Spiral Bound Journal

Year of the Horse

"If it had been earlier in the day, I'd have brought some Cokes over, but I figured a couple mint teas would be a better bet."

Felicia nodded as Ray set the two to-go cups on the table. "Agreed. Thanks. I didn't know you drank mint tea."

Ray nodded as he took a seat across from his longtime friend. "Generally I prefer oolong, but somehow finding a good oolong tea place around here is a nightmare."

"Yeah, from what I remember the DC Chinatown isn't much to write home about. It's been a while since I was last anywhere near there, but I recall thinking Toronto's Chinatown was much more interesting."

"You're not wrong, at least about the DC Chinatown. If you weren't, we'd be having tea there instead of in a Hampton Inn lobby."

At that, Felicia snorted. "Yeah, we could have had a more scenic backdrop, but such is life."

She took a moment to pop the lid off her cup so she could blow on the tea. For his part, Ray rolled his cup with both of his hands. April in the nation's capital could be on the cool side for some of the locals. Felicia appreciated the evening temperatures in the 50s, but after almost two decades of Minnesota living, anything above 40 made her contemplate wearing t-shirts under light jackets.

They took a moment to sip their tea and enjoy the relative quietude of the lobby. The early evening check-in rush had ended an hour ago, although she could hear someone at the front desk talking with some guests that had just arrived. The lobby looked a bit different compared to Felicia's previous stay at this hotel a decade ago, in the glorious early days of 2016. Red carpeting and seats gave way to a light blue and gray-white color scheme. The silver drapes provided the darkest contrast in the space where guests could plop down in ice blue chairs and barstools and set their drinks on white faux marble tables. The color scheme made the area feel more spacious, but Felicia wished they would dim the lights just a little. It reminded her of the spotlights C-SPAN put in the meeting rooms at Capitol Hill.

"So how was today's visit to the Capitol?" Ray asked.

"A little bit better compared to yesterday," Felicia replied. "My testimony is done, so I have a few days to hang out in the area, play tacky tourist and generally ignore my life for a few days."

Ray looked over at Felicia pinching the sides of her cup. "Ignore your life, huh? Have things really been that bad on the police corruption front?"

"Oh, things have been that bad for years. I just previously haven't had a front row seat. There's other stuff going down, too."

"Like what?"

At that, Felicia took a slow sip before responding. "Marcus called the night before my first session. I'd rather not get into the details right now, but he confirmed a suspicion I've had for quite a while. I told Marlon, and he had almost no sympathy for me."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"Well, I really shouldn't say, but what the hell? Marlon will be making an announcement soon."

"What kind of announcement?"

Felicia leaned closer and whispered, "A trade. He's moving to Minnesota. His agent just finished hammering out the contract a few days ago. They're just waiting for the front office to sign off on it before he announces that he's going to the Vikings."

"What does that have to do with your situation?"

"You've heard about his divorce, right?"

"It came up once in water cooler chat, but I didn't pay much attention."

"Okay. Well, he got the divorce to be with his boyfriend, who happens to live in Minneapolis. When Marlon announces the trade, he's likely going to mention that part in explaining why he's leaving Kansas City. It's my fault that he and his boyfriend met. It's a whole thing."

"Wha...wow. Just...wow. I had no idea about any of that."

"Yeah, and technically you shouldn't. Sure, there are other openly gay players in the league, but it's still rare, and no one of Marlon's notability is in that category. So he's a bit more focused on that than offering me much sympathy on the Marcus front."

"So...how are things with Marcus, if you can answer that without getting too specific?"

"His wife is likely very unhappy with him right now. I haven't been able to talk to Adrian yet. Not sure if it's something I want to relegate to a phone conversation."

Ray nodded and sipped some tea. "Sounds complicated."

"It is. I may see if Walter's up for meeting me in Alexandria so I can ramble at him about this."

"Heh, ramble at," Ray replied with a snort. "I don't think I've met Walter. Is he around here?"

"Charlottesville. Probably the only person I could really talk to about white supremacists invading my city and wrecking things. I know that the Boston Marathon bombing was hard on you, but it's not quite like what I lived through."

"No, it isn't., so I suppose Walter would have a bit more insight and empathy for what you went through."

"He was also Adrian's best man at the wedding. So we go back quite a ways."

"Sounds like it. Would he visit during the weekend?"

Felicia shrugged as she sipped more tea. "He's retired, so his schedule is pretty open. It depends on when he feels like dealing with the traffic. So it could be the weekend, but then again people like to play tourist in Alexandria on the weekends, so that could change things."

"Yeah, I don't like wandering down to Alexandria on Saturdays if I can help it. Sundays are a little better."

"I bet. I won't get to see that for myself since I'll be heading out on Sunday."

"Man, you scheduled a lot of time for testifying!"

"I did. I wanted to make sure there was some flexibility built in in case something got postponed, because timeliness in the government is not at all guaranteed."

"Very true."

"So imagine my surprise when this actually proceeded as scheduled. Thank goodness for small mercies, I suppose."

"The government doing something on time isn't so much a mercy as it is a miracle!"

"Ha!" Felicia laughed. "I suppose when the Department of Justice has a fire lit under its collective butt it gets moving on the things that matter. I probably shouldn't complain, all things considered."

"No, you probably shouldn't. So given all of that, what do you plan to do with your spontaneous vacation?"

"Aside from hang out with Walter, or at least hopefully hang out with him, I have no idea. Any suggestions?"





Word count: 1127

Prompt 6-Tea for Two ▼

There are a number of things two or people more can do to socialise. The one I want you to write about today is social drinking, whether it be an evening in, a night out, meeting at a coffee shop, or afternoon tea.

Write a scene where a character is hanging out with someone over drinks.

Things to consider…

*Noteb* What beverage are the characters drinking? How is it served? Are they drinking exactly the same thing?
*Noteb* What is the traditional venue attached to this activity?
*Noteb* Is this a casual thing or does the event carry some import?
*NoteB* The characters shouldn’t be having a meal, but they might be indulging in bar snacks or a biscuit. If so, what are they eating and what is there for them to choose from?
*Noteb* What history or relationship does your character have with the activity? Did she learn how to make tea from her grandmother? Did his best friend introduce him to his favourite watering hole? Is it a familial duty?