College Girl
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
It was Mom’s and Dad’s 26th anniversary, and Colorado’s 21st birthday, back in Iowa. Hard to believe the kid had been married for eight months already.
Wednesday afternoon, following more history, the yard was full of greens and golds and shadows and winds, and so Collette and Linnea rested a spell in Joe’s red summer camp hammock, while Carrie mused on Mom’s swing, Rose captured snapshots of insects in the weeds and morning glories in her and Linnea’s garden, Joe swung in his knit hammock in Carrie’s tree house, and Frances practiced to be an army man, while Mom was out at Grandma’s, helping her finish the packing.
In other news, Rose was to register herself for classes at the Community College for the first time, hoping to take Ceramics I, Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Introduction to Egyptology from Professor Will Griffin (from whom Collette had taken archeology three years before) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If Ceramics was not available, she would take Astronomy. They were all very Rose classes. Rose, a college kid – Collette could just see her walking through the halls of the social sciences building, grouching at all the fat lards to get out of her way. But in reality… that was not likely to happen, at least for the first week, until she got used to things. The girl rarely got embarrassed, it would seem.
After a few rounds of tennis up at Saegar between Collette and Rose, and Wallace and Joe, the boys and Rose headed off into the high school to hunt down some Gatorade and OLeif picked up Collette to go back to the apartment (instead of junior high) for OLeif to make a website for Flint River and Collette to make quiche for a late dinner. She tried to pawn off the frying of the bacon (her nearly most-despised kitchen task) to OLeif, but he was not interested. And so she went back to the frying pan with arms protected up to the elbows to avoid flying grease.
Back at the house, Dad had taken Mom out to a fancy steak dinner, and Carrie and Linnea banged out MUSE on the piano, the chipped ivories managing to ring grandly out of tune, but it had always been that way.
Grandma was moving more furniture the next day, and this time, Uncle Mo, Mom, Joe, and Linus would help move everything. Collette remembered the one day years before when they had all helped Grandma move from the old house into the apartment. Grandpa had been there too, and Grandma had served chili for everyone. And then Uncle Mo, Aunt Petunia, Lucia, and Linus had moved into Grandma’s house, on Koch Drive. It was good to keep the old house in the family, along with the wild violets in the backyard, over which Uncle Mo was always very particular to keep from being picked.