Episode 31: Tea (Meldrick)

Meldrick liked to wander when he had no kids to tend to, in case one needed him, and no other obligations for the time. The expanse of afternoon was a time of rest and family. As such, Aadya often used the time to go out with Konrad.

Not just out, like through the halls to secretly meet, but to other realms to hunt and explore and be a person she felt she couldn’t be with him.

Giana was a steady fixture at her table, on the edge of the garden, every afternoon. When he found himself wandering with no place to go, she was a safe harbor for him to relax next to.

He had grown more fond of her, more affectionate toward her, and often wondered what it would be like to not just have tea with her but to spend his life with her. For years, since she had moved to the Dells with Niels, she had always welcomed him to share in her teas from all over Babylon and to be open and honest, to feel no pressure.

He knew she had feelings as well, but they never spoke of them.

Was it so much to ask that Aadya do the same?

It had led to a growing feeling in inadequacy. His skewed self image was always morphed by how much he loved her.

He wanted to be with her, both hers. He wanted to find a place where he was safe and didn’t feel any less of himself. To the right person, he would be enough. His entire relationship with Aadya had been full of signs that he wasn’t the right person for her, at least not in this newer phase since she had met his brother.

Aadya, he was certain, had set herself to an eternity of holding herself back from love because she had allowed herself to love Drey and the reality of the situation, the reality of what she knew of love, had destroyed her trust in it.

Meldrick had harmed her himself, to push her toward Drey, at the beginning of the war.

It felt like no amount of repentance or evidence that the sniveling person he portrayed himself to be was an exception to his persona. Twenty years of trying to show her that he was a loving man and a dedicated father had done nothing for her. The newest memory wipe and the events that followed had made her such a completely different person that he wasn’t sure she would ever be the same again.

He was almost certain she wouldn’t be the same with him.

His mind got too lost while he was alone, with her off with Konrad and the dead end of those emotions.

Giana had set the table with a mug for him. It was a white mug, covered in thick protruding sweet jelly candies of various colors. Her deep brown hair flowed over her shoulders across a cream blouse. Whenever she greeted him, her smile spread so wide that her thick lips thinned a little. It’s how he knew she was happy to see him, not just being polite.

If he was able to love her openly, he would have an entire cabinet dedicated to the mugs and cups she had, chosen for him each day. Often, they were part of his set, but she always knew when he needed a pick me up, or Aadya’s behavior was so obvious she just knew when he was lonely and trapped with his thoughts.

She would free him, for the afternoon.

“Good afternoon,” he said as he sat across from her.

“Afternoon,” she replied. “I’m enjoying the sun today.”

He could tell, by the way the sun had kissed her skin with her amber color. She filled his cup with tea and a coy smile as the light danced in her eyes.

“What kind of tea are we having today?”

“Apricot,” she replied. “I managed to find some at a shop in Venice.

She set the mug down in front of him and turned the handle so he could pick it up with the same hand she used, a touch he admired. Her grace that masked her playful nature left him looking forward to tea everyday, more and more.

“Venice? When did you go?” he asked.

“Last night. I felt like an evening away.”

He wished he had gone. Aadya had made an assumption that he didn’t yearn to see other realms and to travel more, or she didn’t enjoy travel with him.

He wondered what she was up to, with the way she tried to stay in her seat and her body almost burst as he lifted the cup to his lips.

“What did you do?” he asked before he took a sip.

The hot tea splashed with the excitement of something unexpected: peppermint overwhelmed the taste of apricot, then gave way to the tangy sweet aftertaste of an apricot that could have easily been picked yesterday.

It was somewhere between exquisite and awful.

Before she could speak, mostly due to a giddy glee hidden beneath her attempt at casual, he asked, “Peppermint?”

She laughed, a dam bursting inside her of pent up anticipation, “I couldn’t resist. You looked so serious this morning.”

“Have you tried peppermint and apricot?” he asked as he offered her the cup, because if she had she would have laughed harder, or been disappointed he didn’t spit it out. It was a shocking combination.

She took a sip from the jelly bean cup, and smacked her lips after she swallowed. He was certain the peppermint was lingering in her mouth as well as the bitter aftertaste of the apricots.

“I stand by my decision,” she stated.

Meldrick laughed; she was the most endearing person alive. Her desire to entertain him when he was low made him feel awake and alive.

He let his fingers grace hers as he took the cup back, then he drank some more because everything about the combination reminded him of her.

While he watched a flock of birds fly across the sky, passing over the palace, Giana had taken out another cup. She offered it, with it’s pale blue etchings into a creamy backsplash, “If you’d like a clean one.”

He knew it was foolish, but he wanted the same cup she had tasted from.

If he couldn’t kiss her yet, or be with her, he wanted that little bit of something.

“I think you’re right,” he said, referencing his serious expression as a reason to continue drinking the mix, “I needed this. But thank you for the option.”

They both took drinks of their tea, which he assumed were excuses to not delve into some more intimate topic. If he had been more comfortable around her, he would have brushed her hair off her neck and grinned as he deliberately didn’t kiss her.

Then he would have kissed her soft thick lips.

Today was a bad day for tea, he wasn’t open to the idea of space with Giana when all he had with Aadya was the understanding that she was off, possibly not even in realm (not that she had bothered to tell him) with Konrad, being intimate with Konrad, doing things… with Konrad.

And Giana was here being delightful and easy. She had been this way for years with him, and for years they had remained just friends. Today he longed for more. Some days, this happened, and he avoided her due to made up obligations until he desire lapsed into something more accepting.

