Edge Teetering

Brian sensed movement at the door and looked around to see that the old man he’d previously seen in the vineyard was standing there, looking at them. He was several inches shorter than either Brian or Dinos, even if he weren’t hunched over a bit, and was stocky. He was ugly as a gargoyle. He looked to be at least sixty. He stood there only for a couple of seconds and then withdrew.

“Who the fuck?” Brian exclaimed.

“That’s Leonidas. You’ll be calling him Leo.”

“Why the fuck would I be calling him anything?” Brian said, breathless from the exertion of bearing back as Dinos thrust forward and up in the fuck.

“He works for you. He takes care of your vineyard. You won’t have to do anything but drink the wine. He works the other vineyards on this hill too. And, in turn, he lives in your basement.”

“My basement?”

“Yes, underneath us, opening to the hillside under the terrace. In old times it was where they sheltered their livestock. There’s a flat down there now, and a wine cellar.