by Alex Jones
To the sound of a couple of tea cups clinking: “To absent friends!”
“Indeed. How very thoughtful of you”
“It is so long since we last saw Toni, I just thought we’d reminisce”
“Good idea old chap”
“Do you remember when she used to play with us? She was so….”
“Delightful?”
“Yes. Delightful”
“So warm. So loving”
“Yes. Warm and loving”
“Oh how we used to enjoy our time together, sitting us all down for a lovely cup of tea, with her tins of baked beans. The loaf of bread. The plastic chairs. The table”
“Oh the table. The table”
“It’s such a shame she had to get all grown up”
“All grown up. All grown up, yes”
“Latest I heard she was gallavanting around the world as an air hostess. She’s way too old for the likes of us now teddie, isn’t she?”
“Way too old. Way too old”
“But wait. That sounds like footsteps coming up the stairs!”
“It’s her. It’s her!”
“She’s here everyone. She’s here everyone! She’s back home. Get ready for a tea party everyone!”
The door opens, to some very sad faces
“Not the bloody cleaner again!” said Ted. “I miss Toni. I so miss her….”
© Alex Jones, for Writers on the Heath