Alpha Males

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Puck was eager to begin school.
During a break, he carefully examined his Chronicle of the World and a small picture book about ancient Egypt. When Collette offered to read it to him…
“Let’s not read it yet…” he said thoughtfully. “It’s a little ‘unappropriate’ because they show pictures of Indian heads that died a long time ago. So let’s just wait until I’m a little bit older. I’m just a little worried about those Indian heads. I’m thinking they were real Indian heads.”
There was something about teeth rattling around in dried-seed skulls wrapped in brown paper skin that didn’t appeal to the pre-K.

Puck was served stew for lunch.
And another prediction of 64 hit the afternoon. Therefore the windows were opened once again before one o’clock. And the purple crocus were pushing up through dead leaves. St. Louis February. St. Louis anytime.

Another two days of child-monitoring in a row was… well, two more days of child-monitoring.
So one o’clock brought the usual escalation of noise and vies between the boys for official title of “King of the Hill”. As typical with boys. Alpha Male Dominance. Who was going to stick their hand in the jar of water to retrieve the grow-your-own angel first. Who was going to shoot Luke’s new orange Nerf gun with green wafers first. Who was going to get the mail first. Who was going to use the slinkies first. Who was going to operate Puck’s Christmas robot first. Etc. and etc.
But they were good kids.
The boys wrapped up their afternoon by unearthing a hefty chunk of cement and rusted ring-bolts in Tasha’s back yard before Collette could stop them. Somewhere between escorting Leia inside with the empty popcorn bowls and cries of…
“Bananas! I want bananas!”
They did some fast work. Collette admired their uncovered treasure and then ordered a return of the chunk, should Tasha require it… for some unexplained reason.

Puck’s teeth had just been brushed before bed. Collette returned to the living room while Puck loitered.
Dzzzt…
…..
“Puck?”
…..
He emerged from the bathroom a moment later holding the blue hand towel around his right fingers.
“The nightlight hurt my fingers,” he whimpered a little.
So now he had electrocuted himself three times.
He was quickly back to normal with his nightly readings, then marched down the hall to his room. He shut Collette’s door on the way, where the window was still open wide to the cool, night air…
“Leave my door open, buddy,” she told him. “I want the fresh air to come into the rest of the house.”
“But Mama,” Puck protested. “Air just comes right out of the wall like Jesus. It can do anything it wants.”