Twelve Days After My Husband Died, My Neighbor Stripped Every Fruit Tree Bare—Then She Told Me Why

PART 1 — THE ORCHARD

Twelve days after my husband died, I found our neighbor climbing over the fence with two garbage bags full of apples from Patrick’s trees.

At first, I thought Brenda was simply stealing fruit.

Then she mentioned a red light from twenty-seven years earlier.

A private detail only Patrick and I were supposed to know.

And suddenly, the apples became the least important thing she had taken from me.

My name is Nora.

Patrick and I had lived in Maplewood for seventeen years.

The house was not impressive.

Two-story white siding.

A porch Patrick repaired at least four times because he refused to admit the foundation shifted every winter.

A detached garage.

A long backyard bordered by a wooden fence.

But behind the house stood Patrick’s pride.

Seven apple trees.

Three pear trees.

Two cherry trees.

One stubborn plum tree that produced almost nothing for six years before suddenly deciding to cooperate.

Patrick loved those trees.