Healing Tea

by Sheila Horgan

  “I’m serious.”

  “Me, too. Teagan, Mom always told us it isn’t about finding the perfect person, it’s about finding the person that you love enough to work through the ugly. In case you aren’t aware, although your pretty is prettier than most, your ugly is downright scary.”

  “That’s not the first time you’ve told me that.”

  “It’s not the first time you have ignored it.”

  “Okay, so we are good together. Is that enough?”

  “Only you can answer that question.”

  “Are you going to marry A.J.?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “I have no clue.”

  “Why wait?”

  “I guess for two reasons. First, it’s so good with us, I’m afraid if we change anything, it’s gonna screw everything up. Second, and this is probably a lot more important, Mom isn’t going to be there. I really screwed up, Teagan. I waited too long. A.J. started asking me to marry him a long time ago. I always put it off. I always figured that we’re young, and we have plenty of time, but time ran out.”

  “Your life isn’t over, Cara. I know it will be hard without Mom there, but it is just one day, and a marriage is a lifetime.”

  “But it isn’t just one day. It’s every time I need her to help me. Every time I screw it up. I always just figured Mom would be there to help me. Her marriage was as close to perfect as you can get, and I want that. I also feel like I can’t live up to it. Not even a little bit.”

  “You seem to be forgetting a few things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Dad was in that marriage, too. If you need help, you can always turn to Dad.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Plus, you watched them for your whole life, and everybody knows people learn by example. Deep down in you somewhere, all those lessons are alive and well. You know what to do and how to do it, Cara. More than anyone I’ve ever met.”

  “I hope so. But Mom and Daddy are so different than A.J. and me. I know they gave me a great example to live by, but I feel like they are so far ahead of me that I just won’t be able to do it.”

  “Cara, you and A.J. are a lot more like Mom and Dad than you think. A.J. is basically Dad in a better body.”

  She laughed.

  I didn’t.

  “Okay, yuck.”

  “You know what I mean. When it comes down to what is important, Dad and A.J. are pretty much the same person. He loves you, Cara. I mean that in the real sense of the word. He loves you like Dad loves Mom. It’s rare, and you need to recognize it and appreciate it.”

  “I do.”

  “When’s the last time you told him that? How many times is he going to have to ask you to marry him before you say yes?”

  “It’s not if, it’s when.”

  “That must make him feel better.” Her sarcasm was justified.

  “I know.”

  She took a deep breath. I knew the next part was going to hurt. She always does that. Then she doesn’t understand why I tense up. “And as much as you don’t want to hear it, Mom is never coming back. Putting off your life because she isn’t there to witness it isn’t going to make anything any better.”

  “I know.”

  “And how would you feel if you put it off so long that Dad wasn’t there to be a part of it, either?”

  “Is he sick?” I tried to hold down the panic. I swatted at her. “Why would you even say that?”

  “Mom wasn’t sick either, Cara.”

  “True. What about you? When are you and Jessie getting married?”

  “Soon. I think we are going to stick to the plan and just get married in our backyard.”

  “But you’ve always wanted a huge wedding with everything anyone can possibly imagine. Every beautiful tradition from every culture you’ve ever seen or heard about.”

  “I know, but somehow that just isn’t as important to me anymore.”

  “Me, either.”

  “We could do it together.”

  “Do what?”

  “Dingleberry, we could get married together. Have a double wedding.”

  I didn’t even have to think about it, but I didn’t want to sound like a jerk, and I didn’t want to hurt Teagan’s feelings.

  “Gee, I don’t know.”

  “We would be there to support each other, and A.J. and Jessie would be able to remind each other of our anniversaries for the rest of their lives.”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll talk to A.J. about it when we get home.”

  Teagan started sorting cards to put them back in the original containers.

  “Aren’t we playing cards?”

  “I think I’m just going to head off to bed. What are we doing tomorrow?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I need to call Adeline in the morning and see if she has already heard about me swinging around on a stripper pole.”

  “I didn’t say you were a stripper. You said something unique. How many people would think of you as an exotic dancer? And the thought of it is too juicy not to mention.”

  “I guess. But could we think of something a little less salacious for the next one?”

  “Sure. But why bother?”

  I had to laugh.

  I didn’t sleep well. Not even on my Charlotte Thomas Bespoke sheets. I looked them up because Teagan swooned. They are thousands of dollars. For sheets! I felt like I should strip off the bed and fold them neatly and never let my skin touch them. Or maybe see if there was a mattress protector that would be a little less intimidating.

  But since I’ve always been a girl that wears perfume and a smile to bed, I gotta tell you, they’re pretty spectacular.

  If I drooled on one of those pillowcases, I don’t know what I would do with myself. Why would anyone want sheets they can’t drool on? And what if there were other leakage issues? The body does leak, you know.

  I must have woken up a dozen times to check for drool, and I’m not even a drooler.

