That was Carrie-Bri
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Ah, another Tuesday – gray, rain, and soggy bean pods outside the window. Another day for a true winter season. And all seemed well enough in Collette’s mind. She had been at the kitchen table for a good three hours of focused study with a raspberry Italian ice in hand. She pondered two odd jobs – an agricultural administrator in the Ural mountains, and a Finnish reenactor with authentic Finnish dress from the Viking age – glass beads, iron bangles, embroidered apron and silver brooch, hair braided back tightly against the winds… She also thought of the traditional Russian greeting in Kishinev – bread, salt, and flowers. How interesting…
It seemed at the time, a good idea to head out to Chevy’s for a plate of nachos with three kinds of cheese and black olives with a stuffed quesadilla and a strong Coke. However, that was not likely for the day.
Choir would be finished in about an hour and Carrie-Bri would be along with Joe and Rose to pick her up for another tutoring session. There it was, folks – day in and day out, the same schedule week to week with minor twists here and there. But somehow, Collette enjoyed the routine part of life, while always hoping and trying to find ways to make the mundane bits interesting. After all, no two days were the same, and she liked it that way. There was always an adventure on the horizon.
It was a typical holiday afternoon at the Snicketts household. And apparently, Carrrie-Bri had been slightly rambunctious, a little on the wild side at choir, with her usual comments. Joe received the best decorated choir folder award among his fellow tenors and bass, a consensus among the guys – an emblem of the Swedish flag lay next to his name and several auto sketchings, the highlight being a border of miniature battery powered Christmas lights in a golden-yellow shade. He was quite proud of his work, and Collette agreed that it was very fantastic.
“Carrie was trouble at choir today,” Rose took a gulp of her usual Pepsi purchased from Pooch (Yaotl West) at choir, as she tattled on her older sister.
“Carrie, what did you do?” Collette looked at the mischievous eyes of her sister in the front seat.
“Oh, I just had a lot of… comments for Stacie Tops today.”
They sat together in choir, the back row, two seniors ready for the freedom and adventure of the new world around the corner.
“You always do,” Collette raised her eyebrow.
Carrie laughed, “I know, I know. But I couldn’t help it. At the end I told her I was going to the naughty place for everything I said.”
“Carrie!”
“I know. I really have to stop it,” she laughed as the car zoomed onto Mid Rivers. “All these little altos keep turning around and looking at me after I say things. But I can’t help it.”
“Oh, well. You are trouble you know.”
“Yeah, Eve said I was too.” She giggled. “She’s so cute.”
They sped home through the wet and rain and gray, laughing and discussing the various stories of how Carrie-Bri consistently entertained their wide circle of friends and other acquaintances in the choir, Columns, and home school worlds, etc… she was known widely by reputation – a daring zest for life, a powerful punch and a killer stiletto when an unsuspecting bun was in the way, fun, color, beauty, and generosity, was how she was known. She would always stick up for the little guy, the defenseless, and was more than slightly intimidating to the male world. But that was Carrie-Bri, and they loved her for what she was.
Then it was another afternoon of ideas, tutoring, conversations, and planning, with a last game of Scrabble with words such as rune (Norse hieroglyph), ziti (bread), and coral, after fried ham with raspberry apple sauce glaze. Collette helped Linnea hang a few glass ball ornaments to complete the bunk-bed. And she devised a plan to study Spanish, at Carrie-Bri’s asking, for them both. On the way back home, Dad discussed more of his work and present business occurrences with Mom and herself.