Easter Saturday

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Puck started his morning at 6:30 with the Bee Gees.

“Is it dark, Mama?” he asked her, looking out the glass kitchen doors, as he had asked every morning that week.

“For a little while,” she told him.

Shortly later, the view out back was akin to a secret garden: the tangle of branches, vines, and bush in new green bud, the gray-violet of a newly-rained sky, collage of green blossom, mottled blue, and the tone of a storm.

But there was no storm.

By the time they left, the sun was full-out.

At the Silverspoon’s, it was a quiet morning and afternoon. After Puck’s nap, Gloria had set up an Easter egg hunt for him in the front yard. He was very excited, and raced outdoors with his basket.

“Oh dere’s one!” he screeched.

Every time.

And every time he picked up an egg, he split it open immediately, and out would drop a Whoppers chocolate egg.

“I eat it, Mama?” he would ask, and the chocolate would already be in his mouth.

A short time later, Dad, Francis, Linnea, and Puck were at the park and picking up dinner, while Mom, OLeif, Collette, and Carrie-Bri headed down to the city.

St. Louis was gorgeous in spring. The exquisite unique architecture of the beautiful homes, rows of brilliant white blooming trees and rosy tulip trees. The sprout of greenery, the blend of cultures and university stone towers, book shops, pubs, restaurants, eclectic mixes of wealth and global expressions… It was just about Collette’s favorite place.

And to Memorial, where the congregation was waiting out on the stone steps to proceed into the sanctuary behind Dr. Wintershine, carrying the candle and the little fires of pine incense and the swinging incense holder, held by one of the officiants in cream-colored robes.

“So when are you moving out here from Wentzville to come to a real Presbyterian church?” Eustace Scrub teased OLeif. “A Presbyterian church with Catholic tendencies,” he laughed.

This was a humorous statement, coming from Grace’s first worship director.

The service was beautiful. A darkened church, a sound sermon from Dr. Wintershine, and the Gregorian chant (sans Latin) from the balcony.

This was followed by Easter eggs hunts: the first one for the ‘less trampling’ children, as Dr. Wintershine put it. And the second hunt for the ‘trampling children’. There were mini Häagen-Dazs ice cream for everyone else. And s’mores around the little pine fires. Everything overlooking the blooming green of Forest Park across the street. And the beauty of the city.

When they prepared to leave, OLeif said his goodbyes.

“Oh, you’re leaving?” Eustace asked him. “Well, you should get back to Wentzville by, oh, midnight.”

“Yes, we came by horse,” OLeif replied. “Two of us on foot.”

Then it was to Pi. Deep dish pizza by a row of windows, several opened wide to the streets where other diners sat around cafe tables. And old lanterns hung by rows of incandescent bulbs strung from the ceiling.

On the way home, Collette and Carrie-Bri reminisced of the good old days, like when there was a great harvest moon and they were spending the night at Felicity’s house…

“Felicity and I were jumping up and down on the trampoline, crying,” said Carrie.

“Why were you crying?” OLeif asked.

“Because we thought it was the blood-red moon,” Carrie explained.

Collette added, “I told them, ‘Well, guys, this probably means that the world is about to end, so…’”

It was a beautiful night.