  I got up early and went downstairs, out the back way, to get some fresh air and maybe pick up doughnuts for breakfast.

  I ended up walking around in circles for half an hour and then getting back to the kitchen area about the time Elsa and Teagan sat down for a cup of tea.

  “What would you like for breakfast, ma’am?”

  “I’d love some tea, but please, call me Cara.”

  “Very well. I have a selection of doughnuts I was just about to plate. Would you be interested?”

  “Actually, that would be perfect. Thank you.”

  Teagan smiled and pointed. “What’s this one?”

  “Triple chocolate.”

  “That works for me.”

  Elsa started pointing out the other doughnuts. “We have carrot cake, tres leches, green tea, salted peanut, cashew, and orange blossom. These are my favorite doughnuts in the whole city. What can I get you?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not much of a gourmet. I think I’ll just stick to my tea.”

  “We have some with just cinnamon sugar.”

  “Perfect.” They were probably the best doughnuts I’d ever eaten.

  Between bites, Teagan asked, “So, what’s the plan for today?”

  “Adeline couldn’t talk when I called. She is taking Carolyn for another doctor appointment, but she said as soon as Carolyn goes in to see the doctor…” My phone rang.

  “Hi, Adeline.”

  Teagan and Elsa got quiet and listened to my side of the conversation, which was pretty much just saying “okay” over and over again.

  When I got off the phone, before I could tell Teagan the plan, Elsa spoke up. “I don’t mean any disrespect to Adeline. She has been so good to me and my family, but I think I have an idea of what she’s trying to accomplish, and in my opinion, it isn’t going to work.”

  Teagan turned. “Why not?”

  “As I have said, the help in these houses are invisible. They hear everything and see everything, it’s our job, but we are often not notice
d. It’s a small circle, really. We all sign really complicated confidentiality agreements, and we all know that if we get caught talking out of turn, not only is there hell to pay from that employer, but we will never find another job in our industry. I know it probably seems like we’re just untrained laborers, but we are actually very well trained, most of us are very well educated, and we have chosen this path for lots of reasons.”

  “Nobody thinks you’re untrained labor, Elsa.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, you would be surprised the way we are usually treated. Not by Adeline. She’s beyond generous. But anyway, if Adeline thinks that it is staff carrying her information back and forth, she’ll never catch them. They are too smart for that. I might be able to help with that. If she thinks that it is the grandkids, well, that’s a whole other issue.” She shrugged.

  “What are you proposing, Elsa? Why haven’t you talked to Adeline about this?”

  “If she were here in person, I’d talk to her, but talking over the phone is difficult. You don’t get all the body language and that type of thing.”

  “Adeline is very understanding.”

  “I know that. Please understand. I support four children. My brother’s children. I am not in a position to do or say anything offensive.”

  “Adeline isn’t like that.”

  “I am well aware, but I work at the pleasure of more than just Adeline, and I would never want to put her in the position of having to defend me.”

  “I understand. So, what is it that you have in mind?”

  “Several years ago, Granville suggested if I ever needed employment, I should apply with him. If he were to believe that I’d been fired and needed a place of employment, he might hire me.”

  Teagan swallowed. “Just being in the same room with him creeped me out, and he doesn’t have any power over me. I’m not sure I would want to work for him. It felt to me like he was three kinds of letch.”

  “He is, but then again, so are half of the corporate people that use this facility when in town.”

  “If Adeline knew that, heads would roll, I assure you.”

  “I’ve never had any real problems. With my background, I’m pretty good at making myself more invisible than most.”

  “Your background?”

  “Oh, it’s a very long story, but I can tell you that I have lived a life as the product of generations of scandal. I avoid scandal at all cost, and one of the best ways to do that is to be invisible and completely uninteresting.”

  “I see. Well, let me talk to Adeline.”

  “May I make a suggestion?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Do so outside of this house.”

  “Do you think people in the house are the problem?”

  “No, but I think in your position, I’d be a lot more careful. There are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and when the numbers get large enough, people like you and me just aren’t important enough to be safe.”

  “If you don’t feel safe, I’m certain Adeline is not going to allow you to do undercover work.”

  “She is allowing you to do it.”

  “True, but what we are doing is just being seen in town and dropping a few unique statements so that if one of them gets back to Adeline or her grandkids, she will know where it came from.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you really believe it’s that innocent? You’re playing hard with some very important and powerful people. This might feel like a game, but I must tell you it has some very serious ramifications. And remember, if half of what Adeline believes about her children is true — just half — then they have gotten on the wrong side of some really scary people. There are people in this town who would not think twice of taking revenge, and not always on the people who caused them the trouble in the first place. How many times have you seen on television where bad guys torture their enemies’ loved ones?”

  “You can’t really use television as a barometer of real life.”

  Teagan was quick to defend Elsa’s position. “Maybe not, Cara. But think of it this way: just like most comedy comes from pain, most fiction comes from real-life experience.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I watch the Syfy channel.”

