Cats & Cows
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Over at the house that morning, the grass was a brighter shade of green than Collette had ever seen – vivid from one side of the lawn to the next, against the dark clouds of the morning sky. This did not, however, allow her to ignore the peculiarly strong scent of cow coming from, who knew where. There were no longer cows grazing in the pasture across the street. Those green fields had been built up with homes years ago. Collette recalled watching the Holsteins graze a short distance off during breakfast at the kitchen table when she had been a little girl. And sometimes, when the windows had been opened in the spring, the smell would have become a little strong if the breeze had been right. But that morning, the pronounced odor of cow could not be explained.
Inside, Francis had been reading “Popular Mechanics” and showed her an article about the mammoth machinery used for extracting oil from the Alaskan reserves. Their hugeness fascinated him.
And while Rose was at Spanish, Linnea asked Collette if they could make Jell-O for dessert that night. Collette obliged, and helped her fill parfait glasses with black cherry and mixed fruit Jell-O, to be topped later with whipped cream. Linnea was happy with the results and waited for them to settle four hours in the fridge.
In the meantime, Collette considered what book she might bring with her to the hospital, if the ordeal were to carry on for a long time. She thought of Mysterious Island as an option, as she hadn’t read it in two years. And then she thought that it might be rather humorous if she also brought The Problem of Pain. But in the end, she concluded that she might not be in the mood to read much anyway.
Everyone was running around with their various errands of the day again. There were some moments of quiet, often only interrupted by the aggravated mews of two cats whenever Rose was present to torture them. Although they did seem to miss her whenever she was gone, despite the fact.
“Hey, fuzz-button,” Dad called to Pumpkin.
Dad and Mom were the most gentle with them. Carrie occasionally rough-housed with Pumpkin. Joe sometimes balanced Pumpkin on his head. And Francis and Linnea stuffed them both in boxes or laundry bags from time to time. But generally speaking, it was Pumpkin who received the most experimental treatment (rides in buckets and baskets, back-flips off shoulders, etc.) merely because she was the fattest and the most ornery.
After Rose had returned from class, she got into another traditional Rose costume – green plaid pants, drawstring shorts printed with coffee pots, sugar bowls, and plates of smiling fried eggs and bacon, and a periwinkle fleece pull-over. It was her typical catch-all, as though she had raided the laundry basket for whatever clothing happened to be available at the time.
“I want to be comfortable,” was what she always said.
And while they continued to cram for her big exam, she cleaned clay off of her iPod and headphones. Apparently, they had caught on the potters’ wheel at class and had been smothered in clay.
That evening, OLeif, Rose, and Francis headed out to ice skate with the junior high at church for the monthly outing. Dad dropped off Collette’s old crib at the house. And the green buds were filling out on the trees.