ERNIE AND ERNESTINA: Searching

Book Two, Chapter 128: Plumping Up Ernie

It’s a cool and misty Derby morning.

I’m at the farm market to buy soup from Lelia. Her eyes widen and she smiles as she sees me approach; lately I’ve been a regular customer. She’s wearing a denim jacket, jeans — and a red straw hat.

“I like your hat.”

“It stays in the back of my closet, but every Derby Day I get it out.”

“I bought your asparagus soup last week. It was wonderfully tender and creamy and so full of asparagus flavor.”

She nods. “I always add the trimmed ends of the asparagus to the vegetable broth to plump up the flavor.”

Today, her soup is a curried carrot. I buy a pint, wrap it in a plastic bag, then put it in my tote. It will be my lunch and dinner. It’s the only thing I buy.

If Ernie were here, he’d buy more. Maybe scallions. Maybe strawberries. Maybe asparagus. Ernie’s father owned a grocery store and loved to display his fruits and vegetables, overflowing their wood bins. No wonder Ernie liked displays of produce — a memory of his growing-up years.

I never made this connection before.

Yes, I’m plumping up Ernie.