The Tea Series

by Sheila Horgan

  The Tea Series

  Books 9-12

  Sheila Horgan

  Copyright © 2013-15 by Sheila Horgan

  Smashwords Edition

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, businesses, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. No reference to any real person is intended or implied.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, uploaded to the Internet, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, or distributed without the written permission of the author, with the exception of short quotes for purposes of review.

  Cover Art by David Avila

  Edited by Christie Giraud www.eBookEditingPro.com

  Proofreading by J. Jeffers www.JJeffersEditing.com

  Interior Design by CyberWitch Press LLC CyberWitchPress.com

  Special thanks to Darlene Davis MacLean and Deb for all their help and support.

  Tea & Honey

  ONE

  “JORDAN, YOU WANT dinosaur eggs for breakfast?”

  “Please.”

  “You know what dinosaur eggs are? I should have known your pa would initiate you.”

  “Yep, we have dinosaur eggs and monkey poop for breakfast all the time. One day we even had buffalo flops with ‘em.”

  “Is that a hint? I normally do buffalo flops for lunch.”

  “I’m not hinting; I just love buffalo flops.”

  “Buffalo flops it is. I don’t know how your mother puts up with my brother. Liam and Morgan are so different.”

  “That’s what the lady at daycare told Pa.”

  “Really? And what was his response?”

  “That they were perfectly aligned on all the important stuff, like how much they love me and how lucky Pa is to have my mom.”

  “Well, that was a really good answer.”

  “Yeah, Mom makes him practice stuff like that.”

  There is no better way to start off the day than to hear a young boy laugh.

  The day started off very well.

  Dinosaur eggs are just soft-boiled eggs, with a Liam twist. When you take the eggs out of the water you crack the shell, and then you can either put them in a food coloring bath or do it the lazy way and just drip some food coloring over the egg. It colors the shell and shows the cracks really well, and it also colors the inside of the egg if it penetrates that membrane thing that sometimes makes peeling the egg easy but sometimes holds on to the white part and just won’t let go.

  Monkey poop is sausage. Either cut up links or patties depending on just how authentic you want your poop to be. For the best monkey poop, you really have to smoosh the patty into a weird shape and overcook it. I’m not sure that anyone in our family has actual monkey poop experience, so we don’t have to overdo the authenticity.

  Buffalo flops are a little more involved, but it has been my experience that they are well worth the extra effort. I start with French bread I’ve broken into chunks. I melt some butter and garlic — I usually use my garlic butter sauce from the freezer, but melting butter and using garlic powder works just as well; just melt some butter on a non-stick skillet and add garlic powder — and once you have your garlic butter mixture melted and wonderfully warm but not sizzling hot, throw the bread chunks on top, and allow them to warm up. Let the bread absorb the butter; then pull it out of the skillet. With the skillet still really warm but not burning hot, put in a bunch of cheese — it turns out Jordan likes sharp cheddar — and allow it to melt. It’s pretty much instant. Put the garlic-butter-coated bread on top of the cheese, and let the whole mess cook until the cheese is the degree of doneness you like. The longer the cheese is in the pan, the crunchier the sandwich. When you have achieved the perfect level of crunch, slide your buffalo flops out onto a plate. You end up with an open-faced garlic grilled cheese sandwich that crunches. It’s not for everybody, but it is amazing how many people like it.

  My brother in particular, and maybe boys in general, just like the whole yuck factor. Kind of like eating green mashed potatoes on Saint Patrick’s Day. I always thought it was gross. My mom would save some out for me before she would desecrate the rest of the food with coloring. My brothers loved it. To this day I do not know why. I can’t tell you how many food items my mother has colored over the years, but other than dinosaur eggs, I’m not starting that precedent in my house with my kids, although I will admit, it is hard to get rid of an O’Flynn tradition.

  Worse than bedbugs.

  Way worse.

  “What are we going to do today, Aunt Cara?”

  “I’m not sure. I wanted to get your opinion on a couple of things. I’m little-boy-demographically challenged.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know what kids your age like to do when they go on vacation, and I’ve got a project at work that kind of depends on that information, so I thought I’d pick your brain.”

  “Pick my brain?” Jordan giggled. My guess is my brother has picked his brain more than once. It’s another family tradition.

  “Yeah, I’ll just screw off the top of your head and take a look in there.

  “Okay, but if you leave a mark, you are explaining it to my mom.”

  “No problem. I’ve been taking your pa’s brain apart for years.”

  “No comment.”

  “Jordan, you’re quick.”

  “With Pa you gotta be.”

  “Good point. He’s always rewarded a quick brain. You get anything good lately?”

  “The right to take my next breath.”

  More little boy laughter. Such a great sound.

  “Well, as a reward for you being so kind and letting me peruse around in your brain, I thought we would go to the animal shelter. I know a guy there, and he said we could come down and help out for a little while. We can do cleaning to help out, and then we can play with puppies.”

  “Okay.”

  “Then I thought maybe we could go to a movie or something.”

