THE APPLE OF MY EYE
***************************
It was that time of the year.
Time to make caramel coated apples with my nieces and nephews for halloween.
As I wanted eating and baking apples anyway, I decided to buy a few bushels and nick two tasks with one trip to my local farmer's market.
Before leaving, I decided to find out which ones would keep the best--the ones that'd be likely to last until spring.
I googled "Fruits and Apple," and what I found, led me to believe "Baldwin Apples" were my best bet.
They were plentiful in my area and although not as cheap as some, they appeared to be worth the extra cost.
Case closed? Afraid not.
Tending to be an excessive person, I didn't leave well enough alone.
For the next two hours I kept googling every apple question that popped into my mind.
I soon became hooked and found myself wanting to know more and more about apples.
**************
I learned that the apple was first introduced to North America in the 1600s and by 1625, the very first orchard was growing near Boston.
That led me to find out why my parents old apple tree down by the lake produced apples that tasted a bit like wild cherries.
Turns out that established types of specific apples aren't grown from seeds but rather from cuttings so they didn't become a "mixed breed."
By now I was on an "apple roller coaster" and discovering all kinds of trivia such as how in mythology it was believed apples could keep us youthful forever and in Norse paganism, buckets of apples along with nuts were thought to be symbols of fertility.
********************
I wasn't all that surprised to read that apple cider vinegar was considered an antibiotic and that during the infamous Black Plague, it was thought to be a life saver.
It seemed like I'd read about that before in the story of "Three Thieves," where these men stole and ransacked plague victims homes, often with the dead still inside.
The story was that no one in their right mind dared enter a plague house EXCEPT the three infamous thieves.
When finally caught, the judge told them, that if they would reveal the secret of how they escaped getting the plague, that they would be set free.
As it turned out, the thieves testified not only to their daily ingesting apple cider vinegar to immunize themselves from the plague, but that they always used it to disinfect their loot as well.
Made sense to me.
For that matter, as a food what could take it's place? German Potato Salad, greens, salads, dressings, sauerkraut, and pickled pigs feet and bologna wouldn't exist. At least not as we've come to know them.
I wasn't surprised either to see all the practical everyday uses for vinegar, how it was a good cleaner, deodorizer, hair rinse, mouth wash, lime remover, and even an effective hygiene product.
Was there anything vinegar was not good for? If news gets around I thought, it could wipe out entire sections of the super market.
*****************
Becoming aware I'd slipped over the edge and was learning far more about apples and apple cider vinegar than I really wanted to know, I was ready to turn off my laptop.
But suddenly my interest came back when I discovered one more tantalizing tidbit--a new site that explored regions of France and the British Isles that were known for their apple ciders, apple wine, and apple brandy.
My memory now jogged, I recalled stories of my British ancestors who'd immigrated to North America and become apple growers and exporters.
So before I turned off my computer, I clicked on a link that took me to a related site that told of a particular 200-year-old rental cottage that was available by the week in Falmouth Harbour.
It had once been a storage barn for apples, and a place to make specialty cheeses as well.
Tired, I wasn't about to open it, but with my curiosity aroused, I bookmarked it.
Closing everything off at this point, I figured I had more than exhausted not only the subject but myself, and would give it a rest.
Happy to finally get out of my office, I drove off to the farmer's market for varieties of squash, three pumpkins, corn stalks to adorn my mail box, and two beautiful bushels of Baldwin Apples.
On the way home I fantasized about apple butter on my cinnamon toast, and warm baked apples, applesauce and apple pie gracing my kitchen table in the cold weeks and months ahead. Maybe I'd even find a man to share it with.
****************
After doing the caramel apples with my brothers kids, I soon forgot my love affair with apples until business took me to the British Isles where I ended up staying at a hotel near the cottage I had booked marked when I was in the midst of my apple frenzy.
With one day left, I called the owners who immediately gave me a tour of the cottage
As soon as I walked in I fell in love with the open but yet intimate interior.
