Emma Lea’s Christmas Tea
December 20, 2010
Emma Lea’s Christmas Tea
by Babette Donaldson
It was the last day of school before the holiday break, just a half day for Emma Lea. The school pageant was over, all their assignments turned in and her class had spent the day making gingerbread houses and finishing art projects. Sam’s mother drove the carpool home. He helped her carry her things inside. As she opened the door, they saw her mother asleep on the couch. She put a finger to her lips.
“Shhhh…,” she whispered, “she was up late last night trying to get all the gifts finished.” Even Ginger, their dog, padded quietly to greet her before taking her place back, curled up at Mama’s feet.
Sam saw the piles of wrapped packages, the dining room table covered with boxes, gift wrap and ribbon. Baskets and big felt bags covered the floor and a stack of lists seemed to be the key to matching the right gifts with each family. There was barely room to walk through the living room and the dining room.
His eyes were wide. “So many presents.”
“Not for us,” she explained, “we make the baskets for other families. The gifts are donated then we do the wrapping and deliver them. Then people who can’t afford to buy things for their children still have a good holiday. It’s part of Mama’s job.” Emma Lea’s mother was a social worker who helped families with special needs. “When Daddy gets back tonight, he’ll help us finish. Then we’ll deliver.”
“Wow, this looks like something a dozen people should be helping to do.”
Daddy had been away for a few days. His folk music trio was on a short road trip and Mama never slept as well when he was away. When she thought of all that Mama had done to make the holiday special for so many people; for her class at school helping with their show, for the community and the people who needed extra help, for her family and all the gifts she worked during the year to make, Emma Lea realized that her mother was exhausted. What could she do?
They usually had tea in the afternoon when Emma Lea came home from school. That was the time when they seemed to talk about the most important things that had happened to each of them. Now that she was home earlier than usual, she could fix their tea and have it ready when Mama woke up. She checked the cookie jar. It was filled with some of the broken cookies that they had baked for gifts, and the teas they had on hand were old favorites but they were the everyday teas. Not very special. It gave her an idea of what to do. She jotted a note in case Mama woke from her nap. I’ve gone for a walk. Will be back soon. Don’t worry.
Their favorite tearoom was just two blocks away, an easy walk. She left Ginger curled up on the rug at the end of the couch. “Take care of her while I’m gone.” She scratched behind the dog’s ear to seal their deal and she got some of the money she had been saving for Christmas presents.
Rowena Rose was at the cash register on the check-out counter. Behind her was a wall of large metal tins. Each one held a different flavor of tea, grouped in sections of black, green, white and herbal teas. She was packaging an order for a waiting customer. Emma Lea looked over the list until she was finished.
“My, my, my dear,” Rowena greeted her. “What can I get for you today?”
“I want something for Mama. Something new. Something she’s never tasted before.”
“My, my, indeed. I’m not sure that’s possible. You mom and grandmother have tasted every tea I’ve ever ordered and they’ve helped me create at least a dozen of our special blends.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “Now let me think.” She opened some of the drawers under the shelves and rummages through an unbelievable collection of dozens of different colored bags. Many of the labels were written in different languages. She sorted through them quickly, not finding anything that seemed to be what Emma Lea wanted. Then she turned and smiled broadly, “I have an idea. Come with me.” She gave Emma Lea a long apron, tied her hair back in a rubber band and put a cook’s hat on her head, showed her where to wash her hans and then led her back to the tea packing room.
“Here are some of her favorite black teas,” Rowena explained as she pulled a few containers off the shelf. “These would make a good start to create a whole new flavor.” Then, pointing to the shelves of herbs, dried flowers and dried fruit, “And here are some of the herbs we add to make our own flavors. You can make one just for her.”
“Sounds difficult.”
“We’ll do it together.”
They started with a tea from Ceylon.
“Cinnamon,” Emma Lea started with the jar of broken cinnamon bark, “and cardamom pods, and cloves and nutmeg. I want to make it spicy.”
Rowena pulled down the containers of dried fruit. “These would also make it sweet.” There were tiny bits of dried apple, orange peel, currants, mango, strawberry, cranberry . . .
“Stop,” she said, “I know exactly the flavor for Mama.” She reached for the container of dried cranberries. They were still whole, deep red and when she lifted the lid, the aroma was ripe and sweet. “Cranberries are one of her favorite things.”
Rowena helped her weigh the different ingredients then they brewed, tasted, adjusted, tasted again, added two more secret ingredients before they declared that it was just right. Rowena quickly brewed a thermos and packed some of Mama’s favorite scones and lemon curd to add to the afternoon treat. When Emma Lea tried to pay for the goodies, Rowena refused the money. “I consider this a trade.”
