A Taste of the Untamed

‘The Stick’ had sat in a corner of Grace’s bedroom since her return from hospital, where a therapist had assured her in no uncertain terms that if she didn’t use it to get out of the house she would spend her life in darkness.

‘But I am in darkness!’ Grace had yelled in angry desperation.

There had been a lot of screaming and yelling as well as quiet sobbing through those dark, difficult times. It had changed nothing. Having Elias in the background, nagging her constantly to get on with her life, had worked, and finally picking up ‘The Stick’ had changed her life. It had been her first step towards independence.

But just when she had gathered enough courage to walk down the road she’d realized everything above waist-height slapped her in the face. On one outing she had crept home, feeling her way an inch at a time … like a blind woman. And another week had been wasted grieving for what couldn’t be changed. It was only when Lucia had turned up with a representative from the Guide Dogs’ Association that Grace had been persuaded to try something new.

At first she had protested that she couldn’t look after herself, never mind a dog, but to her shock Lucia had snapped angrily, ‘For goodness’ sake, pull yourself together, Grace. Buddy needs feeding—and he needs regular walks. This isn’t all about you, Grace.’

Grace had slowly realized that she had been behaving incredibly selfishly and had immersed herself in a lonely world of her own making. She had given Lucia every cause to be worried about her progressively withdrawn friend.

When Buddy had arrived everything had changed. From the moment the big dog snuggled up to Grace it was a done deal. Buddy alerted her to every hazard, and by doing so opened up Grace’s world. Lucia, as usual, had gone overboard, enthusing and saying that as Buddy was already chipped and inoculated, and had his very own doggy passport, there was no excuse for Grace not to go travelling.

As if! Grace had thought at the time. Though now, thanks to Buddy, her confidence was building daily.

‘What is your problem?’ Grace demanded fondly as Buddy continued to growl. She relaxed when she heard the voice of her mentor, Elias Silver. Elias had used to supply the club with wine, which was how they’d met, and he’d offered her a job when no one else would, encouraging Grace to retrain as sommelier. ‘Elias must be meeting someone,’ she commented, stroking Buddy’s silky ears. ‘You’ll have to get used to people you don’t know now we’re both working full-time.’

Grace had barely returned to her office when Elias came in, full of suppressed excitement.

‘The new wines I’ve just been tasting are exceptional.’

‘And?’ Grace prompted, sensing there was more to come.

She grew increasingly uneasy as the silence lengthened.

‘I’ve known about this vineyard for years,’ Elias started telling her, in a tone that suggested he was choosing his words carefully. ‘I was planning for us to go to Argentina together, Grace—’

She did a mental double-take. This was the first she’d heard of it.

Argentina—so far away. And impossible for her to visit now she was blind.

Argentina—the home of the Acostas and Nacho—

‘Don’t look so shocked,’ Elias insisted. ‘You know I’ve been slowing down recently …’

Grace’s thoughts whirled. Elias being less than fit was a terrifying prospect. He was a dear friend.

‘You’ll have to go to Argentina without me,’ he said.

‘Sorry?’ she breathed in a shocked voice.

‘If there was any alternative, believe me, I would suggest it, Grace, but my doctor has insisted I must rest.’

‘Then you must rest, and I’ll look after you,’ Grace insisted.

‘The business can’t afford for both of us to be away at the same time, and I’m not going to risk losing out on top-quality wine to a competitor. You have to go, Grace. Who else can I ask? Who else can I trust?’

‘But what if I let you down?’

‘You won’t,’ Elias assured her. ‘I believe in you, Grace. I always have. You must go to Argentina to check this vineyard and its wine production for me.’

She was filled with concern for Elias and fear at the thought of failing him. ‘I want to help, but—’

‘Don’t say But I’m blind,’ Elias warned her. ‘Don’t ever say that, Grace, or everything you have achieved since losing your sight will be lost.’

‘And you’ve been there for me from the start.’

‘Yes, I have,’ he said pointedly.

When he had first heard about her illness Elias had sought her out with an unconditional offer of help, saying it was his way of repaying Grace for all her small kindnesses over the years.

‘You know how short we are on Argentinian wine,’ he said. ‘Would you have me turn customers away?’

‘No, of course not. But do I really need to go to Argentina? Can’t we find someone else to go?’

‘No,’ Elias said flatly. ‘Apart from the little matter of trust, I think you need to go to Argentina to prove you can do it, Grace. It’s the next step for you. And if you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me. I’m trying to make a businesswoman out of you, as well as a connoisseur of wine, and you must always satisfy yourself that things are what they seem to be before you place an order. It won’t be so bad,’ he encouraged. ‘You’ll only be there a month or so—’

‘A month!’ Grace exclaimed, horrorstruck. Just when she’d been about ready to say maybe, Elias had moved the goalposts.

‘And you must leave right away, to catch the harvest at its best,’ he continued. ‘I’ll need a full report from you, Grace.’

One of the things she loved about Elias was that he never made any allowances for her being blind. But this was too much. This wasn’t the ‘next step’—it was a huge leap across an unknowable chasm.

‘But you know I can’t travel—’

‘I know nothing of the sort,’ Elias argued. ‘You can get about London, can’t you?’

‘Only because I have Buddy to help me—’

‘Exactly,’ Elias interrupted. ‘Grace, I can’t trust anyone else to do this. Are you saying I wasted my money training you?’

‘Of course not. I can’t imagine what I’d be doing now if you hadn’t helped me. You know how grateful I am.’

‘I don’t want your gratitude. I want you out there doing the job you’ve been trained to do.’

‘But I haven’t left the country since—’

‘Since your sight was reduced to looking at the world as if through the wrong end of a telescope? Yes, I know that. But I thought you liked a challenge, Grace?’

‘I do,’ Grace insisted, remembering the staff at the rehabilitation centre telling her she must keep pushing the boundaries—but not as far as Argentina, surely?

‘I can’t travel,’ Elias said flatly, ‘and taking on a new supplier is a huge risk for the business. We have to be sure these wines are as good as they promise to be.’

‘Surely sending me in your place is an even bigger risk?’

‘Grace, my father taught me, his father taught him, and now I’ve trained you, with many patient tasting sessions—’

‘Patient?’ Grace interrupted, starting to smile.