Katherine didn’t know what to say next, and there was an awkward silence for a moment as Sally bent back over the table and put even more scrupulous care into arranging the forks and spoons and knives before her.
“Well, I’m going to say good morning to Mrs. James before I leave.”
Sally didn’t look up. “Ok.”
Katherine walked over to the kitchen doorway, pulled the curtain to one side and peeked her head in. “Good morning!”
“Ah! Good morning, Dearie. Want anything for the road? There’s a batch of cheddar scones fresh from the oven.”
“That’s perfect, Thanks!” Katherine grinned as Mrs. James wrapped a hot scone in a napkin and handed it to her. “What would I do if I didn’t live above a tea shop?”
Mrs. James chuckled. “Why, you’d just come here for breakfast like everyone else.”
“I suppose I would,” Katherine replied with a laugh. “See you later.”
“Have a good day, Dearie!”
* * * *
“Hello the shop!” Katherine called out as she opened the Harborside’s dark green door and stepped inside. She flung her jacket and scarf on the coatrack by the door, took the stiff navy apron off its hook, then turned to survey the shop. The place was permeated with feelings of history and home. Her eyes lingered over the cedar-plank walls, the shelves of tea jars lining one wall, the high counter, the old wood stove, the antique cash register, and the retired sea captain sitting at his desk, hunched over a ledger—all these things added to her cup of joy, and it seemed full, indeed.
“Permission to come aboard?” she leaned against the doorframe of the Captain’s Quarters.
Captain Braddock looked up with a weary smile. “I’m sorry, Katherine. I heard you come in, but I was lost in the land of arithmetic calculating this month’s sales and couldn’t stop till I had finished.”
“That’s all right,” Katherine returned his smile. “Anything you need done in the shop before I begin the unpacking?”
“No, go ahead and get to it." he went back to his ledger. "There’s an extra package today.”
“An extra package?”
He nodded without looking up, but Katherine caught a telltale flicker of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Anticipation thrilled through Katherine. This was why she loved unpacking. Opening cargoes from far-off lands always felt like an adventure, and whenever a package came from somewhere new, it was like treading on undiscovered territory.
Taking the inventory clipboard from the wall, Katherine flipped on the lights and descended into the chilly stillness of the storeroom. Just as the captain had said, the box on top of the nearest stack bore a label she didn’t recognize.
“Cameroon?” she asked, eyebrows raised, as she noticed Captain Braddock standing in the doorway.
“Yes. Did you know Cameroon has a thriving tea industry?
“No, I didn’t.” She took a boxcutter from the wide pocket of her apron and carefully slid the blade between the flaps on either end of the box, then down the seam across the top. Lifting the flaps, Katherine moved the packing material aside and drew out a clear bag full of loose tea. The shriveled-up leaves always reminded her of the grass clippings she used to rake up when her dad mowed their lawn in the Harborhaven summers of long ago.
Looking up at the captain, she tried to keep her expression nonchalant. “Have you tried it yet?”
He stiffened, as if offended. “Of course not. The first cup of a new variety is a family event around here. Always has been, all the way back to the first shipment Captain Jeremiah brought in.”
“Well, then,” Katherine slowly climbed the steps to hand the bag to the captain, “It wouldn’t do to break tradition.” The grin she had been holding back spread across her face, and the captain answered with his own satisfied smile.
“Right, then. Follow me.” Captain Braddock led the way across the office to an unobtrusive curtain, which hid the shop's small kitchen. Just then, the bell over the door rang.
Katherine smiled. “I’ll go. You make the tea.”
Captain Braddock nodded, already filling the kettle with water.
* * * *
When Katherine returned a few minutes later, two cups of steaming liquid sat on the desk, and an extra chair had been placed across from the captain’s.
“Customer?” Captain Braddock limped in from the kitchen with a trivet and the pot of tea.
“Yes, they wanted the new Assam we got in last week.”
“Ah, yes. That one’s been quite popular.” There was a short pause as Katherine eyed the cup in front of her.
Finally, he picked up his cup and chuckled. “Go ahead. No sense waiting till it’s cold.” Katherine raised the cup and smelled the earthy fragrance rising from it. Then she took a sip. Captain Braddock did the same, and for a moment neither spoke.
“Well, what do you think?” Captain Braddock leaned back in his chair and took another sip.
Katherine thought for a moment, trying to put the flavor into words. “It tastes…green. I don’t mean like green tea, but …I don’t know, like a forest on a mountain somewhere." She took another sip. "It’s very good.”