“I can come back and wash dishes or sweep up when you close.”
“There’s something else I want. Come back at closing tonight.”
Emma Lea let herself in through their kitchen door and tiptoed around the room to create their afternoon tea tray. As she poured the tea into her own red-and-white polka dot teapot she heard her mother stir and peeked into the living room. Mama’s shoulders were still hunched over and her head hung down a bit. Her eyes were droopy. Emma Lea couldn’t remember ever seeing her mother look so weary.
“I’m home, Mama. And I made our tea.”
“You’re early, Emmie.”
“It was early dismissal.”
“Then you’re a bit late. Did you go over to Sam’s?” She looked up at her daughter holding the tray. “What have you here?” She leaned toward the teapot when Emma Lea set it on the tea table. She lifted the lid and took in a deep breath of the steam. “What is this? I don’t remember buying anything like this. Is it new?”
“For you. I went to Rowena’s. We blended it just for you.”
Mama loved the new tea and gradually her face lightened and her eyes started to sparkle again. “It’s a perfect holiday spice tea.”
They chatted as they did every afternoon but this time, their stolen moment was a much needed break in the long list of things they had to do.
“Thank you,” Mama said, “you reminded me how much I needed to relax. We’ll get \]it all done, even if we don’t finish before your father comes home.”
They were about to pour second cups when there was a knock at the door. It was Sam and his mother.
“We’re here to help. Two more sets of hands will cut the time in half.”
Fortunately, there was still enough in the thermos to share before they set to work.
“Good tea,” Sam said. “Is this from Rowena’s? What’s it called?”
Now she knew what to give her family and friends. Some of them would receive the art projects she had made in school, but now she wanted to give everyone some of her new tea. The afternoon started to feel like as party and they finished the wrapping, organizing the baskets and cleaning the dining room just before Daddy drove in. He marveled at how much they had accomplished and then noticed the tea cups and Emma Lea’s special teapot on the tray.
“You’ve been using your teapot again. What magic are you brewing today?”
“She brought me a new pick-me-up,” Mama answered and explained about the tea.
“Any more for me?”
“No problem,” Emma Lea answered. “I promised Rowena that I would come back to help her close the tearoom. “There was extra in the batch we made. I’ll bring some for you.”
Emma Lea grabbed her coat and skipped back to the tearoom. She still had her money in her pocket and now she knew what she wanted to buy. It was dark already, almost the Solstice, the longest night of the year, but the street lamps and the decorated houses made the sidewalk as bright as day. Almost every house was decorated, some playing music over speakers. She sang along with a familiar tune and waved to some of the other neighbors who were out enjoying the evening.
Rowena was turning the sign to Closed and waving goodbye to her last customer.
“I’m here.” She got an apron and broom and started to move the chairs to sweep.
“Not so fast. There’s something else I need you to do.” She pointed to a new item on the display counter. Emma Lea recognized the tea in the bowl – her new tea. Rowena had made a sign, Emma Lea’s Christmas Tea and had packaged some in bright red bags. There was a teapot from which she had served samples.
“You’re selling my tea!”
“Like hotcakes. Everyone loved the sample and bought all that I had out. So we have to make more for tomorrow.”
“And for me. I need some for Daddy and I want to give it to Sam and Auntie Mim, Auntie Meg, Auntie Mel, Grammy, Sam . . . “
“That’s quite an order. I’m going to have to buy more Cranberries.”
Emma Lea tied her hair back and scrubbed her hands before they went into the packaging room. Rowena had printed several sheets of labels for the red bags. Emma Lea was very proud of her new tea and enjoyed filling the bags and adding the stickers. One of the stickers she added to every bag and tin of tea she sold read;
Brewing Instructions: Share this with some you love.
Turn off the phones and the television. This tea should
be served with old-fashioned conversation.
A gift of tea is a gift of time.
It was so much fun, she stayed and helped fill other orders until Mama called. She and Daddy were coming to pick her up so they could go out for dinner. Rowena sent her out the door with her own bag of gifts.
“My dear, when you’re a bit old enough, I’ll hire you.” Rowena admired her careful work.
Emma Lea couldn’t think of an after school job she’d rather have. Sometimes the best gifts are things that we have wait for.
© Babette Donaldson, 2010
Holiday Teapot Magic
December 3, 2009
The stories included in this section are based on the second Emma Lea picture book, Emma Lea’s Magic Teapot. We have added stories that were written to develop the series but were not intended to be put into book form.
It is our pleasure to share them with you.
Holiday Teapot Magic
by Babette Donaldson
From: Emma Lea's Magic Teapot
Emma Lea’s throat was still store and she already felt tired, even though it was just the beginning of the school day. She had been sick for whole week and missed the most important day of the year. Tryouts for the holiday pageant. She had tried to pretend that she was OK so she could go to school, but Mama noticed her flushed cheeks and took her temperature and called to tell them that she would be absent. Absent on the day of the tryouts and then for the rest of the week. Now, auditions were over and the cast had been chosen.
