Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.

Sam Drake was in his third week in England on assignment for his company in California. An architect on a fast track, having received recognition in the form of the prestigious Pelham award for his innovative design of the Calderon Museum in Barcelona. His current commission was to head up a team to design and build the proposed Wyndham Insurance Tower in London.

Invited to dinner at the home of Clive Barry the company's U.K. director, Sam's inquiries led him to understand that Barry and his wife Linda especially favored Port wine for their postprandial libation. Thinking that would make a perfect hostess gift, it behooved him to seek expert help in order to make an appropriate choice because his knowledge of dessert wines was sorely lacking...actually non-existent! He'd been directed to Montacute's Wine Cellar in St. Albans, the town approximately 20 minutes north of London on the direct rail line, where he was staying.

Sam, a native of Santa Barbara, always felt blessed to live on the Central Coast of California for its climate and location, but even more so for its unique architecture which attracted so many visitors from all over the world. It was this distinctiveness that aroused Sam's passion for structural design from a very early age and instilled the desire to combine function and attractiveness in his creations. The pastoral landscape, and the very obvious history of exurban building in England was to Sam a breathless wonder so very different  from his upbringing that he had already made a promise to himself that he would be spending a good portion of his private and professional future in the United Kingdom.

Having arrived at Montacute's, it was another example of the blend of old and new seemingly as natural as life itself. The dignified brass plate with the engraved name and purpose established 1689; the magnificent oak double doors with the elegant beveled crystal  panels; the building itself a wistful reminder of times past yet so comfortable in its contemporary setting. The gold leaf name on the burgundy background also revealed a Royal Warrant as suppliers to HM The Queen.

He entered the store, a vast cavern of shelves and bins with one or two male employees wearing white shirts and moss green aprons busily opening wooden wine crates and stocking shelves. As he approached the large polished wooden counter over which was a rack containing a generous selection of stemware, a young lady emerged from a screened archway and asked Sam if she could be of assistance. This being a Saturday morning, Sam was attired casually in a logoless polo shirt, chino pants and loafers. He was immediately comfortable with the assistant who was friendly and had a very pretty smile. Her cream blouse coordinated perfectly with the knee length fitted A-line burgundy skirt and matching tint patent leather pumps. He explained about the dinner invitation and his need to find a suitable Port wine for the host couple. They talked about the circumstances involved and she suggested two or three vintners from which to make a choice. He told her he would be happy to accept her recommendation as she was obviously very conversant in the subject, and he settled on Taylor's 20 year old Tawny Port.  There being no other customers at the moment Sam lingered and enjoyed a pleasant conversation. She smiled a lot and had a vivacious air about herself. She seemed naturally comfortable and asked him if he was American and he told her a little about himself and why he was in England and that he chose to stay in St. Albans because he didn't want to be in the city except for his work. The railway service was frequent and dependable and London taxicabs arguably the best in the world.

The dinner event was exceedingly pleasant and the Barry's suitably impressed with Sam's choice of wine. Sam admitted that he had never sampled a typical English roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner followed by a raspberry trifle served with genuine Devonshire clotted cream. Where, he thought, did anyone ever get the idea that English food was plebeian.

Some weeks later, filled with hard work and attention to detail, Sam was aware that his rare moments of relaxation were occupied with thoughts of the young lady assistant at Montacute's. He acknowledged to himself that he'd enjoy, no - he very much wanted to see her again.

Catching an earlier train from London on the next Thursday he went directly to The Wine Cellar and was relieved that the same young lady came to serve him. He explained that he had thought about her a lot and was wondering if she would have dinner with him sometime. He told her his name was Sam and she said hers was Annette - and she admitted that she had thought of him too and had hoped that they might meet again. So they arranged to have dinner on Saturday at St. Michaels Manor Hotel where he was staying and whose reputation for fine food was well established. He gave her his phone number and she said she would meet him there as it was quite locally situated to her apartment.

Sam was euphoric, there being no better way to describe his feelings. He wanted to jump for joy. He couldn't believe that she wanted a date with him. Saturday couldn't come quickly enough - but unfortunately it didn't! Late on Friday he received a phone call from Annette who told him she had caught a cold and had to break the date but she hoped they could get together again very soon.

Saturday came, and Sam wandered aimlessly around the center of town looking at shop windows, but hardly noticing anything, his mind so wrapped up in disappointment at not being able to see Annette this evening. He became aware that he had found his way into a lovely park which was a favorite strolling and meeting place for the locals. St. Alban's was formerly the ancient Roman city of Verulanium and the river Ver flowed through the park and formed a placid pond where benches were placed to take advantage of the views. He chose a seat and felt a little less sorry for himself as he took pleasure in the laughter of children playing near their parents, some of whom had brought picnic baskets to enjoy in the beautiful surroundings. The people leisurely walking the path all seemed very content with themselves and Sam was aware of them and the tranquil atmosphere they created.

A young couple caught his eye and something about them made him more attentive. The girl looked very much like Annette and she was holding hands with the young man and obviously enjoyed his company. Something amused them and they were looking at each other and laughing. Sam couldn't believe his eyes - it was Annette, and she definitely didn't act like she was ailing. How could he be so wrong about this girl? Was she so heartless as to casually toy with another persons feelings? He quickly vacated his seat and walked away from them, not wanting her to recognize him. He had a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, even to the point of feeling nauseous.

Back at work in the new week it was all but impossible to forget about her, and he was faced with the realization that he didn't want to. He recognized that he was acting like a love-sick puppy and was, as the trite expression went, on the horns of a dilemma. She had lied to him and he still couldn't believe she was that kind of person. Sam had several female acquaintances back home. Some he knew growing up in his neighborhood and others from his time in college. They were all respectable and he had dated one or two, but he considered them all as friends. He enjoyed their company and was fond of them - almost like sisters. His feelings for Annette were quite different and something he had never felt before.