It was easy to imagine curling up in front of the inglenook where I could sit near the wood-burner with my feet up and read a romantic story or delve once again into the works of Jane Austin.
Before leaving I checked out the bedrooms.
Taking the old stone staircase upstairs, I walked into 2 open-roofed, dark-floored bedrooms with a shared "hose-down" shower.
I could see myself coming out of it wrapped up in a big terry towel and reclining into the wicker chaise--looking out at the coves watching the sailing and beachcombers--searching for sea shells.
All and all, I was enchanted by this this lovely peaceful place so far removed from the hustle of my recent surroundings.
Sold on the virtues of the cottage, I wrote to my long time patient and distant cousin, Lord Thomas IV.
I told him about my discovery, thinking it might be something he'd want to consider for an upcoming vacation.
The following is from my cousin's journal that he was kind enough to share with me.
I now share it with you with his permission.
****************
Dear Lady Thomas,
For the purpose of my journal, I am not going to you call you Dagny or Doctor This or That.
I will instead use your rightful title. Please bear with me and speak up if you'd rather I did not speak to you with such familiarity.
I was definitely interested in all you sent me about the cottage in Cornwall--on Falmouth Harbor--and of course your new found fascination with apples.
Thanks to this new obsession of yours, I was led to look it up on the internet and further investigate the cottage.
I was delighted to find it was in the general vicinity of where our ancestors were said to live.
Since your letter, I have been exploring our genealogy and have discovered our ancestor, Lord Thomas I, did quite well on exporting apples in the 1800's.
Here is additional information which you may find interesting:
In 1647, Gov. Peter Stuyvesant planted the first apple tree from Holland on the corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street in New York City.
Settlers moving north of the city brought their own seeds and found the soils, climate, and topography of many parts of the Hudson Valley well suited for fruit production.
Orchards were soon well established in the valley, with the region shipping fruit to New York City via the Hudson River, and on to England by the 1760s. By 1850, more than 500 varieties of apples existed in North America.
Do you remember all the great stories told at reunions about our ancestor being sort of an entrepreneurial Johnny Apple Seed--that originally, he was a native of the Devonshire and Cornwall vicinity?
The way I understood it, by the the mid 1800s, he had moved to St. Claire Shores in Detroit,
where he became a highly respected citizen--a wealthy man who wore a black top hat and carried a walking cane that concealed a sword.
I have retained my title passed on from him and am known as Lord Thomas IV, for the benefit of my exporting business, but I am seldom addressed this way.
By the way, I know you don't use it, but you do have the right internationally, to retain the title of Lady Thomas IV by virtue of Charles, the youngest brother of Lord Thomas I.
You will recall, my father was the rightful heir to the apple business, just as his father and fathers before that was passed on down to him.
I do enjoy the connection to my past and am reminded of it each time we talk, the sweet continuity of life you and I continue to share.
Today, I am, as my great-great-great grandfather, still actively engaged throughout the Hudson Valley buying and exporting apples to the British markets.
Can you believe that last winter alone, I made my fiftieth trip across the Atlantic?
The extent of my business operations can be judged from the fact that my cash turn-over last year alone, was in excess of 3 million dollars; that is of course information just for the two of us to know.
I only share it with you now, to give you a better feeling for my business with which I hope you will someday be involved.
For sure, it's not a lot for a business nowadays, but not so bad for basically a one man operation.
Let's just say that when combined with the value of my current real estate holdings, I am not hurting, despite the current depressed economic conditions.
That said, I have come to a time in my life where I need to settle down and find a help mate either as a wife or a business partner.
What would you say to meeting me--brainstorming with me--discussing possibilities?
Please do keep in mind that I never fly--that I am a firm believer that the whole idea of travel is it's the journey that counts, not the arriving at one's final destination.
