Harvesting Acorns (6 page)

They
spent a wonderful afternoon browsing and behaving like life-long best friends
shopping together. It seems it really was a bonding ‘sport’ for women, Chloe
had never really understood that concept until now, as she had always hated
shopping. Nevertheless, to her surprise this ordinarily mundane activity turned
into a fun event, with her and Phoebe giggling and trying on all sorts of crazy
items of clothing and
modelling
for each other.

Chloe
dashed to the car at one point to fetch her camera – moments like these needed
to be captured. She planned to make a montage of their afternoon escapades
later. Photography had started out as a hobby, and then later proved a very
valuable skill with her journalism career. Her own photographs accompanied many
of her articles. Very rarely other photographers had joined her on an
assignment, and only then because the specific articles required her to be
photographed as well. She caught herself with the thoughts of her career and
snapped her attention back to the present. She was not going to let that
baggage bring her down today and ruin this occasion.

She
looked up and Phoebe was prancing around in a tiny red dress, with red
stilettos and a black feather boa. She had tousled her pixie cut hair and put
on bright red lipstick. Chloe burst into uncontrollable laughter. Never mind
ballerina this was a sultry and mature cabaret performer before her. Either
that or a cougar wannabe. Next, Chloe disappeared into the changing room. She
emerged ten minutes later in a tailored black suit, a Charlie Chaplin hat and a
cane. She had taken her black eyeliner out of her purse and painted on a fake
moustache. Phoebe was crying with laughter at her impersonations. The shop
attendant came through to see what all the fuss was about. Chloe expected to be
chased out of the store, but the attendant took one look at her and burst into
a fit of laughter too.

“Nancy,
I’d like you to meet my friend, Charlie… er I mean Chloe,” they erupted into
laughter again before either Nancy or Chloe could greet the other. Oh good Chloe
thought, at least they know each other, we aren’t going to be kicked out and
left shame-faced and too embarrassed to return.

Chloe
and Phoebe got dressed into their own clothes again. It was time to continue
with what they were actually shopping for.  Phoebe kept stifling her giggles.
Chloe couldn’t quite understand why she was still giggling twenty minutes
later. What was even more puzzling was that everyone else walking past kept
giggling too. They walked past the antique store that Chloe had visited not too
long ago, there was a full-length mirror on display in the window and Chloe
caught a glimpse of herself and gasped in horror. In their rush to get dressed
and amid all the laughter, she had forgotten about the eyeliner moustache!

“Phoebe!
You are awful! How could you let me walk around like this?” she was horrified,
but took one look at Phoebe and laughter exploded from the depths of her
stomach. Oh well, at least nobody knew her here. As she looked up though, that
thought seemed to flutter off and get caught in a great big net of
embarrassment. There stood James, with an elderly couple, presumably his
grandparents. James stood staring at her, and then started giggling too. It was
the first time she had seen anything but the pensive expression he always
displayed. This was worth every ounce of humiliation she was about to endure.

“Hello
James,” she said in a gruff voice, “you’ve caught me trying out a new look.
What do you think?”

“You
are funnier than I thought you were. You always seem so serious, so grown up.”
James replied. “But I knew there was something different about you. Chloe,
these are my grandparents.”
Chloe awkwardly reached out a hand to greet them.

“Please
excuse me, we were, um, we were – oh dear, we were just messing around and having
a laugh and I forgot to wipe off the moustache! It is a pleasure to meet you.
Your grandson is an amazing child.”

“Yes,
James told us about you. He says you are really interested in the oak tree and
him collecting acorns,” James’ grandfather said as he shook her hand, not quite
managing to stifle his chuckle at Chloe’s expense.

“I
am Joel, and this is my beautiful wife, Grace.” He gave Phoebe a hug while
Chloe was greeting Grace.

“Hi
Phoebe, how have you been, we haven’t seen you for a while.”

Phoebe was clearly pleased to see
them.

“Yes,
it has been far too long, please come around for tea again sometime soon. We
miss you at Tea for Two.”

Chloe
felt a stirring; Joel and Grace seemed so familiar. She had not met any locals
yet beside those who worked in the stores. Where could she possibly have seen
them? She just couldn’t place them and for some reason, it bothered her
greatly.

“So,
Chloe, did James tell you that Grace and I planted that oak tree, many years
ago.” Joel asked casually and James gave her a bit off an apologetic look. She
smiled at him; she knew he would have told her when he felt ready. Another
little piece of the puzzle.

“No,
we had not got to that yet,” she answered, rather surprised. “He has been
showing me how to harvest the acorns so far. I am learning a lot,”

Grace smiled.

“We
were not much older than James when we planted it, together.” She beamed up at
her husband, love pouring from her gaze to his. They had known each other a
lifetime, and still that love was evident. That was it! The couple walking on
the beach the day she had arrived. This was them!

“I
would love to hear the story of the tree sometime, although I am sure James
will tell me when he is ready.” Chloe gave James an encouraging smile.

“When
James has told you all he can, and if he feels it is all right, we would be
happy to meet with you and tell you the oak’s tale.” Joel put his arm around
James.

“It
is very important to James; he takes great pride in that tree and its history.
He doesn’t share his stories with just anyone.” Grace confirmed what Phoebe had
said earlier.

This
humbled Chloe. She obviously had James’ trust and would not do anything to
compromise that, and so she would wait until he gave her permission to meet
with his grandparents. They all greeted each other goodbye then Phoebe and
Chloe dashed into the nearest shop to use the ladies’ room so Chloe could wipe
the silly moustache off her face before she embarrassed herself any more. They
erupted into giggles all over again as soon as they were out of earshot of
James and his grandparents. They decided it was time to get back to the café;
Phoebe needed to prepare for the next day and Chloe needed to finish sorting
and packing. She was going to be moving into her new home in the morning, and
would at least have a week to settle in before beginning her new job. It had
been an amazing day. Chloe felt so alive, so rejuvenated, just from having some
girl time.

