The Finn Inn
The family tree research was becoming maddeningly addicting. Research took the bloodlines back to Herod, and, via step-mother, Doris of Jerusalem, to Adam.
And Sunday evening, Collette discovered that they were also related to Robert the Bruce.
Over at the house, the washing machine had gone ‘a wittle bit crazy’, as Puck called it. In fact, it sounded like a spaceship was landing. When large cans of chickpeas began to fall out of the pantry, Francis put an end to its misery.
During the day…
-
Mom left for the Tecumseh house for the afternoon. (She had also completed a gold-and-red-glittering-with-lights movie sign for the youth group fundraiser.)
-
Carrie attacked a bowl of honey-peanut butter with a stalk of celery while writing papers:
“I’m going to blow up the news groups with my paper on orbital mechanics,” she said. “Set their minds spinning. Get it? Orbital? Oh, the highlights of my day…”
-
And Puck tagged along with his aunts outside as they continued to prune the landscaping for spring.
That evening, Rose came over to watch, feed, and put down the Puck for the night while OLeif and Collette left to pick up Judah and Evangeline for an hour drive to the Finn Inn.
It was a beautiful, spring-like evening, with the orange of the setting sun fading in and out between ribbons of gray cloud across the river. And while they drove, they discussed Judah’s and Evangeline’s possibilities in the mission field: namely Germany and Ethiopia… And Judah’s dismal project researching zebra mussels in college, one of several projects that eventually led him away from marine biology to seminary…
The Finn Inn was quiet that night. The tanks of lethargic fish and turtles swimming silently next to their table of honey-wood.
They talked a little bit about genealogies, which included, in Judah’s line, a Spanish sea captain, passengers on the Mayflower, and a Kickapoo Indian.
Then Judah took a picture of Evangeline next to the fish. She didn’t like the photo and deleted it.
“You can’t do that!” he declared. “You can’t erase family history!”
Judah and OLeif ordered the buffalo fish (an enormous amount of fish, ‘one cubic foot’ as Judah named it). Judah also had a bowl of turtle soup, which Evangeline thought was a little sad. And Evangeline and Collette had the halibut sandwiches with tartar sauce and fries. Plus sodas.
Everything was good. And it was a good evening to spend with old friends.