Just my cup of tea

Hash to ash

I awoke with a stinging headache on my left temple, wine had a peculiar aftertaste the next morning. A ray of sunlight gleamed through the half open window as I struggled to steady my vision. The smell of bacon curled in my nostrils and the sizzle of the pan finally poked up my senses.

I walked towards the kitchen and I could hear Robyn humming, I could not be more grateful for my best friend. "What's cooking doc?" I slid into the kitchen and perched myself on a bar stool near the counter. Robyn clapped her hands as she sprung around to face me, "eggs, baked beans, russians and bacon. I know you don't eat them so am frying them last." She rushed back over to the pan to check on her bacon, " you look better, how you feeling?"

I leaned over and stole a piece of cheese, " you say it as though I were sick." She scooped out the last piece of bacon, "they didn't name the movie 'love and other drugs' for nothing you know." I rolled my eyes and chuckled, "Too soon dude." She made a plate for me and handed me the sauce. " well am just glad I got a smile out of you." I looked down at the food, Robyn cleared her throat. "What now?" I sighed and looked up at her, "yeah that's the question of the day, what now."

We both ate and smoked and began to clean up the house before we made any plans for the day. "I have not seen the beach in ages, let's go!" I cringed, "why the beach, I've seen it everyday for the past year now. Let's do something different. "Alright, what do you have in mind?" I reached for my coffee as I sat down next to her. "Why don't we go to Urban market, I heard they have some pretty rare items." Robyn let out a loud burb, "Oh shit, sorry haha. The market it is then!" 

I always liked finding hidden markets with rare items or old books with letters and dedications in them, I felt it gave everything a personal touch. Once I found myself at a market up in Kloof. Right at the end, in the far corner next to the horses, I came across a small second hand book store. The building itself looked pretty historical, wooden floors and tattered shelves. A wooden sculpture of a man with a banjo stood at the side of the front door. A hint of musk and incense lurked around the corners. Step stools were neatly placed at each section and hand made bookmarks in plastic packaging hung along the genre signs.  

I trailed my fingers along the book spines, waiting for a title to jump out at me, when I heard "Ouch," followed by a fumble and then a crash. I turned to see the the wooden man laying face down next to a girl on her butt. I tilted my head, amused and her position. "Are you alright?" She pulled her beanie off her face and fixed her hair. "I'm ok thanks, wish I could say the same for him," she pointed to the sculpture. I walked over and picked up the banjo, "You know there are easier ways of getting a banjo, there's a music shop just around the corner." She chuckled as I helped her up. "Oh but he was giving me the stink eye, I was obliged to teach him a lesson." I helped her pick him and we moved him back to the door. 

"I'm Alice," I placed the banjo back in its owners arms. "I'm Sh-What happened here?" An older lady holding a box full of brown bags of fruit appeared in the doorway. "It's my fault, sorry, I tripped and knocked him down." The girl examined the sculpture, "Nothing looks broken, I'm really sorry about that Mrs Akinson." The older woman amusingly rolled her eyes as she walked over to the counter. "It's alright but I wont be if your mother gets back and you're not ready, so off with you now. I'll take it from here." The girl turned towards me and gave me a quick thanks again before she went through the backdoor. 

"Always so clumsy that girl, anyway do you need any help with anything?" I turned to look at the bookmarks, "I was just looking around. Those bookmarks, do you make them?" She reached for her glasses and began wiping it with the end of her sleeve. "Oh no, sadly I'm not as gifted as my nieces. You can take some down to have a closer look if you like." I reached over at the one I've been eyeing out. "They're beautiful, how much?" She took out a book and looked up the price. I spent the next half an hour wandering around the book store, reading the plots and then made my way back home. I finished all the books I bought and surprisingly never lost the bookmark.

Robyn chewed happily on her corn while we walked along the stalls. "I wonder how corn would taste with popcorn flavours like fruit chutney or sour cream. "I cringed, Sour cream? You'd really try sour cream?" She giggled, "Well why not?" She had a point. "You got a point." She grinned and pulled me over to the earrings. Robyn's love for earrings would put any Shakespeare romance to shame. She began rambling on about prices of earrings and just like that my brain decided to take a hike. While pretending to listen I noticed a very similar banjo sticking out from one of the stalls in the distance.  I tired to get a clear view between all the people moving around. "So you think I should get it?" I snapped my attention back to Robyn, "what, Yeah it's great. Brings out your eyes. I'll be back, give me a second." 

I made my way through the crowed and to the stall with the banjo. As I approached I saw more sculptures and boxes of books under a table with believe it or not, bookmarks. I peered around looking for the owner when a short plump of a man sneezed his way from the back. "Hello there, please just mind me. It's sinus season again. Do you need any help?" I looked passed him and then back down at the bookmarks, "I just-I was just-Where do you- Alice! come quick! Look I got these for you." Robyn had pulled me away so fast I barely had time to get out a sorry for being so rudely interrupted. Although he looked too nice of a man to get upset so easily. She stuck out her hands and in them were black circle earrings and a pull apart tribal loop. "How did you find this? I may have to actually start paying attention." 

She gave me a stink eye and closed her hand, "you want it or not?" She joked. "haha yes of course I do, I'm just messing with you." She handed the earrings to me, "Hey Robyn..yeah?..Thank you.