Daisy, Daisy
Monday, August 13, 2007
Saturday continued with a bag of Popsicles.
“I think it’s persimmon,” OLeif ate an orange one.
“Persimmon?”
“They’re budget Popsicles. They could be anything.”
Saturday afternoon was a party at Ben-Hur’s house. A handful of the junior high (including Francis and Creole) were already pounding each other in the pool with Ben-Hur, upon their arrival. Augustus, Rose, and Mollie were sitting under the shade of an umbrella. Susie and Sunrise soon followed.
As usual, Augustus and Rose were arguing – something about who could consume more drinks if they ever had a contest. Collette did not hear the entire conversation. She was more busy watching OLeif taking Puck for a swim around the pool in his little bloated swimming shorts.
Puck was greatly enjoying himself until he lost his lunch while sitting on the green rubber raft. This was likely due to OLeif holding him upside down in between splashing in the waves. After cleaning himself off, he resumed his baby giggles in the warm waters.
Meanwhile, Augustus and Rose were accusing each other of who had actually spilled over the soda on the table. Once it was forgotten, the usual commotion continued. Mollie was knitting and Augustus and Rose were threatening to spray each other with toxic swimming pool cleaning materials. Then Rose left for work and the excitement died down a bit.
After the grill had been cleared and food was set out upstairs, Augustus was getting a little bored.
“I dare you to drink some baby formula.”
OLeif was getting Puck’s bottle ready.
“Sure!”
Augustus didn’t hesitate.
OLeif pulled a bottled water from the fridge and mixed in only one scoop of formula.
“Will I experience backward puberty if I drink this?”
It was too late anyway. He took a large swig and gagged. Then he continued to drink it, claiming that:
“It tastes kind of grainy.”
Augustus seemed to make it a habit to experiment with noxious liquids.
Later, under the tire swing, Augustus had another mishap.
“My shorts just ripped!” He announced very loudly.
Augustus was looking like a wild man.
“This is the fourth time this has happened on a youth outing!”
“I guess you’re cursed then,” Collette told him.
“Someone somewhere has a voodoo doll of Augustus,” said OLeif.
Inside, OLeif and Augustus had been laughing over Ben-Hur’s old photographs of himself and his older sister.
“Ha ha ha!” Augustus laughed loudly. “You had a double chin! You were fat!”
Things got really fun when the giant flesh-eating horse flies came out for the night. The kids took turns trying to kill them as they buzzed loudly over the water.
Collette had heavy dreams that night.
Sunday afternoon was lunch at the Silverspoon’s (although Theodore was still in Texas), followed with key lime pie and several large boxes of unfiled pictures and old black and white photographs from Denae’s side of the family. This, while Puck sucked his life away on his nana’s arm.
“He’s giving me a hickey over here,” Denae laughed.
At youth, it was Ben-Hur’s last evening with his old pals. To accompany him on his final farewell gathering were: Augustus and his friend, Susie and Sunrise, Rose, and Nacchianti.
That night, a freak thunderstorm blew in unexpectedly at 12:30am. Puck slept straight through the banging and crashing and didn’t open an eyelid until OLeif urged him awake six hours later.
Monday was Mercy’s 23rd birthday. Was it only yesterday that they were two 16 year-olds at Six Flags on The Boss?
Collette and Carrie-Bri were able to finally finish typing Carrie’s old journal while Puck napped upstairs until he “’sploded” and woke himself up.
In the heat of the day, Dad returned from work, Mom prepared to leave for the grocery store, Carrie was going to take Rose and Juliet on a hike after Rose returned from the library, Joe left with Curly and a pal to work on Moonlight Ramble business, Francis and Creole enjoyed orange soda and rainbow sherbet over the Wii in the basement, and Linnea was out with her neighborhood friend to the City Museum.
The dead heat of August thwarted few plans, it would seem.
Perhaps the highlight of the day had been the incident of the front porch that morning. Mom, Francis, Linnea, and Puck had been swinging on the porch swing, singing:
“Daisy, Daisy, give me you answer, do,
I’m half-crazy, all for the love of…”
CRASH!
Down they all went in a big broken-porch-swing heap.
Fortunately, everyone’s limbs were still secured after the disaster, and no one was worse for the wear except for the 22 year-old porch swing which had, apparently, finally bitten the dust.