Takeaway Stories, by Sarah Sexton, 28.01.21
Coffee
Marjorie visited a new coffee shop weekly for her takeaway coffee. Some weeks daily others once per week. She loved that first sip. Marjorie savoured it. Then she took her second sip and rated it. Third sip compared it.
There have been two sips where Marjorie walked to the first bin and disposed of her fresh coffee. Entailed, a dramatic, hold the phone for a minute scene. Marjorie was disgusted by the taste of that brewed coffee. A favour was handed to the coffee by swallowing one sip. Marjorie’s review: pure garden dirt mixed with mud from the river, fish poop, fish eggs, fish bones, dead fish, grass roots, onion juice spinkled with more dirt, gently stirred with drift wood.
Marjorie’s favourite coffee was a sit-in, petit cappuccino in a proper coffee house. She had two favourites in the city she loved.
London Dream
Ava loved London. It was her dream to always visit. Her mom, dad, brothers and sisters longed a visit too. Ava was the youngest of four. She had an older sister followed by two older brothers. Everyone took care of Ava like she was their own baby. Ava’s family nicknamed her baby child.
Mother had booked a special dinner for the family at Harvey Nichols in London. The restaurant was on the top floor overlooking a posh street in London. Ava, like a cat with a mouse, was delighted. She asked her mom if she could wear her fancy outfit. Ava dressed like an angel. At age eight, she wore little wedges, a trendy white dress with eyelets and red lipstick that contrasted her bright blonde hair.
The Miller family stood at the underground waiting for the London tube to scream them to their five-star London meal. As they waited, another family walked up to the same station. Their outfits were designers. Higher thread counts than the Miller’s bargain clothing. Ava’s mom who does not miss a cue, noticed the other mother up and down Ava with her slow eyes. Looked at Ava’s shoes and looked at Ava’s lip, and was not silent enough telling her posh husband, ‘oh shame.’
Still happy as happy as a cat, now watching a ceiling sparkle, Ava sat next to her mom on the underground tube. No ocean is big enough or sparkles enough to compare to Ava’s smile. The other family sat across, looking at mom and Ava, making their glance now and again.
Ava’s mom grabbed Ava’s cheeks and kissed her big. She sent fireworks across the tracks.
‘I’m so happy you received your WISH. We were able to come to London and you can eat at a fancy restaurant. You deserve your WISH and more. You deserve all the WISHES.’
Posh mom’s mouth dropped. She picked it up to readjust her focus and smile at Ava and her Ava’s mom. She told them to enjoy their time in London as the Miller family exited the tube.
Lockdown Part III
After a long stressful day….
I sat at the kitchen table. My head mirrored my feelings. It was hanging low. My head felt heavy with sorrow. The doctor called and my voice shook as I tried to communicate with her.
My child walked in, she looked at me, but then something else caught her attention.
‘Oh no. The cat is on the counter.’
My child grabbed the spray bottle used to keep the cat off the kitchen counter. Honestly, since we implemented this, the cat has only been on the counter twice. I rocketed out of my seat. Straight up! I dashed for the spray bottle of water and launched it from my child’s hand to my firm grip.
‘Give me that God damn thing….!!!’
I pumped that spray lever multiple times. The cat was long gone as I continued to spray. My child watched as the floor became wet.
‘Mom…!’
‘That cat is just lucky that was only water.’
Chemistry Take 4
Anxiety bubbled again for Ann. It was so hard for Ann to talk about what stressed her out. Why it stressed her out. She looked around on zoom and others seem to be handling classes so well during the pandemic. When Ann reached her stop point at night, she wrote a note to her mom and slid it under the bedroom door while her mom tossed and turned with her own anxiety.
Ann’s mom quietly grabbed the note and read it in her bathroom under a dim light. Ann was overwhelmed with lockdown, her difficult school subjects, missing her friends, having a hard time with time management and not having an assignment done for chemistry that she further did not understand. It was due that day. Ann’s mom looked at her phone and it was 2 am. With tired eyes Ann’s mom sauntered down the steps.
She looked at Ann’s assignment for Chemistry. Ann’s mom never understood chemistry in Jr. high, high school or her university course. It was confusing to her at best. Ann’s mom printed out a blank booklet and then spent the next three hours learning chemistry from you tube videos, google and examples provided in the Ann’s class printout. A little after
5 am, Ann’s mom woke her.
‘I understand your chemistry, Ann. I can show you.’
Ann was so tired she seemed mad. She reassured her mom she was not. They worked for some time. Then some more time. They completed the assignment and Ann was prepped for what would be taught that morning in Chemistry.
Ann was not too tired to learn with her mom that morning. Ann was not too tired to hug her mom. Ann gave her mom a hug to cure the world. Her mom pulled away…
‘Do you understand?’
‘Yes. Thank you. Now can I sleep for a little longer?’
Ann had one hour of sound sleep.
Agree or not, Ann’s mom would flawlessly learn to build a rocket to the moon if Ann needed help with such a task. She taught Ann chemistry. There are worse things in life, no? It is a pandemic. Nobody asked for a pandemic, but here the world spins. Ann’s mom learned chemistry a fourth time, better that time, she is Ann’s mother and that is what Ann’s mother will do.
Cup of Ice
Dolly sat with her daughter in a modern-day English pub. Dolly and her daughter waited for her friend and her daughter; their daughters are also friends. While Dolly and her daughter waited, they ordered drinks: a glass of sprite with ice and a still lemonade.
Dolly’s friend, Cher arrived.
‘Look at this…. The waitress brought me a cup of ice. I thought I ordered sprite with ice, but we have been waiting awhile so I am not quite sure if she is bringing the Sprite.’
Cher laughed. It was a small story but the two laughed at small stories they often collected.
Dolly spoke to the waitress. There was some confusion. The waitress thought Dolly only wanted a glass of ice.
Arty Smarty
The other day small canvases arrived in the mail. It was a blissful mistake. My daughters and I had so much fun creating an art museum. This is an activity my parents would do with me and my siblings when we were younger. Our house was small, but magical because there was art everywhere. We made trains out of chairs. Army forts in the backyard. Theatrical plays with the sheets on the clothesline.
Stories are everywhere when we look and when we listen. Beautiful and simple and funny.
Find your inner child and share the gift a loved adult shared with you…. share that with your child.
Abbey Row 