The Apple of Her Eye

Gabby followed her sister, Samantha, and her latest boyfriend to the door and as they were leaving, she said, "Thanks for everything. We absolutely could not have done this without your help. I'll text you soon with the date and time for the cookout." 

"Thanks, sis. I still owe you. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you!"

The last of the family and friends had gone home and now, they were all alone, just the two of them, and they could not be happier.

"I have to pinch myself Gabe, I can't believe we are homeowners. No more trips to the laundry mat and no more lugging the groceries up a bunch of steps." 

They finally had a bit of free time to sit down in their new eat in kitchen and enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie. So many had volunteered, uncoerced, and had been so generous with their time. From packing to unpacking, loading to unloading, they had plenty of help and they were planning on inviting every one of them over for a cookout in a couple of weeks.

Gabby looked over the top of her coffee mug and said to Gabe, "Do you mind if I go to the antique store tomorrow and see if I can find a plant stand? While you and dad were out getting some supplies from the hardware store yesterday, mom and I took a trip to that Greenhouse that's just down the road. You would not believe that place. They have some really nice house plants and I think they will add a nice touch to our living room."

"That's a great idea, Gabby. While you are there, see if they have a nice wooden table and chairs to replace this one. We did promise your sister we would return it when we had something to replace it."

"Sure, although I don't believe Samantha really ever wanted to get this table back". They both laughed.

Gabe and Gabby sure loved each other even though they could not have been any more different in their likes and their dislikes. Gabe preferred the traditional church hymns while Gabby preferred the sweeping and uplifting worship music of Phil Wickham and Chris Tomlin. Gabby beamed with joy when they would receive an invitation to a friends' wedding. Gabe? Well he would pretend to be excited too while secretly conniving a way to get out of going. On date night, Gabe's eyes would scan the restaurant menu for the weekly special while Gabby was all about seafood. Gabby would opt for a nice glass of Savignon Blanc. Gabe? He would opt for a water. They both loved dessert though so the server would bring a nice slice of key lime pie and a couple of forks. 

The vast differences touched every area of life. Even the grocery shopping!

They loved fruit ... grapes, oranges, tangerines, bananas, strawberries, blueberries.

And then there were apples!

While the other fruits were pretty much limited to one variety for the most part, apples had a wide variety to choose from. Gala, Red Delicious, Macintosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, Idared, to name a few ... and the granddaddy of them all ... Honeycrisp.

Galas were what Gabe liked to buy. They were just the right size, sweet, aromatic and best of all, a good apple for the money. Gabby? She wanted Honeycrisp and nothing but Honeycrisp. Sure, Gabe liked them too. The Honeycrisp apple was very sweet and very aromatic and of course, had a nice crispness to it. But Geesh, they were huge, and they were heavy, and they were priced way higher per pound than the other varieties. He could get eight Galas for the same price as two Honeycrisps. 

But that was what Gabby liked and when she gave him a list for the store and apples were on it, well, as much as it pained him to do so, that's what he got.

Well, truth be told, the one time he came home with Galas instead of Honeycrisp to save a few dollars, Gabby grabbed the keys, the apples and the receipt and off she went. "Sweetie, I'm sorry, I'll take them back!" .. but it was too late. He was waiting for her when she returned. "Gabe, I don't consider myself to be selfish but I don't think it's too much to ask to get the apple I love, even if it's a little bit pricier than the others. By the way, I didn't have any cash with me so I put the $8.46 difference on the credit card." Gabe knew better than to say what he was thinking. So, he just said, "That's fine sweetie, I wish you would have let me take them back". "I'm sorry too for acting like I did. By the time I got to the store, I was feeling pretty bad".

"Well then, let's celebrate. Hand me one of those apples, please!"

It wasn't too long after they had moved in that money started to get tight. His job paid well but the overtime he was accustomed to was stopped because the company was having a bit of a financial crisis. Gabby worked two part time jobs which paid more than minimum wage, but not much more.

First, there were a couple of little things. The water heater sprung a leak, so it needed replaced. And not too long after that, the built in microwave quit working. Then there was the root canal. The dental insurance unfortunately only covered a part of that cost. The big hit though came when the transmission in the truck went out. 

Gabby came home to find Gabe sitting in the dark and staring out the window.

"Gabe honey, is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, I did something today I never thought I would do. I feel so guilty. I try telling myself I am better than that. But I can't kick this guilt".

All his life, he had been honest. There was that time, for instance, he got his graded paper back and was surprised to see he got an A. Looking at the marked-up paper, he realized the teacher had not done the match correctly, that the grade should have been a C. When the bell rang, he waited until everyone left the room and once, they had, he told the teacher what had happened. 

"Well sweetie, whatever it is, I can confirm you ARE better than that. You'll feel better once you confess. So, tell me sweetie, what did you do that's bothering you so much?"

Gabe loved Gabby and how kind and considerate she was. 

"Okay, you know you gave me a list for the grocery store. You also know as well as I do that things are pretty tough right now. When I got to the produce section to get the apples you had wanted, I .. Oh geesh, I can't believe I did this. I put the Honeycrisp apples on the scale and when it asked for the code, I looked around to make sure no one was looking and then I put in the code for Galas."

"Hmm ... just a second, I will be right back. I need to use the bathroom." Once out of earshot, she did her best to suppress the laughter. She knew her husband and she did know he was better than that.

"Okay sweetie, here's what we are going to do. First of all, you need to thank God for forgiving your shortcomings. And after that, we're going right back to the grocery store, and we are going to buy a bunch of groceries and take them to the Food Bank."

Gabe looked at her and finally, he felt the burden of guilt lift from his shoulders, and it felt good. "Okay honey, that's a great plan. Now let's have a couple apples."