The Boys Collect
Monday, June 18, 2012
Collette examined the mound of OLeif junk on the dresser. Bike gadgets, flashlights, camera equipment, t-shirts, pipe tobacco, etc. After years of digging through and cleaning, only to see it grow back like a mutant troll a week later, she had learned to leave it alone and hope it didn’t spring mushrooms…
“OLeif… it’s about that time again…”
OLeif grinned…
“But my mountain of mischief is growing.”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
He lifted the jerky bag from the top of the hill…
“Would you like a piece of dried-out meat?”
“No thank you.”
Meanwhile, the whole week was paved with digits above 90.
Bumbling blisters.
OLeif took the car.
Collette and Puck stayed indoors.
Puck organized Legos before school, prattling around space ships and rubber band catapults, etc., working at the top of the stairs with Madeline…
“It’s ok, Maddie. I’m just going to shoot this at Uncle Francis. You don’t have to be sad for Uncle Francis.”
Puck continued construction on Donkey’s mansion during the quiet hour. He had big plans for expansion.
He stomped out of his room just before three, donned in white collared singing-up-front-in-church shirt.
“Why are you wearing this, Puck?’
He didn’t know.
“Where are we going tomorrow, Mom?”
“Nowhere.”
“And the day after that?”
“Grandma’s.”
His greenish eyes pondered this revelation somewhere between the next day and the day after Wednesday…
“I’m going to do an experi-ent there, I think.”
“What kind of experiment?”
“I don’t know.”
He was constantly involved in some sort of project, some stick-together, some adjustment. That’s why there were boxes of “things” everywhere with Puck’s manipulations of pieces, endlessly fashioning new machines and contraptions.
That was all OLeif.
After dinner, Collette rang up a bowl of salted popcorn for Puck while she grabbed the new ammonia bottle and OLeif’s high-beam flashlight to resume spider patrol in the basement in preparation for the evening. Puck assisted, eager to send out death sprays at any lurking beast in the folds of the ancient couches.
Then Collette and Puck continued the never-ending saga of the Hollister family, this time exploring the beaches and pineapple plantations of Puerto Rico.
Joe checked in around 8:30 CST…
“I played in a waterfall today.”
Sounded like Joe.
“And got like 5000 baby leeches on me.”
Only Joe would call them “baby” leeches.
OLeif’s night was reserved for an old-school meet -up accompanied by a work-worn Rose, Albuquerque-bound Ben-Hur, and presumably-after-library-shift Magnus, who couldn’t join till nine or so. Word was they walked to the World’s Fair pavilion, after checking out the kittens, and joined Magnus for Denny’s.
OLeif returned with a new pack of drinking straws, bike oil, cat litter, etc. – supplies for the week.