in the middle of a dream

upon the hill on which we live

"YEVERY BODY!!!" Daddy talks in foreign accents when he's hungry. "Come to zee tobbles!" Abe and Crhis were here, so many eruptions of laughter filled the evening especially much. Chris and Abe call each other the same thing: "Ole Mister Fulmer". Dawn came in with flying hair and wide eyes to the table and told Abe she liked Tom Bombadill and he asked how she knew. He laughed when she said she'd read all the J.R.R Tolkein Lord of the Rings series - she grabbed his beard and he lunged for her stomach - him laughing and her squealing as they shook the table and green chile enchiladas. Chris told how Lance and Scott still talked about the time Mama had fixed those green chile enchiladas and they were still raving over them even though it had been over six months since they came. A circlet of hands formed - Abe squeezes especially hard during prayers - and Daddy prayed and after he'd thanked God for the food he put in a real sweet bit about Mamsie and how good of a wife and Mam she's always been and when we amened, Mama exclaimed
"Well - and I'm glad to hear it too! Keep it rolling - there's onions in the one down there. This one is vegetarian for the vegetarians among us." Abrum was concerned at these strange ways and Moriah hollered over the buzz trying to tell Anne how to trade silly bands.
"Anne - listen! If anybody tries to trade you a silly band, here's what you do - "
"Vegetarian?" I mused. "Awe, that's endearing. Perhaps we should put out a plate for Matt." Anne agreed but kept an eye on Dawn who was making sure she had her audience's full attention.
"So DON'T trade just ANY silly band! One of the girls tried to trade me a silly band that DIDN'T glow in the dark!" And she yelled to Anne as Abe passed his plate and shrieked "BENIGN!!!" and Chris asked
"Set out a plate for who? Daddy - do you want a whole or a half? Who's coming? Who's vegetarian? Is that enough, Pops? Who's coming for - "
"Anne - thing to remember is," cried Dawn, " is - THE RARE ones are the ones to get and that's hard sometimes but I have a pixie silly band that - WHAT??? Who wants - oh. Here, salad to Chris - it was PURPLE, Pam. But it didn't glow in the dark and -"
"Matt BELL, Matt Bell, Matthew Paul Bell," I said to Chris concerning the enchiladas. "Here's the salad. Care for some, Chree?"
Mel wanted the salad dressing, Merry took it and Mel reached for it and they had a collision and round of whoops and laughter, though no one quite knows what happened to the salad dressing.
"Is Matt coming?" Chris to me.
"No, he's vegetarian," says I to him.
"Well, then, who's the enchilada for - the one with no meat?"
"Vegetarians."
"But," he says, "Matt is not coming?? Then who is the extra plate for?? - "
"PAM! - " and Dawn pulled at her collection of silly bands on her wrist, "The sparkly dragon broke. So DON'T trade one of those and if you - "
"But Dawn," says Anne, "I like the one you gave me. I don't want to - here Gabe, another enchilada for Abe - ABE! - don't bite. Dawn, I don't want to trade the one you - here Abe, plate - the one you gave me. I like it just fine and it's like my friend." She took off her silly band and told her bonding story with her squirrel she'd named "Pneumonia".
"That was good, Mama, I enjoyed it." Was the chorus that went around until it got to Abrum who said "I'm still enjoyin' it" and ate his other enchilada while his great mane flopped wildly and he leaned over and said "BENIGN!!!"