Thanks for having a look at my entry for the
On The Job Challenge 2023
.
A bit of context. I started this early 2021 when the state of Victoria, Australia had two sets of COVID rules. It severely restricted Melbourne residents in their travel, but regional Victorians had greater flexibility. Many Melburnians fled to regional areas, particularly if they could work from a home or a regional office. The State borders were closed to nearly everyone not having an essential reason for travel. I set this story just after those restrictions had ended and interstate travel became less restricted. It's based in what was Miriam's office and project during those lockdowns.
I'm glad those days are over.
===
"Well Dan, how do you like it?"
"Wow. Just... Wow. Who'd have thought a pile of old shipping containers would look so good? I can't believe how much better it looks in real life compared to your sketches."
Miriam smiled at her client and shrugged. "Well, you gave me a pretty open brief. Ground floor, wine tasting and sales, second-floor - cafe and observation deck, top floor - office and small living quarters. Minimal environmental footprint. Check, check, check and check."
Dan stood with his hands on his hips and looked at the new base for his winery. He had worked for years at his family's winery in the Hunter Valley, but always wanted to own and operate his own business. The opportunity to buy a small, but moderately successful wholesale vineyard in Northern Victoria had come up, and he grabbed the opportunity to convert it from selling grapes to producing his own Shiraz. After re-establishing the dilapidated processing equipment and getting it satisfactorily producing hopefully great wine, he had contracted Miriam's small architectural business to design and build the new visitors centre. It had taken him five years to get to this point, but one thing he had learnt from his Italian heritage - fine things take time.
"You were sneaky. Just sending me carefully framed photos that showed progress, but not the entire structure. It's amazing."
"Well, I knew you probably couldn't risk visiting from New South and being locked down here so I took a chance. It's not often I manage to really surprise my clients. Coming inside?"
"Yep, definitely." He followed Miriam down a curving path from the car park to the sales area. Everywhere he looked, there was an amazing attention to detail. He ran a hand over a column made of pressed red brick.
"From the ruins of the old house?" he inquired.
"Yes. The old chimneys, actually. They were blackened from the fire, but I thought they'd be a nice touch with a bit of a clean. Keep some of the heritage around."
"I like it." Dan nodded. "And this space is really spectacular. My customers' are going to be so impressed."
"Not being modest, but I know they will. I think after such a long COVID lockdown people are looking for a bit of relaxation, a bit of personalised attention. Your idea of booking a curated tasting session is a good one." Miriam unlocked the full height glass doors and folded them to one side. "Magnificent view over the vineyard and the valley, high tables so your staff don't have to bend, but a couple of normal ones so people who can't get on a stool are catered for."
Dan crossed his arms and followed Miriam around as she thoroughly described the tasting area. It was hard to believe that this room had, until recently, been used to move goods around the world. It fitted in with his philosophy of minimising his business' environmental impact. Even the expensive looking full-length glass panel doors had been scrounged from a shop in Ballarat that had been recently renovated. He shook his head slightly. Miriam had constantly amazed him with her ability to find and utilise the most obscure items.
"So, next floor?" Miriam asked, enjoying watching Dan's reaction every time he spotted an additional item. He was examining everything in minute detail, but she wanted to get him to the top floor before the sun set.
"Hmm? Sure, no worries." He followed her out and around a path to a covered ramp. Walking up, he arrived at an open area created by offsetting the containers over the ones underneath.
"Open air dining. A different view to below. It will have shade sails, but they're still a couple of weeks away. That's the chimney of your wood-fired pizza oven. That's the lift in that vertical container. Been really handy. Now, your cafe." She unlocked a switch, and the doors slid open.
Dan stepped in and went "Wow. Exactly what I wanted." He looked closely at a picture on the wall. "These photos. Where did you find them? They look like this property, but I've never seen them before."
Miriam chuckled at his surprise. "Well, first off I have to thank you for letting me set up shop here. Most of my work at the moment is in regional Vic, so being stuck within a five-kilometre lockdown radius of my Melbourne office was giving me some sleepless nights. And well, I spent a bit of my spare time at the local historical society up here. I dug through their old newspaper and photo archives to see what I could find. Quite a lot actually. I have a scrapbook I was going to give you later."
"Cool. I'm looking forward to flicking through it." Dan wandered into the small commercial kitchen and rubbed his hands with glee. "Nice. Really nice. I'm going to have some fun here."
"You're going to cook for customers too? You're going to be busy then." Miriam said, walking in behind him.
