Lunch with Grandma Snicketts

The morning was cold and bright. By 10:40, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Francis, and Puck were sitting outside of Grandma Snicketts’ place after dropping off Joe at class with his backpack, enormous portfolio, equally gigantic clipboard, and coffee thermos. Rose was at work.
Grandma was taking them out for lunch at the Rise & Dine cafe on that beautiful, crisp morning. Even Collette had to admit that some sunshine-filled days were good.
The Rise & Dine was already crowded.
“Will you still accept my credit here?” Grandma asked their seating hostess. “With the way of the economy?”
Their friendly Asian host smiled, and laughed a little with Grandma. “Yes, we’ll still accept it.”
During the course of their wait, Puck tossed his sippy across the aisle, seated in a booster seat between his mom and Tante Carrie. The Dow surged into the positive. And Puck also learned how to sip water through a straw, which was marvelous in his baby mind.
It wasn’t long before their chipper waitress brought out heaping plates of French toast, giant buttermilk pancakes, several mixed fruit bowls, tomato, spinach, and Feta omelets and Rye toast, and fried ham and scrambled eggs. It was a feast.
Puck couldn’t look quickly enough from one plate to the next to gather in all the color and variety of the foods.
Next, they drove down to Dierbergs for Grandma to do a little grocery shopping.
“Puck may pick out a Golden Book,” she said. “They have that little rack of Golden Books at the other Dierbergs. They might not have it here. But if they do, he may pick one out.”
Puck left with The Color Kittens, happily looking through the pages – an old favorite of his Tante Carrie’s, in particula.
At the check-out, the elderly gentleman bagger gave Puck several neon green Dierbergs stickers, which he, in turn, stuck to Francis’ nose after Francis had pasted one to Puck’s shirt.
“Want a girlfriend?” the gentleman asked the dimpling Puck.
He pulled out his wallet and proudly displayed a photo of his two year-old granddaughter. Puck looked over the photo thoughtfully.
“He’s a big guy,” said Grandma. “He’s only eighteen months.”
“Well, aren’t you a big fellow,” the grandpa said cheerfully.
After Francis had helped Grandma back inside with her groceries, they hurried to the house for Collette to pick up Joe from class and head out to Flo Valley. Joe was transferring to enter their Fine Arts program.
He spoke with the admissions counselor and picked up an order of Taco Bell on the way back, including an 89-cent nachos for Collette.
The evening ended with Rose accompanying Collette and Puck back home (after picking up a pizza and two bags of Reeses peanut butter cups) for a night of comedy – later joined by Joe.