Sausages
Back to church after a month of absence. Collette didn’t recognize half of the congregation. Things could change quickly in only four weeks. Moving to two services in March would shake things up again.
Back on the ranch, Mom had brunch ready. As usual, it took awhile to get everyone gathered together.
“Come on, Dad, let’s get this prayer up and running,” said Carrie. “Just start without them.”
Finally everyone had taken their seats. The prayer was said. Then biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, Feta cheese, sausages, and bacon.
“This meal was recommended by the Healthy Heart Association,” said Mom.
During the meal, they were reminded of that grand old games from the 90’s: “Sausages”. A simple concept originally, (according to Carrie’s memory), taught to them by the Raven family – where someone would ask a friend any question in the world. The response, no matter the question, had to be “sausages”, and given without laughter or smile of any kind, or the game would be lost.
“What’s Wally’s eye made out of?”
“Sausages.”
“What’s Travis’ guitar strap made out of?”
“Sausages.”
“Hey, what is your hair made out of?” Joe asked Carrie.
“Sausages,” she replied. “The ones that always used to get me were when people asked me Star Wars questions. Like, ‘What is Luke Skywalker made out of?’ I’d always crack and laugh. ‘Can’t… take… the funniness!’”
After brunch, Collette caught Linnea with a scissors in her hands, just as she was about to cut a chunk out of Carrie’s hair.
“Linnea!”
“What? She said I could.”
Collette quickly removed the scissors. When Linnea whipped out her little Swiss Army pocketknife, Carrie considered cutting out a few of the dreads, then changed her mind.
“I guess I don’t want any bald spots,” she said.
So, thankfully, the sabotage was stopped and Carrie’s hair was untouched, for awhile anyway.
“It’s just a mess,” she said. “I don’t know what to do with it anymore.”