Tea With Emily

We wiped the snow off the benches that were in front of one of the many churches in Hoosick Falls. Two green wooden benches spaced about ten feet apart.  Ice clung to the wooden seats, but we were glad to have a place to sit in the sun.

I guzzled a hot chocolate (I have no self-control when it comes to hot chocolate)  and Emily sipped her tea.  Each on our own bench we braved the zero temperature to be able to see each other in person.

I watched the snow devils tornado up behind Emily as we caught up on the past week.

She talked about how cleaning out her house for their upcoming move left her little time for her art. I told her what little I knew about my Owl Woman and how her collages with the unusual animals and people with big eyes had inspired me to turn her into a fabric painting.

We talk about the vaccines and who is getting them.

After finishing our drinks we walked through the neighborhood. We tried to stay on the shoveled sidewalks, but often one of us ended up in the street while the other plowed through piles of snow.   Layered and bundled against the cold, our faces covered with masks we could hardly see each other anyway.

Finally, we stood on the corner of Main St, where the sidewalk was cleared and the sun reflected off a storefront window.

I was surprised when I got back to the car we had lasted an hour outdoors, like cats finding the warm spots then moving on when it got cold again.

I didn’t open the gift that Emily gave me till I got home.

A  collaged yellow tulip sprouting pollen like a doorway into spring was on the front of the card. Words about gratitude for our friendship, that I could have just as easily written to Emily were on the inside.  In the box were six of Emily’s signature cupcakes, each topped with homemade candied pomelo (I had to google pomelo).  There was even a snowflake card from Emily’s daughter who I get to see every once in a while during our Zoom Studio Chats.

It would have been so much easier to be in the warmth and comfort of our own homes, talking to each other on our computers.  But because of Emily’s schedule,  the opportunity for us to actually see each other in person is rare.

“It’s going to be very cold, I’m fine with it if you are. Emily texted me the day before we met.  Screw the cold!  I texted back.

I’ve always valued having tea with a friend. These days it’s more of a memory than a reality.  And something I don’t easily pass up.