Auntie's House

Every Sunday afternoon I was invited to Auntie's house for tea outside where the sun shone like a thousand crystal watts a lovely table set for two, plus two wicker chairs of white every Sunday, we would sip and slip away the hours happily The table was adorned with a bouquet of pink peony roses o'er a lacey cotton doily with soft fit lace edges of beauty As they bloomed they scented the air around us with grace sending us coral dreams with their bright pink glow dance Tiny social tea biscuits placed lovingly on a tray of silver awaiting a child's excited dunk on a hot summery day July was my favorite time of the year with its hot spell it brought forth the memory of iced water and lemon Auntie wore a floral perfume called Channel No Five but of course to me it smelled like black licorice To a young girl passing on thirteen a tea time affair can be grand, I smiled as she read me, Baudelaire