I Said Yes

Sadness and Excitement too!

Morning came early and it was time to dress…pack up, grab the kids and head back to Seattle. Michael and I both got a bit weepy when the time came. I knew he had much to deal with over the next several days, and other than his tantrums, he really hadn’t let it all out. I was worried about how that would happen but, sadly, I really needed to get back and get a handle on what was happening at the restaurant and get prepared for the upcoming busy season. Easter was a few weeks away and then we would be full-blown into spring, summer and patio season. That meant setting up events, music, dealing with several large catering jobs on the books and…well…lots of stuff.

The next few weeks seemed somewhat normal…strange in a way after having become so used to being around Michael…either here or there…but things were also somewhat settled. We talked a couple of times every day…I spoke with Diane frequently and it seemed like Corey was in touch with Chris and Nolan often so I kind of had my finger on the pulse of what was happening in Walla Walla. I would talk to Michael in the mornings and in the evenings and get periodic text messages from him. Some were sort of weird…I never really knew what his mood was until I heard his voice that evening and, often, he had clearly been to the bar by the time we had talked. Every week or so I would touch base with Chris to check on things and I did talk to Diane regularly and, neither of them had expressed any thing about Michael that concerned me other than saying he was back to his routine.

We got through Spring Break and Easter week at the restaurant. Crazy busy for us…setting all kinds of sales records for the restaurant so Corey and I looked good and the owners were very happy.

Diane let me know that the winery was going to be participating in the annual Washington Wine Week- “Taste Washington” trade show in a few weeks and that there was a Memorial gathering for Dave on May 1st at, of all places, the Metropolitan Grill. That was the spot we had gotten the gift card from for Dave and Diane. They never had the chance to use it so the location for the memorial was bittersweet for Diane. She said it was going to be a celebration…more like a party in honor of Dave that would be attended by mostly industry professionals, distributors, vendors etc. She did say she and Michael and Chris were coming. They had secured a booth for the 3-day trade show and asked if we wanted to join to provide food at their booth. Of course, I jumped at that opportunity…not only because it was Michael and Diane but also because it would give us a great chance to showcase the restaurant, our culinary team and catering program.

Michael and I talked one day, at length, about the trade show. We both agreed that it would be somewhat silly to try and pull together a quick weekend when the show was just a few weeks away. I asked him if he could come down and spend some time before hand…or stay a few days after and his response was what you would expect…kind of in the “Fuck Yeah” vein so I was excited that I had that to look forward to. The show would be a lot of work…long days leading up to it and long days during but I was really looking forward to the gang…well the Amigos…being able to hang out together and, as I thought about it, I was really, really excited to get several days with Michael…however that worked out.

Corey, Chef Rob and I began working on our stuff to prepare and present. Rob had control of the menu and decided he would do some sort of Italian finger foods…and a different one each day so I was content with just letting him run with that. The days went by and soon 2 weeks had passed, and we were on the verge of the big show. Michael decided that he was going to come down the Wednesday before as the show ran Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He was planning on staying to help us break down Sunday and then he and I would have Monday thru Wednesday together also. I was really jazzed about that plan…A whole week together…I mean there was going to be a lot of work but, for the most part, we would almost be together 24/7.