in which we have the apple orchard scene
also, a huge shoutout to everyone who commented. i love you guys so much :D
.
.
.
Saturdays were Connor and Zoe's favorite day of the week. It meant that they were going to visit Autumn Smiles Apple Orchard. They'd started going once a month last year, but they loved it so much that Cynthia and Larry decided to make it a weekly excursion.
"Zoe, hurry up!" Connor whined, repeatedly banging on the bathroom door.
"Wait!" Zoe called from the other side, her toothbrush still in her mouth.
"Hurry up, breakfast is ready and I want to go the orchard."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Zoe grumbled, spitting out her toothpaste into the sink and opening the bathroom door. "I do want to go too, you know."
Connor excitedly grabbed her hand and almost dragged her down the stairs in his eagerness. Cynthia was packing the picnic basket in the kitchen.
"What drinks do you want?" she asked as the children came in.
"Coke," Connor said, sliding into his chair and placing a sausage on his plate.
"Can we have something healthier?" Cynthia suggested.
Connor pouted slightly, but finally replied, "Apple juice?"
"Me too," Zoe piped up.
"We're going to the apple orchard, so that's appropriate, I guess," Larry joked, glancing up from the newspaper.
.
.
.
After they had washed and put away the breakfast dishes, the four of them piled into the SUV and Larry drove off. The drive was around forty minutes long; the children passed the time playing 'rock, paper, scissors', and then they played 'I Spy'.
"I spy something… white!" Zoe said.
"The clouds?" Connor asked.
"No, it's fluffy and soft."
"Clouds are fluffy and soft," Connor pointed out.
"Actually," Larry spoke up from the driver's seat, "clouds are made from water droplets, so they aren't fluffy and soft."
"I don't understand," Zoe mumbled.
"What's water droplets?" Connor asked.
Cynthia rolled her eyes at Larry, "You'll learn more about it in school next time," she told the kids.
"Can we go back to the game?" Zoe whined. Cynthia nodded back.
"I don't know, is it…" Connor looked outside the window.
"I'll give you a clue, it's in the car."
"Oh, your hat!"
"My hat isn't fluffy," Zoe argued.
"Well, it's soft," Connor muttered. "I don't know."
"Do you want the answer?" she asked triumphantly.
"Okay."
She pulled out her stuffed toy sheep. "Ta-da!"
"You had it between you and the door, I couldn't see it," Connor pointed out.
"No, it was just sitting there, I wasn't hiding it."
"Yes, you did. That's cheating."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you—"
"Enough," snapped Larry. "It's just a game."
"But Dad," Connor protested, "she hid the—"
Zoe huffed indignantly. "Did not!"
"Yes, you—"
"Connor, I said that's enough, stop arguing with your sister."
"But, Dad, I—"
"Connor, it's just a game, quit being such a sore loser. If you keep arguing I'm going to turn the car around and go home."
They fell into an awkward silence for the rest of the car trip. But as soon as they drove through the gates of the orchard, the kids cheered, running out of the car as soon as it stopped, completely forgetting the argument they had ten minutes ago.
The Murphys had a favorite spot in the large orchard, it was next to a lake with ducks. Neither Connor nor Zoe knew how to swim yet, but they loved wading in the lake, feeling the water lap at their ankles.
"Ooh, it's so cold," Zoe squealed as she dipped a finger in.
"It's so nice!" Connor exclaimed, taking off his shoes and giving the water a kick. Several ducks scattered in flight and a few droplets landed on Zoe. "Whoops."
The two of them waded for a while, and afterwards they decided to play a game of catch.
"Daddy, come play with us, it's more fun," Zoe begged.
"Okay," Larry grinned, getting up from the picnic blanket as the kids screamed and scampered away. In about half an hour, they returned to the blanket Cynthia had moved under a shady tree, the three of them sweaty and flushed but laughing.
"Can we get something to eat?" Connor asked, pulling his shirt off and wiping his face with it.
"You're hungry? Already?" Cynthia asked, setting aside her book. "It's barely noon."
"I was running around," Connor pointed out with a shrug.
"Okay, let's eat then." She opened the picnic basket, pulling out tuna sandwiches and drinks.
"Yay, tuna!" Zoe cheered, unwrapping her sandwich and taking a large bite. They ate their lunch in relative silence, save for a random comment here and there from the kids.
After finishing their meal, Cynthia handed Connor and Zoe a bag each with crusts of the bread she had cut off for the sandwiches. "Do you want to feed the ducks?"
"Yes!" They grabbed the bags and went back to the edge of the lake. Breaking off small pieces, they tossed them towards the ducks, and jumped in excitement when the birds waddled closer (which of course only ended up scaring them away again).
"Oh my goodness!" Zoe cooed, "Look Connor, ducklings!"
A mother duck had come up to them with six or seven little ducklings in tow. Connor tossed them several crumbs, and several of the ducklings eagerly came closer. Stuffing the rest of the bread into his pocket, he reached down and gently scooped one of them up in a swift motion. "Look, Zoe!" he half-squealed, but remembering just in time to keep his voice low so as not to frighten the little bird.
"It's so cute!" Zoe's eyes sparkled. Cynthia turned around to see what the fuss was about. "Mummy, look! Duckling! Connor caught a duckling!" Zoe exclaimed in excitement.
