The fellow that most knew as Jon Kaye heard a knock from the front door, and almost immediately thereafter heard the voice of his wife call out to him. "Jon, get the door! I'm trying to get the children to lay down for their nap." Jon rose and turned off his computer monitor; he had been enjoying a video of a risque sort, taking advantage of his wife's distraction - she strongly disapproved of "smutty entertainment", claiming it was far too likely to give Jon "annoying" ideas about how to pass the time of day. He rose from his comfy leather home office chair, and pulled his comfly, overly large t-shirt down over the telltale bulge of his basketball shorts before heading to the front door. He peered through the glass of the door, and opened it with a welcoming smile.
On the doorstep stood the next-door neighbor's daughter, who was living with her parents while attending college. He had not met her in the three years they had been neighbors; he had met her parents sporadically, enough to wave to during those inevitable run-ins while fetching groceries or performing yard work.
He had also seen her, but only at a distance. His welcoming grin was more because of what he had seen of her- the neighbors had a pool with a sauna, and the daughter had often used it during the summer months. Jon had discovered that the master bedroom overlooked the pool, and when he heard her swimming he would often go to the window and enjoy her sun-bathing her small, dark blue bikini. Earlier in the summer, she had been joined by a fellow who appeared to be much of her age, but he had not been around for a month or so. She also had the habit of wearing that same swim suit when she washed her father's SUV and her own VW beetle. Jon blinked his eyes, clearing the visions of her wet and soapy from his mind, and said "Hello!"
If anything, his friendly tone made her smile even wider. "Hi! I'm Kira, from next door? I have brought you and your wife a treat from our garden!" She held up a large wicker picnic basket, as if she needed to prove her contention.
"Please, come in out of the beastly heat!" Jon said, taking a step back to allow her to step inside. Kira had been dressed for the summer weather, and wore a black tank top with a fantasy character - perhaps a fierce orc warrior? - on the front, and a pair of loose-fitting burgundy terry cloth shorts that came barely halfway down her shapely thighs. Her dark brunette hair was tied back into a loose ponytail.
"May I get you something to drink? Sparkling water, perhaps. Or some black cherry lemonade?" Jon asked.
"Is that Uncle Mike's Black Cherry Lemonade?" she asked, curiously. "I've wanted to try that for awhile, but my parents... they don't allow alcohol in the house; we're Mormon."
"Are you over 21?" Jon questioned good-humoredly.
"Oh yes... I can legally have it, so you won't be corrupting a minor." She laughed.
"Well, perhaps not in a minor way," he said, enjoying the giggle his pun invoked. "Tell you what... I was going to have one and you can try a sip."
"But what if I like it?" Kira asked.
"Then you'll have to charm me out of it," Jon said. "That shouldn't be too hard, for a beauty such as yourself." Jon enjoyed making people blush, and her skin turned a satisfying shade of pink. "So... what's in the basket?" Jon asked as he took a bottle of the Lemonade from the refrigerator, opened it, and filled a pilsner glass.
"Oh, grapes! We grow carrots, red and orange peppers, and green beans. We also grow pumpkins for Halloween, which become pumpkin pies for the Fall. And we grow grapes on a trellis against the far fence!" said Kira." So my Dad thought that perhaps you might like some grapes!"
"That is very generous!" he said, as Kira opened the basket, and held out a bunch of the sweet fruit. "Oh, do you know what kind of grapes these are?" When she shook her head, he said "Those are Agiorgitiko grapes, my favorite - sweet and similar in black cherries, in fact! My grandparents used to grow those back home for wine, in Greece, before my Father moved us here to the states, when I was a kid."
Jon and Kira sat at the kitchen table.
"Really?" Kira said. "Your parents made wine?"
"Well, it was kind of a family hobby... we have a big family back in Greece, and we would all pick the grapes, prepare them, and put them into casks for aging. We made only enough to sell a little in the village, but everyone loved the wine, and we all enjoyed the making...It got quite messy, you see... and kids love to make a mess, and the older kids like me enjoyed the clean-up almost as much," Jon winked as he made his confession.