Emma Lea had been in every school play since she was in kindergarten. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sit in the audience watching her friends on the stage. This year’s theme was going to be Holidays Around The World. She had learned songs and stories for Mexico, Germany, Scotland and China. She would be happy doing any country. She dreamed of traveling and meeting new people.
Mama had called Mr. Ondi, the music teacher, to say that Emma Lea would still like to be in the show. But he said that he would have to give the parts to students who auditioned. Those were the rules.
He was at the bulletin board outside the choir room posting the cast list. “Welcome back, Emma Lea.” He greeted her with a warm smile. She tried to return a smile. But it made her cough and almost made her cry to see her friends names on his list.
She could see that Sam was going to do Japan and Leeanda was chosen to do Belgium. Brad and Brian were doing England. Janelle got Mexico. Mexico was one of her favorites – the parade for La Posada and then breaking the piñata.
“I have a very special job for you,” said Mr. Ondi. Emma Lea brightened up instantly. “Can we talk about it at the first rehearsal this afternoon?”
“Yes.” The thought of helping with the play gave her a burst of energy. It was easier to join her friends in class with something to look forward to. But by lunch, her coughing was worse. Mrs. Anderson, the school nurse, felt her head and took her temperature. “102º. I’ll call your mother.” By the time she was home and tucked into bed, she knew it was where she had to be. But she was still upset about missing the rehearsal.
“Now I won’t be able to do anything for the show.
~ ~ ~
Sam and Janelle stopped by after school the next day and brought a card from the class. Everyone had signed it. And almost everyone wrote something very nice. Everyone but Lucas. He signed his name and drew a goofy green face. There was an arrow from the word YOU to the face. Under that he wrote the name he called her to tease her. EMMA TEA. But he was always doing mean stuff like that.
“You’re always drinking tea,” he would say and point to her thermos. “Weird tea. It smells like grass.”
“Green Tea,” she always told him. “It smells the way fresh tea leaves smell when they’re picked.”
“I told him not to do that,” Janelle insisted.
“I knew you wouldn’t mind,” Sam said. “You like being called Emma Tea.”
“Don’t tell Lucas. He might think of something else that could be much worse.” She was happy to see her friends. Mama made it even more special by serving a snack of freshly baked gingerbread and steaming cups of herbal tea with chunky pieces of dried cranberry and orange peel. She made the tea in a glass teapot so the children could see the pretty pink color.
“This is my favorite,” said Janelle. “It tastes sweet, like the fruit.”
“This is actually a very old recipe,” said Mama, “from the time after the Boston Tea Party when the colonists were rebelling and not buying imported tea.”
“The Indians taught them to use the local dried fruit and herbs instead of tea,” Emma Lea explained.
“You know so much about tea,” said Sam.
“Grammy says it’s a good way to learn about the world and different people.”
“Like our play!” Janelle was sorry that she reminded Emma Lea of something so sad when she saw her friend’s smile turn down. She was also sad that they weren’t doing it together. “But you will be back in time to see it.”
“We’ll save you a seat on the front row,” said Sam.
~ ~ ~
The next day Grammy brought her a new kind of tea from Japan and a book. The book was a collection of Japanese fairy tales. She brewed the tea in Emma Lea’s own teapot. They called it her magic teapot because she made people feel better when she shared tea with it. Grammy always said, “It’s how you use it that’s magic. Not the pot.” It always seemed to work.
Grammy brought it to Emma Lea on a tray with some mint & tea flavored cookies. “Now it’s time for a little teapot magic for you.” She stayed to read some of the stories. And, since the doctor had told them that Emma Lea should stay out of school for at least 2 more weeks, Grammy decided to come every day. “Tea and stories with my granddaughter. What could be better than that?”
Every day she brought another unusual tea from places all over the world. There was a Highland Tay that was a favorite blend in Scotland. It was very dark and strong so Grammy added lots of milk and honey. There was a red herbal tea from South Africa and a tea that was rolled into little pearl-shaped balls from China. Each day Grammy told her granddaughter something interesting about the new country – especially how they liked to drink their tea. It helped make the days go by.
Emma Lea missed being in school. She kept up with her schoolwork but it was more difficult without the teacher. Mama got her assignments from the teacher and Daddy helped finish some of the projects. Grampop visited almost every day – sometimes joining Grammy for their afternoon tea. And her aunts, Aunt Meg, Aunt Miriam and Aunt Melinda, all brought special treats. But Emma Lea still missed her friends. She even missed Lucas teasing her.
