Laura Loves' Life - Part 2 - In the Garden
It had been over two weeks since my afternoon beach romp with Josh and I had not heard from him since. Did he move already? Was I just another slut to him? Did he have a girlfriend? I had no idea, but I had not been looking for him either. I did get my Rabbit out a few times and remembered our time on the beach. Amazing, but maybe it was time for new adventures; something in me felt liberated by the whole experience.
It was a Saturday late morning, and after I had spent several hours in my office preparing for an upcoming trial, I stopped by the local farmers market. Outside of the Wausau area there were many Amish farms that grew amazing vegetables. There were also a few Hmong immigrants who also came from farming backgrounds and competed equally with their Amish counterparts at the market. Since the farmers market was dominated by these two groups, I was always guaranteed to get the best produce at the cheapest prices.
As I strolled through the market buying a little bit from as many farmers as I could, I came across a stall that had some delicious looking cantaloupe, raspberries and early watermelon. This was the only booth offering these things, so it was a bit busy. As I waited in line, I noticed the proprietor was quite different too. It was an earthy looking woman with long black hair who looked to be slightly older than me. She certainly stood out in the crowd, thus I was curious about her story. I tried to imagine her in her garden toiling under the sun just to provide us with some great produce.
When I finally got to her, I said, "Ill have two melons and a quart of raspberries. I'm curious where your garden is and how much work you have to put in to get this wonderful looking produce."
"Don't you worry about my garden miss", she barked back. "Just hurry up so I can serve others!"
I was suddenly taken aback. I did not expect this response from such a wholesome looking woman. She was several inches taller than me, had strong wide hips, full breasts and would be quite pretty if she smiled. But she scowled as she put my things in a bag and thrust it to me.
"That's five bucks for that." She snarled.
I gave her a five and snapped back, "Well your' quite welcome yourself. I'll be sure to tell my friends to visit the friendly lady with the great melons." And with that I marched away.
I was thinking, 'What the hell was that all about? What's her problem? Don't think I'll buy her stuff anymore.' I walked out of the market and decided to get a coffee at the little coffee shop next door. I went in, got an iced coffee, and sat down still kind of mad and disappointed in my encounter. Then I started thinking about a few clients and Josh and my sister in Peoria. I had not seen her in two years, being as we were both so busy; she with four kids and me with my growing law practice.
As I was getting up to leave, the mean produce seller came in the door. I looked down trying to avoid her, but she saw me and headed straight to me. I was completely surprised at what happened next.
"I am so so sorry" she blurted out as she began to cry. "I had a terrible start to the day, and I think I just took it out on my customers, especially you. On my way here early this morning I lost all of my cash I use for change. Then I got in a small fender bender as I was almost to the market, and the guy was an asshole" She said as her sobs subsided a bit. "I'm usually very nice, how can I make it up to you?"
I was relieved this was the case and then I felt sorry for her. "That's OK, I get it, we all have bad days and sorry this has happened to you. Can I get you a coffee?"
"Really, after the way I treated you? Well... sure but I have to get back to my stall soon."
"No problem, but I do think I will put out my original question, 'where is your garden and maybe I could see it sometime? I have always wanted to grow my own veggies but my time has been limited, my yard is small, and I'm not sure really what I'm doing. By the way I'm Laura."
"I would love to show you my gardens." she said as she suddenly perked up. "I'm Catherine and here is my business card. Please call me and we can set up a time for you to come over."
I had never seen a business card from a farmers market and as I took it I noticed it was the coolest artsy business card I had ever seen. A magical swirl of fruit and vegetables was the background. It made me wonder how her garden looked, 'I bet she has cool art in it too.' I thought.
I bought Catherine her coffee and then we walked out together with me promising I would be calling her soon. "From the look of your produce I can't wait to see it and learn a few things. I hope the rest of your day goes better."
We gave each other an awkward hug and then she left to get back to her stand and I headed back to my car. I was feeling much better too and vowed to call her soon. After I had gotten over being so pissed at her I took note that she was actually very attractive and nice.
Not wanting to seem too anxious I waited until Monday evening to give her a call. Luckily, I didn't have to leave a message. "Hello Catherine, this is Laura from the market on Saturday. I was hope...."