Jason hooked his little finger with hers, and a ridiculously giddy thrill tingled all the way through her. Conway, their tour guide, held up a small yellow fruit with a dark brown apostrophe jutting out from the top. “Who can tell me what this is?” “A cashew,” someone in their group called out. “That’s right, and did you know that if you bit into this nut as it is now, your lips would blister?” Conway pointed to the cashew-shaped nut on the top. “We burn off the outer shell, and even then we must wear gloves to handle the nut if we don’t want our hands blistered.” He went on to describe the complicated method used to harvest the cashews. “Harvesting cashews is labor intensive, and that’s why they’re so expensive. You may have noticed the table out front as you entered the sanctuary. A few of our locals are selling cashew wine here today.” Marin shared a surprised glance with Jason.
