When Given a Choice, Choose the Sweetest Grapes

I know you have heard of the expression sour grapes. But have you ever heard the story of the sweetest grapes? It goes something like this. . .  

An American woman was trying not to be disappointed. A cold beach day was better than a hot work day, she told herself as she walked back to the studio she had rented on the Adriatic coast. 

As she walked up to the door, the owner’s elderly mother stood out front in a black housecoat with flowers, “Dobrodam!” She exclaimed taking the younger woman’s hands in hers. She reached for her heart and motioned upwards toward the sky, talking in Croatian shaking her head. The American woman smiled. The only thing she had understood was catastrophe and assumed she was talking about the wind and colder temperatures.

“It’s ok,” she assured the woman, “It’s beautiful.” She motioned to the sea and the grapes that hung on the vines above their heads. The older woman grasped her hands tightly and reached up to pat her on the shoulder, still shaking her head. 

The American woman smiled and went into her house to prepare for her day. “Bitte?” the older woman’s voice came through the door. She continued talking again in Croatian and the younger woman came out to find out what she wanted. She was holding a pair of scissors and pointing at the grapes overhead. 

The younger woman looked at the rickety metal ladder and agreed to cut down the grapes for the elderly woman. The elderly woman proclaimed, “Super!” over and over again as she held the younger woman’s pants. The younger woman clipped the grapes and passed them down to the woman’s wrinkled hands. A strong wind blew, and the older woman exclaimed something the younger assumed was "Be careful young lady!" or "Wow look at this wind!" They smiled at one another, understanding, even as they did not understand.

The elderly woman motioned for her to get down and reset up the ladder two more times and they repeated the story. The younger woman cut and handed, the older woman received and proclaimed, “Super!” smiling ear to ear.

After filling the small plastic shopping bag, the older woman asked for something the younger woman could not understand. She thought maybe she heard wash and offered the elderly woman a bowl. “Momento, momento.” The older woman said as she hobbled away.

A moment later she was back, the grapes in the bowl freshly washed. The elderly woman smiled and told her something that the younger woman assumed was, “Please eat them - they are for you.” 

And so she did.

They were the sweetest grapes she had ever had.

The two women smiled at each other and the older woman clasped her hands in her own. She patted the younger woman on the shoulder and smiled from ear to ear, her wrinkles deepening around her mouth and eyes. The words and the smile floated in the air as she turned and disappeared into the house. The younger woman smiled, assuming she had said "Welcome to my home!" or something of that nature.