Thursday Morning Tea

   It was 8am on Thursday and the morning sun was just starting to pour through the front window of the house. I walked onto the front porch and sat down at the small round table with a cup of coffee and the paper from the previous Sunday. I started to flip through, first reading a story about a young girl raising money for cancer, then a study stating that "Smart phones may be ruining your child's life!", and finally completing the crossword puzzle. I got up and walked into the kitchen to pour myself another cup of coffee when I heard a loud bang from upstairs. 

"You okay?" I called. 

I didn't hear a reply so I placed my mug on the counter and walked upstairs. I entered my bedroom and instantly laughed. 

"Spark, what in Gods name are you doing!?" I chuckled.

I bent down and picked Spark up out of the laundry basket he had just knocked over. Clothes were scattered everywhere and he had a sock stuck on his tail. I took the sock off and put Spark down in the hallway. He ran downstairs and into the den. 

I walked into the closet and began to shuffle through a pile of clothes trying to decide what to wear. 

"Hun? Can you throw me a towel?" my husband called from the bathroom. 

I grabbed a towel off the shelf and hung it over the bathroom door. 

"You better hurry up, you're gonna be late for your meeting." I called as I began to walk back downstairs. 

I put my mug in the dishwasher and sat down on the couch. I heard my husband come down the stairs. 

"Do I look okay?" 

"Yes. You're gonna do great. Call me when you can. I wanna hear all about it."

I walked him to the door and gave him a quick kiss before I shut it behind him. I looked at my watch. It was already 9. I quickly ran back upstairs and threw on a pair of jeans and a cartigan. I shut my bedroom door on the way out to hide the mess. 

I got the kettle boiling and grabbed 4 tea cups from the cupboard. I went into the pantry and grabbed the box of tea bags too. I waited until the water was done boiling and then poured it into the teapot along with 2 tea bags. I placed the teapot and teacups on the table along with a platter of cookies and sat back on the couch. At exactly 9:30 on the dot, I heard a knock on the door. I figured it must be one of the ladies coming for tea. I got up and answered the door, but was confused when it was not who I was expecting. 

It was Mrs. Nickelson. 

Mrs. Nickelson was the old lady who lived across the street. She had lived in the same house for the past 40 years.  She was always out watering her garden or taking her dog for a walk. Her husband was quiet and kept to himself, but on several occasions I had seen him barge out of the house late at night and drive off in a hurry. She was a nice lady but I always felt bad for her. In the 5 years we had been neighbours, I never once saw another family member visit her. Then again, I never really bothered to ask her about it either. 

"Hello" I said politely. 

She didn't even say hello, but instead reached out and offered me her hand. Inside was a small piece of paper with a phone number. I looked at her with a puzzled look on my face.

"What's this?" I asked as a took the paper in my hand. 

She replied, "In case you ever need someone to talk to. I know a few people who would be happy to help you." 

And with that she turned around and started to walk away. I began to shut the door but before I could close it completely I saw her turn around and come back towards me. When she reached me, she put her arms out and threw them around me. It caught me off guard, but I managed to quickly pat her on the back before she let go. When she faced me again, I saw that she had a tear in her eye. 

"Im so sorry for your loss."

I replied, "My wh-?"

She cut me off and said, "It's always the best that get taken too early." 

I looked at her blankly and said, "Im sorry I have no idea what you're talking about..." 

She stared at me for about 5 whole seconds before reaching into her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, handing it to me, and walking away without saying another word. This time she didn't turn around to come back. 

I shut the door and sat down at the table. First I took out the piece of paper with the phone number. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. It rang about 3 times before going to voicemail. I pressed end before even listening to it. I reached into my other pocket and grabbed the other piece of paper she gave me. It was a piece of newspaper. I just stared at it wondering what the hell it was. I was about to throw it out but first I quickly turned it around. I stopped in my tracks. On the other side of the paper was a perfectly cut out article with the title, "Fatal Car Crash Kills One, One in Hospital." 

I began to read the article and had to sit back down so I didn't collapse. The article read, 

"Saturday night at approximately 10pm, police and ambulance were called to a car crash on Kurtswood Street. It was a head on collision with a semi truck. The crash killed the driver of the car on impact. The semi driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries but will be okay." 

When my eyes had finished reading the article and had moved to look at the picture accompanying it, my heart stopped. 

Right there on this cut out article was a photo of the car crash. And right beside that, a photo of my husband.