After so long, Lourdes had not yet given up hope. Even after seeing Hal with Karen, and then Maggie, she still could not bring herself to lose sight of her love. Her beautiful, unrequited love.
An apple. Out of all the things she could give him to profess her love, she had to choose an apple.
But maybe it wasn't just an apple. She went to one of the orchards in Charleston one morning, meaning to simply see what sort of foods the new capital of the United States had to offer when it came to her favorite fruit.
And there it was, among the trees, hit flawlessly by the waning rays of sunlight shining on the lowermost bough. The perfect apple.
So, being the hopeless romantic Lourdes was, she went and picked it, and took it back to her room that she shared with another girl from the 2nd Mass. She placed it on the highest shelf above her bed, saying to herself that she would give it to him before bedtime, when he was walking to his room alone, without Maggie.
Did she think for even a moment that he would have the smallest trace of feelings for her? No. Did she think ahead about the bitter heartbreak that she was sure to receive? No. Her heart was blinded by the sheer light that comes out of love.
She dreamed through the rest of the morning, and all through the afternoon as well, trying to concentrate on her patients for the day. If Anne noticed anything odd about Lourdes's behavior, she didn't say a word on the matter.
But somehow, when night fell and dinner had long been over, she went to bed without giving Hal the apple. She let it sit there and rot for days till she threw it away.
Why? Because her subconscious thoughts willed it so. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew that she could not let him know. Not now, not ever. They were complete opposites, and Lourdes didn't believe for a second all the talk about how "opposites attract"—no, she was firm in her now unwavering knowledge that someday, she would find someone else. She regretted the slump that she'd gone into when Jamil died, falling back onto sweet fantasies of a life that could never happen, no matter what time they lived in.
Lourdes was not a cold or calculating person—she just knew herself, and knew what was best for her in the long run. And eventually, she did get over Hal. And she found another man to love, this time for the rest of her life.
And though memories of the apple did not fade away with time, she did not let those short-lived feelings rule her life. And that's exactly what she would say to anyone who asked.
I picked an apple for you to say
I love you, I need you, I want you to stay
I placed it up high on my shelf for a day
I longed for a bite as it rotted away
It goes, it goes, it just goes to shows
That anything can happen
Oh, woes, woes, piled up to your nose
'Cause good enough just isn't good enough