He phoned to tell her that he had been cast to do Brazil for the pageant. “That’s one place where they don’t drink tea,” he scoffed.
“Don’t be so sure,” she replied.
She consulted with Gammy. And sure enough, they have a very unique tradition.
Emma Lea called Lucas, “The Gouchos – like cowboys – even drink it. They call it Yerba Mate.” She described the way they drink it from a gourd with a metal straw.
“Oh darn,” said Lucas. I never thought real, tough men would drink tea.”
~ ~ ~
It was snowing on her first day back – just three days before the Holiday pageant and the beginning of the winter vacation. Mr. Ondi invited her to stay after school for the dress rehearsal. Mama agreed, knowing how much her daughter wanted to be part of the show.
During the rehearsal Emma Lea sat in a director’s chair next to Mr. Ondi. She held his notes and helped her friends remember when it was their turn to speak and sing. She wasn’t even tired when Mama arrived.
“You look so much better!” Mama was relieved to see the twinkle in her eyes and the ear-to-ear smile.
“She was a big help,” said Mr. Ondi. “Emma Lea, would you be my assistant during the show?”
“Oh, yes. I’d love to help.” She looked at her mother, knowing that Mama was still worried about how sick she had been. “I won’t run around or anything, Mama. I’ll be careful.”
“I know you will.” There was no way Mama could refuse. She helped Emma Lea button her coat and wrapped her up in a hat and scarf.
On the way home, they drove by the teashop and saw Grammy’s car in the parking lot. Mama pulled in and parked beside it. “We have a little surprise for you.” Inside, Grammy was seated at their favorite table. Afternoon tea was set out with scones and sandwiches and a teapot wrapped in a pretty cozy.
“I chose my tea for today,” Grammy said. She handed Emma Lea a long list of other tea choices. “You may pick the one you want.”
As she read the list she saw teas that were specialties from countries around the world. There were teas that grew in countries like China, Japan and India. But there were other teas that were blended and flavored for people in places where the tea did not grow. Special flavors for people in France, Germany, Scotland, South America and the U.S. It was like the school pageant. And it gave her an idea.
She excused herself from the table to talk with Mrs. Rose, the owner of the teashop. A few minutes later, the four of them were sitting around the table making a big plan. There wasn’t much time. That evening, Mama phoned Mr. Ondi and then called the mothers of every cast member. Everyone agreed to help.
~ ~ ~
On the night of the pageant, the cast filled the dressing rooms an hour before the show was scheduled to start. Emma Lea was helping with make-up and calming her friends’ last minute jitters. Mr. Ondi was checking the lights and sound. Mama and Grammy waited at the side door for Mrs. Rose. Then they helped her carry in the hampers of teapots and cozies and cartons of teas and treats. She set up the urns to heat the water and posted signs in front of each teapot. One for each country represented in the school play. Some of the mothers came with trays of treats made from special recipes. Mrs. Rose matched the treats to the teas and set up a sign for each country.
At the end of the show, after the performers all took their bows, Mr. Ondi stepped to the front of the stage. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. The cast students and I want to thank the parents who helped with costumes and the stage sets. We have special appreciation to my assistant, Emma Lea.” He waved to her to bring her out from behind the curtain. “And she has arranged a surprise for everyone.”
Emma Lea looked out over the auditorium. Now that the house lights were back up, she could see that every seat and both isles were filled. It was a packed house. Her family filled an entire row. As she looked out over the crowd, she recognized almost every face – the parents and grandparents of her friends. She knew what she wanted to say, but it was her turn to have the jitters.
“Thank you for coming to our show,” she said.
“It’s going to be about tea,” Lucas rudely interrupted. Everyone shushed him.
“This play was about all the different ways people around the world celebrate this time of the year. We’re all different. But I there are many ways we’re the same.” There was some very nice applause for what she said. “Like Lucas said, it’s about tea. Please join us for tea from around the world.”
Lucas waved his Gaucho hat and cheered. “They even have tea in Brazil.”
The guests were delighted with the display in the cafeteria. Mrs. Rose had set up a table for each country with the different kinds of teas. Parents had made cookies and cakes and helped serve.
Grammy and Grampop were at one table with Emma Lea’s special polka-dot teapot and her favorite cookies. “Surprise!” they called and raised their own teacups.
Lucas was right behind her. “I want to try some Emma Lea tea first.” He held out his cup. “Thank you.” Grammy poured it about half-full. “And then I want to try some of everything.”
The last-minute surprise tea party was even better than Emma Lea and Mrs. Rose had imagined. Everyone was saying that they should do this every year.
“But next year I want to do Mexico,” Emma Lea said and she sipped some of the bright red Hibiscus Tea and crunched the special white cookie from the Mexico table. “Do you think they make a teapot piñata?”
