Hearts & Minds | WATTY Winner

Prologue | Tragedy at High Tea

TOMIKO'S TAKE: A BLOG WITH STYLE SENSE

TRAGEDY AT HIGH TEA

Dear Beautiful People,

On occasion, even I am amazed at the way drama finds yours truly all the time. Normally, Thursdays are for the rundown on celebrity fashion sightings in the Castro, of which there are many. In fact, just this morning, last season's Big Brother runner-up was spotted at Does Your Father Know? wearing a blazer from The Row and, in a turn that's either cheeky or ignorant, Old Navy jeans. So there's a bit of sartorial gossip to keep you sated. I do admit that fashion seems almost trivial after the devastation I witnessed with my own eyes this very afternoon.

The Noe Valley neighborhood has never been what I'd call a fashion destination; nonetheless, it has its charms. One of them is the Cottage Tea Salon. Grievously, that establishment lost one of its own today, and San Francisco lost a community leader. Nicholas "Cole" Harvey, 73, suffered a heart attack or stroke right outside the teashop. As my gorgeous readers know, I've become rather fond of this chintz-bedecked hole-in-the-wall run by Cole's sister-in-law, the widow Margaret Ko and her exquisite daughters, Nora and Rainey Ko-Harvey. The girls would be runway ready if they weren't so petite. Come to think of it, they'd actually have decent careers as petite models—they have the bone-structure, even-toned skin with a sexy spattering of freckles across their noses, bouncy hair that shines, and they're ectomorphic. Bonus: mixed race models are absolutely in demand. Even when these girls cry, they're still pretty, as I observed when Nora—keeping it simple as always in Gap chinos and a Cotton Basics T-shirt—clutched her dying uncle to her minimally endowed chest, and Rainey—devastatingly cute in a high-low mix of 7 for All Mankind Jeans, a vintage beaded top, and peacock leather Dansko clogs—comforted their hysterical mother.

I happened to be having my weekly high tea when it all went down, and I have to say, I'm still shaking in my Alexander Wang booties. The ladies had just paid their rent check to Cole, who owns—owned—the tea salon building. In the gutter, that wisp of paper lay next to his body, completely forgotten. I took it upon myself to hand it to Nora. She thanked me through her gem-like tears and shoved it into her pants pocket (the girl is all about practicality, and wouldn't be caught dead in trousers, skirts, or dresses without pockets). After the ambulance took Cole away (I overheard a strapping  paramedic mumbled he was a goner), I observed Nora lock up the restaurant—lights still on, tables uncleared— before she and her family made haste, for the hospital presumably. When they were gone, a customer, Mrs. Saunders, took up a collection to make sure everyone paid their dining checks. She sealed it in an envelope that she happened to have in a hideous Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag-cum-purse, and shoved it through the mail slot.

What does that tell you about this community? You'd have to be a stone-cold SOB not to feel uplifted by that.

One would assume that the Ko-Harvey women will take ownership of Cole's building. Not that we should be thinking of matters so crass at a time like this. Still, one can't help but mull over such practicalities....

Stay tuned for details on the funeral or memorial service. And say a prayer for this mostly fashion-forward family. (Fine, it's all Rainey, but the others could be real style mavens if they tried harder).

—T. Takimoto, blog mistress of Tomiko's Take

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Hi Wattpad readers! Thank you so much for reading the prologue of my novel, HEARTS & MINDS. I have a playlist that I'll put ahead of this soon. In the meantime, please read on—Chapter 1: The Funeral is up in two parts because it's a bit long. And please vote and comment—thanks!

—Olivia