***************
Dear Lady Thomas,
Where did you go? I am so looking forward to a message from you. Please write soon.
By the way, like our ancestor, in addition to my love of traveling to Europe, I look forward every year to the summer months where I can escape the awful heat along with a number of my friends who also own cottages in close proximity to the old stone cottage on Muskoka Lake.
Do you recall it was built by Lord Thomas I?
I have a feeling you would love it. When I am there I never feel trapped because the channel connects the cottage to Lake Erie, which of course, gives me access to the entire world.
Perhaps if we can't meet at the cottage in Cornwall, you will agree to meet me at Muskoka soon.
Either way, I don't believe you have ever been there and I would love to share a weekend there with you, one way or another.
By the way, the area has only 50,000 permanent residents, but an additional 100,000 seasonal property owners spend their summers there.
It's always been a popular vacation spot, even in our ancestors day, but nowadays it has become internationally known as a major summer colony for the rich and famous.
A number of the seasonal properties like our "Apple Tree" are actually summer estates--many of which were passed down through old families generation to generation.
Trying to entice you further into visiting me next summer, you may find it interesting that In recent years, various Hollywood and sports stars have built retreats in Muskoka, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mike Weir, Martin Short, Harry Hamlin, Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
Do you recall when we were kids that my favorite no brainer movie was "Overboard" staring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Your devoted cousin,
Lord Thomas
******************
Dear Thomas,
I do recall you being crazy about Goldie at one time, and felt the sparks that flew between you two once at a wedding long ago.
Are you now content to settle in your chair with a bowl of popcorn and pretend she's there with you?
I'm beginning to get the distinct impression that you are in need female company, even if it's just with your cousin. Lol.
Let me know what works for you and I will try and arrange my schedule accordingly.
Either your cottage or the one in Cornwall would work for me, but hope to visit BOTH in the future.
Affectionately,
Lady Thomas
*******************
Dear Lady Thomas,
Today I breathed a sigh of relief as my ship left New York Harbor for South Hampton.
I look forward to a few days on the high seas--to once again feel the invigorating cool Atlantic wind caressing my face.
Oh dear cousin, I trust you do not change your mind about meeting me the fifteenth at the cottage on Fulmouth Bay.
I understand that the nearby pub serves a sharp cheese with Apple Pie. Their motto being: "Pie Without Cheese, Is Like A Hug Without A Squeeze."
Anyway, I have everything all reserved for us. I can barely contain my excitement at the prospects of seeing you again.
Affectionately,
Cousin Thomas
******************
Dear Cousin Tommy,
Does the scent of apples and cheese and your curly pipe still linger about you after you've been out to sea?
I recall it being such an exotic and irresistible perfume, one that's always intoxicated me and made me want to do more than greet you a hug.
I'll bet it still draws women to you from around the world--If I wasn't your cousin, I might be jealous.
And yes, I too look forward to seeing YOU soon. We will have a real good time.
Hugs,
Lady Thomas
****************
Dear Lady Thomas,
Loved your last note . . . do remind me when we meet to discuss our blood line.
Among other things, it will be fun to explore your impressions regarding our family, including those who went to China to do missionary work. I have always been curious about them.
Also the ones who ended up in Australia to live among men who refused to live a staid and "proper" life.
As I am sure you will recall, I have often admired the outlaws in the family more than I have the martyrs who thought the people of China needed their particular brand of religion.
Maybe it's the Cornish-Devonshire blood, that makes me look forward each year to returning to the cottage on Lake Muskeko--the rebel in me that rejects being trapped into the everyday grind.
But then again, perhaps I want to be there because of the pleasure I derive in looking down on the newest crop of beauties who wander on to my beach each summer.
They are so innocent like, so unaware that the chaises they are lying on were planted by me for quite selfish reasons--that their beach benefactor is peering down at them from the balcony above--lusting for them--both blessing and cursing the years that have left me richer but less virile.
