Page 41 of Tears of Gold

“Shower with me…” he pulls on my hand.

“No way! We will never be ready.”

“I’m always ready, for you.” Chuckling, he pulls me by our joined hands towards the staircase.

“Eli!”

“Just three minutes.”

I fan myself down. “And to wash? Wow, you make such promises.”

When the doorbell rings, we are both rubbing at our hair with towels. It wasn’t three minutes. It was thirty, and it was bloody divine. No one does a shower like Eli.

He grins and it’s as dirty as hell. “You get dressed and I’ll go let Jeremy in.”

I shake my head in mock dismay. “You are incorrigible.” I can hear him laugh all the way down the stairs.

Heading to the dressing area which is now full of our clothes, though mainly Eli’s ridiculously expensive suits, I flick through for something to wear. Choosing black, I pick out a chiffon sheer shirt which I just slide over my black lace bra and a pair of black skinny jeans. Although I’m at home and I know Eli is walking around barefoot, I pull out some heels in a vibrant red and slip them on. Big silver hoops in my ears complete the outfit and I pull my hair to the side and then plait it, still wet, over my shoulder. I don’t look in the mirror.

I edge down the stairs already regretting my choice of shoes and follow the sound of voices coming from the kitchen.

“Hi.” I walk in and go straight to Jeremy, pecking a kiss on his cheek. “How are you?” He looks okay, although tired. His eyes are shadowed and his cheeks are slightly hollower than when I last saw him, but he’s not a complete wreck—I mean he’s shaved, so I guess that’s something.

“I’m getting there.” He shrugs, a little helplessly. “Some days are better than others.”

“Sure, I can imagine. Are you back to work?”

“Yes, I went back last week. It seemed silly waiting around at home, expecting him to come back. Anyway, the kids take my mind off everything.”

I chuckle, heading over to where Eli is uncorking some wine and I grab some glasses from the side. I’m sure there are better glasses in the house, probably crystal, but these are fine. “I’m sure they do. I remember all too well what we were like in high school. I think hellish covers it.” I remember all too well what I was like, but I lock it down, slamming the lid on the memory box.

Eli offers Jeremy a glass of the chilled white which he takes and sips. “Mm, that’s nice.”

“Peter loved good wine,” Eli says. “I knew there would be a good stash here. I thought we could open one of his reds with dinner.”

For a moment Jeremy’s face clouds with wistfulness and I want to stamp on Eli’s feet, but then I turn to him and see his own expression. Maybe talking is what they need. Talking about Peter.

“He kept most of his collection here because we didn’t have space at the house.”

I chuckle and take a sip of my own. “Exactly how big is the collection?”

Eli grins. “Come, I’ll show you.” He walks towards the door which goes towards an old-fashioned pantry now used as a glorified utility room and grabs a set of keys from a hook on the edge of a wooden shelf. I watch in amazement when, in the pantry, he lifts a wooden hatch door in the floor. A door I wouldn’t ever have known was there. Reaching down, he flicks on a light switch and points at some stairs.

“A cellar?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “A wine vault.”

We head down the stairs and the air is musty, but the temperature stays strangely buoyant. I’m expecting it to get colder, but it doesn’t. A string of bare lightbulbs illuminates a cavernous space which must run under most of the house. Wide brick pillars support the structure above. Along the walls, and on shelves set at equal distances, much like aisles in a supermarket is wine. Wine, wine, and more wine.

“Holy crap.”

Eli laughs and brushes some dust off the nearest bottle. “It’s not all Peter’s, obviously. It’s the family collection. I believe the Faircloughs used to have their own wine merchant within the city who would look out for good vintages and make investments.”

“So, while other people invest on the stock market, the Faircloughs invest in wine?”

Eli arches an eyebrow. “Oh, we do that, too.”

“Well, that’s good. The most I’ve ever invested in is my flat, and I don’t even live in it anymore.”