\u201cI think this is the last one,\u201d Drew said, putting the large cardboard box on the table in front of Molly, where it joined the six others. \u201cI\u2019d forgotten how many of these she had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure you\u2019re okay with us using them?\u201d Molly asked him, letting one finger trail along the edge of a box. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to just keep them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want to keep them.\u201d Drew shook his head. \u201cThey don\u2019t belong in a box. Mom would have wanted us to use them like this.\u201d He opened the box, and pulled out a bubble-wrapped package. Molly watched him unwrap it slowly, his strong fingers gently cradling the delicate china tea cup that he revealed. After putting it on the table, he reached back in to the box and pulled out the matching saucer. \u201cAunt Janice did a good job wrapping these.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly reached out and picked up the tea cup. It was a pale green, with a hand-painted ivy vine wrapping around this. \u201cWhere did she get them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverywhere,\u201d Drew said. \u201cShe was like you in that – any time we went anywhere, she would look for these. And she used them every day until she died. I never saw her use a mug for tea. It was always a tea cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I would have liked her,\u201d Molly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you would have as well. She would have adored you.\u201d Drew looked at the boxes fondly. \u201cI always wondered what happened to them after the accident. I\u2019m glad Aunt Janice found them.\u201d He kissed Molly on the top of her head, and then said, \u201cI\u2019ll see you later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be here,\u201d she agreed, and watched him head out to his truck. As he pulled out of the driveway, he passed Lai\u2019s Jeep coming in, and Molly waved to her friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we were working on favors today!\u201d Sue said in greeting as they climbed the stairs. \u201cDid you decide not to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you really think I would have anything but tea cups for favors?\u201d Molly said, hands on her hips as she mock-glared at them. \u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood point,\u201d Sue said, laughing. \u201cWhat\u2019s Drew\u2019s contribution?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the cups used to be his mom\u2019s.\u201d Molly picked up the pale green cup again and offered it to Sue. \u201cHis aunt packed up his mother\u2019s collection and sent it out to us.\u201d She indicated a smaller box that was almost hidden on the table. \u201cAnd he picked out the tea balls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh?\u201d Lai arched a slender black eyebrow and opened the box. \u201cOh my lord, where did you find these?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me, show me!\u201d Noemi and Sue crowded around her as she pulled out a small tea ball: a tiny bat, with a baseball-shaped ball attached to it by a slender chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, where did you find BASEBALL Tea balls?\u201d Noemi demanded. \u201cI\u2019ve been looking for those forever!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to have them specially made,\u201d Molly admitted. \u201cLuckily, I was able to trade for some special scones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s the plan?\u201d Sue asked, putting the cup back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cCup, tea ball, tea,\u201d Molly said, demonstrating with small packets of tea from yet another box on the table. \u201cTea and tea ball go in the cup, and then the cup and saucer go on the wrapping, and then you get the ribbon.\u201d She pulled the clear silvery film up, gathered it together, and tied it with a long white ribbon. \u201cLike so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd how many of these do we have to do?\u201d Noemi said, picking up a length of ribbon. There were tiny snowflakes in sapphire sprinkled over it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred and twenty five,\u201d Molly said, sighing. \u201cI think we can get through it, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood thing we brought a couple bottles of wine,\u201d Lai said, winking at Sue. \u201cThis is going to be a long day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Schrodinger?\u201d Noemi asked, looking around. \u201cHow come he isn\u2019t helping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s working on something for the wedding, and no, I have no idea what,\u201d Molly said. \u201cHe won\u2019t tell me, and if he\u2019s told Drew, he\u2019s sworn him to secrecy. All I know is that he said it was for the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich means it could be anything,\u201d Sue agreed, pulling out a chair. \u201cAll right, ladies, let\u2019s get moving.\u201d She peeked in the tea box. \u201cThree different envelopes in the saucer, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded. \u201cOne for each of us.\u201d She pulled out the envelopes and showed them. \u201cChristmas tea for me, of course. Peppermint for Drew. Earl Grey for Schrodinger.\u201d The envelopes were white, with more sapphire snowflakes sprinkled over them, and each had Drew\u2019s beautiful calligraphy with the name of the tea on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys really went all out for these,\u201d Lai said, fingering one of the tea bags gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re only getting married once,\u201d Molly said. \u201cWhy not go all out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue.\u201d Noemi reached in for another gently-wrapped tea cup. \u201cLet\u2019s get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
<><><\/p>\n
Drew pulled into the staff parking lot at the Gate Station, turned off his truck, and then sat for a few moments, lost in thought. The lawns of Carter\u2019s Cove Gate Station rolled out around him in all directions, and in the distance, he could hear the sea. The wind through his open window carried salt, so familiar now and yet so different from where he\u2019d grown up. At one point in his life, he\u2019d never believed he\u2019d end up on the Maine coast.<\/p>\n
No, I thought I\u2019d take over Dad\u2019s spot in the Marionville Station, and settle down in my hometown. Isn\u2019t that the normal way?<\/em><\/p>\n But after the car accident that had taken his parents and older sister from him, Drew had known he couldn\u2019t stay in the town he\u2019d grown up in. There were too many reminders there, looking at him from every tree and window. He hadn\u2019t even been back since he\u2019d come to the Cove. Not that he\u2019d really had to try hard to avoid it – there had been enough going on here, after all.<\/p>\n Now, though, he couldn\u2019t avoid it any more. Aunt Janice had included a letter with the cups, a letter that Molly hadn\u2019t seen. A letter that Drew still carried with him.<\/p>\n He pulled it from his wallet, and read it again. It wasn\u2019t very long.<\/p>\n Dearest Drew, I was so happy to hear of your upcoming marriage. Your Aunt Janice has kept me apprised of how you have been doing, and your Molly sounds like a lovely girl. I can\u2019t wait to meet her.<\/em><\/p>\n Love always, Phoebe<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI think this is the last one,\u201d Drew said, putting the large cardboard box on the table in front of Molly, where it joined the six others. \u201cI\u2019d forgotten how many of these she had.\u201d \u201cAre you sure you\u2019re okay with us using them?\u201d Molly asked him, letting one finger trail along the edge of …<\/p>\n