The house on Gloria, though modest was among the larger homes in Etheridge Manor with its two stories, four bedrooms, and detached garage. When Temi was in high school her parents added an above ground pool surrounded by a beautiful deck. Temi couldn’t remember the last time she went swimming in it, but from what her mother told her the previous year, she had made a deal with the neighborhood kids. She would spend the money to purchase the chemicals and materials for its upkeep, and if they did the work; they could use the pool anytime she was home. When Temi first heard about the deal, she was furious. How could her mother trust high school kids with that kind of responsibility and what if they threw a party? It was only last year that she began walking normally again; how was she to chase some kids out of the yard. However, in time, she began to realize that it was a win-win for everyone. The kids got use of the pool, and her mother had plenty of young company to keep her going.

            “Okay, Artemisia. Now you sit right there while I make us a pot of tea.”

            Temi nodded as she sat at the table in the breakfast nook and looked out the bay windows. While she awaited her mother’s return, she had a strange feeling of being stuck. Being there, in her mother’s kitchen, looking out the windows felt like a strangling form of deja-vu. Nothing Temi had ever wanted had come true. She still lived in the town where she grew up, she worked a dead-end job, lived in a shitty apartment, and now she was also alone. This was a far cry from the life she thought she’d be living in her thirties.

            She remembered when she left for UVA, she felt the world was her oyster. She was going to work for an ad agency, travel the world, find and marry an attractive foreigner, own a house, and be grateful every day for everything. She had made it out of the country; to Mexico and Canada with a few college friends and before she met Jordan. However, since meeting Jordan, her life had been on hold.

Temi watched a cardinal land on the deck. As he moved cautiously forward, darting his head this way and that, she realized what she had given up to be with him. It wasn’t just the movies he didn’t like, but long strenuous hikes through the woods, the Pungo Strawberry Festival, dinners with her friends, ballroom dance lessons, and the list could go on and on; had she really so dramatically changed her life for someone so undeserving?

            Her mother returned to the table, silver serving set in hand; tea pot, sugar bowl, and cream pot; one by one she placed them on the table only to leave again to retrieve the cups and saucers. “There we are,” she sat across from Temi and began to pour the tea. “So, tell me what’s on your mind?”

            Looking down at her teacup, Temi wasn’t sure what to think. She ran her index fingers along the outer edge of the dainty saucer. Her mother’s tea set dated back to the mid-1920s, they were white with a blue band on the inner side edged in gold and with golden magnolia flowers hand painted on the blue band. They were beautiful and had not been used by her family until her mother became sick. After her diagnosis, her mother no longer saw the point in holding things for the perfect special occasion, and Temi could not have agreed more.

            “I don’t know,” she took a sip of the warm brew trying to decide if she should add cream and sugar. Then thinking of her new diet, she decided against it. “Why can’t I seem to get my life together?”

            Jada shook her head. “Your life or your love life?”

            Temi gave her mother a rye look before continuing. “All of it,” she took another sip. “I mean… I work in a call center, I don’t travel the way I would like, and now it’s back to the romantic drawing board. When will something go my way?”

            “When you’re ready for it.” Temi watched as her mother slowly sipped her creamed tea. Jada could feel her daughter’s disappointment but said nothing.

            “What do you mean, when I’m ready? I think I was born ready.”

            Jada laughed gently. “Oh honey, you were born to rush the process.” She reached across the table with her right hand to grasp Temi’s left. “I have never met someone so intent on living in the future as you.”

            “Huh,” Temi scoffed. “If I was living in the future, I would already have a great job, a house, and a man.”

            “Artemisia,” her mother shook her head, “what did you learn from being with Jordan?”

            Temi rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Don’t trust your man around pretty college students?”

            It was Jada’s turn to roll her eyes. “How about, you deserve someone who will treat you as you treat him? Someone who shares your interests?” She took another sip of tea. “You know, baby, I think you were so used to taking care of me that when I got better, it was natural for you to transfer that nurturing energy to Jordan.”

            Temi thought about that for a moment. She glanced back out the window to where the cardinal had been, but it was gone now, and she didn’t see the deck. It was blurred down to its minor details, as if she were looking through it. What her mother said made a lot of sense. Of course, she had wanted Jordan to find work, but she never pushed him. Not to mention, when other people brought up his unemployment, she would make excuses for him. Well, maybe it was time to admit her mistakes and learn from them “All right, you’ve a point,” she looked to her mother. “So, what do you think I should do now?”

            Jada’s lips widened into a great toothy smile, and she clasped her hands together.