© Babette Donaldson, December 2009
Contact author for permission to reprint.
Babette Donaldson, Author
Lolly-Dot & Flutterby
November 15, 2009
Flutterby was her best friend. They had known each other from the beginning. Flutterby’s temperment being at times a challenge for Lolly’s more stable notions. Lolly was definately a homebody. There was no place she would rather be due to her shy nature.She preferred to invite friends in for tea or a quilting, or to have a look at her garden, with which she was always very generous.
Flutterby was somewhat the admired one for her great beauty and not for her ability to keep track of things. She was always forgetting! Sometimes Lolly was quite surprised that Flutterby could find her way back to Lolly’s tree stump. Yet, she would always show up very unexpectedly and without announcement. Lolly didn’t mind really, with Flutterby it was as if they had never been apart. They would pick up their conversation quite easily.
My Mother’s Teacup
November 15, 2009
My Mother’s Teacup
My mother used to collect demitasse teacups and I always enjoyed looking at the dainty little things, although as a child I wasn’t allowed to touch them. They were very fragile.
When Mom died I didn’t have room for the collection so I kept my favorite one and gave the rest to our female relatives. There were just enough to share among us.
Jasmine’s Magic Teapot
November 15, 2009
Once there was a girl named Jasmine. She had brown eyes and black hair and she was always very helpful to her family. But her family was very poor. Her mother tried to sell jewelry but she ran out of beads and string. Her father tried to make money by carving wood but he ran out of wood and didn’t have enough money to buy more.
One day Jasmine told her mother, “I know where there is a cave filled with very valuable things in there that we can sell for a very good price.” So her mother said that she could go. So Jasmine began the trip to the cave. When she got there she got lots of things that were valuable to sell. Then something caught her eye, it was a teapot that was white with diamonds on and it sparkled like the stars.
So Jasmine walked across the bridge, when she was across the bridge she looked at it and she rubbed it to feel its smoothness. Then like magic a genie came out and said, “hi there! I am here to grant your three wishes.” Then Jasmine said, “Really? Okay I wish that my family was very rich. Next I wish that my family lived in a very big house. The last thing I wish is for my family to have servants. When she got home her wishes had come true! So Jasmine and her family lived happily ever after.
Why I Like Tea
November 15, 2009
I pick mint in the garden and mix it with other herbs. One time I used a cinnamon stick and some other spices. We tried drying the rose berries and making tea but it was sour. We added some honey and it tasted good.
I like tea because it’s easy and fun and because no one else does it like me. One day I will write a book too. And I will draw the pictures all by myself.
Emma Lea at the Homeless Shelter
November 15, 2009
It was the night Mama and Daddy volunteer at the homeless shelter in the big gym at their church. The people in their small town who didn’t have homes came there to sleep and have a hot meal. Emma Lea usually stayed with Grammy and Grampop while her parents served dinner and talked with their homeless guests. But Grammy was sick and Grampop was out of town. Mama started to call Aunt Meg to baby-sit but Emma Lea stopped her.
“I’d like to go with you.”
Mama wanted to say no. Emma Lea knew the ‘no’ look on her face.
“Well,” Daddy said. His face had the ‘maybe’ look. But his voice sounded like ‘yes’.
“Please,” she said before they could answer. “You said it was safe. The people who come are checked at the office before they’re sent to the gym. They’re not dangerous – just people having hard times. You said it was important to let people who don’t have homes know that we care about them. You said . . .”
“We also said that it makes us sad to hear their stories,” Mama said. “It’s difficult to see people without homes and families, living outside on the streets in the cold.”
“It’s always hard to leave,” Daddy added. “We always wish we could do more.”
“I want to do more too.”
“Aunt Miriam is bringing her guitar tonight,” Mama remembered. “We’re going to sing holiday songs.” She and Daddy exchanged ‘yes’ nods.
“Yes!” Emma Lea said for them.
Daddy helped Mama finish covering the salad and wrapping the casserole in foil while Emma Lea changed her clothes.
She had an idea. She found her special tote bag and wrapped her teapot in a clean dishtowel and tucked in a tin of sweet, herbal tea. There was room in the tote for her soft animals: Jason Cuddle Dog, Mr. & Mrs. Hedgehog and Theodisia Teddy Bear. Emma Lea thought she might have an opportunity to share her toys and her teapot. Her magic teapot. Her toy animal friends loved her tea parties and sing-alongs.
When they arrived at the gym, the other volunteers had set up the tables. Someone had brought freshly cut green branches and long strings of ivy to decorate. They smelled fresh and clean and made it look like a cozy winter party. The big gym was divided into different areas like rooms of a house. There was an area close to the front door set up for the dining room.
