These Characters

“SNUGGLES!”

After another hard morning of work at home, I joined Linnea-Irish at the Big House right as the cat attacked her steak. Snuggles was deposited on the back patio in a finely misting rain as punishment. Linnea scowled at him from behind the glass, daring him to return. He sat on the cold cement, dignity intact, licking his paws.

“That showed him,” I noted.

Mom and Carrie-Bri turned up with groceries about half an hour later in time for the day game from Cincinnati. While Carrie and I kept tabs, I got Linnea started on her first practice ACT exam while Mom and I discussed our new baseball-based writing project.

When the game ended on the wrong side of good, Carrie and I discussed other potential sports interests we could pick around from November through February. We were a little in disbelief of how few games football players actually play during the season – considering their mammoth contracts – and concluded that they were essentially paid to sacrifice their bodies (and brains) to possible mutilation and/or death.

Then I hit the road to pick up Puck, waiting in the hall (wrapped in a long sweater; it’s cold all of the sudden around here), listening to one of the moms smack gum and chat volleyball schedules with another mom.

He had another good day, except …

“Did you drink your water bottle at school, Puck?”

“Well … sort of. Mary messed with it again. She made me drink it fast. She just kept saying, ‘Drink! Drink! Drink!’ and pushed the water bottle while I was drinking and the water spilled on my face.”

I think he’s looking forward to next week when they change desk partners again.

During homework, Crackers sat herself down on Puck’s math facts and stayed there for awhile, like she had conquered it or something. That, and ate my table plants as usual. Weirdo.

By 7:30 it was in the 50s and not feeling much like summer anymore. I hoped for a little resurgence of that later.