Grandma Lu Was Too Busy For Tea With Marlee

 Marlee went out to the kitchen to find her Grandma B. "B, how come we never see Grandma Lu anymore? Is she mad at us? Is she okay?"

Grandma B smiled and said, "No, she's not mad at us. She's been very busy. You know she takes care of a lady that doesn't feel very good, plus she and her husband are remodeling their back porch. She doesn't even write as many stories as she used to. She sends me messages though and tells me to give you a hug and say hi. She misses you too, Marlee. She told me the other day she would like to go out for lunch with us when you have time off from school. How does that sound?"

"Well, I think you should call her and invite her over for tea. It doesn't takes very long. She could come over and have tea and a cookie. I want to see her. I need to give her a hug in person."

Grandma B agreed and gave her old friend a call. "Marlee wants to invite you over for tea this afternoon. Do you have a few minutes to spare for a little girl that wants to use her pretty tea set? Oh, okay. I'll tell her. Don't work yourself to a nubbin. Take care. We'll do it another time. Love you."

"I'm sorry, Marlee, but Grandma Lu said she's too busy today. She will try to come over as soon as she can though. She misses you. She said, "You should have a cookie and a cup of tea for her. Oh, it's okay. Sometimes grownups just can't always do what they want to do when they want to do it. You will find it more and more difficult as you grow up to fit all of your friends into your busy schedule. Come on. I'll have tea with you. What would you like? How about some cheese and crackers and little pieces of ham? We'll have a high tea like the folks in England have. Yes, we'll have cookies too."

Remember when you dressed up in your beautiful gowns and pretended you were a princess? Well a long long time ago there was a Dutchess who lived in Bedford England that ate her breakfast in the morning and had to wait until eight or nine o'clock at night for her supper. She would get so very hungry her tummy even growled. So she said she just had to have something to eat in the afternoon to tide her over. They had tiny little sandwiches or pretty little cakes and tea. It was then called Afternoon Tea. It became the fashion throughout the country and they still do that. We call it a coffee break in our country. The farmers and working people in her kingdom had what they called High Tea. It was a heavy meal with steak, kidney pie, vegetables and dessert like cookies and cake. So let's pretend you are the Queen and have a High Tea, but no steak," she laughed.

Marlee helped her Grandma B set the table with her pretty tea set that she had gotten when she was only three years old. She had been really careful with it and it looked like it was brand new."

Soon Grandma B put the food on the table and said, "Okay, Marlee. You can pour and we will have fun; just the two of us."

Marlee was kind of sad at first, but she soon found herself laughing and having a good time with her Grandma B just like she always did.

Down the road Grandma Lu was not having a good time. "I just hate to disappoint a child when they want something, but this day; for that matter this week, has been crazy! I feel like a rubber band. People are pulling me this way and that way and I'm stretched to the limit. I haven't written a story for awhile and I so enjoy that, but I want my back porch remodeled. I need a store room and a place where I can watch my birds and look at my flowers even when it rains. There was Easter dinner to make and of course, my lady to take care of. I still haven't given my husband a hair cut and he's not a bit happy I'm not out there helping him. I know the neighbor lady hasn't been feeling well and I need to make her up a meal and take it over. Oh dear. Where do I go next?"

She could hear her husband call her from the porch. She was needed to tell him what she wanted to save, throw, sell, or give away. Mercy, she had so much stuff! She went out and worked for awhile then she decided she needed a rest. She had helped throw things in the dumpster and got caught in a shower! "I didn't think it was going to rain today! What a mess I am now."

 She told her husband that she needed a break and was going to have a cup of coffee. When she sat down she got to thinking about the characters in her stories; Josh and Allie. The last she had written they were finding abandoned animals on the ranch. The town was going to have a meeting to see what was going on and how to stop it. Allie was cuddling a little scared and hungry cat whose name was Carrie Belle. Of course, Allie didn't know that and was talking about giving the cat a name. "It must be confusing to animals to have their names changed from owner to owner. Makes me sad to think about it," Grandma Lu sighed.

She looked in the living room and saw their dog, Bandit. Oh how she remembered the first day they first saw that little scamp. There he was tied up by an old rope under a pickup with a paste board box that had printed on it; Free dog. She had never seen a sadder face on an animal in her life. They already had Maggie a rescue dog. Could they handle a bigger dog? A dog that was used to living on a farm? An escape artist? A  dog that wasn't housebroken? Old girl, you talked Fran into taking him home on a trial basis. And here he is ten years later spoiled rotten. She grinned as she watched the handsome border collie snooze on the couch. The world was definitely his oyster now. "I wonder what would have happened to him if we hadn't decided to go to that flea market."

When she chuckled at the picture he presented he raised his head and looked at her. "Yes, you are spoiled. Now go back to sleep. I am going to try to write a little and then I must make some food for the neighbor lady. Poor thing. I sure hope she gets better soon. She has had a time of it lately."

From outside she could hear her husband yell, "Can you take time from your coffee to hold this board for me? You know this was your idea.."

"Well old computer, I guess you don't have to work today. Fran is right. It was my idea to remodel, so the story is going to have to wait a few more days."