I moved onto her oversize couch as she continued to stand, clearly too wound up by everything I’d just told her to sit still. Her sofa was the kind of worn-in piece that hugged your body the second you sat down in it. Reaching for a blanket, I tucked my legs underneath my butt and covered myself up as she stood with her hands on her hips, listening to me talk. Her eyes filled with moisture when I told her what had happened with my dad. She’d been a fixture at our house, growing up, so it really hurt her to hear this part of the story, especially when she hadn’t known anything about the threats up until the other day when I confessed them to her. I’d done a spectacular job of keeping some familial things to myself.

“I didn’t believe you when you told me before. I mean, I believed you, but I figured that you were exaggerating. Does that make me a bad friend?” She pulled out one of her barstools and sat down.

“No, but I’m not really the exaggerating type,” I said, a little defensive.

“I know you’re not. It’s just that the idea of your dad kicking you out is hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s too insane. Too irrational. Not that your dad isn’t crazy, but actually making you leave your home is.”

“I know.”

“Where was your mom during all this?”

“I have no idea. I don’t even know if she was home or not.”

“She’s not going to just let your dad do this, Julia. Do you think?”

I honestly had no idea what my mom would do once she found out. “I never thought my dad would really kick me out in the first place, so I’m not sure. I mean, does she stand by her man, or does she tell him he’s being unreasonable?” I offered a noncommittal shrug. “I guess it could go either way.”

“This really is Romeo and Juliet come to life,” she said.

I couldn’t even disagree this time or joke back that it was nothing like that.

“I guess you’re not allowed to go to work?” Jeanine knew that the winery was my life. It was both of our livelihoods. “Wait, does this mean I’m out of a job, too?” Her face pinched with pain, and I realized that I didn’t have an answer for her. “Not that it matters. I just need to know if I’m supposed to show up tomorrow or not.”

“I honestly have no idea. But, yeah, you should definitely show up. If my dad wants you gone, make him say it to your face,” I said, my spirit feeling a little less weak and a little more fired up.