Krispy Kreme Shorts & Penny Loafers

Friday, July 29, 2005

In other important news, Joe was hired at the Hair Saloon as the shoe caddy and was in training from four to six that Friday evening. He was provided his own red shirt and would purchase khakis for his uniform over the weekend. They were all very proud.

And OLeif and Collette talked over chicken salad and iced mocha (coffee for OLeif) at Saint Charles Coffee House while they discussed theology, ideas, and OLeif smoked his pipe. There were ideas about purchasing a house where everyone could gather whenever they would, a community of sorts, concerns for friends, many ideas… It was so good to talk over such things.

Even Francis and Linnea had given their share of thoughts, asking questions about the world and such. But Thursday night as Collette watched some “Pride and Prejudice” with Dad, Carrie, and Rose, Francis and Linnea had other things on the mind.

“Oh, please, Collette, I’m so hungry!” Francis’ eyes grew wide in anticipation.

“Collette, I’m scared. Please don’t leave,” Linnea called from the girls’ bedroom.

“Linnea, there’s nothing to be scared about. We’re all right out in the living room,” Collette called back to her.

She then promised to bring back something to the famished Francis, if she found anything.

“What were they wanting?” Dad asked as she came back to sit on the couch with a magazine.

“Oh, they’re hungry for something.”

“You didn’t say you’d bring them anything did you?” Dad said. “Rose, give me one of your pretzels,” he pointed to her plate on the table by the television cabinet.

“What?” She asked, loathe to give them up.

But she handed one over anyway.

“Here, they can have part of mine,” Dad said, tearing off two pieces.

Then Carrie came back in.

“Rose where’s my pretzel? Go get it. You know I don’t go in the same room as the microwave. Make sure you salt it too.”

Collette brought back the pretzel pieces and gave Francis’ and Linnea’s thanks to Dad. Dad was meanwhile laughing at the characters in “Pride and Prejudice”.

“Now there’s one lady I could not stand to be around,” he chuckled, talking of Mrs. Bennett. “I couldn’t much stand that lady either,” he indicated Lady Catherine DeBerg.

Collette laughed. She knew he was right. Dad was the most level-headed man she knew, although he always dealt calmly and considerately with people such as Mrs. Bennett and Lady Catherine.

Mom soon came out where she had been snoozing, ready to see “War of the Worlds” at the movies with Dad.

“Oh, don’t they look cute together,” Carrie said. “They look pretty hip. You know, you guys look younger now than you did five years ago.”

“Why thank you,” Mom smiled proudly with a cock of her head.

Rose and Collette agreed, much to Mom’s appreciation. She did look quite nice in her fashionable jeans, sage green top and heather gray sweater duster with her European walking shoes, her glasses, and black satchel which she wore in Europe as well. Dad refused to tuck his shirt in, despite Carrie’s protests.

But even Carrie had to admit that Dad was a good dresser, except for when he walked around in his Krispy Kreme shorts (from Grandma Combs) and penny loafers. Dad also owned Spongebob Squarepants shorts which he occasionally paired with his NASA t-shirt from Collette and his Andy Griffith t-shirt from Carrie, to match the light-switch plate with similar Andy Griffith characters printed across the front. These had all been birthday and Father’s Day presents over the years, except for the penny loafers. That was Dad’s own doing. They were a piece of Dad’s wardrobe of which Carrie highly disapproved.

“Pride and Prejudice” continued.

“Oh, my dear Jane! Oh ho ho ho,” Dad mimicked.

“Oh, Daddy, quite the little actor with your rabbit teeth and everything,” Mom laughed, sitting on the couch.

The rabbit teeth was another story, dating back to their days at Kirk of the Hills, which Collette had likely mentioned in her memoirs already. However, they all knew that both Dad and Joe enjoyed Pride & Prejudice. There was some manly charm to it as well, particularly because the acting was exceptionally good, as Dad had commented before. And meanwhile, Rose brought out the Italian ices while Carrie’s and Rose’s masterpiece (the first disc of recorded plays, digitally remastered, copied itself on the computer).

Saturday, OLeif was obliged to work the full day, with Sunday, which was very unfortunate. But first, he managed to drink part of a glass of what he thought was water (which was actually rubbing alcohol) and they made a quick stop for a bottle of milk at a fuel station as his throat began to burn.

And after Mom and Dad returned from working at the church property, Joe had mowed the front lawn, and after Collette had cleaned up another portion of the basement, Francis was picked up by the youngest Coca-Cola boy for swimming and a picnic lunch at the park. Meanwhile Linnea was battling it out with the black cat, who had given her a knick by the eye.

“That’s for everything!”

Wham!

“Take that, furball!”

She chased Pumpkin through the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Dad prepared sandwiches for lunch and Linnea amused herself drawing pictures of Rose as an old grandma on the computer. And Dad went around shooting everyone with Francis’ airsoft gun.

Carrie announced before leaving for work, that Elizabeth would also be accompanying them to Chicago in August. And Carrie had settled on a new tattoo – an image of the phoenix bird with “fearless” written in Cherokee.

In the afternoon, Dad, Mom, Collette, Joe, Rose, and Linnea drove out to the lovely fairy woods and beaches of Cuivre River Park, listening to “Emerald Isle”. There, Joe chased Linnea around on the playground, Linnea who was as brown as an Indian from the summer already. She had a darling sprinkling of freckles on the front of her nose as well.

They also dropped by the town of Troy at a furniture store for Mom to look at new comfy love seats and ottomans. Troy was a sleepy old town from the 60’s with old brick buildings and lighting fixtures hanging above the doors, overgrown gardens, two girls sitting on their front porch beading bracelets in the late afternoon sunshine… And then they all headed back home where Dad and Joe ran at the track and came back to barbecue.