The Orchard

Lisa’s grandfather is turning 100. She wants to give him a very special gift. She hoped to tell him that his family would preserve the beloved apricot orchard he built with his own hands. The California orchard is the heart of Lisa’s family and a reminder of its past. Like so many immigrants to America, Grandpa Joe and his wife fled from their country in one of the serial ethnic cleansings of the last century. Forced to leave Turkey for being Greeks, they arrived in the New World full of hope. A piece of land with a thriving orchard gave a new beginning to a new American family.

To Lisa’s bitter disappointment, everyone else in the family wants to sell. They all have busy lives and families of their own. True to her nature, Lisa is gearing up for a battle. Too bad she chose the worst moment to pick a fight with her only daughter, a tree expert who has fallen in love with the wrong man.

Old divisions and a longing to hold on to tradition make it hard to see a path forward. But there are deeper ties that bind us all.

Catherine Temma Davidson is the author of the novel, The Priest Fainted, “a resonant melange of wisdom and humor, a testimony to the strong bonds of family and cultural traditions” (Publishers Weekly). She has published two volumes of poetry, Inheriting the Ocean and Behind the Lines. Her poetry has won acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, including a 2016 commendation for the International Troubadour Poetry Prize. The grandchild of immigrants and an immigrant herself, Catherine teaches writing to international students at Regent’s University and works as a writing consultant at Amnesty International. She serves on the board of Exiled Writers Ink, an organization that promotes writing by refugees and asylum seekers. Originally from Southern California, Catherine lives in London with her family.