61 : Family in Town

Puck carefully examined the fat school bus Yali handed to him while we drove back from VBS. It had been a more successful day for Puck, from what I could tell. I guess because it wasn’t “water day” and this time he came back completely dry.

Puck began reading the warning label on the school bus. “’Caution. Small parts. Not suitable for children under three years of age.’” He turned to his brother. “Sorry, buddy, you can’t have this. It’s the law.”

A loud wail of protest reverberated inside the car. Yali had been a big crank all week, and events like this certainly weren’t doing the rest of us any favors. It was only the other day that howling screams of disappointment for some forgettable reason produced lobs of salty tears that he somehow felt the need to pick up with his fingers and slather in my eyes instead. To transfer the pain, I guess.

It wasn’t all bad for the grumpy little niño though. A few hours later we were back on the road with Oxbear headed to the Silverspoon’s. Uncle Clause and Aunt Agnes were back in town, partly to catch the Cards-Rangers game on Friday night, being Texan and all.

While barbecue and salad were being prepared for the table, Yali got a reintroduction to his extended family. Then after dinner he got busy sharing his knowledge of farm animals with his great aunt, while Puck opened a bag of goodies, including a scribble slate.

His eyes grew wide as Aunt Agnes showed it to him. “THAT. IS. AMAZING!”

Then he asked for a roll of scotch tape to embellish it. “I’m pretty good at taping things,” he explained, with all humility.

So after Puck had stuffed himself to bursting with carrots, watermelon, strawberries, and blackberries, and Ansel had shown his seven-minute 48-hour film festival entry from the weekend, it was already 7:30 and time to get our “chocolate and vanilla” boys back home to bed. But first, Yali let Uncle Clause hold him for a minute.

“You remember the last time I was here you pat my bald head,” he chuckled.

This time, Yali chose a little wave as his preferred method of communication.