A Teapot for Sadie

“The world is such a sour place,” she said. “Why even my best friends are complaining and grouching around. I never thought I’d see the day when Selma Lynn would come right out and throw verbal punches at Lizzie. They’ve been friends for years.”

Sadie glanced at Granny. Granny rarely ever complained about anything. She was the most caring, loving person Sadie knew. Granny had taken her in when momma had walked out several years ago and daddy went to prison.

Granny had watched over several young children throughout her life and most were not her own. In fact, sometimes she would wake up to another child on her couch without ever knowing where that one came from. Granny was just that kind of person. She always left her door open and the children in the neighborhood knew they could come hang out whenever they needed an escape.

When those kids grew up, Sadie had seen several come by to say thanks and check on Granny. This always made Granny smile as she said their names. The other day Jennie came. She was several years older than Sadie, but Sadie remembered Jennie playing with her when Sadie was just a baby. Jennie used to come to Granny’s with bruises and cuts. Granny would clean her up and put her in some clean clothes that her own children had left behind while she washed out Jennie’s blood-stained clothes.

Granny’s own two children had all but disowned her. Sarah had become a top-notch executive in some law firm uptown. Coming to the hood was beneath her and so she rarely did. She hated that Granny kept her door open and would yell at her for doing so, but Granny paid her no mind. Granny’s only other child was Sadie’s dad, James. He was the one in prison. He had stolen money at gun point to pay for his addictions. He was a wrathful man and Sadie did not look forward to his release.

Sadie looked a Granny again, and this time saw the sorrow spilling down her cheeks. “What’re you going to do, Gran,” Sadie affectionately asked.

Granny didn’t say a thing. She just kept rocking in that chair and looking out the window. Sadie could see she was thinking long and hard about the world around her and worried about Granny. Granny wasn’t young anymore, and Sadie still had a couple more years of high school. She hoped that Granny would live long enough to see her graduate. Granny was the only positive thing Sadie had left in her life.

Months passed and Granny became more silent in her thoughts. She still took in the children who landed on her couch for a night or two, but the words were fewer than before and the melancholy was ever present. And then one day, for no reason at all, Granny was back to her old cheery self.

“Well, Sadie bug,” Gran called her this when she was in a whirlwind of delight, “I think it’s time we cleaned up this old place, don’t you think?”

Sadie wasn’t sure about the cleaning, but if Gran was happy and feeling better, she was going to do everything she could to fuel the joy. They cleaned and painted and scrubbed the floors. By the time they were done there was little left in the rooms, just a few pieces of furniture and some memories. Gran wouldn’t replace the old worn out couch, it held too many memories of the children who needed her. The chipped coffee pot was staying for the same reason. Countless times she had sat at the table with the pitcher and a couple mugs helping this child or the other make sense of the life they were born into. Her quilts that snuggled the older ones, the rocking chair she sat in with the babies, and the special corner with books and toys to pacify those in between were all she had left in that room. Even though they were falling apart and torn, they stayed as a reminder of her special memories of the past.

There were other things of importance to Granny, but these were the ones that also were important to Sadie as she had benefited from them too. The house looked cleaner than it had in years and Gran seemed quite pleased with how things turned out.

And then one day, everything changed. Granny had slipped through to eternity. Sadie was left alone in the house in the hood. She was near graduation and Gran had missed it, but Sadie was left with lovely memories of Gran. She knew that Gran was happy now, and she would cherish the time she spent with Gran the past few months.

Over the past few weeks, Gran had spoken about her journal that she kept by her bed and Sadie had wondered why Gran had mentioned this so many times. She didn’t have time to think about it though as the attorney was coming over to talk with Sadie about the reading of the will and ask some questions that he had. He was due any moment.

Sadie took Sam, the attorney, into the kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee from Granny’s chipped coffee pot. “It seems you Grandma created a will that needs some explanations, Sadie,” Sam said as he took a sip from Gran’s special mug. “She put dates after each item she bequeathed. Did she mention anything about this to you?”

Sadie thought about it for several minutes. She couldn’t help thinking about that journal Gran had talked about so much lately. Could it be Gran’s journal had the missing information? She would have dated her entries, wouldn’t she? Only one way to fine out. Sadie rushed to the bedside table and picked up the journal. It held so many of Gran’s thoughts. Should she give it to Sam?

“What is one of the dates in the will, Sam,” Sadie asked.

“Look up October 4 and see if there is anything in there about two mugs,” remarked Sam.

Sadie skimmed the journal page. It felt wrong reading Gran’s words, but if this was where the answers were, Gran knew she was going to be reading it. “Oh, yes, he talks about the 2 mugs here. See?” Sadie handed the journal to Sam.

“Sadie, this is exactly what I needed. Would you bring this journal to the reading of the will tomorrow? I’d like you to read the entries as I read the will.”

