Bernice, or “Aunty” Bernice as she was known, stepped out of her apple crate house and into the late morning sun. She closed her eyes and took a deep inhale through her petite twitchy nose. 

The musty scents of moist earth and decaying leaves commingled with the pungent aroma of wood smoke from neighboring chimneys. A night’s rain had left everything sparkling with dew. 

“A perfect day for mushroom foraging,” Bernice said out loud. She patted her scavenger’s pouch. “But first…” She hoisted up a basket before starting off in the direction of her best friend Ms. Jimmy’s house. It was a short distance down the main path, shaded with tall shrubs and grasses. 

Jimmy’s abode was underground, as was customary for the mole community. The opening was decorated with stones and glass pieces, selected in spooky shapes and autumnal colors for the season. 

Bernice knew that Jimmy was expecting her, as Bernice paid a visit to Jimmy nearly every day. A dim light grew brighter as she went, casting shadows that danced over the earth and rocks. As she was making her way down the curved tunnel, she called out “Jimmy!” 

She rounded the corner and got a whiff of something enticing and sweet. Her nose once again wiggled back and forth. Jimmy was bent over something on the counter, and startled when Bernice said, “That smells divine!”

Jimmy gasped, but thankfully didn’t drop the acorn cookie she was icing. She spat, “Bernie, damnit! You scared the droppings out of me!”

“Sorry, dear! I didn’t realize you were deaf as well as blind…” Bernice smiled. “That’s a joke, by the way.” 

“I might be blind and have increasingly selective hearing, but I still have more than enough of my faculties to know your sense of humor, you nut. Speaking of! We have enough acorns already stored for the winter that I was able to make some cookies for our tea today.” 

“I see that! How exciting.” Bernice took an audible sniff in. “They smell delectable.”

Jimmy asked, “Did you bring any tea with you today? I’ve about had it with the fruity stuff we’ve had all summer.” 

“I was able to dry some orange peels I harvested over the summer but added that and some cinnamon bark to my black tea.” She added, “I need all the caffeine I can get today...”

Ignoring the last statement, Jimmy clapped her hands excitedly. “That will go perfectly with my salted maple icing. The kettle is already on and the teapot is there on the table.” She turned away to begin pulling china out of the cupboard. 

Bernice walked over to the small round table that divided the kitchen and family room. She set her basket down and removed her scarf. As she laid it over the back of the chair as she called out, “While the tea is brewing, I have another treat for us…”

“Oh I had a feeling you would. Thank goodness because I’m just about out.” Jimmy hobbled over with her squinted eyes on the basket. “Is it indica or sativa?” 

“You know that sativa gives me the heebies these days. I think this is an indica dominant hybrid. Hence why I need a caffeine and sugar booster.” She pulled out a little oblong wooden box. The attached top slid open to reveal a compartment to stash a bowl’s worth of fresh ground bud at the top, and closer to the hinge of the lid was a little singed bowl where the bud went into to be smoked. It was a clever little contraption that her sister had gifted her. 

As Bernice went to work filling and packing the bowl with the fragrant green fluff, Jimmy went to retrieve the now boiling kettle. She set it on a mitt on the table and picked up the jar of tea that Bernice had brought over. After throwing a few scoops in the teapot’s basket, she poured the steaming water over it. She set down the top with a little “clink”. She nearly began settling into her chair before jumping up to get the plate of cookies off the counter. “We’re going to need these!”

Finally, both were nestled in their respective spots at the table with an alluring little spread before them. Bernice handed the pipe to Jimmy with a box of matches. “Green for you, dearest.” 

Jimmy struck a match and picked up the pipe. She set the flame on the little mound of herb and it flickered and popped to a hopeful red glow. She took a deep inhale in and held it for a moment before letting out a billow of smoke in a long and relaxed sigh.

Bernice nodded with approval. Jimmy passed the pipe back to her. Bernice then said, right before reigniting the dimming little embers, “This is strong stuff. One and done.” 

