J-Dawg and I were as happy as we could be (except for fighting the distance between us). At this point, we had only been together for one month, but when we spent time together it was like having five dates in one, so we were pretty far along in the relationship. After that frightful night, we became even closer and realized how important we were to one another.
For a couple of weeks prior to the wrong-way accident, J-Dawg and I had been discussing how neat it'd be to attend a wine festival. We knew there were a couple going on during Memorial Day Weekend, and had planned on attending. There was also one in southern NM, but we opted to avoid the heat and dirt, and attend the one with grass --great decision-making skills, right? Logic. Besides, were already at my folks and didn't want to head back south. (Little did we know, the good tasting wine would be at the other wine fest! Dangit!)
Although I was hesitant about attending an activity involving alcohol, both J-Dawg and my parents reassured me that what happened that night wasn't my fault. We ate a large lunch and decided wine sipping would be enjoyable. We arrived at the entrance into Balloon Fiesta Park, paid a hefty admission cost, and was then given small wine glasses with the Abq Wine Fest logo on it. J-Dawg said, "Well, I'm glad that for that price, that we got something out of it!" I agreed. I love J-Dawg's financial reasoning. His wallet doesn't squeak when he opens it, but he is a money savvy.
When we walked in, the entire park was completely packed and lines were incredibly, unreasonably long. So much for avoiding the crowds. And there were tons of children! Surprised, we wondered why parents would take their children out into the blazing heat, and make them watch people drink wine. Poor kids. We took our glasses, stood in line (for-ev-er...), and began the taste testing. Too dry, too sour, too syrupy. Hmmm... maybe we just weren't wine connoisseurs.
We saw the Plum Loco booth, and I was ecstatic because I knew it'd be sure to please. Of course, it had the longest line. While waiting, there was a group behind us of girls about my age just a-yappin'. One was complaining about how full she was because she ate, not one, but TWO gluten-free pancakes for breakfast. That was the highlight of my day to see J-Dawg nearly shoot wine out of his nose, fighting back the laughter. Oh no, not TWO gluten-free pancakes!!!
We got to the front of the line and was excited to see all the flavors they had. Not just Plum Loco and Summer Peach, but Voluptuous (Strikingly sweet, this Moscato is bursting with the flavor of rich melon stacked with plump summer berries and hints of ripe peaches) and Triple Berry Bliss (an enticing red wine blended with the all natural juice of three of the world's foremost super fruits-- tart cranberries, sweet blackberries and tropical açai berries).We had about a sip of each, and that was all it took. We purchased bottles of the ones we knew we couldn't get elsewhere.
We were grateful for the Plum Loco booth, because we didn't have such wonderful tastings at the next booth. I will not mention any names, but I do recall asking to taste one of their cherry wines that looked and sounded delectable. He poured it into my glass, and I marveled at its beautiful color, somewhat opaque but nearly looked metallic. I took a swig, swished it around in my mouth for a moment, then, as quick as possible,went to the side of their tent (where no one could see), and spewed it out everywhere. I then wiped my tongue with my shirt.
J-Dawg's look on his face expressed 'it can't be that bad!' I handed him my glass, and after tasting it, he reacted exactly the same. "It tastes like burned electronics!" (explains why it was metallic in color) he sputtered out with his tongue hanging out. Although this description may be hard to fathom, if you had tasted this wine, you would completely agree! After we regrouped (and drank lots of water and ate some food to get that awful taste out), we decided to call it a day, thinking there was no way we could handle another similar experience.
That night we played Rummikub with my mom, and nearly busted a rib laughing so hard. My mom really got to see the warm and funny side of J-Dawg that night, and really took him. My mom and I are cheaters very considerate with one another when we play board games. Its more like Go-Fish for us, "Oh you need this? Here you go." I worried J-Dawg may get upset with our board game behavior. Just as I began to wonder if he was crazy competitive like my exes, and would stop at nothing to win, I felt him touch my knee... holding the tile I needed. It isn't that any of us believe that cheating is okay, but I realized just then that J-Dawg has a heart just like the one I got from my mom. If you love 'em, be there for 'em.
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