The taxi driver must have been used to getting requests to take passengers to wineries, because he was able to take them to Whistle Pig Vineyards with no difficulty even if it was a small one by industry standards. Al smiled at the playfulness of the name. He wasn't sure whistle pigs, or woodchucks or groundhogs, were located in the Okanagan, but lots of wineries had animals in their names, and he liked that Richard Junior probably didn't take himself too seriously; if he was anything like Daphne and Marie, he'd like him.

He sat in the front of the taxi with the driver, while Rachel, Emma and Agnes sat in the back. Aside from his wedding day, he'd never dressed up like this, nor had he ever seen Rachel so glamorous. She was breathtaking, and this alone was worth the trip up, the worry about Samson recovering back at home without him there, and the wondering how the rest of his friends were doing in the aftermath of last night. Not only that, Agnes was classically elegant in her black dress; it wasn't as tiny as Lauren's last night, this wasn't that kind of party, but it still showed more of her than she ever showed when they were dating, and it stirred old feelings again, which wasn't good when she was in the same taxi as his wife. Even Emma, in the blue tunic dress she wore at her adoption ceremony, was dressed more formally than she usually was, and her baby blonde hair was pinned back in barrettes. He hoped she'd enjoy herself, as he didn't think there'd be many kids her age there; maybe it would be a good idea if she went back early with Agnes, since she'd probably have more fun with Patrick and Melissa, and Al could concentrate fully on adoring his wife in public. Rachel deserved adoration after being so gracious about letting Agnes have the last ticket; it couldn't have been easy on her, offering his ex-girlfriend and her family a place to live, and now this.

It was still early enough in the evening that the event hadn't begun yet. Al had hoped to come earlier, but he wanted to wait until Agnes returned and they could all go together. He was still nervous about how Uncle Richard would react when he saw him, plus he was worried about Agnes' security when he saw how the RCMP had arrived to escort her and the kids around town. He hoped Daphne wouldn't be too disappointed at their later arrival than she expected.

The taxi pulled off the highway into the wide gravel driveway that led to the winery, its entrance indicated by a large painted sign bearing a cartoonish pig with its lips pursed to whistle, the action only evident by the musical notes around its mouth. The name of the winery was below the pig.

"A literal interpretation of a colloquialism," Rachel said. Al saw her smiling in the rear view mirror. "Daring for an industry known for its self-importance."

"I think it's funny," Emma said.

"It is, isn't it," Al said.

The driveway ended in a roundabout overhung by a porte cochere attached to the main house, presumably where the family lived, but which also contained, on the main floor, the retail space for the customers who visited. It had a pretty facade of stone and mortar, very bucolic. Next to it was an enormous white canopy with tables underneath it, dotted here and there with propane burners to keep the guests warm against the January air, especially if they were wearing what Rachel and Agnes were wearing. This would be where the event was happening. Behind all of this, barely visible in the evening light and the light of the propane torches, lay rolling hills planted with row after row of grape vines, the rows themselves dusted with a recent snowfall. The vines, he could barely see, looked empty; the grapes must have just been harvested for the most recent pressing of ice wine. It was certainly cold enough, and must have been cold for long enough to do it.

The taxi stopped under the porte cochere, and Al paid the driver while the others climbed out. The front door opened almost as soon as the taxi pulled away, and there was Daphne and her wife Tatiana, both dressed to the nines. 

"You made it!" Daphne said. "A little late, but you can't predict winter driving."

Al wasn't going to tell her they flew here. "Daphne, Tatiana," he said, "You know Rachel and Emma."

"Of course. Hello again, Emma."

"Hi, Auntie Daphne," Emma said.

"What a beautiful dress you have on," Tatiana said. She was the kinder of the couple, with soft eyes and a softer figure. She had a lovely cascade of dark curls down to her shoulders.  

Emma did a twirl, overbalancing so that Al had to catch her to prevent her falling, and said, "I wore this at my adoption party."

"How lovely," Daphne said. She knew about Emma's balance issues and was kind enough not to remark on her stumble. "We're honoured you chose to wear such an important dress to this occasion." She was trying, at least.

"I don't believe you've met Agnes Chu," Al said, choosing to use her maiden name in case anyone here knew the name Marinville. "She's an old friend. Logan couldn't make it so I offered her the ticket, I hope that's all right."

"That's just fine," Daphne said, offering her hand. "Welcome, Agnes."

"Thank you," Agnes said, taking it. "What a beautiful place this is."

"Let me introduce you all to its owner." Daphne beckoned them in and led them past the retail space up a large winding wooden staircase to the second floor. There, in a cavernous sitting room, were the rest of the Mackenzie clan, with Jason the only one absent. 

Al spotted Uncle Richard immediately, and tried not to look at him directly. The older woman next to him must have been Aunt Linda. Her tentative smile was hopeful, at least. The one striding toward them, however, was a younger version of Uncle Richard, and he was tan skinned even in winter, with salt and pepper hair and lots of gold around his neck, but his smile was white and wide, and he offered his hand immediately. "Al," he said. "I'm Rick."

"Hi Rick," he said, shaking it. "Do you prefer Rick? Daphne called you Richie."

He barked a laugh and said, "That's my sisters' pet name for me. Either one is fine. Do you prefer Al or Alistair?"

"Al, please. My father had some kind of Scottish fetish, to my misfortune."

