The Culmination
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
It had been a full four days of everything.
Saturday’s picnic included Collette holding a happy, bouncing Puck at a table with Mom, Mr. and Mrs. Coca-Cola, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, and occasionally Ivy, Mrs. Romans, Judah, OLeif, Ben-Hur, and Addicus. OLeif spent most of his evening over theological mutterings with Ben-Hur, Judah, Scott Hamilton, and his new buddy, Mark. The truckload of kids running around outside shot each other with water guns and made general commotion.
Collette became sick in the early morning hours of Sunday. There was no church that morning. Instead, all three watched a sermon by Mark Driscoll in Seattle.
By the time the early afternoon came around, Collette thought she was feeling better. She needed to feel better, because she and OLeif had plans. On the way toward downtown, they dropped off sleeping Puck with Mom and Dad at the house. Next stop was the adoption agency. For the next two hours they sat in a circular conference room with four other couples (one of whom brought their eight-month baby boy and were anxious to find the country with the least wait-time possible) and a single woman who had just submitted her dossier for a Vietnamese adoption (after already having adopted from Guatemala).
The former weatherman, Shirk Rain, always optimistic and enthusiastic, led the informational meeting with three women (advisers for Ethiopia, Russia, and China) and another gentlemen (working with Kazakhstan). He spoke with OLeif and Collette at the end of the meeting. When they told him that Petunia Combs was Collette’s aunt, Shirk smiled and said:
“She is just so optimistic. We love having her here.”
By the end of the afternoon, OLeif and Collette were looking at Vietnam.
Upon returning to the house, Mom had news for Collette.
“Puck rolled over three times!”
The little goofy.
By that time, Collette was feeling poorly enough not to accompany OLeif to youth that evening. Eventually, she decided to stay put and spend the night. She settled herself on the couch in the basement with a heated pad and a pitcher of water after OLeif had watched part of a documentary on Native American industrial hemp legal disputes before leaving for home toward eleven o’clock. Puck bunked upstairs in Carrie’s room in his portable crib and didn’t wake again until Collette got him up the next morning at 6:15.
When the sun rolled up the next day, Collette called her doctor for medication and found herself feeling much better later toward the afternoon. And Francis tickled Puck’s feet on the front porch while he did his math.
Later, Collette accompanied Mom, Francis, and Linnea (during Puck’s nap) to Kohl’s where she purchased two boxes of black picture frames for OLeif. Then Mom treated them to pretzels and Icees in the cafeteria at the next store. Collette waited with Linnea to finish while Mom and Francis shopped for pants for the ever-growing Francis. Linnea was intent on eating the cheese dip by itself.
“Linnea, you’re going to get sick,” Collette told her.
“I want to get sick. Mom will rub my back,” Linnea grinned at her. “That’s a bad deal for those cupcakes.” She pointed at a display nearby. “Two boxes for five dollars. They should be two for four dollars.”
Later that afternoon, Joe called again from Hawaii. Apparently they were under some sort of tsunami watch or warning, due to the 6.8 earthquake in Japan that morning. They had been scuba diving before the caution was announced.
Rose and Linnea spent the rest of the afternoon downstairs – Rose on Joe’s computer. Linnea sat behind her wrapped in a blanket singing with Burl Ives:
“If you go through life, make this your goal: watch the donut, not the hole.”
Meanwhile, OLeif was busy injuring himself elsewheres. Lollipop had requested a photo shoot. Starr was also there to accompany them for the evening. OLeif had been taking shots from a retaining wall in the South’s backyard. Jumping back onto the patio, his foot hit the pavement at an incorrect angle and he mangled his knee again. After the following day, hobbling around at work, Collette picked up a pair of crutches for him.
Earlier that Monday night, however, after the photo shoot, OLeif picked up Collette and Puck to meet Lolli at Maggie Moo’s for cinnamon ice cream – Bluebell’s treat. They drove toward home as the thunder cloud towers erupted into mammoth lanterns in the east.
But Collette’s evening was not over. She soon returned to the house and got into the minivan with Mom, Rose, and Francis. Carrie’s plane was due at Lambert at 11:39p.
The night was warm and it didn’t feel as late as it was. After the security checkpoint, they took the first parking space on the top of the garage and headed down a few escalators to the first level where sliding doors led them into the air conditioned main terminal. The baggage claim was still active for it being so late at night. They gathered at the end of the long hall where all the flights were arriving. Francis was slap-happy, and almost giggled while they talked about funny things.
After twenty minutes or so, Rose pointed her out in the crowd.
“There she is!”
Yes, it was Carrie. She could not be mistaken even from the end of the hall. A bush of long blond hair hung past her shoulders, a faded red stripe (bleached out by the sea water), and several genuine dreadlocks in the back. Her lounging black and gray top and pants were tucked in at the ends with soft light brown Uggs. She had a big smile on her face.
“Hey,” she said, passing out hugs to everyone.
She shifted her heavy black bag on her shoulder and immediately began answering questions and sharing stories from her long three weeks abroad.
“I have to admit I missed the squishy the most,” she said. “I bought everyone souvenirs, but his is the best.”
But Collette had to cut the hearing short, leaving for home after arrival back to the house.
However, Tuesday, (which was also little Jule’s third birthday), after bringing over “the squishy”, they were all able to hear more. Carrie woke at noon and told all. She read through the first part of her travel journal to everyone and gave them a viewing of the several hundred pictures and videos. Also included was her bungee DVD. She was told that she had excellent form on the way down. She did look graceful during the plunge.
The souvenirs were pulled out of the backpack during the afternoon. Dad and OLeif were both given a bar each of New Zealand chocolate (Dad with milk chocolate and OLeif with white chocolate), both with macadamia nuts. There was a bar of milk chocolate with kiwi fruit for the whole family. Mom had kiwi lip balm and a bar of special honey soap from the New Zealand natives. Collette had a necklace with a pendant of dark green jade from the New Zealand mountains. There was also a handful of coins for her collection. Rose and Linnea were given kiwi bird pendants on necklaces. And Puck did have a wonderful gift – a book titled: The Kiwi Who Lost its Mum. Precious book. Carrie was also going to get Bing a piece of Lord of the Rings memorabilia when she visited Rohan, but the prices were too astronomical to consider.
Regarding her entertaining travel journal, Collette encouraged Carrie to have it printed.
That night, Collette read Puck his book about the little kiwi. Puck watched the pictures while OLeif fed him his bottle. Collette decided that Puck looked like a little kiwi and began calling him “kiwi”.
Wednesday, OLeif worked on his laptop early in the morning and watched his son amusing himself in his bouncy seat. OLeif laughed at him.
“I like it when he looks down at his legs and’s like: ‘Alright – bicycle!’”
Collette and Puck returned to the house to hear more stories that morning.
“I know what I’m doing next,” Carrie announced to Collette and Rose in the kitchen.
She laid out her grand plan. If she succeeded, it would be amazing.
Wednesday would also bring back the three stooges, despite the misfortune of missing their first flight. Collette, Carrie, and Rose tried to figure out how that was possible.
That evening, OLeif and Puck had a conversation after Puck’s nightly bottle:
“Ooon-ga.”
“Oh really?”
“Noooo.”
“What else?”
Puck was trying to talk very hard and smiling very big.
“Oooooo.”
“Yeah? What Else?”
Puck couldn’t decide what else to say.
“And other things?”