In another part of the gym there were tables set with board games like a living room. In the back of the gym there were screens set up where the homeless guests could have some privacy and sleep on cots in sleeping bags.Aunt Miriam had chosen one of the corners for their sing-along area. She was tuning her guitar and sorting through the song sheets.
The leader of the volunteers was one of Emma Lea’s neighbors, Mrs. Henderson.
“We want to offer more than a safe place to sleep and a hot food,” she explained to Emma Lea. “We use real plates and utensils, not paper and plastic. When they come here, we want to give them the feeling of a home and family.”
It did feel safe to Emma Lea. She wasn’t afraid.
“What’s in your bag?” Mrs. Henderson asked.
“This is my teapot and some of my favorite tea – cinnamon-mint.” She let Mrs. Henderson peek underneath the towel.
“That’s lovely. What a wonderful thing to share.”
It wasn’t long before the guests arrived. Mama and Daddy greeted them at the door and helped them settle in with their backpacks and bedrolls. Aunt Miriam stayed with Emma Lea and told her about some of the people who were coming through the door. She knew the names of the regular guests and enjoyed telling her young niece their stories. Some were sad stories but some were also funny. Most of the guests were men. A few of them were women. But she helped Emma Lea understand that these men and women weren’t so different from everyone else.
“That’s Big Bob. He’ll want to show you his coin trick. You’ll like it.”
A tall man wearing a heavy blue coat and frayed knit cap stood in the doorway. He looked tired and his shoulders were hunched forward. But he still towered over Emma Lea. He greeted Aunt Miriam with a hug and she introduced him.
“Big Bob comes to visit every night. He always brings a new story or song to entertain us.”
“Can I show this little one my trick?” he asked.
Aunt Miriam nodded.
“Yes, please,” Emma Lea answered.
He was quick with his fingers and made them look magical, pretending to pull a coin from behind her ear.
Aunt Miriam started playing her guitar and Emma Lea sang along. They were the simple songs. Everyone knew the words and sang or hummed along as they prepared for dinner.
Aunt Miriam stopped a song very suddenly. Emma Lea followed her eyes toward the front door. Mama and Daddy were greeting some new guests, a young mother and her two children. One was a baby wrapped in a blanket and the other a little girl about Emma Lea’s age. Mama waved to Emma Lea to come meet the new girl.
“Her name is Alice. Can she stay with you while we help her mother get settled?”
Emma Lea had never thought of families with children living on the street without a home.
“We slept in our car last night,” Alice told her. “But it was very cold.” Emma Lea listened to her story about losing their home while Aunt Miriam played another song. But she could tell that Alice was having trouble talking.
“Do you know this song, Alice?” she asked. She thought that singing might help.
Alice nodded and sang softly. Emma Lea could barely hear her tiny voice. They sang two more songs before dinner. Emma Lea chose places for herself and Alice and helped her fill a plate with some of the homemade food in the kitchen. She could tell Alice was very hungry. They ate dinner quickly and then chose cookies and apples for dessert.
When dinner was over the volunteers cleared the tables to wash the dishes. Emma Lea remembered her teapot. She set up her tea set, the teapot and cups, on a table close to Aunt Miriam. She was playing her own music without words. It was gentle and relaxing. Mama poured the hot water to brew the sweet-smelling tea. Emma Lea invited Alice to join her.
“Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”
Alice’s smile was quick and bright. “I’ve never had tea from a real teapot before.”
“I call this my Magic Teapot,” she told Alice. “It’s not magic like Aladdin’s lamp. There aren’t genies that make your wishes come true. But sometimes, when you share a cup of tea with someone you care about, wonderful things happen.”
Emma Lea poured the tea and introduced Alice to her toy friends. Alice pulled a doll out of her own backpack. “Her name is Rose.” They sipped their tea and nibbled cookies and giggled like they were on the playground.
Mrs. Henderson spotted them, “Well, what do we have here?”
“A tea party!” the girls both said.
“Land ‘o mercy. Just like when I was a girl. May I join you?”
She brought her own teacup. Emma Lea let Alice pour tea for her. They pretended to be three elegant ladies in their best dresses and white gloves. It was easy to imagine long, lace dresses and hats with flowers and feathers.
Alice’s mother joined them after she put the baby to sleep. “Your mother told me about your teapot. Your magic teapot.”
“We have enough tea left for you, Mommy,” Alice said. Mrs. Henderson got another cup and saucer. The tea table was getting crowded.
“You’ve created some magic for us tonight. Thank you, Emma Lea.”
