THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

In front was an array of choice fruits, carefully arranged in baskets.  They looked like full, round cheeks half hidden from view, or the faces of beautiful children glimpsed through a curtain of leaves, especially the peaches, the blushing Montreuil peaches with their soft, clear skin like girls from the north, and the yellow, sunburnt peaches from the south, tanned like the women in Provence.  The apricots lying in their moss took on the colour of amber, like the sunset glow on the necks of dark-haired girls just where the little hairs begin to curl.

Zola/Belly, 1997