Time for Tea by Karen Southall Watts
She thinned her breakfast milk with water. She tried to pretend it was a smart, calorie-cutting, strategy, and not because the community food pantry was closed until Tuesday. She had already reserved two tablespoons of milk for her tea, a stout Yorkshire blend that she really loved. She used to have two or three cups a day but now she could only afford to have one a week, and she saved it for Sunday.
She listened to the news and then a message about the rights of the poor by an activist minister. He was a real firebrand. She used an old computer her neighbor gave her that his kids had declared too slow and too old. He also let her have his Internet password on the condition that she promised not to abuse the favor. She shut down the computer just as lunchtime was passing her by, and decided to bury her longing for a sandwich in an old book. Moments after she had found her reading glasses and curled up on the couch there was a banging at the door.
“Hi, are you Molly Smith?”
The young woman at the door pushed a lock of lime green hair off her forehead, waited for Molly to nod, and then continued.
“I’m here from the new Taste of Britain shop on Star Street…”
“Let me stop you there.” Molly tried to sound light-hearted, “I don’t have any money, so you best move on to more fruitful pastures.”
The other woman smiled as she looked up from her clipboard.
“I’m not here to sell you anything. This is just a free sample situation, and you’re my last address. Please just take the free goodies, so I can have a perfect record for today.”
“Well in that case let’s see what you’ve got there.”
Raenie, who confessed this was her first day as a marketing intern, told the funniest stories, and admitted she had no idea what clotted cream was or why anyone would eat it. Molly enjoyed showing the young woman how to prepare a proper cup of tea and arranged all the treats from the sample bag on her best dishes. The next two hours were utter bliss for Molly. They sipped tea, ate tiny sandwiches and scones, and laughed with abandon.
“This has been the most wonderful afternoon, but I bet you need to get back to work don’t you?”
Molly reached over to pat the young woman’s hand and her mind was filled with a blazing brightness.
“You don’t look anything like I thought you would.”
“I know I hear that all the time. Are you ready to go?”
“Shouldn’t I clean all this up and wash the dishes?”
“You’ve done enough. I think you’re entitled to some rest.”
For the first time in years Molly left dishes in the sink and didn’t even bother to turn out the lights in the kitchen. She took death’s hand and happily walked out the door.
Karen Southall Watts lives and writes in North Carolina. She is a coach and educator as well. Karen is a three-time Pushcart nominee for poetry. Her poetry chapbook Desire, Dreams and Dust is available at amazon – click here
Tags:
I enjoyed it!
It wasn’t what I expected, but still, a happy ending.
A refreshing view of Death.
Thank you!