  “You know, we don’t have to do all this stuff. I don’t have to be entertained. That’s what my mom calls it. I’m not one of those spoiled little kids that’s gonna go all crazy on you if you don’t find stuff to keep me busy. My mom would kill me if I was like that.”

  “Sweetie, we aren’t doing all that stuff for you. The monkey poop is for you. The rest of it is all for me.”

  “Then, yeah, I guess I’d like to do all that stuff.”

  “Your mom said she was going to come and pick you up at about dinner time. I invited her and your pa to stay for dinner, but they said that they couldn’t. She said that you guys have plans.”

  “Well, I don’t know anything about that.”

  “Well then, I guess you’ve got a surprise coming.”

  “Yeah. I guess.” Jordan sounded downright dejected.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t ‘nothing’ me, Jordan. I’m the queen of doing that. It won’t work on me. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s just that Mom and Pa have been acting all weird lately. I think something’s going on, and since they always tell me everything, and since they aren’t telling me anything about what’s happening right now, what they’re trying to keep a secret, it’s gotta be something bad. People tell you about the good stuff. They try to keep the bad stuff a secret. It never works. Kids aren’t as stupid as everybody thinks we are.”

  “Nobody thinks you are stupid, Jordan. Besides, maybe it’s something good. Santa keeps secrets, and when’s the last time you saw Santa do something bad?”

  “Sorry, Aunt Cara, but Santa’s play
ed out.”

  “Jordan O’Flynn, do I hear you saying that you don’t believe?”

  “Nobody my age believes in that stuff anymore.”

  “All I can tell you is don’t let Grandma know you don’t believe. It’ll get ugly. She has direct ties, and she will let Santa know, and the next thing you know, Christmas is over. At least Christmas will be over for you. My brother Seamus once thought he was all grown up and that grownups don’t believe. So he went around telling everybody that Santa doesn’t exist. It didn’t turn out very well for him.”

  “What happened?”

  “Let’s just say that he got a visit in the middle of the night. Not from Santa — I don’t think — he won’t talk about it, but he did get a visit, and ever since then, he’s been a major believer.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You need to talk to Uncle Seamus about that. I’m not sure he’ll tell you. I’m not sure he can tell you. But he knows more about it than I do.”

  “Okay. You think he’d tell me over the phone?”

  “I doubt it, but you can try to call him if you want.”

  “I’ll call him tonight. You aren’t supposed to call people during work hours unless it’s an emergency. Besides, my mom says it’s always better to call after dinner when people have had time to relax and are in a good mood.”

  “Good rule. You ready for your breakfast?”

  “Yep.”

  “You want to go call A.J. for me please?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I just love a little kid with good manners. Morgan is doing Jordan such a service.

  I can’t tell you how many things have gone better in my life because my mother convinced me that she would rip me limb from limb if I didn’t have good manners. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t serious, or maybe a better phrase would be that she wasn’t being literal, because I can guarantee you that when it came to manners, she was serious.

  Very serious.

  But I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have actually ripped me limb from limb.

  Pretty sure, anyway.

  A.J. came back with Jordan. He was fresh out of the shower, and as much as I love Jordan, I would have been just as happy to have A.J. all to myself.

  He sat down next to Jordan. “You guys have plans for the day?”

  “Aunt Cara said that we are going to pet puppies and stuff.”

  “Petting puppies is always good.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know what’s better?”

  I tried not to be offended. “There isn’t much better than petting puppies.”

  “Yeah. You’re right. My friend Robert and I were going to…” A.J. leaned over and whispered into Jordan’s ear.

  “Really?” His eyes were huge.

  “Yeah. You wanna come?”

  “No. That’s okay. I’m gonna go pet puppies.”

  The child was trying to be polite, but the whole puppy thing was sounding more like an obligation than the fun afternoon I’d planned on it being.

  “Okay, you know what? I don’t know what you’ve got going, but suddenly petting puppies just sounds like a total fail. Would you rather go with A.J. and Robert?”

  “I don’t know.”

  A.J. helped Jordan decide. “He’s bringing his nephew. He’s about your age. What do you think?”

  “Really? You don’t mind, Aunt Cara?”

  “Nope.”

  A.J. patted Jordan on the back. “Good. Don’t forget to write your name on a card and put it in your pocket just in case we miss.”

  “What?” Not that I wanted to sound paranoid or anything, but Liam and Morgan had dropped off a kid all in one piece, and I’m pretty sure that’s the way they expect to collect him. Miss? What miss?

  A.J. looked completely sincere. “We’re jumping out of airplanes. If we go splat, they’re going to have to identify us somehow.”

  My reaction might have been slightly tainted by my horror of all things high.

  They both burst out laughing when they saw my face.

  “Not funny.”

  A.J. couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Yeah, it was pretty funny. We’re going to the stadium for fan appreciation day. They’ve got the players there and all kinds of interactive stuff. I already talked to Liam and Morgan, and they said that Jordan could go.”

  “And I didn’t hear anything about this because?”

  “Because I have a surprise for you too.”

