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Tea With Mary

12/17/2024

Leo was finishing a mug of coffee when his mother entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, dear.”

“Hi, Mom. Gotta get ready for work.” He rinsed out his cup and set in into the drying rack.

“You got home rather late last night.”

“Sarah worked until closing. I gave her a ride to her place so she could pack for a few days with Mrs. C.”

“Splendid.” She smiled. “They’ve invited me to tea.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”

“I did.” She focused her gaze on him. “And?”

“She has something she wants to discuss with you.”

“Something.” She put her hands on her hips. “You must do better than that.”

“Ooh, look at the time. I need to get into the shower before traffic gets heavy.”

“Leonard.” An eyebrow raised.

“It’s not mine to disclose, Mother. She made me promise not to–”

“That will be binding when and if she becomes your wife. I am claiming a mother’s prerogative. So spill.”

“She has a matter of some sensitivity to disclose and she’s terribly afraid you will reject her and forbid our marriage.”

“Is it a Mortal Sin?”

“If it isn’t, it’s pretty close. I really can’t say more than that, Mom.”

“Leonard, this will not do. You tell me right this instant.”

“You would demand that I betray a confidence? How is she supposed to trust me? She and Elka invited you in order to discuss it as Catholic women. Please, go with an open mind and an open heart. She is terrified that you will reject her.”

“I’m terrified that you would associate yourself with someone who has committed a mortal sin. She seemed like such a nice girl.”

“She is, Mom. She’s as nice as you thought she was ten minutes ago. Something happened, and she reacted inappropriately.”

“But–”

“Think of how you felt about her on Sunday. She is the same person. Let her tell you and remember you are a Christian. It is our job to let them see Jesus through us.”

Her eyebrows knitted as she glared at him. “So it is.”

“I’m going to go get a shower now.”

“I assume it’s not murder.”

“Not exactly, Mom. Please recall that I told you about how she reacted to the movie last Sunday. That’s all the more I’m going to say. This is her struggle. She wants Elka to help her discuss it with you and seek your forgiveness.”

“My forgiveness?”

“If she was in the church already, she’d be able to go to Confession. Of course, if she was in the church already, it might not have happened at all.”

“Leonard.”

He turned and dashed for the stairs.

“Leonard!” She looked out the window at the Chmielewski home. ‘What can it be?’

Mary took a deep breath and set the kettle on a burner. “Which movie did he see?” She paced as the water boiled, stopping periodically to look over at the home across the street. “Confound it.” She rubbed her temples. “Isidore, what Christmas movies are playing at the Pine Hollow Five Cineplex?”

There was a brief jingle of Sanctus bells and a man’s voice with a Visigothic accent replied, “Frank Capra’s holiday classic, It’s A Wonderful Life has showings in theaters two and three. This heartwarming film features a man who is blessed with an opportunity to see what the world would look like if he had never been born, demonstrating the big things that come of little acts of kindness. Would you like to reserve a ticket?”

“No, it would be more convenient to watch it here if there is a streaming option.” She turned the burner off and poured herself a cup of boiling water. She tore open a packet and dropped a bag of Irish Breakfast Tea into the cup.

“I have located some streaming options. I will analyze the signal and cue up the most reliable feed. You need only press ‘Play’ on your remote to enjoy the movie.”

“Thank you, Isidore.”

“Enjoy your movie and have a blessed day, Mary Katherine.”

She scowled at the AI unit. ‘Joseph has been playing with the settings again.’ She pinned the teabag down with a spoon while she prepared a bagel with cream cheese and marmalade. ‘Leonard wants to be cryptic? I can read between the lines. My own son, leaving me to wander into an ambush. The infamy.’

With her bagel prepared and her tea perfectly steeped, she set her breakfast on a tray table and pressed the play button.

“Clarence! Help me, Clarence! Get me back. Get me back. I don’t care what happens to me.”

Mary stirred. ‘What’s that yelling?’

“Help me, Clarence, please. I want to live again. I want to live again. I want to live again. Please, God, let me live again.”

Mary rubbed her eyes. George Bailey was on the bridge praying. ‘Forgiveness? Not exactly murder?’ She arched her back and turned off the TV. “Leonard? Leonard, you come down here right now.”

