Puck Learns

A quiet day at home for Collette and Puck. Mid-morning they left to run errands after Puck had finished one of his favorite activities – sorting through the zippered bag of old pens, markers, and pencils.
As Puck waited for Collette to finish her morning chores, he plopped himself on the big red couch with her Bible and began excitedly flipping through the pages.
“Careful with the Bible, Puck,” Collette warned him.
“Bible?” Puck repeated. “Bible?”
“Good, Puck,” Collette congratulated him.
Then he found several photographs. One of them was of his grandpa. He held it up to his cheek, sweetly, as if he was giving him a hug. He found another picture.
“Daduu?” he asked Collette. “Dat Papa?”
And while the pictures did not include his dad or his papa, he was learning.
Out on the road that morning, Puck squawked at the counter in the License Bureau and stared with unashamed interest at other babies in the stores. He folded the blue paint samples from Home Depot in his chubby hands, and tried to stay awake on the way to pick up nectarines and kiwis from the grocery store.
When they returned, Collette had to catch Puck who was eating the remains of chocolate cake out of the trash can. Like he was waiting at a buffet line.