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Why don’t you sit down and enjoy your breakfast, and we’ll go from there?”

  Just then someone knocked on the door. A.J. got a huge smile on his face. “Go ahead, it’s for you.”

  I walked over to the door and looked out the peephole. Nothing.

  “Open it!”

  I didn’t point out that not so long ago everyone was always snapping at me for opening a door when I didn’t know who was on the other side. Consistency is not a common thing in today’s world. I’m just sayin’.

  I opened the door. If a bad guy jumped in, it was on A.J.

  I wasn’t wishing for a bad guy; I’m just saying if one happened to jump in, I might be forced to say, “I told you so.”

  “Surprise!” Suzi and her grandmother came in the door.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re going shopping and taking you to lunch. The shopping is for my new apartment, which will be directly across the hall. It’s official. I got it! Just signed all the paperwork and everything. Lunch will be a thank you for getting me the apartment and everything else you’ve done for me. I can’t even list everything, there’s been so much.”

  “That sounds fun.”

  Suzi gave me a look. “You sound really excited.”

  “I have to make a few calls. I promised a friend I would clean puppy cages today.”

  “Yeah, well that trumps your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant, with Teagan and Sinead meeting us there. Sorry, couldn’t get ahold of the other ones without causing a panic.”

  “You guys didn’t have to do that.”

  “They’re helping us shop. No one on the planet shops like Teagan. It was kind of weird. I didn’t expect her to get all excited about baby shopping. I figured that she would just come to lunch, but she kind of invited herself and said she’d love to shop with us, and I get the impression that she is going to drag poor Sinead along whether she likes it or not.”

  Suzi’s grandmother Carolyn, laughed. “Which one is Sinead?”

  “She’s the youngest.”

  “Oh, I remember now.”

  I went ahead and filled her in on the most basic basics. “She’s in college. She’s not sure what her major’s going to be yet. She’s dating a guy who has his whole life planned out, and she just isn’t there yet. Kind of frustrating for her.”

  Carolyn smiled and took Suzi by the elbow. “Shall we let the boys get to their sporting event? Do you need time to get ready, Cara?”

  “I’m not even dressed. I thought I would be covered with puppy drool.”

  Suzi pulled a little pink measuring tape out of her purse. “Not a problem. We’ll go over to the model and do some measuring. The lady at the office said it is exactly the same layout as mine.” She shrugged one shoulder. “My apartment is only a one-bedroom place, but I asked in the office, and they said there isn’t going to be a two bedroom available for a while. There’s a three bedroom, but it’s way in the back, and I really didn’t like it as much. Plus, it’s a lot of money, and I’m not sure what my finances are going to look like until I get everything figured out with Barry. Gran had to co-sign just so I could get the one bedroom. I offered to just pay a few months of rent, but they wouldn’t let me do that. With the one bedroom I can afford to pay everything without any help from Barry or Gran. Barely. Anyway, I think the baby and I will fit very nicely. There’s a big alcove in the bedroom, and the crib will fit in there. I just want to make sure there isn’t any draft from
the windows or anything.”

  “For goodness’ sakes, Suze, we don’t live in Alaska. I think that little area would be perfect for Seraphina.” Carolyn has such a beautiful smile.

  A.J. jumped on the comment. “Seraphina? You’re having a girl?”

  “Gran is just throwing all kinds of names out there. I don’t know what I’m having. I don’t want to know.”

  I thought about it for a second. “Seraphina is a beautiful name.”

  “It has something to do with the best angels. The highest angels. Something like that.” It was pretty obvious that Suzi wasn’t a fan and wanted to change the subject. “Anyway, I know it sounds crazy, but that closet is huge. I could always fix something up in there.”

  Gran was gentle. “A baby doesn’t take much room, Suze.”

  “I meant for me. I wouldn’t want to stick my baby in a closet.”

  Everyone laughed.

  I volunteered, “You can share a room with the baby for a year or two, and we’ll be happy to babysit if you have a hot date.”

  “Don’t even go there. I’m never going on a date again. I can’t be trusted.”

  “Stop. You’re fine. You’ll find some rich, handsome guy who’s going to love you and the baby, and you’re going to live happily ever after. I just know it.” I looked over, and A.J. winked at me. Not sure what that was all about, but I’ll remember to ask him later.

  Suzi rolled her eyes. “From your lips.”

  “Oh my God, Suzi, you sound like an O’Flynn.”

  TWO

  CAROLYN — OR GRAN, as I’m trying to remember to call her every time — bought the crib. She and Suzi argued about it for a few minutes, but Suzi lost, as a person always should when arguing with their grandmother.

  Carolyn offered to purchase the rest of the furniture in the set — a changing table atop a chest of drawers, a beautiful toy box that could grow into part of a desk unit, even a little armoire that would later grow into a television unit — but Suzi won that discussion. There just wouldn’t be enough room in her one-bedroom apartment.

  We went to several secondhand stores, but everything seemed to be as expensive as regular retail. Some of it was badly scratched, and some of it was the quality of a flea market find — priced like an heirloom.