It was time for Aunt Miriam to put her guitar away. The board game players had already compared their scores and cheered for the winners. The tired guests were snuggling into their sleeping bags and the volunteers were packing their empty dishes to take home. Alice helped Emma Lea pack her teapot. It was difficult for the two new friends to say goodbye. Emma Lea remembered what her father had said about wishing he could do more.
Mrs. Henderson was talking privately to Alice’s mother. Mama and Daddy were waiting close by.
“What’s happening?” Emma Lea asked.
They saw Alice’s mother nod her head and hug Mrs. Henderson.
“She said yes!” Mrs. Henderson told them and made a thumbs-up sign and explained to Alice. “I have a little cottage behind my house. My mother lived there until last year. It’s been empty since then and I’ve been lonely. I’m inviting you and your family to live there.”
“Yes,” Alice answered as quickly as her mother.
“But there’s one thing you have to do as part of our agreement.” Mrs. Henderson took Alice’s hand. “I want you to have tea with me just like we did tonight.”
Mama and Daddy and Emma Lea knew that everything was going to be OK for Alice. And now, it would be better for Mrs. Henderson, too.
“I wish we could make some magic for everyone here tonight.” Emma Lea told her parents.
Big Bob was walking by. “You made more magic than you know, Little Emma Lea.” He stopped to pat her on the head. “When we live out on the streets, we feel invisible. People walk by and don’t even see us.”
It was a small town and Emma Lea remembered seeing him. He wasn’t invisible. She had seen him riding his bike and collecting cans that had been thrown out on the street. She had seen him sitting on the bench in the town square feeding the birds. She had always known that he was one of the homeless people but she had never asked about him before.
“I think,” Emma Lea stopped to choose her words carefully, “you’re not invisible. I see you in the park and I like the way you feed the birds. I would have told you, but I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
Big Bob waved his hand and pretended to pull another coin from behind Emma Lea’s ear. “Right you are. Be very careful.” He showed her how he could spin the coin on the palm of his hand. “And next time you see me, it’s fine if you just smile like you’re smiling tonight.”
“That’s easy.”
“If you come back here with your parents, may I have some of your special tea?”
“Yes!” she said. “And next time will you show me a new trick?”
“You be’cha.”
Mrs. Henderson locked the door behind them. Everyone inside would be safe and warm tonight.
© Blue Gate Books
Teapot Magic For Sam
November 12, 2009
Sam wasn’t waiting at the gate when Emma Lea got to school. He wasn’t at the water fountain or on the playground. She stayed by the climbing bars until after the bell rang, hoping they could walk to class together. But he was too late. When the bell rang, she went inside without him.
“Sam?” The teacher called his name. When he didn’t answer, she looked up and checked his desk and marked him absent in the attendance book. Emma Lea was worried.
“Something’s wrong,” she muttered softly.
Mrs. Carmichael heard her. “What did you say, Emma Lea?” The gentle teacher knelt beside her and asked, “Do you know why Sam’s absent today?”
“No, Mrs. Carmichael,” she answered politely. “I think something’s wrong.”
“It will be OK.” She put a soft hand on Emma Lea’s to comfort her. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
But Sam’s empty desk troubled her all day long.
And the schoolwork seemed more difficult.
And recess felt very lonely.
And Emma Lea started to think that the end-of-school bell would never ring. When it did ring, she hurried outside to find Mama waiting in their car.
“Sam’s in the hospital,” Mama told her as soon as she closed the car door.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“He had an emergency operation last night.” Mama explained what had happened. “We can visit him this afternoon.”
“Is he OK? Did it hurt? Can he walk? Can he talk? Can he eat? How long will he be in the hospital? Should we take him a book? Flowers? Candy? A milkshake? Maybe we could take a music player or a movie? Art supplies? Pencils and paper?” She stopped to catch her breath. “Will he be OK?”
“He’ll be fine in a few days. You’ll see.”
“I’ll draw a picture for his room.” Emma Lea tried to think of something special to do for her best friend. “And we should stop by the party shop for a balloon.”
She sat at the table in her bedroom drawing a picture of them on the playground at school. She filled the background with flowers and birds and leafy trees.
“Are you ready?” Mama called.
Then Emma Lea thought of one more thing as she put her crayons away.
“My teapot.” She smiled thinking of taking tea to Sam. “Mama, can we take some tea in my new teapot? My magic teapot.”
Her grandmother had given her the special polka-dot teapot and she had dreamed that it would grant her three wishes like Aladdin’s lamp. It was Sam who told her that she didn’t need to use wishes to be his friend.
He had helped her understand. The teapot didn’t have special powers. The real magic was in what she could do with it to help the people she cared about. She wanted to share a little bit of magic with Sam.
Mama loved the idea and helped her heat the water.
