Of Marriage and Tea

Alice used to believe that the most boring things in her life consisted of listening to her governess lecture her on the importance of education. Call it what you will but Alice knew it had nothing to do with education, or even manners, it was all gravitating around the idea that she needed to learn, in order to marry into better circumstances.

Floral arrangements and wall paper had nothing to do with gaining knowledge, it was learning about patterns and decorations all for when she would one day become the mistress of her own, well, her husband's house.

Yet moments such as these made her long for the boring lectures of her governess. Here she stood being pushed around a long table during "Tea Time" by mad man with white hair and a ridiculously large outlandish green hat shouting "Clean cup, clean cup! Move down, MOVE DOWN!" into the side of her ear. Trying to grasp some of what her governess taught her Alice sat down when she was allowed and took in a deep calming breath.

"Cricket, is something the matter?" The Hatter asked with big puppy dog eyes looking directly at her with a smile on his face, as he carelessly let the tea pour from the pot into an overflowing tea cup.

"Must you do that? It is such a waste of tea." Alice said in a tone that sounded like she was extremely upset. At this the Hatter tossed the tea pot behind him where it landed somewhere with a resounding smash. Alice would have commented on that as well but she could not take her eyes off the man who was sitting next to her. He was looking at her with genuine concern, and Alice could not help the small blush that had formed itself on her cheeks. She turned away as she felt her face flush and spoke more to the table cloth than to the man seated next to her. "Reginald, what do you think of marriage?" She started letting her eyes travel towards his face, "Not with me of course," she continued turning away from him, "just, what do you think of it?" The Hatter's face showed no expression, it looked void, and for a while she wondered if he had not heard her or if he had even been listening.

"What is this about, exactly?" He asked cautiously. Alice looked at the Hatter and smiled.

"Oh, it was nothing, just a harmless question." She said letting out a small forced laugh, followed by the clearing of her throat, before reaching over and taking his filled tea cup bringing it to her lips and taking a sip with one fluid motion. Alice grimaced at the plain taste then placed the cup back in front of him with a smile, before looking back down at the table.

Though Alice may have not believed him, the Hatter truly did care for her. She made him feel emotions that he never knew he had, and he enjoyed every bit of her company. She could be happy or angry with him and he enjoyed seeing her all riled up. It made him happy knowing he alone made her act in ways that she would normally never act in front of others. He was always able to catch her emotions from longing after her; even the most subtle changes caught his attention. Though she smiled and acted as though the question was of no great importance the Hatter knew how heavy the question weighed in her mind.

"Cricket, marriage can mean many things. My definition of marriage may differ from yours."

"I'm sure it may, I was merely asking what your thought of it might be."

"I know Cricket, but what made you think of it?" Alice contemplated telling her insane friend what was on her mind, yet she wondered if he would understand her predicament.

"I always thought, when I was a child you see, that marriage had to do with love. As I grew I realized that my thoughts of what marriage consisted of may have been skewed. My parents believed that I had entered marrying age. I overheard them one evening discussing who they wanted me to marry." The Hatter's face seemed a bit distressed but he made no noise, silently encouraging her to continue. "They were planning an arranged marriage for me. Planning to marry me off, you see. I knew I was not ready, and that I would not be forced to do something I did not wish to do myself." She continued staring at the table in front of her. Before the Hatter could say a word Alice continued. "I suppose I feel a bit guilty about leaving home. I find myself wondering if perhaps, I was just being stubborn. The reason I ask what your thoughts of marriage are, happens to be that I wonder, if perhaps, my thoughts of it have been, wrong. Perhaps it would have been better to let my parents decide for me." She turned to face the Hatter unsure of what he would do or say.

"But Cricket," started the Hatter, "this IS your home." He smiled at her and Alice gave a weak smile back. The Hatter let out a sigh knowing that the conversation was leading to a serious one, and the Hatter was anything but serious. "Cricket is marriage why you left home?" Alice simply smiled.

"Do not worry about it Reginald, as I stated it was just a harmless question." The Hatter looked down at his now cold cup of tea and emptied its contents out on top of the table.

