Struesel Distractions

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Passover – and so in preparation for the Maundy Thursday meal and service that night, the lilies for Sunday morning, and other things, there was some fast work at the office. Ivy made the song sheets for the sunrise service in a jumble of bright tulip shades instead of the usual white. She was a bold secretary, that one. They decided not to help donate used children’s books to a library for poor kids at the Salvation Army because the deadline was too close, and everyone heard that Pablo Honey had Shingles, which made Collette wince a little. Ivy was to attend a fish fry at Assumption Church, her mother-in-law’s catholic church, Friday night. And she was debating whether or not to attend jury duty on a Tuesday in May two days after arriving back from her vacation. She had also brought two packaged bundt cakes for her group that night about which she said rather killingly,

“Oh, I just slaved over these things.”

One was fudge and chocolate. The other was lemon struesel, drizzled in two types of golden frosting and topped with lemon chocolate shavings. Whoever had the idea of such a cake – it looked pretty darn delicious. They were so very tempting, sitting there on Ivy’s desk.

“Oh! We should not be looking at these,” Ivy slammed a stack of papers on top of the lemon struesel. “I guess we could always split a slice and blame it on Jimmy.”

And Joe drove by later, bursting with enthusiasm for the little green car – Mrs. South’s miata – which she had loaned to him for the day if he detailed it. He had to stop by the office and show Collette before heading out. And Augustus got his driver’s license the same day as Wallace.