Donkey's Return

Thursday, July 8, 2010

It had rained in the night. It was still misting. Collette was woken by Puck at 5:47; she had slept so soundly, she still thought that it was the middle of the night.

When she opened the front door, she imagined it smelled and felt somewhat like the jungles of Thailand. Heavy and dense with warm rain and soil.

Over at the Silverspoon’s there was a traditional breakfast while Puck turned off all the lights to play “chase-the-not-real-laser-pointer” with Sebastian. And when Bible study had to be canceled due to lack of attendance, it was time for a field trip to Belleville. OLeif, under cover of darkness, had discovered the existence of one very last Donkey. And they were saving it for him at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.

Meanwhile… Puck was busy as usual.

“Are you havin’ a good day, Mama?” he called out from the back room.

Then from the kitchen, “I’m just eatin’ butter, Mama.”

Collette immediately removed the stick of butter from the table. So Puck found the apples.

“I’m a crunchy rabbit to eat this apple,” he said happily.

All in all, the little monster had consumed two breakfasts in all that morning:

First Breakfast (6:10am)

• 1 bowl Golden Grahams

• 1 large glass milk

• 1 banana

Second Breakfast (between the hours of 7:10 and 9:25am)

• 1 sausage patty

• 1 large biscuit

• scrambled eggs

• 1 apple

• 1 large glass apple juice mixed with water

• 1 banana

And yet, he ate healthy. So Collette couldn’t complain.

The morning was spent driving the hour out to Illinois, listening to White Horse Inn, thanking the ladies profusely at the radio station for the blind where Donkey was waiting…

The grin on his face was a big one as he carefully took Donkey.

“Thank you for Donkey!” he said happily several times over.

Donkey was snuggled many times over the rest of the day. A day that included two parks, one of which was themed after the Seven Days of Creation at the shrine, where dozens of caterpillars had spun cocoons in the bushes, and another where he met a little Hispanic girl and they played together happily. Five Guys Burgers & Fries on the way to drop off Gloria at the office with Theodore. And a Mr. Rogers opera.

Later in the day, while Puck was in the car, Collette heard him say quietly, “I missed you so much, Donkey.”