Rick nodded in commiseration. "I think it runs in the family, the British heritage thing. Our fathers were named after kings, apparently."

"I can see that."

"This is my wife, Isabel," Rick said, gesturing to a woman about his age, with blonde hair the colour and texture of hay, wearing a plum coloured sleeveless dress. "And my two sons, Jared and Connor," he said, gesturing to two college age men in tuxes, both looking like younger versions of himself. "They all run the winery with me."

Al shook hands with all of them and introduced his family and Agnes.

Marie, who Al could see now resembled her mother, a slim redhead with blue eyes, wore a royal blue sheath dress. She stood next to her teenaged son, who was probably Logan's age and looked uncomfortable in his tux. "Michael, this is my cousin Al I told you about," she said, "and that's his daughter Emma. Was Logan not able to come?" she asked Al.

"Unfortunately no, he had a school project that needed finishing," Al fibbed. He thought a kind lie was better than the harsh truth that he just didn't want to come, that he wanted to take driving instruction with Joe over the weekend.

Michael shook hands with them, but the boy didn't seem to care about interacting with kids his age; he couldn't take his eyes off Rachel when Al introduced her. Al couldn't blame him.

Uncle Richard inched his way to them and finally met his family, playing it cool as he introduced Al to Linda. "It's great that you made it," he said, as if this wasn't a total surprise. He looked to Rachel and Agnes and said, "And which is your wife?"

"Hard to tell, isn't it," Rachel said with absolutely no humour. Al flinched, but Rachel smiled and offered her hand. "It's me. I'm Rachel. This is our daughter Emma."

"I've heard of Emma," Richard said, offering his hand to her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Grandp-uncle." Emma blushed furiously at her slip and attempted recovery. She took his hand and said, "Can I call you Grand Uncle? Is that a thing?"

Richard chuckled good-naturedly and said, perhaps a bit too bombastically, "It certainly is, and I'd be proud to be yours."

"I like the term Grand Aunt," Linda said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she took Emma's hand. "I've never been one before. It makes me sound like a star of the silver screen."

Al noticed the sidelong glances his cousins/half-siblings shared with each other, and knew they knew something was up but were too polite to ask.

"And you brought a friend with you," Linda said, offering a hand to Agnes.

"Yes, Logan sends his regrets, but he has met with Daphne and Tatiana and hopes to meet with the rest of you someday." Al cleared his throat and searched frantically for a change of subject. "Agnes used to live in the Okanagan, so we offered her a chance to visit again."

"Is that right?" Richard asked. "Whereabouts did you live?"

"Just outside Kelowna," Agnes said. "I was the children's librarian at the Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Library."

To everyone's surprise, Jared said, "I thought you looked familiar. I went to that library a lot when I was a kid. You did the Storytimes, and I had a little crush on you."

He blushed, and Agnes blushed. "Well," was all she could say.

"I bet many young boys have crushes on the children's librarian," Rachel said. "After their mother and aunts, she's probably the first woman they play with, the first one to open their minds to new possibilities."

It occurred to Al that attraction to Agnes ran in his family since Jared was a half-nephew, but he made no mention of the fact that she was once his girlfriend.

"Don't worry," Jared said to relieve the awkwardness. "I've since set my sights on women my own age."

"That's actually the other reason for this event," Rick interjected. "This is also Jared's engagement party."

"Congratulations!" Al said surprised. "We're honoured to be here. Will we be meeting the one who snagged you?"

Jared nodded. "She and her family should be here soon."

"It'll be the joining of two houses," Rick said, looking like he was still awed at the prospect. "We had no idea they were even dating until they were well along the way to courtship."

It was an interesting word, courtship, so antiquated to describe the young man and his young fiancee. "Houses?" he asked.

"Well, we'll be joining theirs, truth be told, since they're so much bigger." Suddenly a doorbell rang, deep and sonorous in the open living room. Rick's eyes brightened. "Ah, that should be them now."

He left the sitting room and went down the stairs. While the rest of them waited for the new arrivals and chatted among themselves, Uncle Richard sidled up to Al and said, sotto voce, "I hope you've been exercising discretion."

"Don't worry, I haven't said anything," Al said in an equally low tone. 

"Your daughter nearly did."

"I apologize for that. She is only thirteen."

Richard sighed and said, "I think Linda is looking at the two of us together and observing our similarities. If Daphne had told me you were coming I would have declined to come this year."

Al flinched. "Are you angry at me?"

Before Richard could answer, footfalls on the stairs turned everyone's attention to the party that had arrived, a couple about a decade older than Rick and his wife, accompanied by a pretty young woman who had to be Jared's fiancee. Rick led them up, and when he saw his father, he beckoned him over. "Dad, Mom, Daphne, Marie, I'd like you to meet John and Danielle Mercer, and their daughter Kimberly."

Al looked up sharply and saw that Agnes had turned her back on the approaching party and was walking toward him. He saw the look on her face and knew she was barely containing her terror. Instinctively, he reached for her and drew her near.

"It's him," she whispered in his ear. 

Thanks for reading this far! Were you surprised by that turn of events? I hope so. If you liked what you read so far, hit "Vote" to send this title up the ranks. If anything doesn't ring true about the wine making process, leave a comment and let me know; I strive for authenticity.

To see how Joanie's doing after last night, and how she reacts to a couple of unexpected visitors, click on "Continue reading."