Today, he dared to ask, “What are you doing this afternoon? Any other excursions?”

“Have you ever been to San Marino?” she asked.

He smiled, “I haven’t. Is it nice?”

He began imagining what a place with such a name would look like. It sounded like it was an island, somewhere in the hotter basin near the greek isles.

“I don’t know,” she replied. His imagination ran wild with ideas; of spending an afternoon with her.

Desire would not be lapsed into submission today.

“Would you like company?” he asked.

“Are you free? I would love company,” she asked, to compensate for the rolling waves of heat he could feel her struggle to control. He loved that she was reacting to something so small, so easy.

Aadya, when asked if she wanted company, turned cold. He hated that she could control her fire to such a degree that her entire being went pale at the thought of spending time together.

There were moments of warmth and love too, he did not doubt for a moment that she had loved him, but their relationship had changed over the years and who she had become was someone different, new, and clearly not as solid a fit for him as Giana was. Aadya was more wild and free, where he wanted to sip tea in the afternoon before dining at a table off a balcony with tablecloths and sparkling drinks and artisan breads cut on an angle.

It was pathetic, in some ways, but it was what he loved.

He loved Aadya too. He wanted what was best for her.

Giana, a move toward her, as self centered as it was was also a good thing for Aadya, he reasoned.

“Aadya’s out hunting,” he stated. “The kids are with Nell on a bunny hunt.”

“When we’re done here, would you like to take a walk and get dinner there?” she offered, without obligation to.

He let some warmth flow, freely from his control, “I would enjoy that.”

He took another drink, and watched her over the rim of his cup as she smiled and absorbed the idea of going out together. It was a new step, an obvious change in their friendship.

He wanted her to feel comfortable, not nervous, because ultimately he was still wed to Aadya and he would respect the parameters of that even if she wouldn’t.

“What interests you about San Marino?” he asked, hoping to distract not only her but to gain more information about what sort of place they were visiting. He was excited – to see something new and to have an experience to share if it ever came up. His deepest struggle was that his life had been placet while Aadya explored herself and the world and her interests. If she had included him in that exploration, things would be different.

She hadn’t; Giana was willing to.

“It’s the only nation in Europe I haven’t visited,” she replied. “I’m doing Asia next.”

“Do you enjoy Asian food too, or exclusively the idea of travel?” he asked. He took another drink of the tea, which he was warming up to with frequent exposure.

“I think it’s the travel, but I would hate to miss a new favorite dish so I intend to eat everywhere,” Giana replied.

She liked food; he hadn’t known that about her before. It was exciting to learn. He liked food too. Aadya knew a few dishes, and she cared about the family eating traditional Dells meals (Upper and Lower). Outside of that requirement, Meldrick cared about food significantly more than she did.

“What is your favorite dish from Europe?” he asked, and he hoped San Marino would have it so they could enjoy it together.

“Baklava,” she replied.

He could imagine the layers flaking apart with each bite, the intense nutty aroma, and the sweet honey sticking to his fingers.

“A good choice,” he replied. “I think my favorite is an authentic bolognese sauce.”

“Mmm,” she replied, and he let the image of tasting peeled layers of dough and honey off her fingers fill his mind.

“We may be able to get some in San Marino,” she replied.

They had travel packs; he would take her anywhere in Babylon to have both. A day to share themselves with each other.

He shifted in his seat.

“How have you been otherwise,” he asked. “What has inspired travel recently?”

“It started with wanting to see the homes of the great poets, the lands that inspired their works. One begins to feel a sense of camaraderie with them after awhile,” she replied.

He imagined her sitting by a pond next to some european castle, beneath a tree, reading a worn book by someone, he wasn’t sure who yet. He wondered what she was inspired by. He would ask her someday, when he was ready to hear the answer. Poetry, to him, implied the deeper set of feelings he was doing a poor job of ignoring.

“How have you been?” she asked. “What makes you so serious?”

“The same thing as always,” he replied.

She sighed; she must have been just as sick as he was of the same issue week after week. Years had been lost to the frustration of Aadya.

He loved her, so deeply.

Giana grinned, “We should do something fun, not only dinner.”

“Such as?” he asked. He ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to leave, to end tea as normal and continue on a path that felt safe to him. Safe, however, had become displeasurable as well.

“Tandem parasailing?” Giana asked.

“Tandem parasailing?” he repeated, because he couldn’t believe it was her suggestion. It made him slip into deeper wonderment, to who she was and what other mysteries he could discover.

“Alright,” he replied with a grin to match hers, “That sounds entertaining.”

She smiled, warm and open and without judgement.

“What can I carry in?” Meldrick asked, as she finished her tea. “Everything?”

He began clearing the tea pot and the picked it up, along with both cups.

“Yes, please. Do all the work.”

Meldrick laughed; being Giana’s slave for the moment was enjoyable.

“You did bring it all out here,” he replied. They had the same debate every week. It wasn’t even a debate, just a small flirtation.

“Can I set up tea tomorrow?” he asked.

He had never asked before, but he wanted to do something for her.

“I’ve hidden the peppermint,” she teased.

“It won’t be peppermint,” he replied. “Something else, equally surprising.”

He wished it could be more than he had in mind, but he hoped she would find cherries and vanilla a shock. A black tea might even make them a compliment.

She laughed again, light, free.

“I look forward to the surprise,” she replied.

He carried the dishes inside, aware of each step he took.

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