Once a year they appear. There’s no advance notice. They are speckled plums, my favorite. While in season I’d gladly eat nothing else!
I’m trying to pace myself. It’s tough. The season is short.
As it turns out, plums enter into my relationship with Helaine. It was a plum that let my mother know Helaine was the right girl for me.
My parents were living in Apartment 5E in Flushing at the time. It was a tiny apartment with a tinier kitchen. Looking back, I have no idea how she prepared meals in there.
I was watching TV in the living room when I decided I wanted a piece of fruit. I ducked into the kitchen, got a plum and walked out.
Two steps later I stopped dead in my tracks. Helaine and my mom looked at each other. I turned around, walked back in the kitchen and grabbed a napkin.
Putting it mildly, my mother was floored! I’m not sure she’d ever seen me go back for a napkin. She knew who was responsible.
The rest, as they say, is history.
