At that same moment and just a few streets away, Rory's mother Katherine is walking back to the groves after a late lunch break of leftover spaghetti at home. For two years now she's been contracted by several neighboring citrus farmers to help care for their trees- mostly orange- but some grapefruit and lemon as well. It's the most secure employment she's been able to find since her husband's unexpected passing.
That was nine years earlier, when young married life had been in a quaint new house on a quiet street in Southeast San Francisco, not far from the shipyard where her husband, Terry, was a young navy officer following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him.
Rory was only a couple of years old when Terry had died, Mitch was on the way. Katherine had just recently graduated as a certified arboriculturist as it was termed in those days. However she had been content to fall in line with the lifestyle of the other young military wives.
Terry's position had kept him stateside for most of the war; an occasional administrative mission to Hawaii was as much action as he ever saw.It hadn't been until the war was over that his fate had caught up to him.
It was now almost a decade later, but the daily struggle to provide for her children was a constant reminder of how things should have been.The monthly check she received from the military only went so far,and so she was defiantly proud of her decision to follow through on a career of her own despite her parents reluctance toward the same.
And ironically it was her parents own interest in fruit trees that had brought her to where she was today. She had grown up in Kaysville, Utah, just north of Salt Lake City.
Stretching for acres behind her home were rows of cherry and apple trees that thrived in the soil of the Wasatch foothills and the cool, dry mountain nights. Most all of her childhood memories were associated with those trees, whether playing games and running through them with the neighbor kids as a very young girl, summers spent with her parents and siblings watering and fertilizing the trees, or the exciting fall harvests when the members of the local church congregation would come over and climb ladders up into the branches,and then come back down with buckets full of ripe fruit.
By the time she was ten she had her own row of trees, and these multiplied to include several different types of apples, cherries,peaches and pears. She was naturally drawn to the botany side of biology in high school at which she excelled, and when eighteen she promptly moved to a family friends' home in Logan to attend Utah State University's agriculture program.
Again, this was all somewhat to the dismay of her parents who wold have preferred her to stay closer and promptly marry within the local community. And they were even further dismayed when her academic endeavors took her out of state to the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture in Davis, California. It was there that she had met Terry at church while he was visiting his brother. They fell in love, dated during the weekends, and within six months were married in a ceremony at Terry's parents home in San Francisco. Much of her family had traveled to be with her during the wedding, and for the most part relationships were smoothed over and all seemed well.
That is until her husband's passing. At that point it was simply understood- or so her parents said- that she would return home to Utah and carry on with life whilst under their roof and determined care. Their intentions were not misplaced, especially considering the circumstances and mindset of the times, and Katherine could have done well to accept their support; however her own determination had not yet wilted and she had struck out courageously on her own, chasing her professional dream south into the California citrus fields.
It was not easy. Her new credentials were not always taken seriously by stubborn farmers and field hands long set in their ways, and when she did find work it was almost always beneath her training and at half the pay of the men. So she'd bounced around a few times before landing in Anaheim where kind Mrs. Dominguez had signed her on temporarily, she being wise and/or curious enough to give Katherine a try.
By her honesty and expertise, Katherine soon earned the respect of the Dominguez family, and because they were held in a certain esteem in the community (many of the surrounding farmers had originally purchased their own lands from the Dominguez's) on their word she was able to procure work at many neighboring groves as well.
And so it was that Katherine had been able to settle her little family down for over two years in a Detroiter trailer home in a shaded lot just off Harbor Boulevard.
Now she walked at a brisk pace back toward her work, her Penney's Foremost boots trumping along the pavement, her long sandy hair swaying in a pony tail behind her. Her denim overalls were clean but showing plenty of white in the knees, and a pair of leather gloves were jammed in a back pocket. She was neither tall nor short, she had an easy stride and posture, her makeup was touched up just enough to keep her cheeks glowing, and despite the dumpy outfit she was by all means pretty.
It was September, and today she faced the typical routine- spot-checking the rows to make sure the hoses were in place and that the trees were properly mulched so as to retain the amounts of water necessary for oranges. Each tree was meticulously inspected for pests. Compared to the cherries and apples back in Fruit Heights these citrus trees required little pruning, for which she was grateful. Green little balls now adored the foliage; in December would begin the harvest.
Walking down Haster street she passed in front of Old Tom's house, and as usual he was working away as in his pristine front-yard garden. And, as usual, he hailed her from behind his low chain link fence in his charming Norwegian accent.
"Hullo Kate! How are the trees today?"
"Hello Mr. Olsen. They're good. Always there. How's Mrs. Olsen?"
"Fine, fine. At the market."
Old Tom had always treated Katherine and her family with sincere respect.His conversation could be sincere as well, sincerely direct.
"If what I've heard is true you might not need to care for those trees much longer." He laughed, not unfriendly.
"Yeah, the rumors have been going round again, I know." she replied. "But til anything happens I got a job to do."
"Well.. . hate to say it but some of those rumors seem to be turning into facts. Seems the Jennings just sold yesterday."
"The Jennings?" Kate was taken aback.
"They haven't said anything to you?"
"Not in the past few days."
"Probably didn't want to upset you... before it was final anyway." Old Tom looked away and bent over to fiddle among his flowers.
Nat Jenning's place was one of the three larger farms she had been fortunate enough to be contracted for; it ran consecutive to the Dominguez and Stillman farms. For a couple of years there had been all kinds or rumors about the land being bought up by developers, but it had always turned out to be just that- rumors. Losing any one of the farms would mean a significant chunk of her income, and much worse it meant the other properties wouldn't be far behind.
"Hate to be the bearer of bad news." His eyes came up to meet hers again."Maybe its better you heard it from me though. Will you be able to stay on here?"
Katherine sighed. "Oh Tom. The groves around here are dwindling away. Even if I did find more work, how long would it last? I'd probably have to move down toward Tustin, but it'll be tough gettin' on with anybody there. I just don't know anyone."
"Well, I hope it works out for you and your family young Katherine. You're good people. The Lord will provide."
At that moment, a block back toward the way she had come they both watch her children, Rory and Mitch, running excitedly across the street toward home from school, backpacks swishing and lunch boxes clanking.
"We'll have to see." was all she could reply.
"You know what I say?" Tom answered. "Life's always changing. You have to be brave and accept it. Sometimes it does get better, ya know?"
