Matthew, Penny and the Morning Tea Crisis
"For Matthew, this routine felt like a great unfurling. They launched their day together, two ships pointed toward horizon..."
Matthew came down the stairs to the smell of coffee. That’s strange, he thought, who’s drinking coffee? Has someone come to visit this early in the morning? He stepped carefully into the kitchen, red streaks of sunlight exploding through the kitchen window. Red in the morning, sailors warning.
His wife, Penny, sat alone at their small, round kitchen table, scrolling on her phone while carefully sipping a cup of coffee. The steam rose up and fogged her glasses for a moment before disappearing. Matthew was shocked.
“Whatcha drinking there… coffee?” His words plopped out slowly like the first rain drops of coming storm. “I thought you didn’t like coffee?”
“I never really did, but I’ve been waking up tired lately, and Brenda told me she drinks one cup of coffee, first thing in the morning, and she perks right up, so I thought I would give it a try. Added a splash of cream and it’s pretty good.”
Pretty good? Matthew felt completely blind sided. They were tea drinkers. He loved that they sat together at their little round table each morning and sipped their tea while they talked about what the day would hold for them — new arrivals coming in to Penny’s flower shop, his plans to meet Todd for lunch.
For Matthew, this routine felt like a great unfurling. They launched their day together, two ships pointed toward horizon, heading in the same direction, side by side, ready for the warm morning wind to push them off to work, and eventually bring them back to this very spot.
He knew exactly how she took her tea: Orange Pekoe, a half teaspoon of honey, topped off with a small drip of milk. He often came down first, and had her tea ready for her when she appeared downstairs. He took joy in little gestures like this — it was his way of taking care of Penny. And some days, if they were feeling a bit more daring, they might opt for Peppermint, or Chamomile or even Earl Grey.
Well, what was he to do now? He didn’t even know how to make coffee. And cream!?… where did that come from?
The whole time they dated she drank tea. He never even heard a mention of coffee during their engagement. And, in five years of marriage, they never even had coffee in house, not even a pod for guests. And now, out of nowhere, she was drinking coffee? Well, he thought to himself, I guess Penny's now going to be French pressing her coffee all day long. Really?
Penny was changing right before his eyes, and Matthew wondered that if this foundational part of their relationship could just be thrown away so casually, that a mere suggestion from Brenda of all people could cause her to reinvent herself so drastically, what would be next? Smoking? A tattoo on her lower back?
He had dropped anchor right where their morning was supposed to be, but Penny had sailed on past and out of sight.
It was all too much for Matthew, and in an impulsive act that was completely out of character for him, he stomped away from the table and dumped his tea right down the sink.
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