Jerry had spent thirty years as an accountant, so when it came to organising his early retirement celebration, there was never much chance he was going to leave the details to somebody else.
He planned the evening himself at home in Guildford, Surrey, and made one decision quite deliberately.
No work colleagues.
This was not a leaving do. Jerry wanted Victor, close friends and family around the table, and he wanted the night to be about what came next rather than spending the whole evening looking backwards.
There were twelve of them altogether. Jerry asked Jonny for three reds and three whites, with a sparkling wine to open. Apart from that, he was happy to let Jonny choose.
He did have one request about the mood.
Celebrate it, but do not make it nostalgic.
That told Jonny pretty much everything he needed to know.
Jerry was proud of the career he had built, but he was also very ready for the next bit.
The sparkling wine got everyone started, and the evening relaxed very quickly after that. Retirement obviously came up, but nobody spent the night talking about what Jerry was leaving behind.
Most of the conversation was about what he might actually do now he had more control over his time.
At one point Victor raised his glass.
He said Jerry had spent thirty years making other people’s finances work beautifully, and tonight was just for him.
The room went quiet for a second.
Then somebody pointed out that Jerry could finally have a drink on a weeknight without checking his calendar first.
That finished everyone off.
Jerry laughed as hard as anyone, which was probably why the moment worked so well. It was warm without becoming sentimental, and nobody felt the need to turn the night into a retirement speech.
Jonny kept the tasting moving at the same sort of pace. People could get into the wines if they wanted to, but nobody had to perform or come up with the clever answer.
For once, Jerry did not have to be the person thinking about what came next.
The Grandiose Sauvignon Blanc ended up being one of his favourites, and the following week he ordered a case.
When he spoke to Wine Night In afterwards, he mentioned that he was already wondering what he was going to do with all this free time.
Victor apparently had an answer.
Jerry agreed immediately.
That probably says more about the evening than anything else.
Jerry did not want a big farewell to work. He wanted the people he actually cared about around him, some good wine and a night that felt like the start of something rather than the end.
At home in Guildford, Surrey, that is exactly what he got.
