Three
Friday, December 22, 2006
The first day of winter, and none too cold.
Thursday had been a weird day, and Collette woke up with the same feelings about Friday. She also wondered if she had caught Ivy’s cold.
Thursday night, OLeif and Collette had come over to the house where Aristotle George, Joe, Magnus, Ben-Hur, Curly, Rose, and Molly had already had chili and bread. Carrie-Bri and Clover (who was back for the holidays) were also there, taking pictures of Clover’s eyes. Carrie said they were green; Clover insisted that they were blue.
Meanwhile, Molly was sitting up at the counter needle-pointing a tapestry of sorts. And the cookie decorating was soon underway at the kitchen table while Dad tried to have some peace and quiet downstairs in his office amid the noise – the banging up and down the stairs, doors slamming, piano keys busting…
After several bizarre gingerbread and/or sugar and frosting creations had been constructed, the gang headed off towards the mall. This was only after Ben-Hur was bribed by Magnus, who offered to buy him an album if he came.
“Sweet!” Ben-Hur screeched, heading immediately for the door.
Once there, Collette waited in the bookstore reading about Iceland, until OLeif was ready to head on and they dropped Molly off at home sometime at about nine o’clock.
And Diana was coming home that night. Both she and Collette would miss the annual walk through Old Saint Charles, where the moms and whoever grandma or nana had decided to come, would finish up some Christmas shopping. Carolers, evergreen garlands and holly and mistletoe, hot wassail and cocoa, roasting chestnuts, usually bitter cold air… They would gather for desserts at Cracker Barrel after several hours on the cobblestones. This year, it would most likely be the moms, Annamaria, Rose, Eldea, Linnea, Leia, and maybe Jules Verne (if he didn’t want to be away from his mom that long). Eve could not get off work to attend, so Carrie decided to stay at home and put together her new Elvis puzzle which Eve had given her. Collette would not be there because she couldn’t manage the hours of walking anymore. And Diana would miss it from not being able to leave Chicago until her work was in for the day at the newspaper office and she had driven the four-hour trek home.
Friday saw Rose back in the office and Collette with a sore throat, though not yet severe enough to possibly be strep throat.
Rose seemed semi-anticipatory of leaving for Egypt. After all, she still had six to seven separate Christmas gatherings before the big day. So her thoughts were diverted. She had also changed her mind from applying at Culver’s, to applying at Penn Station. She was tired because the party had carried on till one o’clock in the morning for Joe, Magnus, Ben-Hur, Curly, and Rose who watched Lady in the Water after returning from the mall with Ben-Hur’s new techno or other album.
Later in the afternoon, Mom, Carrie-Bri, Frances, and Linnea all blazed through to help Georgia Owen fold three bulletins. Linnea escaped from time to time for a glass of soda or to have Collette help her cut out a paper heart. Eventually all was folded, stapled, and stuffed. And Collette’s last day of the year was completed.