The Apple Tree

Chapter 1

(Thank you to all readers of 'The Apple Tree'.  I am delighted to say that the novel won a romance story writing contest and is soon to be launched as an ebook by a start up publishing company.  For further information, please see: www.inspiredromancenovels.com/theappletree)

“Julie?  Little Juliet Somerville!  I don’t believe it.  Can it really be you?”

  Julie had been busy dodging the lunchtime crowds but halted at the hearty exclamation and firm hand grasping her elbow.  The force of this wheeled her bodily towards the voice.  Impatient pedestrians, forced to stop in their tracks before sidestepping the pair, clucked their disapproval.  She turned to her assailant, blinking as recognition dawned.

“Robert!  What a lovely surprise!”

Robert returned her smile and Julie scanned his face, searching for the inevitable changes etched by the passage of time.

“What a blast from the past, as they say.”  He tilted his head to one side.  “How many years has it been?”

She laughed. “I don’t know.  Five or six, I suppose.  It’s so nice to see you, Robert.  How are you?”

“Five or six?  Closer to eight I should say.  We must celebrate...you’re not too busy, I hope?”

“Not at all; just idling.  I’d like that.”

He took her arm in a brotherly fashion and led her towards the nearby Crown Inn.  “Now let me think,” he began after procuring drinks and settling himself beside her on the claret-colored banquette, new to the Crown since Julie’s last visit.  “The last time I saw you would be when you went up to university.  I haven’t seen Lizzie in almost as long, although I hear she’s doing okay for herself.”

“Yes,” Julie conceded, although he was wrong about the date.  They’d met again the following year, at her father’s funeral, but perhaps Robert’s memory was being tactfully selective.  “Liz has just been appointed as consultant at the hospital.  Father would have been extremely proud of her.”

“Yes, of course.  And of you too no doubt - where are you working now?”

“I’m not at the moment.  I suppose I’m what actors fondly call ‘resting’.  But never mind that...tell me about yourself,” she urged, eager to change the subject.

“Me?  I’m doing very well, thanks.  I have my own garden centre now, down on Longshore Road, and the business is doing pretty well.” Robert would have been unable to conceal the note of pride from his voice even if he’d tried.  “We’re doing more and more landscape gardening these days – I’ve got six full time staff and several part-timers.  You must come and see the place, now that you’re back home.”

“Of course I will,” she assured him.  “And are you married?”

He paused, replacing his drink on the table and eyeing it for a brief moment before replying.  “I was, yes.  I married Linda Henderson - I don’t think you knew her.  But she died.” He uttered this last statement with the brutal simplicity of someone who still found the subject acutely painful.

“Oh how awful!  I’m so sorry.  Can you...I mean, would you rather not...?”

“I don’t mind talking about it.  It was quite a while back, you know - over four years now.  A traffic accident...she was killed instantly...and she was...we were...” he gave a little cough to clear the thickness in his throat and took a small sip of his beer.  “She was pregnant at the time, so we lost the baby, too.”

Julie gasped and stared at him.

“It was bad at first, of course.  We’d only been married eighteen months.  I suppose I fell apart a bit, but time and good friends have helped.  And the work, of course; I couldn’t have managed without that.”