*****
Just a word of warning, there are discussions of abuse in this story, as one of the main characters is an abuse survivor. I will mark the chapters where they go into the descriptions with a **** after the heading so those that wish to can skip those sections. However, the effects and mentions of abuse are present in the rest of the narrative.
*****
Hannah - Late September
"Nora, wanna see where apples come from?" Hannah asked her five-year-old as they came home from Nora's grandmother's house. There had been signs for McCarran's orchard since they drove through the last city of any note. It was only a half dozen miles from home, but Hannah had almost forgotten that it existed. Back in elementary school, it had been a common field trip destination.
Forgotten or repressed?
"Orchids." Nora mangled the pronunciation in an adorable manner that turned it into a very different word. Her daughter was bright and precocious, and she had a mop of curly, dirty blonde hair that came from her father.
"Close, an orchid is a flower, and an orchard is like a farm for trees."
"Said orchid!" Nora argued with a pout.
"Do you want to stop at one? Bet we can pick some yummy apples. Could probably show you how to apple sauce later."
"Yeah!" Nora clapped excitedly.
Glad I brought the camera. Might get some fun pictures.
Hannah always packed her camera, even if she rarely used it. The expensive camera was a relic from a different life path, and working several summers as an apprentice to a photographer who had specialized in wedding photography and dabbled in travel and landscapes. Hannah leaned toward landscapes before a college mistake swerved the path of her life.
Hannah would never regret having Nora, but that didn't mean that the little girl hadn't made her life a challenge. She had been halfway through a degree in photography when she got pregnant. Suddenly, she was taking any work she could find to support Nora's impending arrival. She had the talent for photography but didn't have the time or effort to make that a full-time career.
Nora's father, turning out the way he did, wasn't expected either. She'd hoped that they would support each other after the surprise, but as the stress mounted in their lives, he turned to drinking, and things got dark from there. Raising her daughter alone two hours away from family was tough, but it seemed prudent to sever her ties to Nora's father and his family.
"Looks busy," Hannah muttered to herself as she pulled into the McCarran's orchard. The apple-themed decorations that festooned the property were joined with pumpkins, witches, and skeletons from the approaching spooky season. The decorations were more cartoonish and kitschy than scary, perfect for Hannah's five-year-old.
I wonder where Sydney is these days.
The last Hannah had heard of her best friend was that she was kicking ass in law school, but the decorations looked like she had a hand in them.
Around the small local farm, there were several buildings and attractions. Across the parking lot was the cider mill, which was the highlight of every field trip. The students got to watch the process on the other side of an enormous glass wall and were plied with samples of the sweet product. Next to it was a newer building replacing one that was off-limits to school children as they made hard cider and apple-based liquors.
There was a gift shop and bakery that was a recent addition since Hannah had toured in her youth. The pumpkin patch and play area were also recent additions.
"Your momma used to come out here when she was your age." Hannah helped Nora out of her booster seat. It was hard to believe that the little angel was already in kindergarten. "Hold my hand in the parking lot, baby," Hannah ordered as Nora tried to run to the play area in her excitement.
"Aww... okay, Mommy." Nora lowered her head.
"We'll get over there in a minute. Let me get my camera, okay?"
"K!" Nora bounced around to the back of the old, hand-me-down SUV that occasionally seemed held together with twine and positive thoughts. Too many paychecks had gone to keep it running, but it had been reliable after major maintenance a year ago. The ugly crease on the driver's side made Hannah cringe from memory, but fixing cosmetics wasn't within the budget.
The mirrorless camera was no longer the top-of-the-line professional device it had been when Hannah had scrimped and saved for it in college. It was supposed to be the tool for starting her career. She'd almost sold it a few times to make ends meet, but it would seem like surrendering her dreams to part with it. Hannah had to make creative choices to keep it and Nora happy and healthy, but if push came to shove, she'd sell it.
"We get to choose apples?" Nora asked.
"Uh-huh, we get to choose them from the trees. Can't go anywhere we want in the orchard; certain types of apples will be ripe at different times." Hannah recalled from touring the place.
"Apple sauce?" It was a favorite of Nora's.
