Tea Kettle Whistle Blues Mixed With Giggles

The tea kettle whistles waking Landry from an unintended nap, and he rushes to the kitchen prepare a cup of tea for his mother, Jolene, who has become mysteriously weakened. The 25-year-old Landry immediately assumed the role of caregiver to his mom (she raised him as a single parent and was always there for him, now it was his turn to be there for her) and her doctors sent in reinforcements to manage specific duties. 

The months pass and Jolene’s team of doctors struggle to find the cause of her being unable to move without assistance. Amid it all, Landry is struggling to keep it all together, and a statewide drought occurs. One day, when looking out a side window, Landry notices that the beautiful garden of half flowers and half vegetables Jolene took pride in cultivating is withering away. He knows this will distress his mother, so he stocks up on bottled water to attempt to restore the garden to its beautiful glory.  

As the doctors continue trying to discover what ails Jolene, Landry’s concern for his mother intensifies, so he calls Jolene’s twin sister Jobeth, who lives far away. The two sisters have not spoken or seen one another in years; but Landry is hoping that his mom’s illness will bring them together and have a positive effect on Jolene’s health. Landry is speechless to hear from Jobeth’s daughter, Lindsay, that her mother is having the same health issue as his. So, the cousins decide to bring the two sisters together. 

Since Jobeth is financially stable and does not struggle in the way her sister does, Lindsay plans to transport her mom to where Jolene resides. Landry prepares their home, and he rearranges his mom’s master bedroom to accommodate a second luxury adjustable bed his father generously donates and has delivered from the furniture store he owns.

The reunion of the twins is shockingly quiet and awkward, but Landry and Lindsay notice a magical shift in the twins personalities as soon as their eyes meet, their pale faces fill with color. Landry and Lindsay leave them alone. 

Landry escorts Lindsay into the kitchen. He explains to her the state is experiencing a drought and water is scarce. Lindsay listens and watches Landry intently. She is a big believer in respecting the spaces of others to avoid misunderstanding, as well as establishing a sense of serenity wherever she goes (she has a new age vibe). Landry inquires if is Aunt Jobeth likes tea, Lindsay replies, orange tea and vanilla chai are her go to hot beverages. Landry shares that vanilla honey chamomile and hot cocoa are his mom’s go to hot fixes, but we can start with tea, my mom has a variety of tea in the top cupboard to your left, I know orange is there, tea leaves or bags. I will put on the tea kettle, and we can place cups, saucers, sugars, honey, lemon, and cream on this sunflower serving tray my mom has been saving for a special occasion. 

Lindsay and Landry sit at the snack bar in the kitchen and are engaged in deep conversation when the tea kettle whistles and they hear giggling coming from the master bedroom, but when they enter with the tray of tea, the twins are quiet and looking straight ahead. Landry surmises it must have been the television he left on in his room down the hall from his mother’s. The ladies drink their tea in silence, so Lindsay suggests Landry turn on the television in his mother’s room and open the drapes to liven up the dreary atmosphere. Jolene had taken a sabbatical from tv, so Landry needed to dust it off and plug it in. 

Lindsay whispers to Landry she wants to fix all of them something to eat. He leads his cousin back into the kitchen and told her to make herself at home. It was a sweltering day, so Lindsay decided to fix a cold meal consisting of veggie and roasted chicken sandwiches (fresh vegetables, leftover chicken, and other fixings were in the refrigerator), a beet and goat cheese salad dressed with raspberry vinaigrette and topped with fresh raspberries, she borrowed from a neighbor. She also made fresh lemonade, but the twins consistently wanted hot tea and whenever the tea kettle whistled, Lindsay and Landry could swear they heard their moms giggling. But each time they rush to the bedroom to investigate, the twins faces are expressionless, and they gaze straight ahead. 

A month passes and Jolene’s doctors also temporarily became Jobeth’s doctors while consulting with her doctors by Zoom on a weekly basis. The doctors agreed that there was more color in their complexions and their eyes were no longer sunken in and lifeless. However, they still did not know what ailed the sisters. 

After two months passes Lindsay informs Landry she has to go home and deal with work issues, but she will put in for vacation time and return soon.  Landry tells her it was best that Aunt Jolene remain and that he would request additional home support, so that the sisters will be able to do everything together and no longer separately.  He is working from home and promises Lindsay that he will make sure the twins continue to receive the best of care, and that he would remain in charge of tea and mealtimes.  

Landry provides Lindsay with daily progress reports by text, but the improvement in their conditions remain minimal.  Two weeks pass and Lindsay is preparing to return to help with the twins. However, on the day she chooses to return; a freak and extreme tropical storm occurs in the region where Landry resides. A state of emergency is issued, and government officials and emergency personnel are scrambling to figure out how to deal with something so unexpected. Lindsay’s plans to return are on hold. 

The storm rages for three days, causing substantial destruction but eliminating the drought. On the final night of the storm, there was a steady rain coming down and Landry walks out on the porch to inhale the freshness in the air and to have a moment to himself. He notices by the light of the moon that his mother’s garden is undamaged and once again flourishing. He smiles and reenters the house, as he passes his mother’s bedroom, he gasps. Both beds are empty. He hears the tea kettle whistle, so he runs to the kitchen and observes two teacups prepared for tea.  

Suddenly he hears giggling coming from outside, the same giggling Landry and Lindsay would hear every time the tea kettle whistled.  Landry runs outside to find his mother and aunt dancing in the rain to music only they can hear. Landry text Lindsay the news and they both simultaneously text one another back, it must be All Night Long by Lionel Richie. Laughing emojis with tears fill Landry’s screen and he text Lindsay saying, the twins magical connection has touched us.