Saturday, July 11, 2009

Entry #61

Sunday Wine
by Carla Wert


Evening rays of sun find the crystal wine goblet, creating a palette of dancing pinks, reds, and scarlet on pale gold walls. Emile Chenard has poured himself and his late wife, Rose, a glass of Sunday wine from Chateau Ausone. The earthy essence of berries evokes memories. It is his ritual, pouring them each a full goblet, and then slowly sipping his wine and memories. For Rose, a goblet untouched.

Emile slowly moves upstairs, his mind alive with a young Rose, laughing as they bicycle off to Collioure beaches on the Sea of Lion. At a small alley café with only two tables they order wine and cheese; losing themselves in one another. Ah, Rose in a pale sundress, the breeze blowing against her, the waves creeping at her feet. The day ends as a smile.

Rembrandt, the white Persian cat, jumps onto one of the chairs and then up to the table. Sniffing the goblet of wine, he curls up in a position of guardianship.

The sun again rises above the sea. Emile returns downstairs, finding Rose’s goblet empty. He smiles. The words In Vito Veritas, ‘in wine there is truth’ come to mind. He gently picks up the empty tulip shaped goblet and takes it to the kitchen. As he passes the chair where Rembrandt is sprawled on his back, feet in the air, he gently pats the white head and is rewarded with a gentle purr—followed by a boisterous hiccup.

16 comments:

Laurel said...

I love Rembrandt in this piece! It was sad but a peaceful ending. Thanks. I enjoyed this.

The Preacherman said...

Kind of sad but Rembrandt puts a smile back on.

This is terrific writing. Enjoyed it a lot - mind you I love cats so maybe I'm biased eh? ;-)

Four Dinners

JR's Thumbprints said...

Reincarnation at its finest. I like the happy, feel-good ending.

Karen said...

Very cute! I like the unexpectedness of this one.

Chris Eldin said...

Sad, but also endearing and hopeful. I love that you added Rembrandt, and I love your romantic descriptions!
Nicely drawn!

Catherine Vibert said...

This was a sweet picture. An old man still in love with his wife and reminiscing on all those years back. The cat was a perfect touch. Thank god for cats! Even if they to have strange tastes for wine.

Aniket Thakkar said...

You have all the cat lovers rooting for you.

Vivid expressions there... very well written.

laughingwolf said...

lovely :)

Sarah Laurenson said...

Sad with a great laugh at the end. But also a wonderful picture of his love. Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Sad at first but ended happy!
Nice story...

PJD said...

Damn cat! Same thing happens at my house.

Seriously, this is a pleasant and charming vignette, with lovely word choices. Poetic.

Unknown said...

Beautiful and richly visual and lyrical writing. Beautifully done, I very much enjoyed reading this piece.

ItsBewteenTheLines said...

Sad with humor always a good mix. really enjoyed it!

Terri said...

I really enjoyed this little peep into Emile's life; sad, yet time has healed, too. Nicely done.

Jade L Blackwater said...

This is a wonderful read - I agree with Absolute Vanilla, I love the lyricism and texture of your writing. This piece reminds me of looking inside a portrait.

Anonymous said...

A charming story. A hiccuping cat, indeed! Thank you for the gentle vision.

Welcome to The Forties Club!!