Ephemeral and Fleeting

Lucy returned to the cupboard and rummaged through the items again. “Goodness, but this all needs some organizing,” she muttered.

“Yes,” Adele agreed.

“Oh,” she said, grabbing a bag of tea tied closed with a leather strand, “here it is.” She opened it and sniffed at it, then looked at Adele, scowling, her brow lowered. “This isn’t peppermint.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it’s— She smelled it again. “It’s spearmint.”

“Oh?” Adele reached for it.

Lucy handed it to her, then searched for another bag. “Who’s been in charge of all the herbs?” she asked.

Adele smelled the dried tealeaves. “While we were at the compound, Barbara Jo supervised them,” she said.

“Hmmm.” Then upon finding the one marked “spearmint,” Lucy opened it and took a whiff. “Yes, this is it,” she said. She pulled the ties closed again and handed the bag to Adele. “Make sure these get marked correctly. They serve different purposes, after all.”

“I will. My apologies. Truthfully, things were out of order before we left the compound.” She paused, thinking. “Actually, they’ve been amiss since the night of the raid there—you know, shortly after the twins left on their journey? When Broden was captured? In any case, we had to move everything into bags—to make the traveling easier—and we’ve yet to return all the herbs to labeled jars.”

She turned away and dropped the package of tea on a nearby counter. “I’ll make some up right away and get it to Mara and Erin, and then,” she gestured toward the larder, “I’ll get Barbara Jo after that mess.”

“Do that.”

“And I’ll get the catswort tea brewing.”

“Thank you. Serve it to everyone at mealtimes.”

Lucy started walking away. Then she stopped suddenly. “Adele,” she said over her shoulder before turning back, “now that Chaya is assisting with the children, and given our increased numbers, I imagine you’ll be needing more help in the kitchens here. I’ll make arrangements for that straight away.”

“I’d appreciate that, Lucy.” She bobbed her head. “Thank you.”