Tea

          Her hundred and seventeen year old hands could feel the pain from the arthritis. She paused for a minute as her hands crimped up. She had a lot of patience for things like this. It all pasted with time. It was just a part of life. Hell, even her arthritis was sixty years old. There was not much in life that would stop her, even the sixty year old arthritis would give up and go away. The swelling would go down and her fingers would straighten up a bit.
          " That is what thought, Arthi", she giggled out as she looked at her hands. She had named and started talking to her arthritis back in 1979. The old lady took to giving everything names and conversing with them. Many say it was to keep her focused and fight off the Alzheimer's. In reality, she did it because she felt everything had it's own personality, no matter if the object was animate or not.
          It was 2015, she cared little about Alzheimer's. If she crossed names between the coffee maker (Fred) and the trashcan (Roger), no one would fret. The coffee maker and the trash can usually took such things in stride.
          If she forgot other things, they worked themselves out. All her bills were autopay from her checking account. Oh, the modern age. She remembered when paying the bills was an all day affair. She would go to the light company, the water company, mail out the telephone bill, and then drive to the car dealership and pay her auto loans.
          The old lady remembered doing this from 1940 through 1999 or maybe even 2000. Well that was then, it is now. It was almost noon and her guest would be arriving soon.
          She needed to set the table and finish making her Tea. Yes her Tea. The old lady was famous for it since the 1930's.
          She smiled when she thought of the time after the Great War and the Great Depression. Yeah, people had a tendency to call things Great  that were Horrible back then.
          She worked as a waitress at various diners, during and after World War 1. No matter where she was at people asked for her Tea. It came to pass that after awhile, she stopped waiting tables and stayed in the kitchen just making her Tea. Yes, that Tea was the talk of the town.
          Then the tears rolled out she thought of an earlier time. The time when she received the letter from Washington telling her that her husband Ralph died in the Great War. She learned long ago, you cannot erase the past, only remember it. Ralph was a hero and she should be proud.
          She married Ralph when she was fourteen. They were truly in love and he loved that Tea. It was said that he would drink that Tea like was water. It seemed like she was always over the stove top, boiling a pot all day long.
          Then the dark cloud loomed over them, at the age of sixteen she had to see your love go overseas. His country needed him to fight in a war that started over in Austria. Soon it was her, little Ralphy in her belly, and her Tea.
          She never remarried, it just never seemed right to do so. She raised Ralphy Jr, with the money from working at diners and selling her Tea from the front porch after work.
          The tears dried up when she recalled Ralphy Jr graduating and leaving for college. He got married by the end of his freshman year. Junior's wife was a beautiful gal, a red head with a smile that could melt the polar icecaps. She won the old lady's heart immediately.
          It was a small wedding but beautiful none the less. It was only thebride's immediate family and the old lady and Junior. The reception was also a blast. It was good food and family. The talk of the reception was the Tea. How great it was! How does she make? Can they have a few gallons to take home?
          As with the changing of the seasons, so did her happiness give way to sadness. She remembered Ralphy Junior going overseas to fight a war that started in Germany. These were the dark days come back to haunt her. She cried what seemed an ocean, as she recalled Junior having to leave his wife Emily and his son David.
          The old lady moved into her son's house to help her daughter in law with bills and the raising of little David. She took to working at working at a cannery for ten hours a day. The old lady sold her Tea at lunch break and after work as well. Oh that Tea was a best seller at the cannery. They managed to make ends meet.
          The seasons would get darker though. Sometimes life feels no pity for us. The old lady would come to sacrifice another loved one to war. She was beside Emily when she received the letter from Washington relaying the message of Ralphy's death. He was a hero and they should proud. Her Tea was filled with tears in those days.
          The smile returned to her face as remembered raising little David. She taught him to swim, fish, ride a bike, and things that a young boy needs to know. He was a hand full, but he was her hand full. She remembered his first school dance, his first home run, and his school plays. These were her happy days. Too few in her eyes though.
          She recalled mailing him jugs and jugs of her Tea when he was in college. She felt like a moonshiner in those days. One time she bought all the jugs at the local market. She smirked when she recalled the time she refused to send him Tea until he mailed back some jugs.
          The sunshine in her life faded away, her memory recalled when her daughter in law Emily passed away from cancer. She stayed with Emily until the very end. The old lady wept from the image of Emiy being too weak to even eat. All she could do was drink and it was the old lady's Tea that she would ask for. The last thing Emily tasted was that Tea. Emily took one last swig, smiled, and faded away.
          How long can one live in darkness she thought. Not too long she answered herself back in silence.
          She looked at the clock on the wall. Oh, dear it is almost noon. Her guest are almost here. She grabbed some cups and place them on the table.
          The pot of tea got heavy like hers sorrows. Little David in a car crash during his senior in college. This was the fate that she was handed. She was now alone. Only her Tea and memories.
          She poured the Tea into the cups. Five cups in total. The clock now read noon. Her guest walked in smiling, always happy to see her. She was happy to see them. They all took their places at the table.
          " Ralph, Ralphy, Emily, and David. I am happy to see you all", said the old lady, " it is time for Tea."