A Couple Unexpecteds
We did get that storm in the night. I guess somehow we missed that we had actually been in a tornado watch. But when the door blew open, held only by the chair propped under the door knob because the deadbolt still had to be fixed, we got the idea it was a little stronger than we thought. Not to mention Mom heard some of the Spanish tiles scraping loose. But we easily – and somewhat unconsciously – survived, in the tiny hours of the morning.
Still had some downtime before more games. The girls fought over the new Cardinals jacket on the way out:
“You can’t try it on! You’ll stretch out the shoulders!”
“Don’t be ungrateful, Rose. I found this for you.”
“Doesn’t mean you can destroy it too!”
And so forth. Sisters.
Because Mom and most of the girls have to get in a little “antiquing” every month, we drove out that way. Four community cats welcomed us, the black one – “Shadow” – meowing us across rooms of ancient sand art, teapots, and wedding dresses. He only wanted food, of course. The chatty Latina shop owner offered him a snack while expressing her shock over the fact that we sisters weren’t all, in fact, teenagers.
After Mom exited with a paper sack of salt and pepper shakers shaped as 19th century ladies, and Rose packed herself a 1945 Indian scrimshaw bracelet and jeweled rosary box, we found Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. Mom climbed the light, we stocked up on gifts for the family, and briefly checked out the foot-wide beach by the drawbridge, like walking wet sugar. Rose decided she would catch a tiny crab to take home and feed it fish when she eats fish. No success. Watched pelicans land and the drawbridge rise. Rose and Irish bought us a small box of very cocoa-y dark chocolate fudge: not bad.
The Thirsty Turtle, as recommended by the Cardinals themselves: corned beef, mahi-mahi, buffalo wraps, etc.
Somehow it was almost five again. Beach called. The batteries had already died on the metal detector. But there were always interesting shells, a thin brick with unreadable words scratched on it, and:
Rose tearing back down the beach, “I have to call someone to wipe my phone! It just went out to sea!”
It had indeed.
“How come all these rocks keep washing back in, but my phone won’t!”
It never returned. At least it kept her from working while on vacation.
Puck chatted with me on the phone that night. He had plans to visit Legoland in Kansas City on Wednesday with Gloria, his own little overnight trip. He was pretty excited.