Saturday Night Fever, Porcelain Bathtubs, & Sweet Onions
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
(7:22am) As it happened, Joe had been dressed as John Travolta – Saturday Night Fever. Carrie had obviously been the mastermind behind such a creation, for as soon as OLeif and Collette popped in the Hobcoggin’s front door, there he was – black leather pants, black leather trench coat half-way to his ankles, a cuffed black silk shirt unbuttoned a good way down, with two silver necklaces to catch the light, a pair of huge black glasses, and his hair had been gooped and stuck on end. Behind him, Curly wore a “Transylvania” t-shirt and Wally wore “Staff” from Boy Scouts in bright orange, both to accompany. Wally held the disco-ball pillow on a stick and Curly would bang out some disco tunes on the iPod, while they all bobbed their heads to the groove. And Rose went as Dracula’s wife in red bodice and black fishnet in spiked red heels, which came back thoroughly caked in mud. The boys were all in army fatigues and such, Linnea as a pirate, and Starry as Cinderella. Starr was at a Halloween bash at the South’s.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hobcoggin had prepared a great pot of mostaccioli in meatballs with a bowl of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a salad, homemade cheese and garlic bread, and there was a case of sodas in the fridge. She had also baked fresh pumpkin cranberry bread that morning and there was a carton of caramel apples set out. The ladies yakked on about things, such as Trader Joe and all the fabulous foods they carried… Meanwhile Dad and Mr. Hobcoggin were out with the kiddos who came back with great pillowcases of loot – the usual.
“Let the trading begin!” Mrs. Hobcoggin announced, holding up her hands.
Meanwhile, she tried to keep the little poofball dogs out of the candy, which they loved. And the moms went on to discuss methods for having their kids keep the house cleaned.
Tuesday afternoon, Mom and Collette drove out to The Mills for some cleaning supplies at the Fuller Brush Store, (as the shower needed a good scrub in the basement before the Lord-Welches arrived). Mom began chatting with the lady who ran the cash register, and learned that the specific shower cleaner she was looking for, could likely be located at a store run by an elderly man in St. Louis, next to a German imports shop of cuckoo clocks, cheeses, and sausages. And she was also telling Mom about her home which she was restoring, from 1921, with the original porcelain bathtub still installed and marble windowsills, China tiling… She was also the only person in the United States that she was aware of who had survived 10 years after having her pancreas removed from cancer, and not even being diabetic. Everyone had a story…
There was also a card which they picked up for Apple, and two boxes of dilly bars after picking up Rose from choir (who was playing Frisbee in the parking lot). She looked cute as always, having been readied by Carrie earlier in the morning – in a zipped up sweatshirt, her hair pulled up high, and a pair of dangling metallic earrings in silver and purple. Collette made plans with her to do some book hunting at the antique mall the following afternoon.
And so it was off to the Silverspoon’s for steaks, grilled onions (sweet and wrapped in foil), and salad. And Denae and Collette discussed family roots with pen and paper while the boys fiddled around for awhile. And OLeif shared around the dinner table, that Shepherd had just been hired at a website design company in Chesterfield, which was wonderful news. Theodore told OLeif as they left:
“Kitts said you’re the smartest man she knows.”
A grin spread across OLeif’s face, as he raised both hands in victory. “Yes! I beat out Relevance!”