By CJ drove down from Huntsville Saturday morning without telling me he was coming. I was in the garden pulling the last of the summer tomatoes when I heard his car in the driveway, and when I came around the house he was standing on the porch steps with his hands in his pockets and an expression on his face that I had not seen since the morning of Marcus's funeral — not grief this time, but the same quality of seriousness. The kind that means something important is happening inside him and he needs his mother present while he says it out loud.
I took off my garden gloves and went inside and put water on for coffee. He sat at the kitchen table and waited until I sat down across from him. Then he said, "Mama, I want to ask Shanice to marry me." I said, I know. He blinked at me. I said, son, your sister can't keep a secret and also you haven't needed to come to Huntsville for any particular reason twice in the same month in fifteen years, so yes, I know. He laughed — the real kind, the kind that used to make Marcus laugh too because CJ has always had his father's laugh.
Then he told me what he had come to say. He wanted to know if I would give him Bernice's ring. I had kept it in the cedar box in my closet ever since the hospital, along with Bernice's watch and the pearl earrings she wore every Sunday. I had not opened that box in many months because opening it still costs me something. I went to the closet and I took the ring out and I held it in my palm for a moment. A small gold band with a cluster of seed pearls. Bernice received it from her first husband before she was Bernice Simms. She wore it on her right hand every day of my life until her hands got too swollen for jewelry.
I put it in CJ's hand. He folded his fingers around it and I could see him feeling the weight of it, which is greater than its size suggests. I told him his grandmother would be so glad. He said he knew. We drank the coffee and didn't say much else, which is the right way to handle a moment like that.
After CJ and I sat together at that kitchen table — the ring passed between us, the weight of three generations settling into the room — we didn’t need much else. Just the coffee I’d already put on, made the way I’ve always made it when something important is in the air: a little honey stirred in, the way Bernice taught me. It isn’t fancy, but it’s ours, and that morning it was exactly right. If you’ve ever had a quiet moment that asked for something warm and simple, this is the cup for it.
Honey Coffee
Prep Time: 2 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 7 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups freshly brewed hot coffee
- 2 tablespoons honey (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup whole milk or half-and-half (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Brew the coffee. Brew 2 cups of your preferred coffee using your usual method — drip, pour-over, or percolator all work well here.
- Warm the honey. If your honey has thickened or crystallized, place the jar in warm water for a minute or set it near the hot coffee pot to loosen it slightly before measuring.
- Sweeten and stir. Pour the hot coffee into two mugs. Add 1 tablespoon of honey to each mug and stir gently until fully dissolved.
- Add milk if desired. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk or half-and-half per mug for a creamier cup. Add the vanilla extract at this stage if using.
- Serve. Dust lightly with cinnamon if you like, and serve immediately while hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 65 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 10mg