Over Afternoon Tea

Tea is not only a drink but a ritual over which people have been relaxing, talking, and catching up on each other's lives for centuries. This blog is intended to serve as a virtual cup of tea, helping me keep in touch with friends and family in my physical absence.

I darted in as soon as he put down the phone.
"Those assignment are ready, Mark," I said, touching the files lightly so he'd see where they were, in case he hadn't noticed me setting them on his desk a few minutes ago.
"Great, perfect!" he seated himself and I took a chair. He sat looking at the papers for a few seconds.
"How do you feel about jelly doughnuts?"
"They're all right," I said, and I'm proud to say I've been with Mark long enough to say it as though this were a common question at times like these, as though it were difficult if not impossible to sign legal papers without first discussing doughnuts.
"Just all right?" he sounded shocked.
"Well, it depends on what kind. I like the raspberry ones, but if they're those nasty blueberry ones that taste like failed Jell-O..."
"How do you feel about some jelly doughnuts right now?" This thoughtfully, and seriously. I tried to neither laugh nor stare. "I have that phone conference at 4:00..."
"What time is it now?"
"Twelve minutes to four. It's just down the highway..." he gazed at me speculatively, rapid calculations occurring behind his absent gaze. "I think we could make it. What do you think?"
"How far down the road?"
"Just an exit..."
"Let's go get jelly doughnuts."
So we did. I like my boss.