Care For Some Tea

Chapter Three

Sylvia placed the battered newspaper onto the bed and looked up at me. “The Washington Times” was title of the local newspaper. My eyes trailed to the right. Apparently the issue was to come out on August 15th, 1923.

“Today is July 30th…” I said wondering where Sylvia obtained such an early copy.

Sylvia rolled her eyes and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

“Father’s not the only one who knows some big shots. I’ve got connections too.”

“Oh…” I said as I watched the smoke fade into the air.

I looked down to the headline of the newspaper. I read it. I read it again. And again. And again. And again. Since when did I have so much trouble reading? I mouthed the words, hoping to understand better.

“Well…,” Sylvia started, her blue eyes lined with black kohl, “what do you think?”

“I don’t understand.” I whispered inaudibly.

Sylvia almost looked a bit worried by my shock. Almost. She reached for the newspaper and began to read the headline for me.

“It says,” her voice breaking, “it says ‘Secretary of Interior Albert Fall and His Cabinet are to be Tried for Fraud’…”

I sat in silence; my eyes trained on the comforter placed on the bed. Then I looked into my sister’s eyes.

“Father works for Albert Fall…” I paused, “he works in his cabinet.”

Sylvia looked away as she blinked back tears and nodded. Then she turned toward me bearing her poker face.

“Yeah…” she sighed.

I thought about how close our family was to Albert Fall. He was even Sylvia’s godfather. How could such a nice man be tried for fraud?

“So what happens now?” I asked not knowingly.

“Well, Emmett’s going back to France, I’m going New York…” she trailed off.

“Oh… what about me?”

“…I don’t know.”

We sat in silence for a while longer. Every once in a while Sylvia would sniffle or wipe a tear.

“Listen,” Sylvia started, “I’m uh- I’m off to bed, OK?”

I nodded and began to get into bed. Then Sylvia took me by surprise and placed a kiss on my forehead. She smiled weakly at me and turned away bashfully. Then she left the room turning off the light as she walked out.

 

*****

 

The night before seemed like a distant thought from a previous life, foreign. I reached for the newspaper Sylvia left the night before as I sat up, my back pressed against the partially cushioned bed frame. I sighed as I read the headline again. Filled with frustration, I threw the newspaper toward the front wall. It simply dropped to the crimson carpet of my bedroom. Now feeling more relieved than ever, I decided to begin my day. I placed my bare feet onto the crimson carpet and finally forced myself out of the comfort of my bed, thinking of when I'd return to it in the evening.

*****

The sunlight glistened through the crystal chandelier hanging above the mahogany, hand crafted dining room table, creating the illusion of a rainbow filling the presence of the room. My mother and father sat around the antique table that was given as a wedding gift from my maternal grandmother, Grandmother Jacqueline. My mother quietly sipped at her coffee, adjusting it every so often by adding sugar or creme. My father gazed at the current newspaper while he smoked a cigar. He was stressed. He only smoked when he was stressed.