#the Apple tree

[derangedrhythms]

[...] she belonged to the spirit world, a world of fantasy and ghosts.

Daphne du Maurier, Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights; from ‘The Apple Tree’, ed. Lucy Evans & Tanya Kirk

#daphne du maurier #sunless solstice #the apple tree #prose #fragments #ghost #p

[winniemaywebber]

The Apple Tree • Part 5

warnings: none!!! just sad

Y/N struggles with not knowing where Rosie is.

Every day had been the same since Rosie had gone MIA. You'd wake up, head feeling like it was in a vice and get to the school on autopilot. The sky had been appropriately gray, and thick with fog most mornings, the twin of your current state of mind. You'd stay at the school late, grading papers and try your best to construct meaningful lesson plans so the children could still thrive and learn despite your sadness. They'd sometimes ask, their sweet, little faces full of sympathy as they'd question your upset. “Miss?” A little voice would say, “Are you alright?” You'd force a smile on your face and look back at them reassuringly. 

“Yes, my dear,” your voice catching in your throat. “I'll be fine.”

---

A week. And then two. Three, then four, all rolling into a ball of nothingness, blurring together. Most days, you're greeted by Sally who is always available to walk you home despite the treacherous weather and everyday she looks at you with her big sad eyes, shaking her head mournfully, wordlessly reminding you that there's no new information. Most days, you walk home in silence, her arm in yours, keeping you upright physically as well as metaphorically.

It's on the fourth week, on a Friday, that you hear a sharp rap on your door. Being in bed already - the only way you can seem to feel close to Rosie - you simply yell “come in!” to whoever is visiting at this late hour. You hear the door open quietly, and hear the familiar tip-tap of Sally in her kitten heels. You hear her kicking them off and placing them by the door, hurrying up the stairs in her now stockinged feet, padding all the way up the plush carpet. 

“Hi, darling,” she greets quietly, her face full of sympathy. “I thought I'd try coax you out to the pub.”

“No thanks,” you mumble, staring up at the ceiling. “I'm fine here.”

“Oh, doll,” she begins, walking towards the bed. “How are you doing?” Still not tearing your eyes from the ceiling, you nod quickly, trying to reassure your friend. But she knows you better than that, and after all these years, she can read you like a book. Before you can properly respond, she sees two tears leak from each eye and splash into your ears and on the pillow. 

Trying to comfort you the way she used to when you were kids, she goes to lay down next to you on the bed.

“No!” you start. “N-no, Sal. Don't lay there,” you softly weep. “That's where Rosie slept the night before–” You wipe your face with the back of your hand, trying to stop the tears flowing. “It still smells like him. Don't lay on it, Sal.” You pause, looking at your friend, her own eyes full of tears. She sniffs, trying to blink them back. 

“Then squidge up,” she says after a moment. “I'll lay on your pillow with you.” You wriggle slightly to the right to make room for her in the center of the bed, you just hanging off the edge slightly. She takes your hand and strokes it, just like she did right after Granny passed away. You whimper at her action, the sob that was thick in your throat finally being released. 

“Where is he, Sally? Where's my boy?”

“Y/N…darling…I don't know. I ask James everyday for an update. He's promised that he'll be round here like a shot if he ever finds anything out.” You nod, swallowing as you sniff back more tears.

“He's a good egg, Sal. I like him. I like how happy he makes you.”

“Me, too,” she sighs wistfully. “When all this is all over, I'm thinking of moving there to be with him.” 

“Sally, that's wonderful. I'll miss you terribly–”

“But let's not talk of that now. We need to take care of you.” She crawls off the bed and pulls you with her. “Come on,” she commands, rushing to your wardrobe. “You need to stop rotting. Let's go to the pub. Apparently, Rita is engaged to two of the Americans and neither knows about the other. Isn't that something?” You hear yourself gasp and then giggle, the first laugh you've made in weeks. 

“Well, now you've tempted me. Now I have to come.” 

—

The excited yapping you hear as you walk into the pub ceases at the sight of you, your friends looking back at you in surprise, before they stand up and rush to hug you, one by one. Murmurs of “oh, Y/N, we're so happy to see you,” and “how are you doing?” follow their embraces, and you find your eyes leaking at their affection and sympathy. Hugging them back, you sigh, not quite used to this level of affection.

 “Alright, ladies,” you struggle to gasp out, but smiling nonetheless. “I need to know everything about Rita. Spill.” 

