The Tea Break

“I never take sugar with my tea, Mary…” She had been saying the same thing for ages, but the tea set came with the sugar bowl and creamer, and she was always going to make sure that her friends knew this. The table in the backyard had all of the necessities Andrea would use as a guest (napkins, multiple spoons and forks, saucers).She knew that her friends would be there with one making a specific request, and Mary had the tray ready for them, and nothing that Andrea could say would prevent her from her little routine.

“I know. But Aldous might want some…”

“Indeed…” Aldous was taking a seat nearest to the low fence that looked out on the main path behind Mary’s home (the shade would be perfect at that spot). The path was manmade, separating the homes on the developed lot from the bush and damp land that always flooded below them when the rain was heavy. Fortunately, it had been a beautiful two days, and they needed to have another get-together. “Do you need any help with it?”

“Not yet. But I am glad you brought something to eat.”

“Yes, it is lunch time. So much going on this week and…” Andrea lost her words. Mary and Aldous noticed this, but did not interrupt. It was so rare for her to be silent that they quietly put the food down on the cloth-covered circular table under the large umbrella with haste. The food was simple, but sure to be delicious (Andrea was the best cook Mary knew, if she was totally honest about this). They were sandwiches and cake that were staples in her home and at local small grocery stores. The sun was now high and merciless, fighting with the clouds that seemed to stretch themselves apart and disappear. Did they really want tea?

“So much going on?” Aldous pulled out her seat.

“Oh, yes.” Andrea seemed to recover. “And I have to talk to someone about it.”

Her oldest friends looked at her and waited. Mary had the teapot in her hands and enjoyed the warmth in her fingers.

“Tea?”

Aldous did not speak. Her cup was on a small saucer and Mary knew what she wanted.

“Andrea?”

“No sugar for me.” She sat down and smiled. “And I do want to tell you all about this…”

Aldous seemed ready for this. The weather was quite beautiful, even with the sun over-performing that afternoon. They had been meeting like this so often and so specifically at Mary’s home that it was both a comfort and irritating to her. Why did they never think about Andrea’s home (she was not doing too badly with her work)? The only reason they had for this continuing meeting at her home that they knew she would not say no. Mary poured out a cup for herself first, and then she looked over at Andrea’s. The sun went behind a cloud and the odor of wildflowers grew. She wished she had picked some before they came over (lilac and something else she could not name).

“What is the ‘this’?”

Aldous knew what was about to happen, but did not try to interrupt the story. Andrea found her voice and nothing would stop her. She was looking out across at the grass and undeveloped plain.

“You know that I volunteer with the community centre in town. All those events by the park where they play baseball and soccer on weekends? Well, we were having a meeting and all of a sudden, I get volunteered for…”

Aldous put her cup down not gently (Mary wondered if there was a chip or crack in the set she used; one of her favourite gifts from several Christmases ago). “Oh, please. You know that you could have gotten out of it.”

“And how would I do that? You know that…they would talk.” She took a sip of the tea and grimaced. “They all have things to say when you don’t volunteer and you are the head of the committees and all that.” Andrea was going to lose her next line. Aldous was still waiting on it and Mary was losing patience.

 “What did you bring this time?” She unwrapped the tinfoil from the two trays (banana bread, again – they loved it, anyway; sandwiches – tuna and egg with the crusts cut off – Aldous knew what they needed). It surprised Mary how hungry she was as she began to cut up the bread.

“So, tell her all about it.”

Andrea took a sandwich, almost inhaling the tuna and spongy bread without chewing before she spoke.

“It was just…they are having a special event and I know that it is going to take up all weekend and I wanted to do other things like…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Aldous was annoyed now. “Big event all over the weekend.”

“So, they got me involved and I just decided to wait and see what they wanted me to do.”

She was onto her second cup of tea (had Mary noticed how quickly she finished the first cup?). “And it was going to be some sort of multicultural event with all the kids from the local schools and there’s supposed to be basketball, track meets and games. All those things…”

She seemed to be in her own thoughts now. There was lilac and jasmine – that was it – all lingering in the air and the heat was back with the clouds moving off toward the highway they took get to Mary’s house. She was enjoying Aldous’s interrogation of one of their oldest friends.

“And I didn’t know…”

Aldous leaned back, tapping the cup with a spoon as she sipped again. “Tell us all about what you did not know.”

“The group. Them.” Her mouth was set hard over her teeth. “All those kids from that town.”

“Mary, she means the black and Asian ones. Just trying to be so polite right now.”

Andrea was angry now. “Don’t you put that on me. Just don’t…”

Aldous took a slice of the banana bread, taking a small nibble. “Whatever do you…?”

“Racist. Is that what you’re gonna say? That I judged them on that? Don’t go there.”

Andrea really was angry, gripping the cup and pointing at Aldous, and Mary wondered if she was going to have to replace her fine china again (not a bad idea). Her best friends were eyeing each other over sandwiches and banana bread on a warm day, and she wondered if this would be the last time they spoke.

“I mean, I could see that it was going to be all the kids from the local… The downtown schools, so I went to see what they were up to.” Andrea poured out her own tea and looked over at the cubes of sugar. Aldous was still smiling, just waiting for this show to continue.

“What they were up to…”

“What they would do at the event, Al. God, your mind is just a toilet sometimes.” She emptied the cup, ignoring the heat above and the one that left her hands. “Just awful.”

“And you said you had something to tell us…”

“Yes,” Andrea said, smiling and almost triumphant with her look. “Those kids worked really hard on what they were doing. Some must have been already in college or uni because they were very good on the track. And did you know,” Andrea stared hard at another sandwich, “they have a whole gymnastics thing set up indoors. Just kids running around and leaping and flying around without a care and landing without a fall. I had to sit on the bleachers after all that standing and talking and no one even noticed that I was there. Just the boys flying around and flying on the beams. Not sure what they call it, but they were really impressive when they landed on that thing where they have to swing from hand to hand and then jump off… So perfect.”

Mary did not say a thing. Andrea looked over at the sugar bowl.

“I’ve said too much…”

Aldous knew she had to say something.

“Sugar?”

It was a very beautiful day for that time of year (the summer coming to another end and three friends considering what they were going to do with their lives as the weather changed and they had to move indoors, away from the sun and heat).

“I never take any…”

Andrea took the tongs and dropped three cubes into her cup.