A Slight Escalation
“That silly cat, Mom. She was just sitting there staring up at me when I woke up this morning.” Puck grinned at me over the edge of my bed in a similar fashion, waiting for his own breakfast.
An hour or more later, he was sitting on the couch with a pile of mail ads, clipping carefully with my scissors: milkshake and cheeseburger coupons “for Uncle Fran.”
“Francis loves to eat fast food,” Puck informed me. “And if Sun doesn’t make him a comfy meal to um um make him comfortable, he can use one of these coupons. He loves junk foods, you know.”
Some days race in with a rush of news. Like another FAA failure over Carrie’s flight clearance, Francis taking a second stab at the dating world, and then Uncle Hilario’s mom sadly passing away at the age of almost-95. Whenever I find that one thin line of lull in life, six things fill it the next day. Even if it’s “just” Irish making a 98% on her first college math test which ranked her first in the class; good job, kiddo.
Mom, Irish, and I talked over a bulk of issues on the drive to Trader Joe’s. Nothing like a bag of Cowboy Bark to smooth over unsettling news fluxes. Then Irish and I made plans for Yadi Molina jersey day at the ballpark when tickets went on sale that morning:
“Oh, jerseys are only for kids 21 and over…”
“Maybe it’s about time I get a fake ID,” Irish tin-grinned. “Most kids get them for things like underage drinking. I get one so I can get Cardinals souvenirs.”
A Snicketts girl at her best.
Puck had his own plans for the day. When we got back from T.J.’s, Carrie had him set up at the kitchen table painting envelopes, listening to Hawaiian music. Earlier, she had asked him for some assistance:
“Can you bring Earnest to me, Puck?”
“Sun … he’s a pretty feisty bunny, you know.”
“Why doesn’t anyone ever want to get Earnest for me?”
“Uh, because he’s so squirmy and ah-noxious (obnoxious).”
When I looked up, it was dinner. And we were running late for Crusades history and cowboy-themed Bible songs at Old Church. Carrie hand mashed beans and spices into burrito stuffing with our classic Provel, while discussing tornado chasing with Joe. And Mom filled me in on her social calendar of the week. Carrie and I laughed that she does more in a week than we do in two months. Dinner at a multi-million dollar mansion with the old high school round-up on Tuesday, Bible study with friends on Wednesday, a movie at the Hi-Pointe with a friend on Thursday, a dance with Dad on Friday night, another dinner with high school friends on Saturday. Mom knows how to keep it hoppin’.