First Fall

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

It was cold that morning – September cold.

Puck was making mischief with his eyes, chomping on his fist and sticking out his tongue in baby glee. During the afternoon, he and Collette sat on the front porch and watched the cool weather clad in his bluejeans while he chomped ferociously and with much gusto on Collette’s hand – baby’s version of a drumstick. He sang “The Last Rose of Summer” with Collette, to the best of his baby memory as they sat watching cars occasionally pass.

Collette tried on Puck’s jacket. Although he wasn’t wild about the hood, he seemed to take to another layer of clothing, which didn’t seem to restrict his movement as much as he thought it might. A pair of warm gloves was also dug out of his clothes box, and he was ready for autumn.

They took their daily constitutional in the cool warmth of the afternoon. Puck enjoyed the ride as usual, taking extra pains to dig around for his buckle strap which was quickly inserted in his chubby cheeks as an alternative chew toy. His little white-socked feet happily kicked through the air.

It was just about time for apples, pumpkins, and hot chocolates. Mom would bring out her candy corn and peanuts mix. Carrie would stir up her special brew of apple cider. There might be a trip to Hermann for pumpkins and a fall picnic with Grandma. It was all right around the corner. One could feel it in the winds.

But before it became too cold, Collette would have to visit her two old favorite places – Cahokia and Fort Chartres.

Laundry hummed in the dryer, the living room windows were open to the late afternoon sun and breezes. Neighbors walked the streets from house to house. The last of the lawn mowers droned from distant yards.

OLeif returned from work later that evening to complete an ad for the church fall festival intended for the newspaper while he shoveled down two plates of eggplant Parmesan and biscuits. He was a hard working boy. Collette finished re-watching the first season of LOST, two years later. Evenings were good at 5 Hill Place – quiet and warm.

Meanwhile, Collette continued her studies of Islam and Italian.

It had been six short years since that fateful day. Collette had been 16, just back from Hungary and then the Tetons and Yellowstone with her family. A fourteen year-old acquaintance had suddenly passed away. She had just begun college – chemistry and pre-calculus. All changes, and then the United States had been dealt an unexpected blow. It had been a strange dark day, although the sun had been shining bright. Blanketed blue. The absence of plane trails left the skies in a prehistoric state. Choir proceeded during the afternoon, somewhat tainted.

Six years later, the same day, once again on a Tuesday, had passed quietly into the history books.