A lady passing by said, "If you're thinking of eating in there, do. It's excellent!" This was all the two of us needed to know. But the great Larry.. I think the word tea had done a disservice to his manly appetite.
"You don't have to have tea," I said hopefully. "Look! It says there is soup, and bread, and salads and such." My sister and I stepped inside and saw how absolutely adorable it is, with shelves of books, and antique furniture, and waitresses who look like they live in the 1800s. It could not have been any closer to the quintessential British tea place. An American magnet. We went back outside.
"It's so cute!" we said. Again, perhaps not quite the tone we should have struck.
So we turned away and walked up the High Street, looking out for the kind of place that might suit all taste buds. William IV looked promising. It was a new-ish pub with a beer garden and terrace so a person could sit there in the fresh air without feeling cold. And as the sky was clear and blue, it was perfect! the great Larry had done it again. Hit the nail right on the head. I would keep William IV in mind next time I ventured to Truro.
As the meal ended, my sister announced that it was time for their Day 2 covid test. A sudden pall descended - upon me, because I knew what was coming; and upon them, because they didn't. I had a private moment of hesitation because the thing wasn't the least bit easy.. it was uncomfortable. Perhaps even awful. But I didn't want to say any of this out loud and discouragingly.
"Maybe I'll just stretch my legs while you .." I murmured, and walked in circles while listening for the inevitable blood curdling screams. Only those who travel overseas during this strange time will fully understand what I am saying. For the rest of you, I shall draw a veil.
"You are going to feel SO GOOD when you get rid of these covid samples!" I said with a certain naïveté My sister looked skeptical but clutched the two test boxes that had to be turned into the Royal Mail. The Royal Mail HAD to scan them or the lab people would not receive them, and sooner or later, someone would come for my sister and the great Larry. So we searched Truro up and down for the right place, a Royal Mail post office with actual postal people inside of it. When we finally found it, those actual postal people told us to go someplace else.
It was then that her teeth started grinding.
But we finished up encircling the Victoria area of town, stumbled upon the Royal place to put the sample boxes, then took ourselves back to Charlotte's Tea Shop and ordered a Cream Tea. Isn't that what you would have done?
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