As we approached the Cloisters from further down the hill, I pointed up to a tree peeking over the top of a walled garden. “Look, an apple tree!” I said to my friend Alex. “I wonder if we can get in there?”
Inside the museum, we wandered amidst Madonnas and child, friezes and tapestries, but seemed as if we were up far too high to access the garden where we would find that tree.
A guard stood to one side of a gallery, his eyelids drooping a bit. We sidled up to him.
“How are you doing?” I asked.
“A little tired,” he said.
We talked about the weather, and why he was tired, and George Bush before I finally felt like we’d had enough small talk to broach the issue at hand. “From outside,” I said, “we could see an apple tree. Can we get to it?”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Down these stairs and to the left, and you will see a door right in front of you. Go outside it, and there it will be.”
Alex and I scurried down the steps until we came upon a heavy wooden door. It had no sign on it, and for a moment, I feared we were about to set off an alarm.
“Do you think it’s OK?” I asked, my hand poised to push.
“Sure,” she said. “Go ahead.”
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story, which will appear on Wednesday…
The Inadvertent Gardener 
Ah, the Cloisters…so many wonderful things to discover there! It is still, after many visits over many decades, one of my very favorite museums.
Lydia, I’d never been there before November, and it is a gorgeous, gorgeous place!
How dare you leave us hanging like this!
Christina, you’ll just have to come back and read more!
Oh what a tease you are!
Heather, just a little longer to wait… :-)
A cliff-hanger. It’s a good thing I read this after you published part two, or I would have thought about it all night.
Chigiy, I’d hate to keep you up at night! Thanks for reading…