“Of course.”
I go into the kitchen to make the tea – I won’t make her do that much – and then I help her prepare the tray.
“All right,” I tell Heather. “You’ll need to put everything on a tray and bring it out to me. You’ll set the tray down and remove the teacups and the treats. Then you’ll pour the tea. No spilling, though,” I wink at her.
“Okay,” she says. “I think I can do this.”
Chapter Six
Heather
What was I thinking?
There is no way I can do this.
I stare at the teapot and the teacups and the assortment of cookies and muffins and I really have no idea what I’m doing, all of a sudden.
A tea party?
The bath was strange enough, but now we’re having a tea party.
A fucking tea party.
The problem is that this idea makes me feel so very excited. I love the idea that I’m going to get to do something I’ve never done before.
Does that make me a freak?
In the world of academia, all I do is read, write, rinse, and repeat. Seriously. My entire life is a series of lectures and papers and research. I have very little time to myself, and when I do, I always feel
obligated to spend that time studying. It seems wrong to spend my free time actually relaxing when there’s always something that I could be doing.
But right now, I don’t need to worry about tests.
I don’t have to worry about theories or papers.
I don’t have to worry about classes or professors or deadlines.
All I have to worry about is making this tea and delivering it to Peter.
Yeah, maybe I can do this.
It’s not such a big request, really.
You’ve got this.
I prepare the tray carefully. I set the teacups and the teapot on the tray. Then I pick a little plate and choose a few of the delicate treats he has carefully set out. Apparently, Daddy Peter has quite the sweet tooth. There’s an assortment of treats to choose from: candies, muffins, biscuits, and even cookies. There are a few cupcakes, too.
Did he bake before I came here?
I think about choosing a cupcake, but then I stop myself.
What if he asks me to feed him?
What if he wants to feed me?
Muffins and cupcakes are messy. I’ll skip those.
Instead, I choose a couple of cookies and a small biscuit. Then I arrange everything carefully on the tray and take a deep breath.