Once I was changed into a different pair of jeans and a Henley, I returned to the living room and saw that Benji was standing near the fireplace. Crossing to him, I put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look up at me.
“What kind of tea did you end up making me?”
His smile was huge. “I didn’t make you any. You were very adamant against herbal, and it’s all I have. Caffeine is no good for me.”
I scowled at him. “You have no caffeine in this house? Is that what I’m hearing?”
“Listen––”
“No coffee?”
“Heavens no,” he replied with a shudder of revulsion.
I took a step back from him and made a noise I wasn’t proud of, but no caffeine? It was just after noon, and these insane people thought I could go without caffeine for the rest of the day? “I could die,” I assured him, glancing around. “Like, seriously.”
“No,” he said, chuckling. “You can’t. You’re just suffering from an addiction.”
“No, you don’t get it,” I assured him. “I will turn into a real asshole without some strong coffee or even stronger tea.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Delly chimed in. “You’ve been amazing all morning.”
“Even with coffee,” I explained to her and Benji, “the people I work with think I’m an asshole. I’m not even kidding.”
“You lie,” Benji murmured, smiling at me. “I bet they adore you.”
Sian snickered from the kitchen. “Adore might be a stretch, but you are lovely man, Mr. James,” she assured me, stirring something on the counter.
There was a faint whiff of smoke and spice at the same time, and I breathed in deep. “What is that?”
“Something you can try,” Sian answered, grimacing at me. “We can stop by the Daily Grind when we go get something to eat, but for the time being, I made this blend for my mother when she was trying to give up the bean, and even though it didn’t work, she’s addicted just like you are, she did vouch for the fact that it had a kick.”
Crossing to the kitchen, I took the steaming mug she offered me. It smelled like something I recalled from my childhood. “You put milk in this?”
“I did. Have to. Even honey doesn’t help make it drinkable. You need the cream in there or you can’t even get it down.”
“I smell cloves and nutmeg,” I told her, lifting it to my lips, blowing gently before taking a sip. “Oh, yeah, that’s good.”
“Really?” She sounded surprised.
“Assam base with cinnamon, star anise, and a bit of ginger,” I told her. “And something else I can’t place.”
“There’s orange tisane, and yes, a mystery ingredient that I won’t share.”
“As long as whatever it is won’t make me high, I don’t care what it is. This is amazing.”
“I would never make you high unless you asked me to,” she said with a chuckle. “And besides, that would fall under herbal, which you apparently hate.”
“It’s my mother and my nana, they always made us drink peppermint and nettle tea. You can blame them for my aversion to it. All my brothers hate it too. They ruined it for all of us at the same time.”
“So did your mother make tea or coffee every morning?”
“Good black Scottish tea,” I told her between sips. “I had no idea what coffee was until I went into the Corps.”
“Oh, I love that,” she said with a sigh. “Benji, I love this man right now.”
“Too bad,” he replied gruffly, “I call dibs.”
I was going to say something, I probably should have said something, but I was cold, and I wanted the tea, and I was hungry. My brain was going in several directions at once. Yes, it was an excuse, because the banter was nice, and I didn’t want to do anything to upset how calming it all was. As a rule, having grown up with both chaos and structure, and finding the same in the Marine Corps, I tended to enjoy peace and the people and places I found that in.
Once the first cup was done, I poured myself another, and then went hunting for milk in the refrigerator, found half-and-half instead, and settled on that. When I lifted the mug to take a sip, that was the first time I noticed the vessel and not just the liquid within.
“This is interesting. Who made it?” I asked both Benji and Sian.
“I did,” Sian answered. “You like?”
“Here’s the thing you gotta know about me. I only lie about the big stuff.”
“I’m sorry, what now?”
“Like, hey, Shaw, did you know that Nana loved you best so she gave you her house in her will?”
Benji snorted out a laugh. “And people tell me I have no filter.”
“I’m hungry,” I confessed. “Can we order pizza or something?”
“We can, yes,” Benji said, turning to Delly.
“On it. How’re you with pepperoni, Shaw?”