The glue that holds the five novels together is the
friendship of Rick, Leti, Teresa and Erin. The excerpt below from Chapter 15 in
the Winning Certificate shows the
bond that they have with each other.
"Do we have to walk down that winding path to get to
the restaurant?" Erin said as she looked down at the tree and flower lined
walkway to the Shadowbrook Restaurant. "It's a long way down."
"Come over here," Rick said. "We can take the
cable car."
Rick, Erin, Teresa, and Leti all squeezed into the tiny red cable car to descend the seventy feet to the restaurant entrance. According to the sign near the door, this tiny car was actually a hillavator installed in 1958 and was the only inclined elevator servicing a restaurant in the United States. After a two-minute ride, they would come to the main entrance where the bar was located and then they could walk to the four dining rooms of the restaurant, which were below it, the last one opening on to a patio on the banks of Soquel creek.
They entered the Rock Room, the restaurant's bar. The stunning back wall covered in stone featured a walk-in fireplace complete with ten-foot ceilings and skylights, which revealed the waterfalls, flowers, and trees located on the walkway to the restaurant. To the right of the entry way was a bar made of redwood milled from antique wine vats. The wood paneling and the hard wood floors provided elegance and warmth to the room. After being given a pencil, a tasting menu, and being seated, the waitress brought four two-ounce glasses of wine from the Santa Cruz Mountain Winery and four appetizers that complemented the wine. The winemaker circulated among the crowd telling about the wines.
"I like this 2004 Branciforte Creek Pinot more than I like the 2004 Bailey's Pinot," Teresa said. "It's so light and smooth and the salmon mousse appetizer, is to die for."
"I can't taste the difference between the two,"
Erin said. "However, I can taste the difference between the appetizers and
my favorite is the barbecued ribs."
Rick tasted the 2004 Merlot and the 2004 Durif. He knew that
Durif was another name for Petit Syrah. In France and Australia, Durif is the
preferred name of this grape.
"This winemaker also makes brandy," Rick said.
"I had the chance to visit his facility up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He
has a copper still that was made in France around 1900. He's using his
vineyard's grapes to make several different brandies."
"Let's do a toast," Leti interjected because she
was sick of hearing about wine.
"We've been together for twenty-seven years," Rick
said. "Let's toast to our great friendship."
"It's been a long twenty-seven years," Leti said.
"Remember how we helped figure out who burned down the administration
building and killed the principal and the time we helped destroy a smuggling
ring run by the Chinese?"
"And we all went through personal crises," Teresa
added. "Rick lost his wife in a car accident. Leti became the godmother of
the daughter of a girl who was trying to get out of the gang lifestyle and she
became a grandmother when her son had a baby. Erin had a bout with some
psychological problems and is doing well on her meds and I've been separated
from my husband."
"Don't forget we have spent twenty-seven years helping
kids," Erin said. "That's the most important part."
"And I taught Romeo
and Juliet eighty-one times," Rick said laughing. "And I saw
Leonard Whiting's naked buns eighty-one times in the Zefferelli movie of the
play."
"Let's toast Leonard Whiting's buns and our
friendship," Leti said holding her glass high.
They talked, ate, ordered full glasses of wine, and drank
for at least another hour. Rick thought about the old hippies that lived in his
apartment building when he was in college. Even though they were over
sixty-five, they were always affectionate with each other. They believed that
love multiplies and since there was plenty of love to go around there was no
need for jealously. Rick realized that he had a special love for the Hefty
Trio.