Rotten to the Core (36 page)

“Did the hospital clear you to go?” Meg asked Seth on the way down to the lobby.

“No problem. You all right?”

“Sad, I guess. Daphne’s such a mess, and Jason was a jerk. If he’d just been a little nicer to Daphne, maybe none of this would have happened. And how pathetic is that?”

“I’m sorry it had to involve you, and your orchard.”

“So am I.”

“Are you okay to drive?”

“Sure. I come from tough Yankee stock. And I’ve got work to do.”

They drove back in silence, but somehow Meg didn’t turn off toward Seth’s house, going straight home instead, without asking Seth. It was a lovely sunny day, and she wanted to check on the orchard. Thank God she had managed to get Daphne out of there alive—she didn’t need any more ghosts in her orchard.

Things happened quickly during this uncertain season, didn’t they? She got out of the car, stuck her keys in her pocket, and set off up the hill, toward air and sunshine. Seth followed without a word.

When she reached the edge of the orchard, she stopped. Superstitiously her eyes were drawn to the springhouse, but there was no one there, dead or alive. The rows of trees stretched in all directions, and—she did a double take—some of them appeared to be blooming. Wasn’t it early for that? But here and there were hints of pink as new blossoms sought the sun. Baby apples in the making, and—bees, weather, pests, and time willing—they would be full grown by the fall.

“Seth, look! I’ve got flowers. Or blooms, or whatever you call them.” The orchard had gone on, with or without their attention.

“You do. Looks good.” He came up behind her. “Listen, Meg, I don’t want you to let what happened with Daphne and Jason get to you.”

She turned to him. “Seth, why shouldn’t it? They were living out their own little tragedy, right here under our noses. Sure, it wasn’t my fault, but I still feel bad about it. What a waste.”

A minute or two drifted by as Meg moved away, looking at more individual trees. Then she said without turning, “Seth, I’m glad you’re not dead.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m kind of glad about that, too.”

She took a deep breath. “You know, I have a lousy romantic track record, and I’m not sure I trust my judgment right now, but if there’s a chance of something happening between us . . . I think I’d like to know.”

“Meg, you’ve got to know that I think of you as a lot more than a friend.”

It wasn’t easy for her to turn around and look at him. Same Seth, solid and warm, watching her. She reached out, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him into the shelter of an apple tree’s low branches. “Good,” she breathed.

She wasn’t sure who kissed who, but it didn’t matter. It felt right. She leaned back against the rough bark of the tree and pulled him closer. He was alive, she was alive, and it was spring . . .

“Ahem.”

Meg jumped a foot at the sound of a discreet cough.

“Is that you, Meg? And Seth Chapin?”

Meg could feel herself blushing. “Tell me it isn’t Ruth Ferry,” she said into Seth’s chest.

Seth backed up—all of an inch—without letting her go. “I won’t, but Rachel will.”

Meg giggled. “Not Rachel, too. Can we get back to this later?”

“Definitely.”

Seth backed out of the branches cautiously, and Meg followed after running her fingers through her hair, releasing a shower of pink petals. “Hi, Rachel. Were you looking for me?”

Rachel struggled to hide her smile. “I was. It was such a nice day, I thought Ruth might enjoy a drive, and here we are. I hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

The expression on her face made it clear that she hoped no such thing. Seth intervened quickly. “Rachel, behave yourself. Ruth, it’s great to see you—how long has it been?”

“Long enough, my dear boy. Do you know, I believe I came upon your grandfather under the same circumstances, when I was about twelve. It must be the spring. If you can spare the time, however, I’d love to see the orchard.”

Meg beamed at her. “Of course! It looks like the bloom is just beginning. Seth, you want to come, too?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

While almost all apples taste good when cooked, their texture varies widely, so you have to choose carefully when you’re using apples in cooking. Some cook down into mush, others become leathery and tough, and some are “just right.”

Old cookbooks may recommend apple varieties, but they’re not always available these days. In your local stores today, the best cooking apples are: Braeburn, Cortland, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Mutsu, and Stayman. Golden Delicious is a dependable variety, but don’t try to cook with Red Delicious! And keep in mind that a good eating apple is not always a good cooking apple.

 

1 pound of apples = 2 large, 3 medium, or 4 small

Apple desserts come with all sorts of wonderful names—cobblers, buckles, betties, pandowdies, crisps, crumbles, slumps, and grunts. They’re all related, but with complicated genealogies. For her ill-fated dinner party, Meg chooses a recipe she remembers her grandmother making—it’s hard to go wrong with it.

 

Serves eight

Preheat oven to 375°.

Blend the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and blend until mixture forms large clumps. Place the mixture in a bowl and work in chopped nuts with your fingers (quickly—you don’t want the butter to melt).

Peel, core, and slice the apples (slices should be about a half-inch thick). Blend the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Combine the sliced apples, sugar-cinnamon mix, lemon juice, and zest and toss well.

Butter a 4-quart shallow baking dish and spread the apples in it. Crumble the topping evenly over the apples. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven until the topping is golden brown, about an hour.

Set the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 325°.

In a small bowl, mix 1½ teaspoons of salt, ¾ teaspoon of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of thyme. Set pork on a cutting board, pat dry with paper towels, tie into a neat cylinder with kitchen twine at 1½-inch intervals, and rub all over with the salt mixture.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Place the roast in the skillet and cook, turning, until well browned on all sides, about 12 minutes.

Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Turn the vegetables to coat with the oil, put the skillet in the oven, and roast for about 20 minutes.

Add the apples, the cider, and the remaining teaspoon of thyme, toss the apples and onions to coat and turn the meat over with tongs; continue roasting until center of the meat registers about 135° on instant-read thermometer, 20-30 minutes longer.