Apostle Bracelet - The Open Table

Banchory, 1932. Irene McKay discovered her confidence the year she began inviting people without waiting for an excuse. In Banchory, she set the table near the window, light pooling across cups and saucers, the smell of tea leaves rising with the steam. The sugar tongs lay beside the bowl, small and balanced, the two apostles facing away from one another. Irene liked that they did not compete for attention. She lifted a cube, hearing the clean clink against porcelain, and felt the room settle. Guests arrived, coats were set aside, conversation widened, and laughter followed. Tea became a place where differences softened and curiosity grew. Irene learned that welcome is a skill, not a temperament. When the tongs were later made into a bracelet, she wore it whenever she hosted. The iron circled her wrist as a reminder that belonging can be created one careful gesture at a time. The table was where she practiced becoming herself.