They sit down, excited to finally be able to tell you the tales they've heard over the past few weeks. For a moment, your head is clear, listening to your friends chatter on, their voices octaves higher as they giggle their way through the spiel. You don't even notice that Sally has rushed over to the bar to greet James, until he places a pint in front of you with a sympathetic smile. He winks at you as you smile back, knowing you're thanking him with no words needed. You take a long sip, letting the alcohol run through your body and somehow, giving it warmth as you finally are able to enjoy something.

“So, she ended up saying yes to both men because she didn't want to upset either of them, and somehow, Y/N, neither knows about the other. But, get this! They're co-pilots!”

“What?!” you screech, ale almost flying through your nose in shock. “They must know! There's absolutely no way–”

“We thought that, too!” Sally replies, wide eyed and a little frazzled. “But Rita maintains that they have no clue.”

“Nope, not buying it,” you giggle, hand covering your mouth. “They must talk about her to one another! They're either ignoring it or somehow, it's not clicking that they're both with the same girl!” 

For just a small moment, your overwhelming sadness is forgotten, the pit in your stomach somehow smaller than it had been in the past weeks. But, then, all of a sudden, your mind goes back to the night you spent with him; how he'd touched you, the way he'd wrapped himself around you to fall asleep for those few hours. The way he looked at you like you were the only girl in the world. It's those thoughts that send you into a tailspin, lips pressed together to keep the tears at bay. Draining your glass, you gesture over to the barman for another and try to keep breathing steadily. 

—

“Hey! Wait, seriously? You're not lyin’ to me?” You hear a familiar Tennessee drawl behind you, and an excited one at that. “Croz, she's right there!” They both pause for a moment. “Can I tell her, sir?”

“Sure thing,” Croz replies. You turn around at the two familiar voices. James smiling brightly at you, Harry nervously shuffling from one foot to the other, clutching his hat in his slightly shaking hands. 

“Y/N, c'mere, doll!” James beckons you over with his booming voice. You stand and walk towards the two men, forcing a polite smile on your face. 

“Hi, James. Oh, Harry, wonderful to see you. Can I get you a drink?” 

“No, ma'am,” he replies, now not able to hold back his apparent joy. “Pearson here has something to tell you. I've been rushing all over base looking for this fella to tell him what he's about to tell you.” You look at James with an expectant expression, feeling your eyes widen. He can't seem to get the words out, nor keep a straight face. 

“Out with it, Jimmy, before I lose my mind!” You scold, playfully pushing him. 

“Rosie got word to base!” 

“What?!” you shout, your arms going across your chest in shock. “W-where is he?” Tears fill your eyes and they escape before you're aware of what's happening. 

“He got shot down in Berlin,” Croz begins, his downturned eyes having an underlying sadness to them as he looks at you. “But, he managed to keep the plane flying until everyone had bailed out. He's in Russia.” 

“Russia? He's safe, right?”

“Yes, ma'am. He says they're taking really good care of him.” Harry laughs a little, wondering whether to divulge further information. You see that, and nod at him to carry on. “He says the vodka is impeccable.” Laughing, you feel familiar arms around your waist, Sally's head on your shoulder, half laughing, half crying as she hears the news. 

Word spreads to the rest of the pub, the airmen cheering and hugging at the news. James hands you a whiskey, then thrusting one in Croz's hand. You clink glasses with him, and with James before turning back to Harry.

“Thank you,” you begin, voice shaking slightly. “Thank you for coming to tell me, for even thinking of me.”

“No problem,” he replies nervously. “To Rosie?”

“To Rosie.”

---

thank you once again to my besties @sagesolsticewrites and @ginabaker1666 for reading this multiple times before posting (as usual!!!) <3

#masters of the air #mota #mota fic #masters of the air fic #rosie rosenthal #rosie rosenthal fic #rosie rosenthal x reader #the apple tree #winnie writes

[froy]

It's so great Nina is back with some great new tunes and has started her very own record label, called Apple Tree Records. Back like the old Tumblr Days when I found out about her and she's just been amazing and going her own path!

