The Orchard Season – Part 2: Cider Weather
Mature & Silver·EN·2 min read·Published 2026-11-07, updated 2026-11-07·Part 2 of 2
The farmhouse kitchen was warm and low, with a big scrubbed table, a pot of tea and a pie that, as promised, was tolerable. Better than tolerable. Gillian said so twice.
"You're too kind."
"I'm a headteacher. I'm never kind about pastry."
He laughed, a deep surprised laugh, and she realised she wanted to make him do that again. They talked through supper and past it, about retirement, grief, the strange freedom of being sixty with nobody's timetable but your own. At ten o'clock the fire in the sitting room needed building up, and Robert knelt at the hearth.
"Gillian," he said, with his back to her. "I haven't done this in a very long time."
"Neither have I."
"I'm out of practice."
"So am I."
He turned, still kneeling, firelight on his lined face. "May I say that I would like to kiss you? And that I will not mind at all if the answer is no."
"The answer's yes," said Gillian. "Come here."
He rose stiffly, laughed at his knees, and crossed the room. The kiss was careful, warm and entirely sweet. His hand shook very slightly on her shoulder; she covered it with hers. They stood by the fire for a long time, kissing slowly, like two people reading a favourite book aloud.
Upstairs, the big old bed had a patchwork quilt and a window onto the dark orchard. They undressed with humour, comparing aches and scars, and the honesty of it made them close. Under the quilt, love-making was slow and kind and not at all shy, a pleasure of two grown people who knew exactly how valuable it was. The fire crackled below. The old house settled and sighed.
In the morning mist hung in the rows, and the apple crates stood stacked in the barn. Gillian carried two mugs out to the porch and found Robert looking at the trees.
"The windfalls are good this year," he said.
"I'd like to see them in spring," said Gillian. "When the blossom comes."
He smiled and took her hand. "Stay for the winter pruning too," he said. "I could use someone to hold the ladder."
More mature romance stories: Autumn in Quebec · The Quilting Circle · The Silver Ballroom
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