The
next morning, before moving, Chloe met with James, as had become their daily
ritual. They checked for newly fallen acorns, went through the sorting and zip
locking process, and for the rest of the time sat quietly together. By the end
of that morning session they had collected sixty healthy acorns in total. James
explained that the acorns would fall throughout autumn so he would collect for
another two weeks more. He wanted at least two hundred acorns. She sensed he
was about to tell her a bit more. She noticed him spending a bit more time with
inspecting the acorns this morning, and there was one different zip lock bag.
Where the others were all clear, this one was pink. They were just packing up
when James began to say something.

“I
will tell you,” he said quietly.

“Tell
me what?” Chloe asked hopefully.

“Why
I am collecting acorns. Then you are welcome to speak with my grandparents
about the history of this tree – they tell the story much better than I can.”

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.

“I
would like that so much James.”

He started slowly, cupping an acorn
in his hands; he lifted it up for her to see.

“Look
at this tiny acorn. It is small and vulnerable. Many get eaten by insects,
birds and squirrels. But the few that make it…” he paused and turned to look up
at the tree.

“This
tiny little acorn has everything it needs inside to grow into a giant oak
tree.”

Chloe
caught her breath. The power in this little boy’s words hit her with a force
she had never experienced.

“My
grandfather told me the story of this oak tree,” he continued, “and that each
acorn is like a dream that we hold inside our hearts. Not all dreams make it
into giant oaks, but those that are cared for and nourished properly stand a
far greater chance.”

Tears streamed down Chloe’s face as
she listened to James speak.

“I
want to give everyone an acorn. Everyone needs a dream. Everyone needs an acorn
that has the potential to become a giant oak.”

Chloe wiped her eyes.

“James,
that is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Thank you for sharing that
with me.”

He smiled up at her sweetly.

“My
grandparents planted their acorn, together, when they were around my age. Look
at their oak. Look at them.”

He was so right. She had seen their
love the moment she had first seen them walking on the beach. She couldn’t wait
to hear their story. To hear how a love lasted from childhood through many
decades to appear as it was now, unshakeable.

“James,
would you let your grandparents know you are ready for them to meet with me. I
will be moving into my new home today, but they can reach me at Tea for Two
through Phoebe. Or just tell me tomorrow when we meet what they say.”

He
picked up the cooler box and waved goodbye as he replied:

“I
will ask them. Thank you for helping me Chloe.”

Chloe
left, feeling lightness in her heart that came from discovering
unspoilt
beauty in the heart of a human being. She had already packed her car earlier
and so she drove to her new home. She didn’t feel like company, even Phoebe’s,
just yet. She needed time to fully comprehend what she had just heard and been
exposed to.

She
unpacked her car and repacked her apartment, moving furniture and personalising
her space. She really felt that she fitted in this space - it was lovely. She
found a special place for the old drawing of the oak tree that she had bought
at the antique shop. She wondered about its artist and if he or she was still
around, or even a local at the time. She finished unpacking and decided to curl
up with a book on the couch for an hour or two. She had been so busy organising
the last few days, so she just needed some quiet time.

She
got into her nightclothes and gown, put on her slippers, made herself a mug of
hot chocolate and got comfortable. This was one of her rare indulgences of
time. Before, she had barely had time for anything, but she always made time
for a good book.

She
was about twenty pages into her reading when her phone rang.

“Hello
Chloe, I hope I am not disturbing you. It is Grace,” said the soft, soothing
voice on the other end of the line.

“Grace!
What a surprise. No, you are not disturbing me,” Chloe was delighted by the
unexpected call.

“James
told us that he explained what he is doing and that it was OK with him for us
to tell you about the tree. Please join us for tea tomorrow afternoon, you
would be most welcome.”
Chloe felt a rush of excitement at the invitation.

“I
would love to join you,” she replied enthusiastically as she scribbled down the
directions as Grace explained to her how to find their home. Now she was too
excited to get back into her book, her mind was racing at all the possibilities
of stories there could be about the oak tree’s history. She decided to watch
some TV instead, it was not something she often did, but switching through the
channels she came across some comedies and thought a good laugh was never a bad
idea. She spent the rest of that afternoon and evening on her couch, cuddled up
watching one sitcom after the other, enjoying not having to think, or plan or
concentrate too much. She found that there was absolute bliss in not doing
anything.

C
hapter Five

In
the morning, as usual, she met with James and they went through their daily
ritual of harvesting acorns. Today in silence, as was not uncommon. James had
told her all he needed to for now, and would let her hear the rest from his
grandparents later that afternoon. She noticed that James was putting acorns
into all the bags except the little pink one. Curiosity reared its head but
Chloe did not ask.

“I
need to leave a little early today, James. I want to have a quick cup of tea
with Phoebe to discuss a few things and then run some errands before our tea
date with your grandparents. I will see you later.” The thought made her happy.
James seemed pleased at the idea too. He really had started to mean a lot to
her, this time with him was becoming precious to her.

She
arrived at Joel and Grace’s home right on time. Both Joel and Grace greeted her
at the door and welcomed her into their home. Joel stepped aside to allow Grace
to lead the way to the lounge and for Chloe to follow and then they all took
seats. James was already sitting on the couch and got up for Joel and Grace to
sit beside each other. He took a seat to Joel’s right which left a seat to
Grace’s left open for Chloe. They seemed to form a semi-circle around the
coffee table, on which there was a beautifully potted oak bonsai. She guessed
it was one of their handy works as well.