One Hundred Fourteen
That gray-green Wednesday morning in April my big boy was on his way to southern Missouri and it was a sort of weird feeling. To remedy that weirdness, I joined my family for the morning – eggs, sausages, gluten free toast, to prepare Puck’s belated birthday celebration on Friday.
Mom and Carrie were working the washing machine and dryer. Emptying pockets…
Clink, clink.
“Was that money?” Linnea asked hopefully, hopping off the bar stool from brushing her hair, in hot pursuit.
“It was a dime,” Mom replied. “A dime.”
Pursuit canceled.
It was cold. It looked warm, but it just wasn’t. Hayao Miyazaki skies, as Carrie calls it. I walked around the outdoor Home Depot plantery with Mom pretty fast to get some roses and ground cover for something, I didn’t hear what. And then Costco.
Shopping with Carrie is like following battle plans. It’s quick and precise.
“Linnea, no, you can’t get that pomegranate juice.”
“You’re not in charge!”
“Mom. Pretzel rolls? Really?”
“Why… sure!”
“Where are you going now?”
She did, however, approve the three-pack of gardening gloves though. And, reluctantly, the Hawai’ian sweet rolls and packs of pork steaks for the Saturday high school buddies barbecue.
While waiting in line at the check-out, Gloria called me. They were halfway there and I could hear Puck adding into the conversation in the back seat over highway noise and Costco warehouse…
“He says that because he’ll be gone for two days, he’s given you both permission to go on a date,” Gloria relayed. “And to watch a movie.”
“To a BASEBALL GAME!” he shouted.
Gloria texted me later – stopping for Braum’s ice cream. I took advantage of those pretzel rolls. Mom napped. Because I had no teaching or monitoring or playing or anything else Kindergarten-ish on my schedule, I caught a few episodes of “The Wonder Years” with Francis and Linnea. With a few of those acai dark chocolates. Bluuuug… Francis was all but snoring on the couch…
“Francis.”
“Huh?”
Blurry red eyes snapped open unexpectedly. He had forgotten to drive up to the community college to register for a summer math class. He wasn’t biting.
I played hooky from church that night. Without Puck, it just didn’t feel right being there. So I dropped off Linnea instead. Linnea with a lion’s mane of black hair which I had braided too tightly and was now spilling out of her head. While Joe made plans to take Jaya out to dinner; Dad made recommendations at Red Lobster before lifting weights. Carrie used those pretzel rolls after all to make sandwiches with glaze to be eaten over Star Trek: Next Generation. Mom had yoga. Francis had youth group. Life has a rhythm.
