Rose Day
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Rose was seventeen that warm June morning.
Her birthday had already been officially celebrated, but more than likely there were still awaiting treats for her during the day.
Meanwhile, Carrie-Bri and Eve were jetting over the Pacific. Their three separate flights would span a total of twenty-two hours, landing them in Sydney at 6:01am Wednesday morning Sydney time, with St. Louis fifteen hours behind.
By the time OLeif was off of work, it was time to head over to the house for Rose’s big birthday bash – now the third day of her birthday celebration. Present were: Magnus, Wally and Starr, Annamaria and Tor, Curly and Izzy, Mollie, and of course, Dad, Mom, Joe, Rose, Francis, Linnea, OLeif, Collette, and Puck.
Mom had already prepared two pans of quesadillas, honey-smoked barbecue sausages, a large bowl of all kinds of sliced fruits, chips, salsa, and the usually spread of sodas. While she prepared everything, the crowd of kids gathered around the computer to view a radio drama coordinated with wild pictures created in honor of Rose’s 17th birthday, entitled “The Chronicles of Neverland”, performed by Joe, Wallace, Curly, Lolli, and Starr.
After this creatively ridiculous and funny fifteen-minute viewing, the crowd began dinner. And Collette was able to talk with Annamaria about her upcoming trip to Budapest.
“My passport should get here tomorrow,” she said with a sigh of relief. “Mom finally tracked it. Otherwise we’d have to go up to Chicago and get one there.”
Cutting it that close had been unavoidable. It wasn’t as easy to get a quick passport anymore. Whereas Collette’s had arrived within a month when she had first applied in 2001, now it was taking up to six months to receive a fresh passport in the mail.
In Budapest, Annamaria would be teaching English to a class of Hungarian students, aided by a translator from the church. Unlike the Vacation Bible School that Diana and Collette had been a part of six years before, the English school would be held during the day instead of the evening. This provided free time after three o’clock every day for Annamaria and the rest of her St. Louis team.
Collette was excited for her. All the details of that summer returned to her, how much she had loved the city, the people (mostly quiet and shy), even the food. She recommended to Annamaria the fried Camembert served with sweet rice and jelly (despite the fact that Annamaria didn’t much care for cheese anymore), the strawberry soup, the marzipan delicacies, the honey dew melon ice cream… The statue park of grotesquely over-life-sized Communist propaganda pieces… The Vaci, the Gellert, the Mozi, the Olimpia, the little stall below the church that sold slinky-like coils of sugar cinnamon bread, Saturday’s market, the park, the Danube Symphony orchestra, Hero’s Square, Szentendrei… Budapest had enchanted her.
After much dinner and carousing, all the kids but Mollie headed over to the fireworks stand and returned to shoot off a handful of rockets and sparkling things before discussing whether or not to head to the movies. This was after Puck had watched a fountain of bubbling strobe lights lit near the bonfire in dazed wonder. And the triple chocolate chip cake had been served with seventeen already-used white candles.
“You really don’t have to sing “Happy Birthday” to me,” Rose said quickly. “You really don’t.”
But they did anyway.
Meanwhile, the girls had arrived safely in Sydney and were picked up from the airport by the Moss’. In order to help keep them awake and adjust them to Australia time, they escorted them to an “animal park” (leave it to the Auzzies to create a name less flamboyant than “zoo”) and then brought them over to their house to take hot showers and relax after their long flight. By the time OLeif, Collette, and Puck had left the house that night at shortly after nine, Carrie and Eve were only at lunchtime in their first day in Sydney. Collette expected that Carrie had likely not been able to sleep on the plane over, which meant that (if she was correct), Carrie would be awake a full 48 hours before hitting the pillow again.
Back at home after his late night bottle, Puck immediately moved to chewing on his sock-covered hands. The boy with the never-ending appetite.