#Nina Nesbitt #Pages #The Apple Tree #Apple Tree Records #On the Run #Old Tumblr Days #Spotify

[pomegranate]

a selection of Alan Alda photos from The Apple Tree (1966)

#alan alda #the apple tree #barbara harris #hal linden #sue ane langdon #i picked these ones bc uh. well. don’t worry about it

[doyouknowthismusical]

#musical theater #do you know this musical #poll #the apple tree #jerry bock #sheldon harnick #jerome coopersmith #language: english

[coffeeandacig]

I apologize if I have posted this before from this account. This is another old post from my dead account “justachickwholovesmash” from a several years back.

The Apple Tree (1966)

The Apple Tree: A series of playlets set to music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, fresh out of their hit Fiddler On The Roof, The Apple Tree starred

Alan Alda, Larry Blyden and Barbara Harris in musical treatments of Mark Twain’s “The Diary of Adam and Eve,” Frank Stockton’s “The Lady or The Tiger,” and Jules Feiffer’s “Passionella,” cleverly staged by Mike Nichols. It may have seemed a mere trifle compared to its illustrious predecessor, but when it opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 18, 1966, its endearing charm was enough to win the hearts of critics and fans alike, as well as a Tony for its leading lady, and to ensure that it would stay around for 463 performances.

The Apple Tree Soundtrack can be purchased online in various forms.

#the apple tree #theatre #alan alda #mash #m*a*s*h 4077 #M*A*S*H #play

[oscarwetnwilde]

Ashurst, full length on the horsehair sofa, and jutting far beyond its end, smoked a deeply-coloured pipe, and did not listen, thinking of the girl's face when she brought in a relay of cakes. It had been exactly like looking at a flower, or some other pretty sight in Nature-till, with a funny little shiver, she had lowered her glance and gone out, quiet as a mouse.

#James Wilby #A Summer Story #Frank Ashton #The Apple Tree

[fredbydawn]

While watching GFA, I remembered an old musical that Alan Alda was in called a The Apple Tree (which got him a Tony nomination). Specifically it reminded me of the song It’s A Fish, where Alan’s character describes a strange animal that he doesn’t understand by comparing it to other animals. The animal in question: a baby 🙃

#mash #goodbye farewell and amen #m*a*s*h #mash tv #alan alda #the apple tree

[chenoweths]

It’s just the little things in musicals that make me cry 😭

#musical theater memes #wicked the musical #katie rose clarke #lindsay mendez #kristin chenoweth #the apple tree #broadway #theatre #wicked musical #i know it’s just a prop #musical memes

[jenni3penny]

#this was even more delightful in real life #but now im stuck blasting the 1960s recording instead #because they never made a soundtrack of this version #kristin chenoweth #the apple tree #studio 54 #roundabout #Youtube

[owlpuddle]

You don't know what's honest

You don't know what's true

I'll tell you what's real

It's the least i can do.

Dirty fingernails is real

An' strag-ga-ly hair

An' slovenly clothes

An' a air of despair

How does it feel

To be the world's ideal

When you know an' i know

That you are not real-real-real

You are not real

I'm weary of glamour

An' women like you

I long for a woman

Who's real through and through

No goddess will ever

Get my heart to throb

For the girl of my dreams

Is a slob.

Wow I can't believe Bock and Harnick invented grunge

#the apple tree #the apple tree musical #bock and harnick

[winniemaywebber]

Chapter 4 of The Apple Tree is coming on Friday afternoon! <3 So excited for you all to read this one, it's VERY sweet

(this chapter will be for 18+ only!!! please let me know if you'd like to be tagged!!)

#masters of the air #mota #masters of the air fic #mota fic #rosie rosenthal #rosie rosenthal fic #rosie rosenthal x reader #rosie rosenthal x oc #winnie writes #the apple tree

[quotation--marks]

So they lived in different worlds, their minds not meeting. Had it been always so? He did not remember. They had been married nearly twenty-five years and were two people who, from force of habit, lived under the same roof.

Daphne du Maurier, The Apple Tree

#the apple tree #daphne du maurier #1952 #1950s #20th century #english literature #queue pierce my soul

[scripture-pictures]

#song of solomon 2:3 #desperate housewives #the apple tree #poetry #teeth #daily bread #nightly bread #god is love #bible

[orpheusdrinkinga40inadeathbasket]

#the apple tree #eve #music #showtunes

[glimeres]

1967 Tony Awards - Barbara Harris and Larry Blyden perform Oh, To Be a Movie Star and Gorgeous from the musical The Apple Tree

#she's just like me fr #anyway look at her gooo #barbara harris #larry blyden #the apple tree #jerry block #sheldon harnick #musical #broadway #video #posted