Liz slumbered on. Red got out the car and came around to the kerb, rubbing at his eyes as he came.
‘Oh my god, falling asleep was a bad idea. I feel like I’m hungover already’.
‘Shall we wake Elizabeth or do you want me to carry her in?’
‘No, no. We should wake her’, Red said and opened the door, crouching down next to the car to shake Liz’s arm.
‘Lizzy, sweetheart, you’re home. Time to wake up’.
There was no response from Liz at all and Red stood up slightly to reach further into the car. His hand found her cheek and lifted it from her shoulder where it had been resting.
‘Lizzy…. Can you hear…’
But Red didn’t finish his sentence as Liz came to suddenly and due to her inebriation and the shock of waking up in a strange place, she just lashed out her arm and managed to hit Red right on the nose.
‘Ah…., dear god, that hurts’, Red said, dancing away from the car.
Dembe couldn’t help himself and laughed loudly, turning away from Red as he did so. But it was to no avail as Red heard him anyway.
‘Dat was dot funny, Dembe’
At the sound of Red’s now rather nasal speech, Dembe laughed even harder and had to lean down on his knees to keep standing.
Liz, by now, was out of the car and at Red’s side. She pulled his pocket square out and held it to his nose.
‘Oh, my god, Red. I am so sorry. I don’t even know what just happened. Are you okay? Is it broken?’
Red held his handkerchief to his nose and smiled at Liz, despite the blood that was trickling down his face, ‘It’s okay, Nizzy, I’ve had worse’.
Despite the fact that Red’s voice wanted to make Liz laugh too, she bit down on her lip and managed not to, ‘Okay, well, I’m really sorry…. That’s an awful way to end our day’.
Red pulled the handkerchief away and wiped away the blood, ‘Don’t worry, it hasn’t ruined my day at all. And I hope you had an enjoyable trip?’
‘Oh, yes....’ Liz said and stepped into Red’s arms for a hug. ‘It was perfect. Well, until just now, obviously’, she said as she pulled away and smiled sympathetically at him.
‘However, I think I need to go lie down for a bit longer so, er, I’ll see you tomorrow?’
‘Absolutely, my dear. I shall be here for noon? That should give us both time to sleep off today’s endeavours’, Red said, winking at her.
Liz smiled back and headed up to her front door, concentrating very hard on putting one foot in front of the other.
At the top of the steps, she turned back and waved back down to Red, ‘See you tomorrow, Red. Thank you for a lovely day’.
‘Goodnight, my dear. I hope you sleep well. I know I will…..’
Liz headed into the house and Red and Dembe returned to the car, ‘So, Raymond, home?
‘Dear god, yes. I’m exhausted. Who knew a wine tasting day could be so draining?’
‘I hope tomorrow’s activity is less high octane’, Dembe said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
‘You know, I may have to swap activities for tomorrow’, Red said, ‘I'm not sure either of us is going to want to be on the back of a horse’.