"My Nonna made sure all of us kids knew how to cook. Particularly traditional meals with wine. I enjoy it. It's a nice distraction from running a business." Dan replied, poking his head out of the small storeroom. "I'm not going to cook for customers, just friends and family. I think I have a great chef lined up. I just need to convince her that this is the best new cafe around."
"Fair enough. Hope it comes off. Care to follow me upstairs?" Miriam had wanted to show Dan the cafe's balcony, but her client had spent so long pottering around his new kitchen she decided to go straight to the top floor.
"No worries. Looking forward to seeing how you've spent time in my office." He followed her to a spiral staircase at the back of the kitchen area.
"This really is only for you to use or in emergencies. Everyone else would use the lift."
"Fair enough. Is it gated at the top? I'd hate for the kids to be running up and down through the kitchen."
Miriam paused with her foot on the bottom step and turned to look at Dan. "No gate, but there's a lockable door at the top. I didn't think you had kids though. Aren't you and Alessandra just engaged?"
Dan gave her an enigmatic smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Yep, we're engaged and no kids. That would not go down well with the more religious side of the family. I was thinking of the nieces and nephews."
"Oh good. No worries about them then. It's kid safe." Miriam jogged up the stairs, the hem of her short dress flicking up as she moved.
Dan waited politely until she had moved up a bit and out of the way, but in reality, her long, lithe legs captivated him. Miriam was very good looking, but she was just as comfortable wearing safety boots and a fluro vest as she was today - block heeled sandals and a sleeveless cream dress that finished above the knee. The few times Dan had met her in the flesh, she always had a smile on her cute face which hid a steely inner toughness. She was equally adept at making sure that her contractors knew she took no shit and at charming potential clients.
As Miriam moved up, Dan glanced up and caught a flash of her bare bum. Just a nanosecond of smooth tanned skin, but enough to get his imagination racing. He sniffed and blinked; the image burnt into his mind. His subconscious wondered if she was going commando or wearing a thong. He told it to shut up. Miriam was gorgeous but married.
"This. Is. Bloody marvellous." Dan exclaimed as he stepped onto the landing. The top floor was split into two areas - private living quarters and an office area. The office area was set up with a couple of desks, and a small conference table. It looked professionally informal.
"The lounge area and the kitchenette is shared between the two sides, but you have your own bathroom. You really don't want clients checking out what shampoo you use. Your clients will come up in the hydraulic lift and see the view over the vineyard. You can either have the doors folded back so you can have the breeze come through, or you could even sit outside." Miriam pushed the doors open and stepped outside. The sun was just setting behind the hills, infusing the vineyard with a mystical glow.
"How long did it take you to pick this spot?" asked Dan. "It's beautiful."
"Actually, not that long. I came here at sunset one day after our first meeting and the view blew me away. Between working between the vines and a spot for the car park, it really was the only place." Miriam shrugged. "I just worked the design to suit."
Dan walked out over the deck and leaned on the balustrade. "To be honest, I had this spot in mind myself. When I saw your first site sketch, I just knew you and I were on the same page. Nobody else I talked to seemed to understand my ideas. I decided to hire you and just let you go. You've nailed it. Absolutely everything is great."
"I've loved working here. Even when this was just an empty shell, waking up and looking over the mist-filled valley was magical. To be honest, I'm not looking forward to going back to my house." Miriam gave a short, hard laugh which raised Dan's eyebrows. "So, it's now yours. I've packed all my stuff in my car, and I'll be out of your hair. Thanks for the project. It's been fun."
He took a deep, happy breath and exhaled slowly. "And thank you for your expertise. Drop me your final invoice and I'll get it paid as soon as." He pushed himself upright and clapped his hands together. "Well, that's enough of the formal stuff. Would you like to stay for dinner? Nothing fancy, just a pasta all'amatriciana."
"That sounds nice. I was going to have pasta back at the motel, but a microwaved pre-cooked meal."
"Ugh. No. Just no. You are not eating that crap. Right, that's settled then. Let's move downstairs. I want to play in my kitchen."
"No worries. Shall we take the lift?"
"Yes, please." he chuckled. "I've never had a building with a lift. That's pretty cool."
Miriam pressed the call button and Dan heard a faint hum of the hydraulic pump turn on. "It's not the quickest thing, but it's very energy efficient..." she said as the chime eventually announced the lift's arrival.
"Ahh, all good. Tell you what, you jump out at the cafe and I'll head down to the car. I've got a couple of eskies with everything I need. I'll meet you back here." he said as Miriam opened the door to the cafe.
"No worries. Want me to do anything?"
