Double Services

It was another busy Sunday. Late they were – for both services – Grace and Memorial.
At Memorial, Joe, as last time, parked them in a jumbo pile of autumn leaves, leaving OLeif and Collette to wade through the crunchy mass.
Inside, a corner was still covered in scaffolding, as the painters slowly covered the ceiling and walls in more muted colors around the wooden accents and stained glass.
On the way out, Rose took a shortcut across a grassy medium in her heeled pointed shoes.
“I’m not sure the neighbors would appreciate you walking over that,” Collette told her.
“I’m aerating it for them,” she said, stomping her spike heels over to the other side of the road.
On the way back, the leaves from the pile surrounding the car began to flap against the sides. OLeif and Collette took turns slipping open their doors on the highway, releasing the stowaways back into the wild.
When they returned to the house, Rose was in a shopping mood, now that she was debt free. She was joined by Collette and Carrie-Bri to look over rings at the antique mall. Then to the grocery store to pick up a bag, each, of frozen raspberries and frozen blackberries, and a Korean pear packed in a wrapper of foamy mesh.
Dad had left for a last week of working in Iowa. And Joe took a spin around the yard in his bike, while most everyone else gathered around the television for an episode of Dr. Who.
The setting sun splashed the sky in glowing orange that night – an orange so orange, it was rose and gold. Ten million fireflies sinking together into the night.