“Seriously? Oh, Tess. I never knew that about you. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. Honestly, I was a hot mess. Thought I was having a heart attack.” She was quiet for a few minutes. Then she said, “It seems like long ago—a different life, back when I was single and living in the city, before all this happened.” She gestured to encompass the vineyards, the husband and family. “I was obsessed with my career. A career I was so, so good at.”

She used to work as a provenance expert for a high-end antiquities auction house—that much Natalie knew. In fact, Tess had helped Natalie’s mother in valuing some of the rare books at Lost and Found. “I’m pretty sure I drove people batty,” Tess admitted. “I know for sure I drove myself batty.”

“I can’t even picture that.”

“It happened. I survived. And I’m not trying to scare you. I’m not saying you’re dealing with anything like anxiety, but for me, lying in the ER, convinced I was dying, was a wake-up call.”

“I’m woke. Too woke, according to people at work.” She told Tess about Mandy’s habit of making mistakes, and her own constant vigilance and extra work to correct them.

“Let me get this straight,” said Tess. “This woman screws up on a daily basis, and you cover up for her. Not that you owe her anything, but why would you help her out all the time?”

“Because I’m her supervisor. And because I can.”

“Well, here’s a question for you: What would happen if you stopped covering for Mandy and let her fail? What then?”

“I’ve asked myself that many times,” Natalie admitted. “It would suck for the whole company. If I hadn’t fixed things just this afternoon, we would have lost the account and the firm’s reputation would suffer. So would mine, since I’m her supervisor. Eventually, she’d get fired. And she does need her job. She’s single, raising a couple of young kids.”

“And how is that your responsibility?” Tess asked.

“Because I—” Natalie paused. “It’s not.”

“So …?”

Natalie swirled the wine in her glass. Wine was such a beautiful thing, complex and rich and delicious. The whole company she worked for had been founded solely on the basis of this fine substance, bringing comfort and joy to those who knew how to savor it.

Yet for Natalie, there was no joy. Just a job. A steady, lucrative job with benefits. A pension plan. Everything her mom had done without all her life. “Not bailing Mandy out when I know exactly how to do it seems manipulative. I don’t want to be the agent of her downfall.”

“I get that, and I get where you’re coming from. We were both raised by single moms. Not a dad in sight. Did our moms fall down?”