  “Laugh all you want to, but most of those shows are just like any other show. There’s a bad guy. There’s a good guy. There’s a person that needs to learn lessons, and a teacher. They just wear more makeup than I do.” Teagan pulled a face.

  “Okay, so putting your makeup issues aside, I still think we can do what we are doing safely, and it isn’t up to me to figure out what Elsa should do. I’ll talk to Adeline and see if she’s up for it.”

  Elsa nodded but didn’t say a word.

  I went upstairs and called Adeline.

  She was adamant. No. She didn’t want Elsa locked away in Granville’s house without backup. She didn’t think anything terrible would happen, but she was unwilling to take the chance.

  She did, however, see the wisdom in Elsa’s words.

  “Young people have become so much more sophisticated.” She sighed. “They seem to be much more aware these days than we were. Innocents drawn to the slaughter we were.”

  “I don’t think we are any more sophisticated. I think we might be more technologically blessed. I think we are actually the opposite of sophisticated. We have become very brash.”

  “Some have, dear. Perhaps being brash or crass has its advantages.”

  “Perhaps, but I prefer softness and kindness and a little bit of elegance.”

  “I agree. Give me a few hours to talk to the girls and see what they think. Each of us is much better as part of our little team. I trust them completely.”

  “Me, too. I’m glad you guys have each other. It’s exactly what I want when I get a bit older.”

  Adeline laughed. “A bit? Oh, Cara, you are kindness that takes breath and form. I will call you back as soon as we have a plan.”

  It was about twenty minutes before I ran into Elsa again. I just can’t bring myself to summon the help. When she walked in, I told her that Adeline had said no. Period.

  She smiled. “Adeline called me already. She thanked me for the offer but said there were other ways to handle the situation. Her concern is more a matter of curiosity than need at the moment, and her security people will take care of it.”

  “That is about what she told me. Are you okay with that?”

  “Actually, I’m relieved. Granville does kind of creep me out.”

  Teagan laughed. “Just the name Granville creeps me out. Where do people come up with these names?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Really? Teagan. Really? I’ll tell Rory and Troya that you said that.”

  She had the good grace to laugh.

  Unsure of what Adeline had planned or what our next step should be, I decided maybe we shouldn’t be seen in public.

  At the same time, if Adeline’s kids showed up, it wouldn’t be a very good idea for us to be seen in what we were wearing.

  Teagan was in a cute pair of pajamas. Only Teagan would be running around a gazillion-dollar home — the kind you are afraid to breathe in, never mind mess something up — acting like it is her vacation home.

  I was in skinny jeans and a t-shirt, with my hair scraped back and no makeup.

  Elsa has this cool way of always looking casual chic. When there were no guests expected, she was always in something linen. Sometimes a shift dress that was perfectly tailored. Sometimes pants and an artsy top. When guests were expected, she was much more formal. She must have changed her clothes six times a day. I don’t have that kind of energy or enthusiasm. Besides, if I wear something, I wash it before I wear it again, so I’d be doing laundry all day every day.

  Teagan can wear the same thing over and over, and it doesn’t bother her. She says that clothes aren’t meant to be washed as much as I wash mine.

  I point out that my clothing is not anywhere
near the investment that her wardrobe is. If I have to replace my skinny jeans, well, Target is happy to see me.

  She has to have everything altered and tailored, or if it’s for work, she has a lady that makes it especially for her, so I can see her point.

  Anyway, after some conversation, we each headed up to get presentable after telling Elsa that we expected to be in for lunch.

  Two things happened about an hour later. Adeline called and said it was time to come home. Operation “Never Named” was over. No real explanation. The jet would be ready in two hours, or we could take a commercial flight back whenever we chose. She suggested we might want to stay in town a few days and see the sights.

  While we were talking about the pros and cons of staying a little longer, Teagan got a weird text from Honey, her partner’s whacko wife.

  Honey: Teagan, when they ask, don’t answer.

  She texted back a row of question marks, but didn’t get a response.

  “What’s that all about?”

  “I have no clue. Honey does that kind of stuff every once in a while. It is the most frustrating part of my life, and I work daily with Mr. Fisher.”

  “Why do you still call him that? You guys are partners now.”

  “Same reason he still calls me Miss O’Flynn. It just lends a kind of something. Tradition, maybe? I can’t imagine ever changing it.”

  “If it works for you. Are we staying or going home on the jet?”

  “I’m ready to go. I love everything we’ve done here, but it hasn’t really worked out the way we expected it to, and I’m kind of over it.”

  “Me, too. I miss A.J. I’m sorry. I really wanted to kind of rebuild what we used to have, what we used to do. We had so much fun. We just lost it somewhere along the line.”

  “Cara, you’re still who you are. I’m still who I am. The world is still what it is. Don’t worry about it. What was the quote you used to have on the pillow that you always stuck under the bed?”

  “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

  “No, not that one, the other one.”