Down to Zero
Monday, April 16, 2007
Curly’s actual 17th birthday.
Collette’s only remembered dream from the night before included losing the middle ruby of her ring in the snow before sliding down a ski slope.
And Rose was officially on “spring break” due to Dad making a final decision on the matter. This meant hours upon hours of The Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman, The Thing from Outer Space, The Blob, and other classic sci-fi hits for Rose throughout the course of the week. This also meant a week of cleaning and organizing for Collette – a thrill of all thrills.
Come four o’clock in the afternoon, OLeif and Collette were waiting in the doctor’s office again on her due date, hopefully for the final time.
Upon leaving the hospital, it was indeed going to be the last doctor’s appointment. Dr. Brazil believed that Collette was too far along to wait ten days or so to be induced.
“We need to get that baby delivered,” he said. “You’re number six on the list for Thursday. So the baby will probably be born Friday.”
And that was that. …unless baby decided to be born early, in which case Collette would be more pleased. Things were beginning to become uncomfortable.
Collette decided that because she wouldn’t be allowed to eat anything on Thursday before the baby arrived, that she would spend the next few days eating whatever good-looking thing happened to present itself. Two mint ice cream cones started her off that evening.
And the sun had returned that week; so had the warmer weather. OLeif was happy for this. Now he could grade the yard and seed it. Collette also hoped that the dandelions would disappear in the process. OLeif spent a few moments kicking off the puffball tops upon their return home which only further added to the carnage of dandelion carcases all over the front yard.