Maybe I Am Overthinking It

It was kind of scraggly and shapeless. Why get something so ugly? The pear tree stood at the edge of her property with a dirt wall circling it to hold the water in. I asked her what made her decide on a pear tree and she said she didn’t know. She said It seemed as good as any fruit tree, and that’s what was available.

“Come to think of it, I end up with lots of junk that way,” I said.

“Oh, all the time. Sometimes, I’m not even looking for anything in particular. I’m just window shopping,” Laura said.

“This one time, I went to the grocery store for some meats for the week.”

“Yeah?” she turned from the pear tree to face me.

“And I ended up with a new frying pan, Tupperware, and all sorts of junk food.”

“Oh I can’t do grocery shopping without a shopping list.” She turned back towards her yard.

“Who gets frying pans and Tupperware from a grocery store?”

“I’m sure plenty of people do.”

“No, that’s what Amazon or Walmart is for.” I leaned over the wooden railing of the deck to inspect the grass meeting the house.

“Isn’t Walmart a grocery store?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t start that way. It was mainly like a department store. If I’m looking for house stuff then that’s where I go.”

“I guess that’s true. But still, what if you’re going out to the grocery store and you need a frying pan for the dinner you want to make?”

“I guess. I mean, I didn’t need it immediately, mine was just pretty worn out. And this one had this really form-fitting handle.”

“Well there you go,” She said, “you got something you like.”

“I like you,” I turned towards her.

“I know. I like you too.”

We let the birds and breeze talk for a moment while our thoughts wandered. It was the first time seeing the inside of her house since we started dating. It was nice. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but everything seemed normal enough. Just two people living their lives, trying to figure out if what they’re looking for is the same as what they’’ve found.

“You know, I never wanted a pear tree,” She said.

“No?”

“No, I just wanted a fruit tree.”

“Do you even like pears?”

“I’m not against pears.”

“That’s not a yes.”

“I like… fruit. Apples are ok, oranges, peaches, oh nectarines.” She did a 180 to face the house and rest on the rail with her elbows. “I just always dreamed of being able to stroll through my backyard and pick fruit off my own trees and eat it, you know?”

“What if, when the pears come, you don’t like them?”

“I think you’re overthinking it, and I can just get another fruit tree,” she turned back towards me.

“That’s true, you have a big yard. What else would you grow?”

“I don’t know. I’m not much of a gardener or farmer. It takes a lot of work. Sometimes, I forget to water the plants in my kitchen. They’re literally in front of my face every day, and I still forget. My flowers always die.”

“Terrible. Remind me not to get you any plants,” I smirked.

“Shut up,” she chuckled.

“I’m going to get you a cactus or something. Something you can just leave out there in the sun at the end of your yard. That way if you forget to water it, it will be okay.”

“You’re so dramatic. First of all, if you get me a plant, I’ll take care of it.”

“Yeah we’ll see. You’re not getting any plants from me at this rate.”

“Unless that plant happens to be a cactus, then I’m going to throw it away.”

“What?”

“Yeah, who the heck likes cactus?”

“It’s a gift. Out of love.”

“No one loves cactus.”

“Plenty of people love cactus.”

“Are you not paying attention? Fruit. I want fruit trees and berries and stuff.”

“Fine. I’ll get you a blackberry bush.”

“Oh I love blackberries. That would be so sweet,” she put her hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, and they still have little needles in the bush for when you’re being punk.”

“Do they really?”

“Yeah, haven’t you ever seen a blackberry bush?”

“Oh then I don’t want it. The kids could get hurt.”

“You don’t have kids.”

“But I want kids,” she pushed up against me wide-eyed.

“Like a lot or… Like on a scale of one to ten, how high would you say…”

“What? Like really high. Like a nine or a ten.”

“Oh,” I backed away to the safety of the railing.

“What do you mean ‘oh?’ You don’t want kids?”

“Well I’m not against kids.”

“Not against kids? What does that even mean?”

“Hey you said you weren’t against pears and what do you got right there?” I pointed at her only tree in the yard.

“Alright, alright. Did you want to have a quick drink before dinner?” Laura headed for the door.

“Yeah, what do you have?”

“I don’t have any beer, just wine and some gin.”

“Um, I’ll have what you’re having.”

“Okay, and thanks again for making reservations, and picking me up. It’s just so refreshing.”

“Of course, I’m happy to.”

“Well, let’s go see what we can find,” She walked into the house, and I followed.