Both parents hurried over as Connor sat down on the grass, carefully cradling the duckling in his small hands. "Oh my goodness, how cute!" Cynthia said, taking out her camera to snap a picture.
"It's far too small to roast," Larry joked.
"Daddy!" Both kids looked at him in horror, Connor almost dropping the duckling in his fright.
Larry held up his hands. "I was just kidding."
"How insensitive." Cynthia chided him, although there was mirth in her voice. "Connor, I think you better let the duckling go before its mother gets worried."
Connor gave the duckling a little kiss on its head, and then set it down on the ground, wistfully watching it scramble off to join its siblings. "What'll the duck mommy do to me?" he asked, standing up.
"I don't know," Cynthia admitted. "But she's probably not very happy that you took her baby."
"Will she bite me?" Connor's eyes went wide.
"Ducks can bite?" Zoe asked. "I thought they have no teeth."
"They still have a mouth," Connor pointed out.
"Yes, they can bite," Larry said. Connor and Zoe gasped and stepped a little further away. "It doesn't really hurt," he quickly reassured them.
"They are very cute," Zoe murmured, as the ducklings splashed into the lake after their mother.
"Let's go climb the trees," Larry suggested.
"But I want to watch the ducks," Connor protested.
"You've been doing that for the past forty minutes, let's go."
Connor pouted. "I don't like to climb trees. It's too hard."
"That means you need to practice. Once you become better at it, you'll start to enjoy it."
"Come on, Con! Climb with me!" Zoe said, tugging at her brother's hand. Connor made a noise that sounded like a cross between a whine and a groan, but dragged his feet after them reluctantly.
"Come on Connor," Larry called over his shoulder. "And please don't scuff your shoes, you'll spoil them."
There was a cluster of smaller apple trees on one side of the lake, Larry picked one with several lower branches. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me!" Zoe chirped. She climbed the tree with ease, nearly like an agile little monkey. It wasn't too long before she as sitting on a sturdy branch about ten or eleven feet in the air, beaming proudly at them.
"Come on, sport, your turn." Larry patted Connor on the back.
Connor kicked at the ground. "Don't wanna," he mumbled.
"Come on," Larry coaxed. Connor ignored him. "Young man," Larry's tone was getting sterner. "I'm not going to say it again."
Connor waited a few seconds, as if testing Larry to see if he would really say it again, then he walked towards the tree, pulling himself up with his arms. He made it up two branches, then made the mistake of looking down.
"Don't look down," Larry said.
Connor knew he shouldn't, but he just kept glancing downwards. The ground already seemed too far away; he glanced up at Zoe. She was so high up. The thought of actually getting up that high made his stomach feel a little queasy. "Come on, climb higher," Larry encouraged. "You're barely off the ground, it's not that high."
He pulled himself up another branch.
"Come on Con!" Zoe cheered him on as she swung her legs, bouncing lightly on the branch.
He managed to pull himself up another breath, his breath hitching slightly. A gentle breeze began to blow, causing the branches to sway ever so slightly. Connor clung to the branch, his knuckles beginning to turn white. "I-I want to come down," he whimpered.
"Connor, you're barely off the ground," Larry sighed.
"I don't want to climb, I want to come down," Connor said, not even daring to look down anymore.
"Connor, if your little sister can do it, why can't you?" Larry was beginning to sound expaserated.
Zoe looked down. "Come on, Con. It's fun up here, I can see far away!"
He glanced up, sucking his breath in through his teeth. Shakily, he reached for another branch. But the ground was too far away, the fall was too far, he would probably die if he fell. But if Zoe could do it, why couldn't he? Why was he so scared of everything, even climbing trees? Why was Zoe so much better at it than he was? But Zoe was too far up, he didn't want—he couldn't climb that high.
But he couldn't go down. Larry would be disappointed with him, and he didn't want to disappoint his father. So he clung, conflicted, to the branch.
"Connor, man up, I know you can go higher."
Connor gritted his teeth, and dragged himself up one more branch. "Is this enough?" he called down, hoping against hope that Larry would say yes.
"You can go higher," Larry urged. "Look, Zoe can do it so well!"
Connor hated it when his father compared him to Zoe. It made him feel like he was never good enough, Zoe was always better. He was terrified, but also determined to show Larry that he could do it. He climbed a little higher, feeling a little sick at how high up he was.
"Can I please come down?" he begged, nearly on the verge of tears.
"Fine, fine, come down," Larry sounded irritated, but Connor was too relieved to really care. He scrambled down as quickly as he dared.
Cynthia came up to him, giving him a hug. "That was really good! You climbed higher than last time!" She high-fived him.
He returned it half-heartedly. "I don't like being high," he mumbled.
Larry stepped over just as Zoe clambered down the tree. "Connor, next time we come here, I want you to climb up to where Zoe was today." Connor nodded glumly.
Zoe ran over and Larry gave her a big hug. "I'm so proud of you, you climbed so well today!"
"Thanks, Daddy!" She grinned, hugging him back.
Connor stared blankly ahead. "You disappointed your father again," the voice in his head whispered. "Zoe will always be better than you."
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to turn around to know it was his mother. "Honey, you did really well, I'm proud of you," she murmured.
But Connor knew that she was only saying that because she was his mother.
.
.
.
if you leave a comment i will love you forever
also hmu on tumblr thewickedverkaiking where i scream about musicals and star wars