Tea and Tomahawks Read Free

“That is interesting,” he managed.
    Grandmother nodded. “Sure is. Maybe you’ll learn something during your stay here.”
    He laughed again, but this time it was against his fear. “I heard you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
    Lise lit a cigar. “Don’t be too sure about that.”
     
    ~* * * *~
     
    A clap of thunder woke Annie from her afternoon nap. Yawning, she sat up in bed and stretched. Outside the Irish-lace curtains, the rain poured down in buckets, typical for a summer storm. It had been hot and humid, and the rain served to cool down the day for the evening. Annie swung her legs out of bed and padded over the thick Aubusson rug to the adjacent bathroom. Though the house was at least fifty years old, her grandparents had updated everything a few years before her grandfather died. She twisted the cold tap and splashed her face. The cool water banished the remainder of the sleep cobwebs.
    Her hair was a mess. She dried her hands on the thick white towel and did her best to arrange the long, brown tresses into something that resembled order. The humidity had already begun to take its toll on her beauty salon hairdo, and she fretted about how she was going to keep it fresh. Perhaps there was a beauty salon in the neighboring town.
    The acoustics in the house were funny. She could hear Richard and Grandmother talking somewhere in the house. Glad they seemed to be getting along, Annie walked back into the bedroom to explore a little. With the rain beating down, the day was dark and gray. She switched on the lamp on the corner of the hulking mahogany dresser and opened the top drawer.
    The scent of lemongrass, borne by a damp breeze from the window, drifted to her nose, reminding her of long ago summers. Folded in neat squares were bed linens in heavy, smooth cotton. Some were trimmed with delicate pink embroidery, others with fine lace. In the second drawer, there were white linen tablecloths with matching napkins. Tucked in the corner of the drawer was a lacy sachet filled with dried herbs and flowers.
    Curious, she picked up a napkin and a necklace fell out from between the folds. Annie caught the trinket before it fell to the floor. The jewelry was crafted with beads a little larger than seed beads in shades of red, yellow and orange. Fascinated by their smoothness and uniformity, she passed it from one hand to the other, fingering the fine strands.
    “Annie!” Richard’s voice called up the stairs.
    She knew he would soon follow. For some reason, she didn’t want him to see the necklace, so she hurriedly tucked it back into the drawer where she’d found it. “On my way,” she said, giving her hair one last look before she left the room.
     
    ~* * * *~
     
    Dinner was quiet, just the three of them. Refreshed from her nap, Annie was upbeat and full of energy. The country air revitalized her and the thought of being Richard-less for the week was invigorating. Plus, she was pretty sure he would find some excuse not to come up for the weekends, which was just fine with her.
    The temperature had dropped about ten degrees, and it was still raining when she and Grandmother Lise decided to sit out on the huge, wraparound porch.
    Richard begged off, saying he had to check for any emergencies at the office.
    Grandmother smoked her evening cigar, and Annie sipped on lemonade fortified with vodka. The crickets chirped, and the cicadas buzzed in the grass. The lightning bugs flashed their tail-lights in their mating dance. If she listened hard enough, Annie could hear the splash of the ocean against the shore. She sighed and sipped more of her beverage. For that brief moment, all thoughts of Richard were forgotten, and she experienced a freedom of mind that she hadn’t had since she’d married.
    How could she have made such a terrible choice in a life partner? How could he have fooled her so? To divorce him now would be to admit her mistake, to live up to the “can’t do anything right” that had plagued