"I believe it is time for a clean cup." The Hatter said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose it is time to move, however, I believe it may be time for me to take my leave, I thank you for listening and for allowing me to finally have a sip of your tea." Alice said with a smile as she made to stand up from her chair. The Hatter looked at her wide eyed, never had he let anyone drink from his tea cup before, but he did not mind so much that Alice had. In fact he did not mind a lot of things that involved Alice. Before Alice could move he asked her a question that made her promptly sit back down.

"Alice what is marriage exactly?" The Hatter asked. Alice was taken aback.

"Well it is when two persons decide that they want to be together for the rest of their lives. That they will stay with each other through good times, or harsh times. They may even have a family together, one child or perhaps more. In short, it is like a contract."

"You mean to say that marriage is a contract?" He asked obviously confused.

"Something of the sort, yes." Alice stated with her hands now folded neatly in her lap, she fought the urge to mess with the seams of her dress. "Perhaps, it is more like a binding, or better yet, more like a promise." Alice said finding it far more difficult to define a word she once believed was quite simple to explain. "People that marry, where I come from, I mean, they seem to do it out of love. At least, the people that do it the right way, well, that should do it the right way." Alice rambled.

"Do you mean to say there is a wrong way?" He asked not comprehending, but still being able to grasp the concept.

"Some people are forced into marriage you see. There may be different reasons as to why, such as bettering your social standings." Alice said losing her voice at the end, not willing to continue on. She stared down at her laced hands and tried not to fiddle her fingers.

"Were you forced into marriage Alice?" The Hatter asked with concern in his voice, as he began to pour tea into the cup that had sat forgotten in front of her. Alice looked towards him with a weak smile on her face; this was a moment in which she wished he had not spoken her name, it had given her heart a flutter and made her stomach flop in a way she was unprepared for.

"No Reginald, remember I left before they could force me. If I were to have married I would not be here." Alice said with a strong tone of voice.

"And why's that?" The Hatter asked with his elbows on the table and hands clasped under his chin, a smile on his face, and a look that reminded her so much of the first time she had visited the mad tea party all those years ago.

"If I had married I would be somewhere with my husband," Alice said. "A lady has her duties you know," she spoke as though he understood. "Once a woman marries she stays with her husband even if she does not love him, because that is the duty of a wife, to be forever faithful to the man she marries." Alice rambled on. "Love just makes forever easier I suppose. A woman would not mind a marriage such as that, to be with the one you love forever, I cannot imagine myself being dutiful to a man I do not love." Alice spoke seemingly more to herself, with her eyes looking at the liquid in the cup that sat before her. The Hatter looked at her with the same doe eyed expression and smile on his face, perhaps what was running through his mind was how her forehead creased as she spoke of duty and how the creases softened when she spoke of love. "I wonder if you have any thoughts of the subject now." Alice spoke hesitantly, slowly glancing up at the Hatter.

"There is no need for marriage here Alice." The Hatter stated calmly, Alice looked forward as though she had expected as much. "But," he continued which caught her off guard, "I wouldn't mind the contract of marriage." He went on causing Alice to choke on the tea that she had just attempt to drink. "That is," he went on as though he had heard nothing of her choking, "if it would mean I would be married to you." Alice looked at the Hatter for some time unable to process a string of words to say. The man sitting next to her sat still and patiently with a smile on his face as though he had all the time in the world, and perhaps he did.

Alice was trying to understand why her heart was racing and why her face felt as though it were on fire. Her hands which had been hidden on her lap felt sweaty and she was certain that her entire body had begun to quiver. What had shocked her most was that the words that the man sitting next to her had just spoken sounded very promising, and she dared to imagine what it would be like if she agreed to such a ridiculous notion. The thought of the union in her mind was not as horrid as she had intended it to be, in fact, the thought seemed rather pleasant. She smiled at the Hatter before lifting her tea cup to her lips once more and took a sip.

"I do not believe you completely understand the concept of marriage Mr. Theophilus." Alice said finding her composure once more.

"The Third," he added, "but Cricket, if it means I am able to spend forever with you I am willing to find out." He smiled.

"Forever is a very vast amount of time." Alice said half expecting the man to leap from his chair at the mention of his old foe time, instead his smile widened.

"Cricket my dear you forget, there is no such thing as "that" whilst we are drinking tea."