That reminds me, I am hoping if my impotence challenges continue, that either your presence or viagra will solve my concerns.
It is true cousin, I must confess, that I have lusted after those sunbathers, but may I be so bold to say, that none has ever moved me like seeing you by the pool a few years ago in your white bikini and those big oversized sunglasses peering up at me.
That reminds me, I know you are my cousin, but do we really need to bring that up anymore?
Don't panic. I'm not desperate, yet anyway. For whatever reason, women still find their way to me, though I am not sure why.
As a teen-ager, I was convinced our great-great grandfather's top hat and cane had been the "chick bait" the draw for fair lassies, but as for myself, I tend to believe the credit should go to my fitness trainer, barber, dentist and dermatologist.
Being an imaginative but still a practical man, I continually calculate my assets and liabilities, I don't waste time questioning realities, only spend time on what works and what doesn't.
I find however, it is not always that simple.
Like the old sage once said, "Sometimes I falter where once I firmly trod."
Tomorow, I hope and pray to see you Lady Thomas, standing there, waiting for me on the pier. I am so excited I don't know how I can sleep tonight.
Devotedly yours,
Thomas
*********************
The following day:
When Lady Thomas (aka Dagny) greeted Lord Thomas at South Hampton, he took one look and didn't second guess his good fortune.
For the first time in a long time, he didn't resent the British Empire who had sought to completely control the people of Cornwall. Politics were the last thing on his mind.
Looking down from the ships railing and seeing his lovely Lady Thomas below smiling and waving at him, all he saw was an ideal opportunity presenting itself.
He thought to himself, if he missed it this time, he'd be not only be a fool, but an old fool.
***************
Lady Thomas and Jeeves, her chauffeur, escorted Lord Thomas to Apple Cottage II where Lady Thomas and Lord Thomas were shown to their rooms.
Jeeves let them know that he would be at their disposal right next door should either of them need anything--that all he would need do was pull the cord over his bed and he would come to attend to his needs.
Once they unpacked they met in the garden below and walked to the nearby pub for dinner.
****************
Sharing a beef pasty in a cozy booth, Lord Thomas and Lady Thomas were delighted at being together again, and although they tried to hide it, they were both exhausted and wanted to call it a night.
When they returned to the Apple and Cheese Cottage, they hugged and parted, agreeing to meet for breakfast the next morning in the country kitchen--take Jeeves up on his offer to make them brunch at noon.
********************
In the middle of the night, Lord Thomas woke with a splitting headache.
He realized immediately it was because he had eaten little for dinner and had not had any coffee or tea in as he normally would.
This prompted him to reach over his bed and pull the cord to summon Jeeves, to see if he could bring him a midnight snack.
When he didn't show up, he reluctantly pulled the cord again.
This time, instead of Jeeves appearing at his bed side, he heard a knock on his door and was surprised to see Lady Thomas through the view finder.
"I'm so sorry Lady Thomas, I did not mean to disturb YOU."
He meant it but that did not stop his loans from twitching and disagreeing.
Secretly he was happy to see her standing before him in her modest, yet revealing floor length white nightgown and peignoir.
"I understand Sir Thomas, and am so sorry, but an emergency has occurred with the owners and Jeeves had to leave and help them--their daughter went into labor and had to be taken into the hospital."
"It is okay Lady Thomas, I will be okay, I was only hoping to get some food brought to my room in hope it would take away my pounding headache . . . I fear it is my own fault, I should have eaten more earlier."
"Oh Thomas, allow me, I will personally go to the kitchen and find something for you,
Jeeves will be back anytime now and can bring you a tray."
"Oh Lady Thomas, that would be wonderful, I am indebted to you."
****************
Within half an hour, she appeared at his door with a tray of food.
Blushing she said, "Lord Thomas, Jeeves is still not back, so I took it upon myself to deliver this to you myself."
Taking the tray from her he thanked her, and closed the door and sat the tray upon the table near his bed.