Until now his work had consumed most of his thoughts and energy. He did enjoy moments of relaxation with friends of both genders but was always happy to return to his work which was a source of much satisfaction to him. He struggled with his emotions and was just not willing to believe that Annette wasn't what she seemed to be - a sweet uncomplicated and naturally friendly person. It now being Tuesday he decided to call the shop later in the day to inquire about her health and to judge her reaction. As it turned out she called him and apologized so considerately and asked if they could rearrange their dinner date for perhaps the coming Saturday? Without hesitation, he stammered that it would be wonderful and he was glad that she was recovered from her cold.

Sam was so overjoyed that he hardly registered a thought about seeing her in the park last Saturday. There must be an explanation he decided. He was so thrilled that she had called that he couldn't wait until the weekend to see her again. He caught an earlier train on Thursday and made his way to Montacute's with a posy of miniature roses which he got from a local florist. As he approached the store, and was about thirty feet away, the door opened and Annette came out holding the hand of another man and they hugged and kissed quite fervently before walking off in opposite directions. Stunned, Sam was frozen to the spot. He began to shake uncontrollably and his eyes welled up. He couldn't believe what he had seen. The posy dropped to the pavement as he put his outstretched arm against the wall to steady himself. It took a couple of minutes for him to get a hold of himself. A myriad of thoughts ran through his head as he tried to make sense of what he had seen. Shaking with anger at being played for a fool, and self-pity for once again losing something that he'd come to value so highly.

He spent the evening in abject misery. How could he be so wrong about her character. Yes, he knew that there existed people who deceived others deliberately for gain of one sort or another, but they were corrupt and even criminal; that couldn't be true of this seemingly uncomplicated young woman. It didn't make sense to Sam, yet he couldn't deny the evidence of his own eyes. Friday was a miserable day at work; thoughts of Annette intruded constantly and he was glad when it was time to leave. The evening was a repetition of the one before. He sat staring at the walls and as time passed he realized that subconsciously he had placed her on a much higher level of regard than just a nice girl that he wanted to know better.

Unsettled in his mind, he felt he must find an answer to his utter confusion and so decided to confront her at work this morning. It seemed there was to be no dinner date if his observations were an indication of her true nature; but even if she did turn up, was she just a flirt who enjoyed dallying with men's feelings? No, he had to get to the bottom of this mysterious behavior. He entered the store and seeing an empty counter he impatiently asked one of the stockmen if Annette was available. The man said she was in the tasting room preparing it for an afternoon event and he would tell her that Sam was asking for her.

In just a couple of moments Annette came though the screened archway and reacted with a gasp of delighted surprise upon seeing Sam. Smiling with obvious pleasure she said it was wonderful to see him. Sam was even more bewildered. She seemed so genuinely happy to see him and he couldn't help but feel a glow of extreme pleasure at her welcome. There was no trace of guile in her actions or appearance, but he had to get to the bottom of this odd conduct. He asked her if she still intended to have dinner with him tonight  and she reacted with a tilt of her head and a puzzled but almost amused expression. "Of course. I'm very much looking forward to it Sam, especially after our disappointment last Saturday. I'm quite recovered from my cold now."

Sam was encouraged by her warm response but truly bewildered by what he had seen in the park. "But Annette, I saw you in the park last Saturday with a man and you looked in very bright spirits." He then went on to relate how he came to see her just yesterday and was overwhelmed with dismay at observing her leaving the store with another man, and there was no denying their obvious affection for each other. He was shocked when she started to laugh with such gaiety, and then reaching out to touch his arm she said, "I'm so sorry Sam. We've only known one another for such a short time that, despite being attracted to each other, we really don't know much about ourselves or our families." She went on to say that in the days ahead that will all come about naturally but right now she would put his mind to rest about what he had seen.

She led him through the archway into a spacious room which was furnished to cope with a considerable number of people for the purpose of wine tasting. Place settings were already in evidence and bottles of wine were visible through the glass doors of several coolers. Two men and two women were in discussion on the far side of the room. Sam followed Annette toward them and when they all turned Sam almost fainted from shock - the three women were mirror images of each other. They were triplet's and seemed to be identical. The men were the ones Sam had seen on those two occasions. They all smiled pleasantly while Annette told them that this is Sam with whom I'm having dinner tonight, and then she introduced them to Sam. "This is Lorraine and her husband David, and this is Yvonne and her fiancée Gerald." She then explained that we are a family business and we are Montacute's, and she and her sisters were all in attendance on different days during the week but often together on a Saturday or Sunday depending on what was needed, such as this wine tasting event. David and Gerald had careers of their own but sometimes came in to help because they all enjoyed each other's company. Lorraine and Yvonne not only looked like Annette, they exhibited the same genuine cordiality and ready smiles.

By now, a decidedly welcoming atmosphere had developed, coupled with much amusement at learning about Sam's distress, and they shared with him that there were often occasions when confusion reigned because of the sister's resemblance. They also said that they were looking forward to knowing Sam and to learn more about him and his family and Santa Barbara.  Sam was enveloped in a rosy glow. He had come to the store with such misgivings and in these few short minutes his whole world had changed for the better. He felt a genuine attraction to these people who all radiated a warm openness - and  Lorraine and Yvonne seemed ecstatic for their sister's fondness for Sam and they suggested an evening out soon to get to know each other.

Time passes, and Annette and Sam have been married for several years and live both in St. Albans and Santa Barbara. Their three children, two boys and a girl, thoroughly enjoy the diversified  lifestyles and educational opportunities afforded by the two countries, and have chosen to remain close to each other for the foreseeable future. After all...isn't that what triplets usually do?