Tea Time
It always bothered Gladys that the ceramic canister looked
so much like an urn. The shape, color and even the solemn weight of the thing gave
her tea times a funerary feel. Over the past week she had to knock the
container against its corner to collect enough of the powder to retrieve with
her spoon. Her loose calculation only gave her about three more tea times with
Harold before she’d need to fill the thing again from scratch.
She dumped the chalky powder into her Earl Grey and gave it
a mix. She couldn’t say it did much for the flavor, it was just a custom she
liked to keep. First with Lyle, then Harold and at some point soon with Garret.
She looked at the power in the canister again. She could see the bone white
china peeking back at her through the now-limited cover of its contents. “No
time like the present I ‘spose.” She took a sip from her team and returned the
canister to the shelf.
Gladys caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She
smiled. Her teeth were immaculately white despite her continual consumption of
tea. Not too bad for seventy-six, she
thought. Further proof of the restorative power of the additive she was running
low on. She didn’t know how it worked, but thought it had something to do with
the abrasive nature of the minerals on her teeth.
She reached back into the shelf for a smaller container. One
that only she knew existed. The dried belladonna leaves, once shredded, looked identical
to her and Garret’s beloved Earl Grey. He’d never notice the deadly substitution.
Lyle and Harold certainly hadn’t.
Another sip and Gladys had found herself at the bottom of
her tea with Harold. As always, there was a small cluster of clumps at the
bottom of the delicate cup. She lifted the cup and scooped the remaining bits
of Harold’s cremated remains with her tongue.
Being economical, she mixed the Belladonna leaves into the used
Early Grey leaves. She lowered the infuser into the steaming kettle water and
called to the other room. “Garret, tea time.”
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