Another Plate

It was going to be warm for the first days of November, apparently straight through Election Day. Collette wasn’t sure she knew what to do about temperatures in the 70’s. Carrie was happy; this meant more afternoons up on the roof with a thermos of tea. Joe was happy – more clocked miles on his bike for the week.
Puck was spending the day at his Nana’s and Papa’s. Theodore had recently been loaned a dark jaguar, until he decided whether or not to purchase it. OLeif took it for a spin around the neighborhood.
“It’s nice,” he said. “Luxury car. Real wood paneling. It’s the kind of car that pulls on that side of us that likes the idea of being wealthy.”
OLeif and Collette spent their day in studies, writings, and laundry. OLeif also spoke about various interpretations of art around the world: a Mexican taxidermist who created life-like mummified mermaid creatures and left them in odd places.
Giant girl and wood elephant puppets commandeered into stories over a period of weeks in London. And moss seeds mixed with paint, applied to concrete walls to leave quotes in lettered moss, once the seeds took root. Etc.
When OLeif and Collette arrived to pick up Puck from the Silverspoon’s, Puck had failed to take an afternoon snooze, again. He was bordering on the slap-happy, but still in fine spirits, playing in a pack of pillows and cushions and a make-shift slide on the floor with his Nana.
Then he saw the other half of his mini cucumber from lunch. He quickly stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, and walked around with chipmunk cheeks while they prepared to leave for the day.
Upon returning home, Puck must have decided that dinner was over before OLeif could remove his plate. Down went the dish, remnants of beef and pear chunks.
SMASH!
“Oh, Puck,” said Collette.
Another one of her favorite plates – cracked apart on the now-greasy linoleum. It was the first time the squishy chubby had broken anything.
“We need plastic plates for him,” said OLeif.
Collette had to agree. Between both of her boys, her collection of breakable things, was slowly disappearing.
She decided that maybe it was time to make a wall mosaic.