Clara was always so gentle with me, soft knocks on my bedroom door, a hand just barely on my back as we walked, her voice always low with me, like speaking to someone ill who had just woken up. She once came to my room with a sack of clementines and asked me if I would like one. I didn’t know what a clementine was but I said yes. I always said yes. We sat in the living room and she showed me how to puncture the skin, tear back the peel, divide the sections out like a strange bloom. I ate one after another just so I could peel them again and again. (Did anyone else notice how citrus skin released a wet blast of oil with each pull?)…I kept my mouth full of citrus, rubbed the oil from the peels against my palms and wrists, and still every time I see a clementine I think of this moment, think of Clara.
~ Catherine Lacey, from “The Answers: A Novel”
Photo: Haikudeck
Splendid words written and such a great read, David.
Yes Kamal. I’m with you.
Thanks David.
gentle love and caring. how sweet the memory that will never fade.
Yes…
Pretty sure if Clara wasn’t there, he wouldn’t be eating clementines 🍊🍊🍊
Yes he would!
These words offered such a perfect sensory experience…
Yes, that’s what captivated me – that wet blast of oil….
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
OH!! I know the feeling … clementines are so good!!
Yes. They are…it’s the season.
That sweet blast of citrus oil…of course. Such a sensory piece of writing.
Bingo. The punch line, right there.
Such gentle and beautiful words… the power of smell and touch is amazing…
I was swept away…even after reading it a 3x.
Same here
Have always heard that our olfactory memories are the strongest. It’s certainly true for me. This passage is such a piquant reminder….
And for me too Lori…
One of the cutest things my granddaughter ever said to me was that I always smell like an orange… lol It’s because I’m always peeling and giving them clementines. I haven’t read that book, but the passage makes me think of what is going on in my life right now. I’ve become a caregiver to Michael, something I never imagined I would be doing at this point in my life. Everything has changed and life is different now. Your life becomes not your own anymore when you are taking care of someone else 24 hours a day. Too long a story to even go into here, but as always, thank you for always finding and posting the most poignant passages.
Wow Carol. Peace be with you and Michael