A Monster Sandwich

Friday, August 5, 2005

Thursday was a cooler day of gray, which was a necessary change, Collette thought. Carrie completed her semester with flying colors and prepared for her next session. OLeif, Joe, and Rose prepared to leave for the Mission Trip to Jesus People USA in Chicago only two days later. Collette realized that she had not been apart from OLeif for such a long period of time since the family had been on vacation the spring before.

And at work there was chocolate cake from Judah’s birthday the previous day, courtesy of Ivy… quite tasty.

That evening, a young man from Mizzou came by, selling magazines and books to donate to children’s hospitals, in order to raise money for a trip to England through school. OLeif purchased a book to donate and then began a discussion with the guy, which lasted a good while as they sat in the living room. They talked over Christianity while Collette half-listened from the bedroom working through books and such as the evening waned. Afterward, she and OLeif talked spiritual matters over fried chicken and a quick run through Target for new socks for OLeif’s trip.

OLeif, Joe, and Rose were to leave the next morning, early. And so Collette hurried home from work and prepared two monster sandwiches of sliced baked chicken, Canadian-style bacon, mayo, salami, Swiss cheese, tomato, and smoked cheddar… with two plums and a mammoth drinking bottle of cold water for OLeif’s lunch on the road to Chicago.

Then there was his bag which she stuffed with old work clothes and his Bible. He would share sunscreen with Joe and Rose, and he would borrow one of Dad’s old sleeping bags. Guys were so easy to pack for. And so they ordered a pizza from Napoli’s over “The Merchant of Venice” while OLeif installed his stereo into the Accord and fastened the new license plate on the front.

Saturday morning, OLeif, Joe, Rose, Curly & Wally, Ben-Hur, the Coca-Cola boys, Samantha Bee, and many others… all packed themselves into the vans and OLeif’s car under gray skies and headed off to Chicago after a prayer and brief instructions.

Then it was to Old Saint Charles for Grandma Combs, Mom, and Collette, who had planned to excavate, but the date was moved back to the following weekend. However, there was time to shop, which was lovely in the warm August afternoon, past Figuero’s coffee, the wineries and English gardens, pumpkin vines crawling up white picket fences, J. Noto’s Italian confections, ivy-covered brick buildings and cobble stones from the early days of Lewis & Clark, cafés and wine gardens, perfect caramel apples, The Conservatory… It was all lovely.

And there were pictures to look at of Collette’s second cousin’s wedding in Oregon. She must have been only seventeen, maybe eighteen years old, looking lovely in the rose garden ceremony. Mom and Collette enjoyed a frozen lemonade and Grandma a flavored custard at J. Noto’s, sitting at a café table discussing the latest. Apparently St. Lucia had an interview at a clothing store at the Galleria Monday morning, as she wasn’t getting enough hours at Guess Jeans.

Meanwhile, Dad took Francis and Linnea sixteen miles on the Katy Trail and met them at the bandstand in Frontier Park by the river. Then he and Francis biked back to Augusta where the Odyssey was parked. And Grandma gave Dad his cashew brittle before he took off. Carrie was at work once again. Chicago would be a nice break for her in two weeks, and perhaps they could look through travel books over coffee that coming Wednesday.