Joe Returns

Monday, May 30, 2011
In which Joe returns from New Mexico…

Collette woke from having saved hundreds of people from killer monster tornados somewhere in St. Peters, but not really St. Peters, herding them all into the basement of an enormous old house. When they reemerged, the grass had been torn out of the ground. But the house still stood.

In orders of the day…
First…
Puck was picked up from the Silverspoon’s, where he had reportedly been playing at the park with his aunt.
Secondly…
The day was much too hot. Far too hot for May, with predicted highs of 94.
At the Silverspoon’s, Puck was busy shooting off his new high-powered Bazooka gun (aka ‘potato gun’, as Kitts explained) from Walgreen’s on the deck with Kitty and Izzy. He was very excited.
Shortly after noon, Kitts packed up the rental car, including the Celtic harp, and returned to Ohio.
Burgers on the grill.

Meanwhile, on another side of the city, Mom, Aunt Petunia, Grandma, and some of the girls were at the Gypsy Caravan.

Back over to the house where the holiday gathering was commencing at two o’clock. This included Grandma and the Combs family, minus Linus, who was at an open house for a friends. Followed later by Magnus. More grilling.
And in an unexpected twist of events, Joe was coming home from Philmont. In the end, twelve days away from home had inspired the conviction that he needed to spend the summer, instead, working on a career move if possible, now that his first degree had been wrapped up. (All but for one weekend class, Camping & Floating, which, despite his Eagle Scout status, had not allowed him a waiver.) He walked in shortly before three o’clock, having been on the road since midnight. He was happy to be back, although he seemed a straw short of exhausted.
Out came the brats and hot dogs, three of them ‘nearly burnt’ for Grandma’s sake, fruit salad with crushed mint and sugar, potato chips, sweet potato chips, and potato salad.
There had been a number of smaller purchases at the Gypsy Caravan, including a handful of sterling silver charms for Aunt Petunia’s sisters, sisters-in-law, and nieces. Grandma had bought a charm for Collette of St. Louis himself on horseback. There was a small bunny creamer for Carrie. And a box of candy to pass around.
Meanwhile, Puck had been playing with the neighbors in their kiddie pool, with Linnea to supervise, before returning for dinner and speaking of himself in the third person, which was a new trick…
Lucia told about her whirlwind visit to Joplin with some friends to volunteer.
And the cicadas were droning in a pulsating unison that was almost painful on the ears.
“It really does sound like War of the Worlds out there,” said Aunt Petunia.
It did.

And not much before midnight, the Redcoats added their third daughter into the mix.