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As soon as most of their morning guests had departed, Theodosia started decorating for today’s Vintage Tea Party. She dug in her highboy and pulled out vintage lace tablecloths and as many pink and green teacups and saucer sets as she could find—in fact, the more mismatched they were the better. She wanted her tables to look like a wonderful calico quilt.
“So pretty,” Miss Dimple said. “And I see you’re mostly going with pastels.”
“Pink and green and yellow do lend a lovely vintage effect. As does old silver flatware and pressed glass vases.”
“Would the vases be for the bouquets of tea roses that got delivered a little while ago?”
“That’s the plan,” Theodosia said. “But let’s just use four or five stems per vase because we want a scatter of arrangements across each table.”
Once Miss Dimple had the tables set, Theodosia added a few more choice items. Lace parasols were hung from the ceiling, peacock feathers were stuck into tall silver vases, and a few old pocket watches (Drayton’s contribution) and pairs of vintage lace gloves were placed on the tables. Favors for guests included small rose-colored sachets and fans wrapped with blue ribbons.
“How much ribbon do you have left?” Miss Dimple asked.
“Oodles. Why?”
“I thought it might be cute to hang ribbon streamers off the backs of chairs.”
“Go for it,” Theodosia said.
16
When it was twenty to twelve, when Theodosia figured she had a ten-minute window before her guests arrived, wouldn’t you know it, Delaine Dish and her niece Bettina showed up early.
Delaine was buzzing like an angry hornet. Glancing about the tea shop and tossing her head nervously, she plucked at Theodosia’s sleeve. Today Delaine wore a silver-gray knit dress with a wide silver-studded black leather belt that looked more like a corset. Maybe that’s why Delaine was acting so hyper, maybe she was feeling uncomfortable and squished.
But, no, it was something else.
“We thought about not coming today,” Delaine said, picking an invisible thread off Theodosia’s shoulder. “Out of, you know, a grudging respect, a kind of mourning period for Josh Morro.” Her shoulders rose then dipped. “But we already had our reservations, and Morro…well, let’s just say our relationship didn’t work out all that well.”
“Whatever the reason I’m delighted you’re here,” Theodosia said, trying to ease Delaine over to her table so she could still enjoy a few calming sips of tea.
But Delaine, never one to be rushed, crooked an index finger and said, “Bettina and I have big news. In fact, there’s major cause for celebration.” She beamed at Bettina and said, “Go ahead, dear, show Theodosia.”
Bettina held up her left hand, where a marquise-shaped diamond shone on her ring finger.
“Bettina got engaged!” Delaine gushed. “Isn’t that the most fabulous thing in the entire world!”
Theodosia, who didn’t even know that Bettina had been dating someone, said, “It’s absolutely wonderful. Congratulations are definitely in order. And, wow, is that ring ever a sparkler!”
“Three carats, certified at F in color and SI2 in clarity,” said Delaine, as if she’d flown to Antwerp and picked it out herself. “You don’t often see diamonds of that high a caliber.”
“I should say so,” Theodosia said. She hugged Bettina and said, “I’m delighted for you! You deserve every happiness in the world.”
“Thank you,” Bettina said. “As you can probably guess, I’m over the moon in love with Jamie. That’s his name, Jamie Wilkes.” She hitched up her shoulders in an expression of pure joy. “Don’t you just love it?”
“Love’s the easy part,” Delaine said, suddenly interjecting a cautionary note. “It’s planning the wedding that’s a killer.” She thought for a moment and rolled her eyes. “Then, of course, there’s the actual marriage.”
Theodosia just smiled. Delaine had been married twice and engaged…well, at this point everyone had pretty much lost count.
Five minutes later, Helene Deveroux arrived with Dorothy Roper, another member of the Charleston Film Board. As Theodosia greeted them, Delaine stood up and began waving wildly at Helene and Dorothy. So of course Theodosia seated the two newcomers at Delaine and Bettina’s table.
More guests arrived and Theodosia and Miss Dimple greeted them warmly and led them to the various tables. Once the guests were seated, once Drayton had taken a head count, it was Theodosia’s turn to take center stage.
“Welcome, dear guests,” she said, “to the Indigo Tea Shop’s Vintage Tea Party, where everything old is new again. As you might have noticed, our tablecloths are vintage lace, napkins are hand-embroidered linen, and our teacups and saucers, though mismatched, are all early incarnations from Shelley, Herend, and Minton.
“In keeping with our vintage theme, today’s menu also hearkens backs to earlier times. You’ll start your tea luncheon with old-fashioned maple scones and honey butter, followed by chicken salad and strawberry and cream cheese tea sandwiches.”
There was a ripple of applause.
