Love’s Sweet Harvest

The wagons were hitched to the tractors. The ladders were leaning against the gnarled trunks of the apple trees that dotted the hillside. The cider press was cleaned and waiting. Audrey smiled as she draped the brown sweater around her shoulders and stepped onto the porch of the farmhouse. Now she could enjoy the season.

Her gaze raked across the orchard. She could smell the ripe fruit, her taste buds beginning to tingle in anticipation of the cinnamon richness of the first sip of the new cider. The amber liquid just another of autumn’s sweet harvests.

She walked to the end of the porch. Leaning against the porch railing, she watched the sun begin to bathe the sky in the pale pink of sunset. In the distance, she watched Jack and Sue walking hand in hand through the orchard. Perhaps her son was picking the perfect spot. Or maybe, like his father, he was waiting for the woman in his life to pick it.

Audrey chuckled as she thought back over the years spent in that old orchard. Some of the trees were older than the gray-haired couple doing the dinner dishes in the kitchen. There was at least one tree out there that was only slightly older than Momma. Grandpop and Grandmom had planted it the autumn they found out little Ruth was on her way.

Yep, those low hanging branches laden with the red and green orbs had seen an awful lot of autumn harvests. In the northern most section, there was a trunk scarred by Daddy’s knife the fall he asked Momma to marry him. To the east was the tree they planted the September they found out Mark was on his way. Just to the right of it was the one that followed the October two years later when she herself was growing beneath Momma’s heart.

She sighed as thought about how sweet the cider had been the year she met her Richard. Dark hair, dark eyes – she’d never admit it, but it had been love at first sight. Much to Momma’s chagrin, they had married out there in that orchard. The reds and yellows of the changing leaves the only bouquets and the fading sun the only flicker of light.

She turned slightly, her gaze settling on three of the newest trees on the hillside. One for Jack – the other two for Ricky and Lora. Like the best fruit bearers, they were the best blends of both she and Richard. Those harvests had also been among the sweetest she could remember.

But not all harvests are as good as others. Sometimes the cider was bitter. Audrey shuddered as she remembered the Octobers she had spent on this porch praying for peace as she watched her eldest walk through the orchard – searching for something she thought he might never find or running from the pains of his job or trying to bury the ache of a broken heart beneath the falling leaves.

There were two autumns in Jack’s life that had been particularly hard to watch. The first was the year Kristen died. It had been November before he’d made it home that year. Although she had known the minute she met the young woman that she wasn’t the one for her son, the burden of watching him deal with her death was heartbreaking. The cider that year had a pungent taste that lingered for months.

Then two years ago…well that had been the worst. Jack was dealing with his feelings for Sue. Even though he had almost lost her to New York, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her he loved her – that he had loved her since the very beginning. He had spent hours walking through that stand of trees. While she’d wanted to call Sue herself and tell the pretty blonde what her son was unwilling to, she couldn’t. Jack was so much like his father. Audrey knew all she could do was wait until he came to his senses. The autumn harvest had been particularly bitter that year.

But this year’s – even before the first apple was squeezed between the presses – she knew would be the sweetest yet. She’d known that the minute Jack and Sue got out of the car.

Audrey sighed as Richard’s cologne reached her nostrils just before his arms slipped around her waist. She leaned against the solidness of his chest as he pulled her close. “Have they found it yet?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.” She turned in his arms. His brown eyes twinkled as she lifted her hand to caress his cheek. “But then again, since Jack is just like you, the baby may be able to pick out the spot for his own tree before that son of ours makes a decision.”

Richard chuckled, his gaze drifting over her shoulder to watch their son and daughter-in-law. “Not a chance. He’ll find it. He found Sue, after all.” He brushed his lips across hers before settling his cheek against her temple. “Remember, it takes just the right piece of ground to produce the sweetest fruit.”

Audrey turned again in her husband’s arms. She gently covered his hands with hers as she studied the two figures standing like a mirror image in the middle of the ancient orchard. She had been lucky to find that perfect piece of ground. She smiled as Sue pointed to a spot just to the south of the older stand of trees. “Looks like they’ve found their perfect spot, too.”

And what a spot it was. Surrounded by the protection of the older trees, the little tree would grow strong. The roots would run deep and the apples would grow large. And one day soon, the next generation of the Hudson clan would stand here – enjoying another of love’s sweet harvest.

Fin

Kim

(Word Total: 973)

Beautiful, Kim!!

Another last minute entry. And from Kim. Yahoo!

A beautiful story. I loved how you worked the title in with the planting of trees for each generation. I love Audrey's humor here.

And its no wonder Jack turned out to be the wonderful guy he is with parents like Audrey and Richard.

Thank you.

Lynn

Lovely imagery, Kim. Using the orchard as a backdrop for generations of love is perfect. I feel all warm and fuzzy now and in the mood for some apple cider.

kav

I loved the way you gave cider the power to have the 'time taste' so to speak... When things goes right, it delicious and when time are rough, it's bitter... So lovely and touching, imagining them chose the right spot for ¸THEIR little one!

Thanks for sharing, Kim!

Truly amazing, beautiful and touching...
I love the images you paint in your story...
Bravo!!
Josy

Kim, I love your short little pieces of art... I love your long ones too, but what you can cram into less than 1,000 words...pure magic!

I think I'll just float here for a while and enjoy this.

Lindsy

Beautiful!!!

Kim, that was just beautiful. I loved seeing it all through Jack's mother's eyes. It was like stepping into the photograph. The symbolism fit perfectly.

Beautiful kim
Lin

Kim, what a beautiful piece this is!! It shows us how intertwined our lives can be with nature and the earth!! I see Jack is still taking his time with decisions, but at least he finally took the most important step of all!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Joy

amazingly beatiful

Oh, that was absolutely wonderful, Kim. I've always thought apple orchards, especially ones like that with a lot of family history, are so romantic.

Thank you for sharing.

- RSL

Kim! What a beautiful story! The orchard setting was perfect and I could picture Jack and Sue roaming through it and the sun setting behind them... there's a "glow" about this whole piece. Thanks so much for joining the challenge!

Tina

Beautyful story, thank you so much for sharing! It is sweet and touching, bravo!

I always love the family ties stories, and this one was beautiful Kim. Perfect scenery and story for the title. Made me wish I had an apple orchard to do the same.

That was so beautiful.



Hope ~