“I can tell…” Jimmy said, looking a little dazed already.

They both started laughing just as Bernice was exhaling, and the smoke came out in hitched puffs. Bernice began coughing. Once the cackling subsided, the two went about pouring their tea and filling their plates with cookies. 

…………………………………………………………………………………….

About an hour later, all that was left of their tea were crumbs and dregs. They had gossiped, laughed, talked about serious sociopolitical issues and repeated the process over again, with gossip and laughter making the lion’s share of the conversation. 

Jimmy was picking up and eating crumbs with the pad of her finger when Bernice began to rise up out of the chair. “Where are you off to?” Jimmy asked. “I was kind of considering making up some charcuterie.”

“It’s the perfect day for mushroom picking and my nose tells me it’s going to be too rainy over the next few days.” 

Jimmy looked down, considering. She looked back up and asked, “Can I tag along? That sounds fun.” 

Bernice felt a surge of happiness. Jimmy hadn’t come out for quite some time, and Bernie was beginning to wonder if she ever would. “Of course! I’d be delighted.” 

“Let me just grab a sweater and hat. I’ll bring my cane, just in case.” 

Smiling, Bernice said, “Take your time. We can both use my scavenging bag.” 

The two stepped out into the now pale afternoon light. Jimmy squinted painfully. Bernice pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her bag and handed them over and off they went. A little slowly at first, but gaining speed as they both got warmed up by the motion. In about 20 minutes, they made their way to the edge of a thicket of noble pines, their damp needles making a thick and plush carpet on the ground. 

Bernice immediately spotted a mushroom a few feet ahead in the gloomier area within the trees. She and Jimmy padded over, and Bernice pulled a little paring knife out of her bag. She bent down and cut the mushroom low on its stalk and rose to hand it to Jimmy. 

Jimmy took a whiff and touched it with her powerful trunk like snout. “Boletus edulis… porcini! My favorite.” 

“Great job! They’re scattered all over this area.” She handed Jimmy a spare paring knife. “You take the left and I’ll take the right.”

“Wanna race?” Jimmy asked. 

……………………………………………………………………………………

To keep track, Jimmy used her apron and Bernice used the scavenging bag. When both agreed that they were tired out, they sat down to count their haul. Jimmy won, like always. Once she got the scent and feel of something tasty, she was unstoppable. 

“As the winner, you get the bigger half of the sandwich,” Bernice said. 

Jimmy glowed. “How sweet, I’m famished! Shall we take another puff before our lunch?” 

After a quick smoke, the two briefly separated. Bernice unwrapped the sandwich and cut it in half while Jimmy set off to find some beetle grubs to top hers with. Tomato, carrot and lettuce might be Bernice’s ideal, but Bernice wasn’t as much of a strict herbivore. She brought back a single handful of wiggling grubs and sat down to tuck in to the little feast. 

Their lunch decimated, the two packed up to head back home. The woods were growing a little eerily dark, and they were happy to leave. It was beginning to cool down. 

When they made it back to the path to Jimmy’s house, the two hugged goodbye and said on top of each other, “Same time tomorrow?” They continued laughing as they took their separate ways. 

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Bernice made it back to her house just as some rain clouds began rolling in. She hung her scarf on the post near the door, set down the basket and began lighting the candles around the house.

She put on a record and settled into the kitchen to prep the mushrooms for soup. She worked on a puzzle Jimmy had given her for her last birthday while it simmered on the stove. 

When the last glow of outside light was turning blue in the distance, Bernice decided it was time for dinner. She set the pot in the center of the table, with a large hunk of crusty french bread and a little dish of butter. 

She finished nearly two bowls of the creamy, savory soup. 

After she did the dishes, she did some reading before crawling into her large, soft bed. She lifted a little framed picture from her nightstand and gave it a kiss. “Sleep well, my love,” she told the picture before blowing out the last candle and turning over. 

It helped her sleep to pretend he was still there.