Rei's last day on Earth - 5

Whether you write a single book or a whole series, to make it realistic, you need a backstory for each of the main characters. When the time came to write Rome's Evolution, I finally had an opportunity to blend together all the little tidbits I had sprinkled throughout my novels regarding Rei Bierak's past into a single, self-contained intermezzo. It's a seven part series and here is Part 5:

     Rei’s eyes opened wide. “Ice wine?” he asked incredulously. “How did you…”
     Raul smiled and leaned forward. “I may not have learned all the ways of your country yet but I am very familiar with how the black market works.”
     Ruth set the tray down and picked up the beautiful cobalt blue bottle. “It’s from a winery on Lake Keuka in New York State,” she said. “With all the global warming, Raul tells me they only had three bottles left in the whole world.”
     “Raul!” Rei said disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t have.”
     “Well, I did,” he said. “It is my pleasure. It is one of the perks of being a doctor. You may as well enjoy it.”
     Ruth made great ceremony out of pouring the slightly thickened pale yellow liquid from the sapphire bottle. Sally had contributed by putting the flutes in the freezer earlier to chill. Despite his protests, Rei had to admit the smuggled ice wine was exquisite. They took turns toasting each other and carrying on about a variety of topics until the bottle was long gone.
     A little while later, Sally stood up and motioned to Rei to follow her out onto the deck. She walked to the railing and rested her elbows on the composite material crafted to look like weather-beaten wood. Rei came out and stood next to her, leaning up against the side, facing her. Tall bushes, co-mingled with gnarled trees formed a buffer between Sally’s house and the neighbors on the far side of the woods. Fireflies flickered in the trees in an asynchronous pattern. Global warming had messed up their mating cycle so thoroughly, they came out year round trying to find a partner. It was an odd but beautiful sight.
     “It’s so weird,” Sally said glancing up to look at the three-quarter Moon. “I don’t even know how to feel. After today, none of us will ever see you again.”
     “It is weird,” Rei said. “For me, it’s kind of bittersweet. I mean, I have an adventure ahead of me but everyone I know, my parents, my friends, you…” Sally turned to look at Rei. He stooped down slightly and stared into her dark brown eyes intently. “I know you’re married to Raul now,” he said, “and I wish you two nothing but happiness but still…”
     Sally snapped her fingers up to her lips. That stopped Rei from continuing. “There’s no sense in rehashing the past,” she said. “You wanted to go. I didn’t. It’s that simple. My father was thrilled to get you into the program after I told him about you. He said they would always have room for someone as brilliant as you.”

One of my favorite wineries is Hunt Country Vineyards on Lake Keuka in the Finger Lakes region of New York. So I gave them a shout-out. Also, one of my most favorite memories was standing on my deck at my house in Glen Mills with some friends and watching the lightning bugs light up a whole forest in waves of light. It was spectacular so it made into Rome's Evolution. I also wanted to explain why Rei was no longer with Sally, since he loved her so.

Don't you think it would be weird to spend an evening with a person who you knew you would literally never see them again? It seemed weird to me so I made the characters acknowledge that. Tomorrow, Part 6.