The sun glinted off the two
delicate china teacups nestled in the warm white sand of Folly Beach. Hadley
knew she looked slightly out of place sitting on the beach in her pastel blue
sundress, beaded flip-flops, and oversized sunglasses, cradling a beautifully
printed teapot in her hands. She stared out at the endless waves crashing in
from the Atlantic, lost in a sea of yesterdays and oblivious to the laughing
children, barking dogs, and sun-bathing teenagers all around her. She and Ka-Ka
had normally never come out to the beach at this time because of the crowds.
But Hadley wasn’t ready yet to repeat things exactly how they were when Ka-Ka
was with her.
A
child’s squeal jolted Hadley out of her reverie, and she set the teapot down,
trading it for a matching cup. Lifting it close to her face, she studied the
coral pink seashells and daises etched on the cream background. Ka-Ka had been
so delighted when she found this set on a trip to Tybee Island. Hadley still
had the text from her saying she had found the perfect set for their beach
teas. Afternoon beach teas had been their tradition ever since Hadley had moved
so close to Folly Beach where her grandparents lived. For the past 6 years, she
had met Ka-Ka here by the clump of daises every Thursday afternoon. Both would
be dressed for a casual tea, sunglasses in place to ward off the glare of the
late afternoon sun against the white sand.
“Ah,
Ka-Ka,” Hadley sighed. Cancer was a vicious thing. She had known that when the diagnosis
was first given, but even so, it was never supposed to claim Ka-Ka’s life. “It
wasn’t supposed to go like this. It wasn’t,” Hadley mumbled for the umpteenth
time. Yet here she was on a Thursday afternoon, alone on the beach, with two
teacups because she could not resign herself to bringing only one. Because that
would mean it was real. That Ka-Ka really wasn’t coming to another beach tea.
And although Hadley knew it was true, deep down she did not want to accept it,
or perhaps she could not. There had simply been no question in her mind about
what to bring to this tea party. A teapot of French vanilla tea and two cups.
Tears
blurred her vision. What am I doing? This was a bad idea. She began to
collect her things, angry at herself for ever thinking this would be good for
her, when out of nowhere she remembered Ka-Ka’s constant phrase of
encouragement to her. “Enjoy these special days.” Hadley fell back to the
ground, barely noticing the tea sloshing out of the pot. She blinked against
the stinging in her eyes and worked to swallow past the sudden knot in her
throat. She certainly had not been enjoying much of anything these past few
weeks. “These are special times. . . enjoy them.” She could just hear Ka-Ka’s
sweet voice. See her radiant smile. Feel her soft arms wrapped around her in a
warm embrace. The tension in Hadley’s neck and shoulders eased, and she closed
her eyes, lips curving in a smile of remembrance. She tipped her head back and leaned backwards
against her arms propped on the sand. She slowly inhaled the salty air, feeling
it fill and expand her chest with a breath of fresh life.
“O.K.,
Ka-Ka. I will,” she murmured softly. “It
will be hard, so very-“ her voice broke. After a few seconds, she regained her
composure and with a little cough, continued. "-So very hard without you. But I will enjoy these
special days because I know you would want me to.” Wonderful peace slowly
filled her as if Someone were pouring warm honey into her soul. Her smile grew,
and she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head.
As she
poured herself a cup of tea, she could just imagine Ka-Ka sitting beside her,
gracefully sipping her own. “It’s a beautiful afternoon, Ka-Ka. You would love
it. But instead, I’ll just love it enough for the both of us.”
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