“Mint and chamomile tea always make me feel better.” Emma Lea measured a spoon of dried mint leaves and a half spoon of yellow chamomile flowers into their teapot. It would brew an herbal tea that would be sweet even without honey or sugar.
Mama sealed it in a thermos to stay warm. They wrapped teacups and saucers in cloth napkins that matched a checkerboard tablecloth. Emma Lea added at bag of homemade cookies and a small vase with a flower picked from their back yard. Everything fit cozily into their family picnic basket.
The hospital was larger than Emma Lea Had imagined. The parking lot was crowded and an ambulance zoomed in with its siren blasting and lights flashing. Mama stopped at the main desk and asked directions to Sam’s room. They walked through the wide hallways filled with doors to other patient rooms. Busy doctors and nurses wearing uniforms and name badges walked a brisk pace, in hurry to help people who were sick and hurt. There were machines Emma had never seen before. Mama and Emma Lea used the elevator to go up to the 4th floor. Sam was in Room 424.
His nurse examined the basket before Emma Lea went in. “It looks beautiful,” she said. “We’ve been trying to get him to take a few bites of food. Maybe this will help.”
Sam’s eyes were closed. There were wires and tubes connecting him to monitors. His mother was sitting beside his bed.
“The medicine is making him very sleepy,” Sam’s mother explained. She pushed another chair close to Sam’s bed for Emma Lea.
His eyes fluttered open. He was trying to. Emma Lea had never seen her friend look so helpless.
“We missed you today.” Emma Lea set the basket on the table beside the bed and unpacked the picture and the flowers.
Mama tied the balloons to the end of the bed. They spread the tablecloth on the hospital table and arranged the tea things. Emma Lea chose matching cups and saucers for each of them. Mama helped pour the tea.
His eyes started to twinkle again as he realized that Emma Lea was preparing something special for him.
“That smells good.” His voice was still raspy and weak but he was starting to look much better.
The two mothers strolled out the door to leave the two friends to talk and enjoy their treats.
Emma Lea remembered things that happened at school. As she described the projects and the games at recess, the day seemed better than it had earlier in the day.
Sam took some slow sips of the sweet, warm tea. It was difficult to speak but it helped to tell someone how frightened he had been when they rushed him to the hospital. He spoke slowly, describing what had happened. The lights. The smells and unusual sounds. So many new faces.
“I don’t remember the operation and I’ve been asleep most of today.”
Emma Lea poured some more tea into his cup.
“I feel better already.”
After a few minutes, one of the hospital volunteers, a friendly, happy woman with a pink apron and a white dress, rolled a cart into the room. It was a regular cart filled with juices and snacks and magazines. “What’s this?” she asked when she saw the table and the teapot.
“This is Emma Lea’s Magic Teapot,” Sam explained. “She brought it to make me feel better.”
“So I see!” She helped Sam choose a book. ” I remember my grandmother’s teapot. I think she knew how to brew a bit of magic as well.”
The next day, when Emma Lea and Mama arrived at the hospital, the lady in the pink apron was the first person they met in the hall. She had changed her cart.
“You gave me a wonderful idea,” she told Emma Lea. There were two large teapots and stacks of cups and saucers. She was wearing a big hat and flowered dress and the cookies filled the tiered tray. She offered them cookies and tea.
“Thank you.” Emma Lea and Mama both said.
“You reminded me of how my mother cheered us up when we were sick,” the volunteer lady told Emma Lea. “Everyone felt better when she served a “cuppa”.”
“Cuppa?” Emma Lea questioned.
“That’s short for ‘cup of tea’. When I saw what your magic teapot did for Sam, I thought I’d try it with everyone here.”
She pushed the cart down the hall to her next room, “Tea time! It’s tea time!”
“All the patients here must be a little bit scared,” Emma Lea said to Mama.
“Everyone here can use a little teapot magic,” Mama agreed.
“Me too.” One of the nurses saw the teacart. “I could use a spot of tea. It’s been a long day.” She put on one of the flowered hats while she sipped her ‘cuppa’.
“Tea and cookies in the afternoon?” They could hear the doctor inside the patient’s room questioning the volunteer. “What a marvelous idea.” And the doctor stopped for tea too.
In just a few minutes the tea cart was surrounded with chattering guests. Nurses, doctors, patients, visitors and some of the other volunteers dressed in pink aprons.
“Magical!” Sam was out of his bed. He was in a wheelchair and his mother had rolled him out to join the party.
“Very magical,” Emma Lea agreed.
The other volunteers agreed, “We should all decorate our carts like this.”
“Thank you, Emma Lea.” The ladies in the pink aprons let her push the cart into the next patient room.
“Tea time!” Emma Lea said to the ladies in their beds. “May I serve you a cup of tea?”
by Babette Donaldson
© Blue Gate Books, 2007