It was wonderful. Everything on the tray had a feminine touch and he couldn't help but be touched that she had personally prepared the delicious spread before him.
***************
After eating and sipping his tea, his headache began to disappear.
Now the problem became one of sleep. Try as he might he tossed and turned and could not drift off into slumber.
As he lie in bed with his eyes closed, visions of Lady Thomas
appeared.
Her scent, her beauty, the longing in her eyes, her inviting smile, her soft melodious voice saying good night and adding, "If you need anything else, just ring," played big in his mind.
*******************
Sitting up he turned the lamp on by his bed, dipped his fingers in the lemon and water finger bowl and dried them on his dinner napkin before turning pages on a novel he'd been reading hoping it what put him to sleep.
Instead he felt the book drop, and then his hands dropping down to his groin for a little self pleasuring.
He hoped it could release the intense hard on beneath the covers that he felt growing.
As he massaged himself, he pictured Lady
Thomas doing it for him and became so urgent in wanting an orgasm, he grabbed a the glass of wine on his bed stand he had poured earlier but hadn't drank for fear of making his headache worse.
Immediately the warmth of it surged through his veins and he reached over his head and pulled the rope three times to summon Lady Thomas.
*******************
Like a dream come true, within minutes she was standing over his bed looking down upon him and shaking him gently.
"Lord Thomas, are you okay? I knocked, but when I didn't hear anything I took the master key and came on in to check on you."
"Thank you Lady Thomas, I do need help. Could I persuade you to rub my stomach? I need to ease my cramps --it is an old condition--the cramping is acute."
Without saying a word, Lady Thomas pulled up a chair to the side of Lord Thomas's bed and put her hand under the covers to massage his abdomen.
She told him, "Lord Thomas, please direct my hand where I need to massage to bring you relief."
She gently explored and massaged asking repeatedly, "Does that feel any better?"
"Oh yes, a little lower please . . . ."
Lady Thomas continued to work on Lord Thomas as she softly sang a 16th century Madrigal song recalled from her days in Stratford's Shakespearian Summer School.
From the smile on his face, it was obvious, that Lord Thomas loved it and was relaxing.
Soon, he let out a groan and requested, "Lower Lady Thomas, lower please."
The bedding seemed tangled--in the way--she impatiently jerked the covers back
Lifting up his shirt she told him, "Lord Thomas, I need to raise this to continue."
"Do, Lady Thomas, please do," he said as he raised his hips and helped her pull it up around his waist where his cock stood upright at a 45 degree angle.
Grasping it in her hand she stroked it back and forth as he exclaimed, "Oh yes, keep it, up, keep it up, it feels so good, don't stop."
But Lady Thomas DID stop.
But only long enough to raise up her own night clothes as she climbed on the bed and mounted Lord Thomas, dropping down to the full hilt of the most beautiful thick rigid erection she'd ever seen.
Lord Thomas raised his hips meeting her thrust for thrust and before long they were both crying out in sheer ecstasy in the best climax of their lives.
"Omigod, she yelled it, you are incredible.
Omigod, I can't take this much longer, fuck me baby, fuck me. Make me cum all over you."
"I will my darling, I will we will do this for days, I won't stop I swear!"
For days they would keep going, but at the moment it was too intense and they both went over the cliff, and cried out in elation,
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, omigod, omigod!"
Collapsing on his chest, Lady Thomas lay quiet until Lord Thomas growled, "Lady Thomas could I persuade you to postpone my appointments for another couple of days."
"Yes, my love. Tell me what to say."
"Tell him I discovered a new type of Apple, that it's called 'The Apple of My Eye,'
that in fact, I will soon have an entire orchard in bloom and it will become known as a 'Love Apple' of the 21st Century."
"Will he know what it means?"
"I doubt it. But sweet darling, right now I only want to spend time with you, make sure YOU understand what it all means. "
**************
The End.
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