Change of Vine-ue

I admit to being a novice when it comes to exorcisms.  Having neither performed or attended one before, I didn’t know what to expect beyond some general notion of catharsis.

 

I voiced this sentiment to M, G and J as we waited at the West Falls Church Metro on Sunday for the limo we’d hired through LivingSocial to arrive for our 12:00 p.m. pickup.  We wilted in the heat as the hands on our watches crept past noon, 12:10, 12:15. 

Twenty minutes and two phone calls later, not only did our chariot not await, we learned it had no intention of materializing.  Zach, the unlucky young man who pulled the Sunday shift at LivingSocial, explained the limo company believed the tour started at ten and had shown up to collect us two hours before.  

Wine-tasting at 10 a.m. on a Sunday? While not unheard of (and don’t look for any criticism or judgment here), LivingSocial caters to the masses, most of whom aren’t knocking back fermented grapes at 10 on a Sunday morning unless they’re standing in the communion line.

We didn’t see this splat coming.  It’s tough to expel demons in Purcellville from a Metro station in Falls Church, except perhaps by mobile, and we thought that would really hamper our delivery. 

Applying a Field of Dreams approach to the situation, we decided to move the exorcism. If you spill it, they will come, we reasoned.  Our group also understood that the converstion from splat to success requires resilience.

We took the show –including the “unholy water” Judy prepared specially for this occasion-- a couple miles down the road to Clare and Don’s Beach Shack.  

While the walls at Breaux are decorated in an understated style that features vinicultural items, the interior of Clare and Don’s is festooned with flip-flops.  I personally find it difficult to maintain any air of sadness when I’m surrounded by thongs. 

As soon as the waitress brought our boat drinks and bloody Mary’s, we raised a glass to fresh starts and the guts it takes to make them.  

And then Judy spritzed me with the lavender-scented unholy water for the courage I showed in freeing myself from a situation that was dangerous and escalating rapidly.  (I’ll be carrying the unholy water around in my purse the way some people tote around mace.)

We spent the afternoon eating fried food, sipping boat drinks and wine served in mason jars, talking, laughing (LOTS of laughing), and exchanging words of encouragement and support.  In short, I did the same things at Clare and Don's as on my wedding day, but with different props. 

Based on the amount of happiness circulating at our table yesterday afternoon, any demons that may have been lingering back at Breaux didn’t bother to make the trip to Falls Church.   And the memories of both days are, and will be, among my most cherished.