She sniffed, and tears appeared. Again. “Fred always picked. I don’t know.”

“Well, we’re about to find out.”

Spook greeted them as they pulled into the farm. Ginny brought buckets as Amalia walked down to the strawberry patch.

“What do you see?” Ginny asked as she stepped in beside Amalia.

“I see enough to make a batch of preserves already. Looks like you’re going to have a bumper crop this year.”

They began at the east end of the patch. As they parted leaves, ever more ripe strawberries appeared.

Amalia asked around a mouthful of strawberry, “So we’re on that I come stay with you after UFO on Monday?”

“That would leave me with Saturday and Sunday nights to get through and I am determined to do just that. I must admit that being on my own the whole week was beginning to concern me.”

“At least you’re being honest and keeping track of your feelings. I am proud of you, my friend.”

“Taking one day or even one minute at a time has various levels of difficulty. You know how Fred loved his strawberries. I even thought of not picking them, but that would be a waste and…”

Amalia gave her time to fight off the deluge. She even offered a tissue. “We’ll take care of it. And the raspberries and the blueberries and anything else. You know, Sam and Erica…”

“Yes, but they have their garden and berry patch too. Summer is always a busy time.” Ginny suddenly stood up and left.

Should Amalia get up and follow her or keep picking strawberries? Ginny returned with two more shallow buckets. “I had no idea there were so many ripe ones.”

Rocking back on her heels and wiping her forehead with the bandanna she kept in her pocket, Ginny asked, “Amalia? Do you like your little apartment?”

“Very much.”

“So you’re happy where you are.”

Amalia thought about that. “Yes, I am. Mostly. I like being able to bike nearly everywhere, but I sometimes miss not driving. And I miss this right here: being close to the earth, planting and harvesting. I have the pots on my deck, of course, but I miss the open space a farm provides.”

“Would you consider moving out here, to my farm with me?”

Amalia whipped her head around so fast, she got dizzy. “Here?”

Ginny tossed another handful of strawberries into her pail. “I don’t know. Maybe it wouldn’t work. But we could remodel the basement into an apartment, so you and I could each have alone time.” She smiled. “You know, get away from each other now and then. And together, I think we could do what has to be done to keep the farm going. I know I can’t do it all alone.”

Amalia quit picking and sat back, thinking and nodding at the same time. “Interesting idea.” She continued to nod. “I’ll consider this. Yes. A lot to think about. I take it you’ve already given it a lot of thought.”