PART 2 — The Tea I Never Chose
PART 2 — The Tea I Never Chose
The paramedic didn't take her eyes off me.
"What about the tea?"
I swallowed, trying to ignore the growing crowd around us.
"It started about five months ago."
"What started?"
"The tea."
She waited patiently.
"My husband began making me a cup every morning."
Leo let out a short laugh.
"Seriously?"
He looked around at the guests, forcing a smile.
"Now my tea is on trial?"
Nobody laughed with him.
Not this time.
Michelle Eastman continued writing.
"Did you ask him to make it?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"So why did he?"
"He said I was working too hard."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"He told me it would help me sleep better... reduce stress... improve my energy."
She nodded.
"Did you notice any changes after you started drinking it?"
"At first I slept more."
"Then?"
"I became tired all the time."
My voice sounded distant, even to me.
"I couldn't focus in class."
"I forgot conversations."
"My hands started shaking."
"I began dropping things."
I looked toward my motionless legs.
"Then the numbness started."
Michelle's expression remained calm, but her questions became more precise.
"Did you ever see what he put into the tea?"
"No."
"Did it always taste the same?"
I hesitated.
"Not exactly."
"Explain."
"Some mornings it tasted bitter."
"Other mornings... almost metallic."
Leo folded his arms.
"This is ridiculous."
Michelle finally stood and faced him.
"Sir, I'll ask you not to interrupt while I'm evaluating my patient."
"I'm her husband."
"I understand."
"Then you should also understand that interrupting a medical assessment isn't helping her."
Several guests exchanged nervous glances.
The balance of the afternoon had shifted.
Until now, Leo had controlled the story.
Now someone with authority was asking different questions.
Questions he couldn't answer with a smile.
Freya stepped forward.
"This is all a misunderstanding."
Michelle turned politely.
"Ma'am, would you please give us a little space?"
Freya looked offended.
"I've known Judith for twelve years."
Michelle answered evenly.
"I've known enough patients to recognize when someone deserves to speak without being interrupted."
Freya fell silent.
For perhaps the first time in years.
Michelle knelt beside me again.
"Judith."
"Yes."
"Do you keep this tea at home?"
"Yes."
"Can you describe it?"
"It comes in a silver tin."
"No label."
"Leo keeps it in the cabinet above the refrigerator."
I noticed something then.
Leo's jaw tightened.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that someone paying attention would notice.
Michelle noticed.
"So only your husband prepares it?"
"Yes."
"I've never made it myself."
"Why not?"
"He always insisted."
I remembered the first time.
"You've been working too hard," he had said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"Let me take care of you."
At the time, I thought it was sweet.
Now the memory made my stomach turn.
Michelle looked toward her partner.
"Mark."
The younger paramedic stepped over.
She spoke quietly enough that only a few of us could hear.
"I'd like law enforcement to respond."
Leo immediately reacted.
"For what?"
Michelle didn't answer him.
Instead she pressed the button on the radio attached to her shoulder.
"This is Medic Twelve requesting sheriff's deputies at our location."
A pause.
"We have an adult female with sudden neurological deficits."
She glanced briefly toward Leo.
"There are circumstances requiring further investigation."
The backyard became completely silent.
Even the music seemed too loud.
Leo forced another laugh.
"You can't be serious."
Michelle looked directly at him.
"I am."
Freya stepped closer.
"Officer, this is becoming absurd."
"I'm not an officer."
"I'm a paramedic."
"My responsibility is my patient's safety."
She turned back to me.
"Judith."
"Has your husband ever discouraged you from seeing a doctor?"
The question caught me off guard.
I thought back.
The headaches.
The dizziness.
The blurred vision.
Every appointment I wanted to schedule.
Every excuse Leo offered.
"You don't need a doctor."
"They'll just tell you it's stress."
"You're overthinking."
"Get some rest."
Drink your tea.
Always...
Drink your tea.
My eyes slowly widened.
"He never wanted me to go."
Michelle nodded once.
"When was your last complete physical?"
"Almost two years ago."
"And before that?"
"Every year."
"What changed?"
I looked toward Leo.
"He said our insurance deductible was too high."
Leo interrupted.
"Because it was."
I shook my head.
"No."
I remembered something.
"We weren't having money problems."
I looked at him.
"You got a bonus that year."
His face hardened.
Neither of us spoke.
But everyone watching understood exactly what had happened.
The excuses hadn't been about money.
They had been about keeping me away from doctors.
A sheriff's cruiser turned onto our street.
Then another.
The flashing lights reflected across the windows of our house.
Guests quietly stepped aside.
Nobody wanted to stand between the deputies and the driveway.
Michelle squeezed my hand gently.
"We're taking you to the hospital."
I nodded.
She looked into my eyes one more time.
"And Judith..."
"Yes?"
"I don't know yet what's causing your symptoms."
She paused.
"But I promise you this."
"We're going to find out."
As the stretcher rolled toward the waiting ambulance, I watched Leo standing beside the grill.
He wasn't looking at me anymore.
He was staring at the silver tea tin visible through the kitchen window.
May you like
And for the first time since I had met him...
I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