"I'll bet there are a lot of sweet types of apples that we can make some yummy things with. Hold on to Mommy's leg while I change the lens, sweetie." Hannah needed both hands to switch to a zoom lens. She'd been using a wide angle to take photos of houses at work. The realtor didn't have the funds to pay for a full-time photographer, but kicking their receptionist a few extra bucks let her at least partially put her training to work.
"Horsies!" Nora hopped and clapped once they got to the straw-covered walkway toward the little booth where they could pick up a basket to pick apples and pay for the attraction. She must have finally caught sight of the enclosure.
"I don't think they're part of the tour, baby. I think they're resting."
"Aww..."
"We can see the goats and sheep, though." Hannah redirected her girl to the petting zoo.
If I can afford it.
She hid a grimace, hoping that inflation hadn't hit this little orchard as hard as it had elsewhere. They had some disposable income, finally, but it wasn't infinite.
"K!" Nora nodded. Temper tantrums had been a rare occurrence with Nora but weren't out of the question, especially after an hour in the car. Most of them had to do with her father when she was younger.
Hopefully, she's too young to remember that.
Hannah shuddered as her mind bounced to that night and why she had to move two hours away from her family to make a life.
He'll be out of prison eventually.
It wouldn't be anytime soon, but it was still something that Hannah worried about.
"Welcome to McCarran's apple orchard!" A cheery voice greeted Hannah and Nora as they walked up to the ticket booth.
"Sydney!?" Hannah's jaw dropped in disbelief. The last thing she'd heard when she peeked at social media was that Sydney had finished law school and was accepting a position at a prestigious firm upstate.
"Hannah!" Sydney grinned. Her brilliant smile and curly blonde hair had always endeared Sydney with everyone she met. Her tall, tight physique with an outsized chest might lead people to believe that artificial enhancement had played a part, but Hannah had been close with her when they grew naturally. She was always a hit with the guys at school, even if she played things cool.
A pair of merlot-colored frames had fantastic contrast with her brilliant blue eyes. Sydney had never liked contacts; they bothered her eyes, and it was nice to see that the woman had kept that affectation. It was a fetching look on the cheery woman.
"I know your family owns the place, but I thought you'd be upstate." Hannah smiled. It was an involuntary reaction to being around Sydney.
A creeping regret from turning her social media to read-only was that Hannah lost contact with the woman. At first, it was an effort to cut Nora's dad off from any potential information about their whereabouts. After that, it was embarrassment at what had happened to Hannah. She was supposed to be too intelligent and strong to end up in that type of relationship.
"Mark's deployed, and the bank doesn't need me for a few months, so I'm helping Mom and Grandpa keep the place running while he's gone," Sydney explained. Mark was her older brother who was in the Army reserves. "Need help since dad..." She trailed off and looked down and away.
Sydney's father had succumbed to prostate cancer a few years ago. The funeral was the last time that Hannah had seen her friend. She'd offered her condolences but hadn't been able to talk to Sydney for long.
"I'm sorry, Syd." Hannah shook her head. Losing contact with a former close friend in a time of need sucked, but it was right around the incident with Nora's father.
"This was his favorite time of year..." Sydney nodded. "At least I get to keep up his tradition and decorate the place for Halloween!"
"Your decorations did look to have the Sydney McCarran touch." Hannah nodded. Her former best friend loved the pageantry of the holiday and preferred goofy to scary. "Where's Mark?"
"Somewhere near the Middle East is all he can tell us. We're praying that peace will hold." Sydney shook her head.
"Think we all are." Hannah nodded.
"Is this Nora!?" Sydney leaned out of the booth and beamed again. Those smiles used to be everything to Hannah.
"Say hi to one of Mommy's best friends from high school, Nora." Hannah grinned as she leaned down toward her daughter. Nora decided this was the time to be shy, hiding behind Hannah's dress.
"You have curly hair!" Sydney said. She was proud of her gorgeous, bouncy curls.
Might have been a reason you were attracted to Nora's father.
Hannah thought for far from the first time.
"Curls?" Nora peeked out to look at Sydney. "Oh, wow! Momma! Momma! She has curly hair, too!"
"Yes, she does, my love." Hannah knew that giving Nora a moment would allow her to go from mercurial shyness to excitement.
"I'm only one in my class with curls!"
"They look adorable, Nora!" Sydney beamed.
