I Said Yes

Opening Day

I must admit that, while getting ready, I had a certain “spring” in my step. As much as I had been letting my personal anxiety rule me the past 24 hours…I was really excited to be participating in this trade show…hanging out with all of my industry friends…being able to showcase my restaurant and staff…and...oh, who am I kidding…I was most excited to have Michael close and there with me. We both showered and dressed…I took Scooter out and left a note for the neighbor who was going to come over and check on him…and we were on our way to the convention center via Uber. I remember, during the short drive, that I couldn’t help but smile. It was a beautiful morning…in more ways than one…and I found myself thinking that I could totally get used to this. It was almost like we were commuting to work together and, as we held hands in the back seat, I also thought about what the long-term picture might be. I recall, too, that I thought a lot about us being together and even what it would mean for us to be a family…not forgetting when Michael brought up the kid thing. Before I knew it, we were being dropped off and heading into the center…I guessed those thoughts about us, and family would have to wait a bit.

The place was a zoo and as we moved over towards the spot where our booth was and Michael constantly ran into people he knew. I was flabbergasted when the last group we met, members of the Wine Commission Board, struck up a conversation with us and Michael introduced me as his partner…PARTNER…and then I realized he must have meant business partner…but wait…everyone knew his partner was Diane…so could he have meant PARTNER PARTNER…and he was introducing me that way?? We moved on towards the booth and I pulled him aside for a second…

“What was that”

“What…?”

“Your partner??”

What are you talking about?”

“You introduced me as your partner”

“Uh...is that not what you are?”

“Partner Partner?...?”

“Uh…yeah”

“I thought you didn’t want that to be out in the open…”

“Where have you been? I asked you to marry me…do you still not get it?”

“But you said…”

“Is that not what you are?”

“Well…yes”

“Then get over it ya dork”

“Ok…I guess I am over it”

And I let it go…I was walking behind him and noticed he had quite the bounce in his step and I had to smile. This guy was evolving right in front of my eyes…and all of a sudden it was him taking care of me and not the other way around…meaning he was concerned about what was going on with me…and he was planning a future…and he was telling people about us…and he wasn’t worried about the small stuff (for the most part)…Who was this guy and what did they do with my Michael???

We got to the booth and Chef Rob and Chris were already there and Chris had already, for the most part, had the wine display with all the swag from the winery displayed. Rob and I unpacked all the necessary supplies for the food he was going to cook, and I began the work of setting up our swag. Basically, anyone who came by the booth would get a tiny taste of three wines and would get a small plate of the food that Chef had prepared for that day…one item…but everything was designed to pair and go together. Chef had decided, on day one, to do Caprese Skewers…it was important for the attendees to be able to carry a glass of wine and the food so he figured the skewers would work…small heirloom cherry tomatoes with chunks of buffalo mozzarella cheese all marinated in a basil and raspberry vinaigrette. It was a great idea…and the skewers were all prepped at the restaurant so mess and no fuss.

Day one of the event was primarily designed to be attended by the press, wine commission members, distributors and wholesalers. Judging for wine would take place all day and it was, for the most part, a lower-key part of the event with attendance less than the following three days. Because of the wine judging, Michael, Diane and Chris had some minor anxiety going on. They had submitted wines in 6 different categories for evaluation…3 of which were entries in categories they had never participated in before. Michael was in a great mood, but I could tell he was nervous. On top of that, he was participating in a winemaker’s seminar or panel where he and 3 other winemakers were going to lead a “Wine-making 101” discussion panel. Overall, attendance was expected to be around 1000 attendees for the day. On top of everything else going on, the Seattle Restaurant and Wine Association was hosting a memorial gather for Dave and the family at the Metropolitan Grill that evening…so…needless to say…it was going to be a long, long day for all of us.

I was lucky to have Chef Rob there with us…he is a natural comedian and loves being out of the kitchen for these things. He was completely in his element with the guests and incredibly hands on when it came to talking about the food and how it paired with the wines…he had a great sense of humor and was a great ambassador for the restaurant…and he was no slouch in being able to talk wine too. His staff had prepped 1500 of the skewers and we were ready to go when the doors opened at 10am.

Michael was bouncing all over the venue and Diane was fluttering around gabbing to people like always. Both seemed to be in their element and perfectly content leaving Chris to greet guests at the booth. Before I knew it, we had been “open” for 3 hours, so I decided to excuse myself from “booth duty” and go wander. I really wanted to scout out some of the other vendors just to get a sense of what others were serving and how things were presented and displayed. I was at Nolan’s booth chatting it up when Michael appeared behind me. I felt a rush of air on my neck and then a big old kiss on the side of my face with a little butt grab mixed in. Nolan just laughed and told Michael to “get a room”

“Lucky for me…I have one…and can’t wait to use it later!”