Madrigal Dinner
Friday, March 18, 2011
In which the brevity of the bi-annual madrigal season commences…
The morning began with…
“Mama! I see a mole on my chair!”
Collette walked into his bedroom.
“That’s a piece of light from outside,” Collette explained.
Over at the house…
Bundles of tiny silk roses. Spring was coming, and Mom always anticipated it.
Frying sausages.
Kerry Gold Irish butter.
Dad was working from home, and on another run.
Mom was scraping glue off the living room floor; remnants of costuming.
Joe still on spring break.
Joe still on spring break.
Puck was distracted from his oatmeal by putting himself inside Rose’s vintage white suitcase.
“A man in a suitcase! Ha ha ha ha!” Puck laughed.
“You should use that to take Snuggles to the vet,” said Rose.
Puck began to discuss adventures he might take with his Sun in the suitcase.
“You want to go to India?” Carrie-Bri asked him.
“You want to go to a water factory?” Puck asked her back.
Then Rose walked through with Snuggles inside Dad’s duffle bag.
“Uh-uh,” Dad shook his head. “Get him out of my good Land’s End bag.”
Snuggles to get a rabies shot…
Mom and Puck to the license bureau…
Then Carrie prepared Francis’ make-up for the dinner that night.
“I want to just stick to the bronzer,” Francis said.
Joe laughed. “That’s something I never thought I’d hear your say, Francis.”
“Joe,” said Carrie next. “I need to work on your eyebrows today. They are an embarrassment to the Snicketts’ family.”
“Who cares,” Joe grinned.
The make-up was next applied in order that Francis would depart at noon with a sizable black eye, a face that seemed very much as though he had stuck it in a pile of gunpowder, black head sash, yellow feather tacked with Great-Grandma Jewel’s rhinestone earring, tarnished gold swashbuckling earrings, and all of the other gear.
And Rose had prepared a Bailey’s Irish bundt cake which sat on the table. She herself was readying to leave for Juliet’s house for the afternoon before returning to babysit Puck.
Briefly, in the afternoon…
Puck was still walking about, white suitcase tucked under both arms.
He next made apple-carrot juice with Carrie.
Then Grandma Combs arrived, bearing the rings for Carrie-Bri and Rose with the appropriate engravings, as hoped.
It was, indeed, time for another madrigal dinner.
Ten years after the very first, and this time, it was all a den of pirates. Including the handless pirate captain midget, aka, Izzy, who led a band of his infidels to storm a 16th century castle in Scotland… all with everlasting storyline and gobs of madrigals, and other such things, with Francis hiding in the background whenever possible. And several of the age-old familiar faces in the crowd and the traditional collection of songs and gags.