Red, red wine

Clunk. Clunk.

I smiled.

Such wonderful sounds to enjoy while being a passenger in the car.

Clunk. Clunk.

This one was a new one!

Clunk. Clunk.

Jase gave me A Look.

‘You didn’t put those wine bottles in the boot, did you?’

‘Er … yeah?’

Clunk. Clunk.

‘So that’s what that noise is. They’re rolling around in the boot.’

‘Sorry! I thought there was only one bottle in that bag!’

‘No.’

‘Oh.’ I paused. It’s a nice sound though!’

The Look again. 

Clunk. Clunk. Clink.

We were about 35 minutes away from home. Plenty of time to enjoy this sound. I smiled peacefully and leant back in the chair. Meanwhile, Jase sat forward and fervently concentrated on trying not to brake suddenly. In peak-hour, stop-start traffic.

Clunk. Clunk. Clink.

We were only five minutes away from home when we both noticed the silence coming from the back of the car. Where had the sound gone?

I frowned.

Jase frowned.

‘That can’t be good.’

I bit my lip nervously and waited. One minute went by. Two minutes. No clunking.  

Jase groaned.

‘There is so going to be red wine all over the boot of my car.’

Uh oh. I hated to admit it, but I think he was right.  

When we got home, he made it to the boot first.

‘Hey!’ I said when I saw him lift out a bottle. ‘The bottle’s intact!’

I breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly remembering that I was the reason for him having to sell his previous car. And red wine, for that matter. Inadvertently.

Jase didn’t say anything. Just looked at me, pointedly, handed me the bottle, and then picked up a second, half-bottle beside it.

‘Oh. I see. Only one of them’s intact.’

Oops.

He still didn’t say anything, just silently removed the glass then lifted up the dark grey carpet lining. Red wine dripped off the edge, forming a trail down the driveway. 750 mls of red wine. And most of it stuck in the tiny cavity beside the spare tyre. With bits of glass floating in the puddle.

I tried to break the silence.

‘Well at least it was the cheap wine, right?’

Was that a little chuckle I heard? A very quiet one? Sure enough, I saw a hint of a smile.

‘Oh, so that’s it! You were just trying to look after my sophisticated wine palate then. Of course!’ He looked amused.

‘Er … sure! I was doing you a favour … plus now the car smells kinda nice!’

I silently prayed he wouldn’t get pulled over by the police for a breath test any time soon. If they smelled the car, they’d arrest him on the spot.

One bucketful of soapy water, a scrubbing brush, a pair of gardening gloves, a roll of paper towels, and a sunny afternoon later, the car was relatively back to normal.

And I was forced to promise never to place multiple wine bottles in the boot of the car. Ever Again.

Sigh.

No more clunk, clunk, clink.

Unless … what if I try it out with beer bottles? ;-)