It was a calm afternoon. The sun shined down on the beautiful green countryside of Verona. Romeo Montague went to visit his good friend Friar Laurence, one of the few older people that he could talk to about anything.
Friar Laurence was dressed in the brown robe that he always wore. He was barefoot. He smiled and welcomed his young friend who greeted him with a kiss on the hand.
"I was just about to prepare some tea," Friar Laurence said. "Would you care to join me for tea and lunch?"
"I would love to," Romeo answered.
They both went to the kitchen. Friar Laurence brought out the kettle and some freshly gathered tea leaves.
Romeo suddenly got a dreamy look in his sapphire blue eyes. He clasped his hands together and held them close to his heart.
"I know who you're thinking about."
"Oh, Rosaline, how splendid she is! So rich in beauty…just like the Sun. Why, I've never seen beauty to match hers."
As he listened to Romeo gush about his current love, Friar Laurence rolled his eyes and shook his head while heating the water for the tea.
But then, Romeo's blissful smile faded. "If only she weren't so cold and aloof…"
"Now, boy, don't start feeling gloomy," Friar Laurence said as he placed two cups on the table.
Romeo looked at the older man.
"It's a beautiful day. No reason to feel down."
"You're right, Father," Romeo sighed. He started looking around for something else to talk about or do.
There was a wooden cutting board on the table. The friar used that board for cutting bread. Romeo grabbed the board and put it on top of his head.
"Have you seen the way Rosaline walks? Perfect posture." Romeo began to walk around while balancing the cutting board on his head. He figured that now was as good a time as any to practice good posture.
When the tea was ready, the friar poured the tea into the cups.
Romeo was still walking around with the board on top of his head, concentrating on maintaining his good posture and not paying attention to much else. He accidentally bumped into the table and knocked one of the cups off, spilling tea all over the floor.
"I'm sorry," Romeo said, placing the cutting board back on the table.
"It's alright. I'll clean it up," Friar Laurence said.
Friar Laurence grabbed a rag and knelt down to clean up the mess on the floor. While the friar was on his knees, Romeo stood behind him and saw the bare soles of the friar's feet. Feeling cheeky, Romeo came over and began tickling his feet. Friar Laurence screamed with laughter and rolled around on the floor, kicking frantically.
Romeo had known for a long time that Friar Laurence was extremely ticklish. It was fun to tickle the friar, and sometimes Romeo took advantage when the opportunity arose.
"Your feet are so ticklish!" Romeo said, laughing. "I'd watch my back if I were you."
Romeo stopped tickling him and moved back to avoid getting kicked. After catching his breath, Friar Laurence stood up and looked at Romeo with disapproval. He shook a warning finger in Romeo's face.
"Behave yourself now."
Romeo composed himself and stopped giggling at the friar's expense. "Yes, Father."
He tossed the rag to Romeo. "Here. You can clean that up."
Romeo stifled a smile and obeyed. He sank to his knees and wiped up the spilled tea.
Friar Laurence put his sandals on to protect his feet. Then he prepared another cup of tea and carefully handed it to Romeo.
"Thank you," Romeo said as he accepted the tea.
They took their seats at the table. For lunch, they would have warm bread, lentil soup, and fruit. Before eating, they said a prayer of thanks.
"Would you like to learn how to cook?" Friar Laurence asked as he sipped his tea.
"I don't see why I should," Romeo said with a shrug. "When I get married, my wife and I will have servants to do that for us."
"As a husband, you must remember to be virtuous, faithful, strong, patient, loyal…"
"And loving," Romeo stated.
There was a twinkle in the friar's dark brown eyes. "Of course, Romeo."
"Someday I will marry."
Meanwhile, in another part of Verona, a beautiful young lady named Juliet Capulet was going about her day with the nurse by her side. She was the jewel of Verona and the true love of Romeo. They had not met yet - but they would meet soon.
The End