Sadie agreed and Sam left. A smile passed over Sadie’s face as she realized October 4 was right around the time that Gran had gone through her melancholy few weeks. “What were you doing, Gran? You knew this was not going to be popular with your family and friends. Yet, you did it anyway. This will certainly be a reading to remember.” And even though she said the words out loud, there was no one around to hear her. Sadie decided not to read the rest of the journal so she could honestly be surprised along with everyone else. It took some determination on her end, but she set the journal aside and went to bed.

At the reading, Sadie looked around the room. Several people were there that she knew and a few that she was not as familiar with. Her palms were sweating as she held the journal that would shed light on the bestowed items. She almost lost her resolve to read the words today, but she knew Sam had entrusted her with this responsibility and Gran would be proud of her.

The beginning of the reading was full of formalities that no one ever listened too, but when Sam got around to the items being given away, Sadie began to see some greed and anticipation emerging in those gathered.

“The will is quite unusual in that each of the items comes with a story written in a journal. I have asked Sadie to read the journal entry for each of these items which should answer any questions you might have as to why you are receiving it.” And with that, Sam began listing off items and Sadie read the entries. It went something like this:

“Two mugs – October 4,” Sam read.

Sadie turned to that page and began reading. “The two mugs that have been used over the years at the kitchen table to help the children come to terms with the life they were born into and learn to love the parents who bore them, are gifted to Selma Lynn and Lizzie. May you learn to love each other and no longer use hateful words towards one another.”

A humph could be heard from Selma Lynn while Lizzie responded with indignation, “well, I never!” It seemed they weren’t too happy with their friend’s gift and they departed quickly without taking either mug.

“Band Aids and antiseptic cream – October 6,” Sam read.

“The band aids and antiseptic cream in my cabinet were used so many times to repair the wounds on your daughter Jennie’s face, Mr. Gregory. I’m giving these to you. May you spend some time repairing the fractured relationships you have with your wife and children and from there become a better man.”

Pure hatred, probably from embarrassment that his secret was out, steamed off of Mr. Gregory as he stormed out of the room leaving the band aids and cream. “This is a bunch of s@!%,” he screamed.

Granny gave torn quilts to parents of children who had been neglectful and said these were reminders of the lives they shattered and encouraged them to repair the lives as they repaired the tears in the quilts. She gave worn-out books to parents who didn’t help their children with schoolwork and barely got them to school and asked them to read to grandchildren since they hadn’t been responsible with their own. Granny relegated toys to parents who left their children at home in search of drugs in hopes they would turn their lives around in time to salvage a little bit of their children’s lives. Each time, the anger and embarrassment emerged and those mentioned left without their gifts.

And then there was the teapot. With only Aunt Sarah left, Sadie assumed that wonderful treasure was going to go to her. It was sad to see her aunt getting something like this when she didn’t understand how much Gran loved it, but this was not Sadie’s decision to make.

“The teapot with the chips in it was one of my most valued treasures. I give it to my daughter.”

“What? That ugly teapot? It deserves to be thrown away. No one wants that horrid thing and it would look dreadful in my flat. I’m not taking that thing. And I don’t even want to know why she thought I’d want it.” Sarah stormed out of the room without looking back.

After Sarah left, Sam looked at Sadie. “You’re the only one left, Sadie. Your grandma thought that might be the case. She left a special provision just for you. You won’t find it in the journal. It’s only written in the will. Would you like me to read it?”

“Yes, please,” Sadie sighed. It had been a long and stressful reading.

“My dear Sadie,” Sam began. “You have been with me for years. You’ve seen so many troubled children come and go. You have shown me that you care for others by the way you play with the little ones that have been dropped off in my care. You have made the tea for older ones and listened to their troubles. You have pulled the quilts up over the ones who come in during the night. You have the heart of a helper and the soul of one who desires to bring wholeness to your community. To you, I bequeath everything that has been left behind by the others in this will. I leave you my house and my savings. You have it all. I would ask that you continue the work I began in the neighborhood as there are so many children in need.”

Sadie was silent. “I don’t understand.”

Sam responded, “Sadie, your grandmother’s teapot is the key. Underneath it is inscribed the number to her savings account. You will find enough money in there to build a place of hope and refuge for the children in your neighborhood. You see, your grandmother was quite wealthy, but she knew if she moved out of the hood, she would not be able to provide comfort to the many children in need. If you choose to accept the teapot, you will be expected to create a safe haven for any child in the hood. I will walk you through the entire process and help you set it up. Are you willing to do this?”

Sadie realized the enormity of the responsibility before her, but she also loved her Gran very much. Sadie thought about all the children she had helped alongside her Gran. She thought about the chance to help even more with a larger and much newer building. She wondered whether she had what it took to run a facility like Gran had mentioned. And then her thoughts turned back to Gran. Of course, she would do this. Gran had given so much and saved her entire life to be able to build this dream. Sadie would see it through.

“Yes,” she said. “I want to build her dream. I’ll call it The Teapot. Jennie would love to help me. She understood Gran as much as I did. I think I can find a special place for that teapot, those quilts, the books and the toys.”