A brief jingle of Sanctus bells and Isidore announced, “Leonard has left to keep his appointment with Mr. Shumway. His integrated calendar shows an anticipated return time of fourteen hundred hours.”

“Thank you, Isidore. Please leave a message for Joseph to stop setting your time for twenty-four-hour parlance. It’s off-putting.”

“If you wish, I can provide you with clock readings in standard format.”

“Yes, dear. I would appreciate that.”

“The change has been stored with your voice profile. Leonard is anticipated to return by two o’clock this afternoon. You are scheduled to visit Elżbieta Chmielewski and Sarah MacInnes across the street in twenty minutes. The temperature outside is twelve degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill makes it feel like zero. Please remember to dress in warm layers and minimize skin exposure to these hazardous conditions.”

“Thank you, Isidore. You are a marvel.”

“It is my pleasure to assist, Mary Katherine.”

“Joseph thinks he’s funny. Please address me as Mary.”

“With regrets, madam, I require administrative override to complete that request.”

“We’ll attend to that later. Please send an additional message to Joseph that he’s not too old to wind up over my knee.”

“Override has been granted, Mary. I cannot decipher the rest of his message. He is laughing too hard.”

“Ugh, I couldn’t have had one daughter in the bunch.” Mary put on her overcoat and a short-brimmed scarf hat. As much as she dreaded showing up in the guise of a stylish terrorist, a wind chill leading to zero degree temperatures would not be forgiving to her moisturizing routine. She pulled a covered cookie tray with pizzelles she had dipped in whipped cream with sprinkles and in chocolate with pulverized almonds from the fridge.

‘I should have asked if they have nut allergies.’ She looked at the tray. ‘If so, we can just throw them away.’

The wind was threatening to steal the tray from her hands as she crossed the bulb of Unity Court. She was relieved when the door opened to greet her. She hadn’t thought about how she was going to knock without losing the tray.

“Oh my, such wind.” Elka took the tray from Mary and handed it to Sarah. “Please, come in. We have the kettle boiling.”

“Thank you, Elka darling.” She hugged her neighbor. “Good morning, Sarah. How are you, dear?”

“I am doing well, thank you. These look marvelous.”

“I apologize that I forgot to ask about nut allergies.” Mary took off her hat and coat.

“Sarah, would you please hang these by the back door?” Elka handed them over. “Let’s get you warmed up. We have a lovely currant tea if you’d like to try that.”

“Delightful.” She looked down the hallway before turning to Elka and drawing a finger across her throat.

Elka nodded solemnly and raised a finger to her lips as she poured a cup of tea.

Mary mouthed the word “why”.

Elka shook her head and tipped her head toward Sarah.

‘She wants Sarah to tell me. I suppose that’s fair.’ She took a seat and wrapped her hands around the teacup to warm them. “Did you work yesterday?”

“Dinner to closing.” Sarah emerged from the back hallway. “It’s a long shift, but there usually aren’t many people in for Santa pictures that late.”

“Your place is near the pharmacy?”

“Yes, I’m on the fourth floor.”

“An efficiency?” Mary asked and sipped her tea.

“I thought so, but Leo says it’s officially a one-bedroom apartment.”

“He’s seen it?”

“I asked him to come up last night.”

“Well, there won’t be any more of that.” Elka and Mary said in stereo.

“I usually make him wait downstairs, but I had something important to tell him. I wasn’t sure how he was going to take it.”

“Leonard is kind to a fault. Unless it was disastrous, he would forgive you seventy times seven.”

Sarah blanched. Her eyes darted between Elka and Mary. “Yeah, about that.”

“Start at the beginning. Spare nothing.” Mary’s eyes drilled into her over the rim of her teacup.

“When I was sixteen, my parents went to Empire City for a romantic getaway, but they never came home. Somebody decided a couple of middle-aged tourists were better off dead. Whoever it was didn’t even bother to rob them. They were killed because someone thought it was fun to drop a two hundred pound bag of coal on them.”

“How horrible.” Mary covered her mouth. “Sarah, I’m so sorry.”

“That’s a dreadful thing to happen, sweetheart.”

“I don’t have any other family. My grandparents had long passed and my parents were both only children. I was appointed a Guardian ad Litem and a social worker. They arranged for me to stay in my own home. Bills and taxes were managed through a trust. The social worker would stop by periodically.”

“But you lived by yourself in that house?” Elka took Sarah’s hand.

“I just went on like they’d be back tomorrow or next Monday. Everything just hung there on that tension, waiting on a wish that wouldn’t be answered.”

Mary nodded as she sipped her tea.

“My senior year, the social worker had me take a number of aptitude tests and compose some different kinds of resumes. Carol invited me to be her protégé.”

“What sort of work was that?” Mary took a chocolate-dipped pizzelle and snapped into neat portions.

“She’s an event planner. Weddings, birthdays, corporate conventions…”

“You enjoyed this?” Elka sipped her tea.

“Most times. Some customers were more polite than others. It was pretty good until last year.”

“What happened last year?” Mary asked, a bit too sharply.

“We won the bid for the Jingle Bell Jubilee. We worked our fingers to the bone all year long. Planning, supervising, coordinating, lists and numbers and just craziness. To make matters worse, Maggie insisted on having a celebrity emcee.”

“Maggie… Mayor Mercer?” Mary tapped a finger on her chin.

“Yeah, she kept picking on me. She thought it was funny. Said it was to toughen me up so I could open my own business. I just wanted her to mind her own business.”

“I dislike people like this. Bullies who tell you they’re just trying to toughen you up.”

“Me, too. I hated having to deal with her. Carol knew that, but she never stopped her. To make matters worse, her dirtbag boyfriend from high school shows up from jail looking for work. The whole time, he’s always scowling at me and accusing me of bugging him. I wasn’t doing anything to him.”

“Wasn’t there somebody from the Sentinels there? Josh mentioned it.”

“You said Megaman. He’s the one who grows into a giant?”

“He’s the one you said about, he poisoned Carol?”

“Poisoned?” Mary gasped. “I hope they arrested him.”

Elka smirked. “How do you accidentally poison somebody?”

“Did you see the ‘Smooch Heard Around The World’ picture?” Sarah took a pizzelle with the sprinkles. “That thing was everywhere until at least New Year’s.”

“Megaman under the mistletoe? Christopher showed me. How gauche. Utter rot.”

“That was supposed to be my kiss. Carol had a boyfriend. She said she thought it was him because he walked up behind her. She didn’t know it wasn’t Nathan. They’re nothing alike. It would be like me mistaking Stosh for Murray.” Her hands trembled.

“Neither of them seem like they were very nice. I thought superheroes were supposed to be above reproach.”

“Who cares? It’s just as well he didn’t kiss me. He gave Carol a case of chaos poisoning.”

“What is that?” Elka took a chocolate-dipped pizzelle.

“It seems their super powers work on this chaos energy. If Megaman happens to be touching you when he uses his giant powers, he can dose you up like it was radiation. Carol was making holographic ornaments out of her mouth.”

“She what?” Mary dropped her pizzelle.

“I heard about it after the fact. She would hiccup and some kind of Christmas tree ornament would float out of her mouth. It would blow around like a bubble for a moment and pop.”

“That’s crazy.” Elka chomped the chocolate half of her pizzelle.

“Exactly, that’s why they sent her to the Wisler Institute. Suddenly, she’s just gone and all the stuff that needs to happen is right at my feet. Everything came crashing down around me.” She sobbed. “It was too much and people were yelling at me, so I drove home. I parked in my driveway and just stayed in the car. I figured I would just go to sleep and that would be all there was to it.”

Mary handed her a napkin. “Sarah, that’s awful. I’m so sorry things got so bad for you that you felt you had to do that.”

“Please don’t hate me.” She heaved as she blew her nose. “I promise I’ll never do it again. Honest.”

“Sarah, please let it go now. Nobody hates you. Least of all, God. He wasn’t done with you. You’re here now with us.” Mary took her hand. “You’ll never be alone again, Sarah. You have Murrays, Gallaghers, Chmielewskis, Gajewskis and the whole church family from now on.”