"who wants to go pull out that old wading pool we used to use when we were smaller?"
"I do! I do!" Zinnia cried, raising her hand.
"Very well," Rebecca said, accepting the offer.
"Oh, good," Zinnia said cheerily, trotting off to get the pool. Halfway across the lawn, she stopped, turned around to us, and shouted, "I have no idea why I'm doing this or what it all means, but this is fun!" And then she continued with her trotting.
Soon Pete had two cement blocks set up on the lawn, and Zinnia had hauled out the old wading pool. At the end Jackie had had to help her pull it the rest of the way across the yard. We doubted it weighed as much as the twenty-five-pound bag of kibble Zinnia had lifted at the grocery store three days ago, but it was awkward in size, being large enough to hold eight of us when we were little.
Or littler.
Rebecca got out the hose and began filling the wading pool.
It did take a bit of time.
"There," she said when she was done, pleased. "So, do you think that's about a meter deep?"
"A meter deep?" Marcia said in a rare scoffing tone. "A meter is similar in length to a yard. I doubt you have even six inches, also known as half a foot or one-sixth of a yard, in that thing."
"Oh, well." Rebecca shrugged. "Nothing's ever perfect, is it? Still, it's only practice right now. It'll just have to do as the water obstacle."
Dry obstacles? Water obstacle?
But before any of us could ask a question out loud, as opposed to in our heads, Rebecca was off racing around the dry obstacles and running through the water obstacle. She was racing with Petal hanging upside down on her back in what we now recognized to be the Estonian style.
We still had no idea what we were looking at, but at least we were becoming comfortable with the terminology.
"I'm just glad," Georgia said, "that Mr. Pete erected that impenetrable fence."
"Georgia's right," Annie said.
Georgia's right? Those were words almost as rare in our experience as Rebecca's right or Petal's right.
"I am?" Georgia asked, as surprised as anyone.
"Yes, of course," Annie said. "We have enough problems in our lives without having reporters or neighbors or strangers seeing this." She indicated with her hand the Petal-carrying Rebecca as Rebecca raced through the wading pool again and serpentined once more around the cement blocks. "Whatever... this is," Annie added.
"Yes," Georgia said with some degree of pride, "that was right of me to come up with that." Then she frowned. "Although I'm not sure that's what I meant."
We might have questioned Georgia as to just what she had meant, but Rebecca stopped her racing then, dropping Petal at our feet.
Mrs. Pete immediately went to Petal. It was handy to have her around for things like that because it meant Durinda and Jackie were free to circle Rebecca with the rest of us as we tried to figure out just what had been going on.
"So that's it then," Rebecca said, slightly out of breath. "I do wish I had Jackie's speed—you know, to make the racing part easier on my legs and lungs—but with my strength it's mostly just a breeze." She turned to Annie. "I'll need about fifteen hundred dollars from the checkbook. No, better make that two thousand dollars, just to be on the safe side."
"Two thousand dollars?" Annie looked aghast. "Whatever for?"
Rebecca looked aghast at Annie's aghastment. "Why, for the Finnish Wife-Carrying Championship, of course."
"The Finn—" Annie started to say, but Marcia cut her off.
"Oh, I know all about that!" Marcia said excitedly. "I read about it somewhere once." Then her expression grew puzzled. "But why didn't I recognize that from what Rebecca was doing with Petal?" And then her expression eased. "Maybe it's because of the way Rebecca was doing it—you know, the reduced size of the water obstacle and all that."
"Okay," Annie said, "I can understand why Marcia might know about this ... Finnish Wife-Carrying thing. Marcia just seems to know lots of bizarre little facts. But how
"I do! I do!" Zinnia cried, raising her hand.
"Very well," Rebecca said, accepting the offer.
"Oh, good," Zinnia said cheerily, trotting off to get the pool. Halfway across the lawn, she stopped, turned around to us, and shouted, "I have no idea why I'm doing this or what it all means, but this is fun!" And then she continued with her trotting.
Soon Pete had two cement blocks set up on the lawn, and Zinnia had hauled out the old wading pool. At the end Jackie had had to help her pull it the rest of the way across the yard. We doubted it weighed as much as the twenty-five-pound bag of kibble Zinnia had lifted at the grocery store three days ago, but it was awkward in size, being large enough to hold eight of us when we were little.
Or littler.
Rebecca got out the hose and began filling the wading pool.
It did take a bit of time.
"There," she said when she was done, pleased. "So, do you think that's about a meter deep?"
"A meter deep?" Marcia said in a rare scoffing tone. "A meter is similar in length to a yard. I doubt you have even six inches, also known as half a foot or one-sixth of a yard, in that thing."
"Oh, well." Rebecca shrugged. "Nothing's ever perfect, is it? Still, it's only practice right now. It'll just have to do as the water obstacle."
Dry obstacles? Water obstacle?
But before any of us could ask a question out loud, as opposed to in our heads, Rebecca was off racing around the dry obstacles and running through the water obstacle. She was racing with Petal hanging upside down on her back in what we now recognized to be the Estonian style.
We still had no idea what we were looking at, but at least we were becoming comfortable with the terminology.
"I'm just glad," Georgia said, "that Mr. Pete erected that impenetrable fence."
"Georgia's right," Annie said.
Georgia's right? Those were words almost as rare in our experience as Rebecca's right or Petal's right.
"I am?" Georgia asked, as surprised as anyone.
"Yes, of course," Annie said. "We have enough problems in our lives without having reporters or neighbors or strangers seeing this." She indicated with her hand the Petal-carrying Rebecca as Rebecca raced through the wading pool again and serpentined once more around the cement blocks. "Whatever... this is," Annie added.
"Yes," Georgia said with some degree of pride, "that was right of me to come up with that." Then she frowned. "Although I'm not sure that's what I meant."
We might have questioned Georgia as to just what she had meant, but Rebecca stopped her racing then, dropping Petal at our feet.
Mrs. Pete immediately went to Petal. It was handy to have her around for things like that because it meant Durinda and Jackie were free to circle Rebecca with the rest of us as we tried to figure out just what had been going on.
"So that's it then," Rebecca said, slightly out of breath. "I do wish I had Jackie's speed—you know, to make the racing part easier on my legs and lungs—but with my strength it's mostly just a breeze." She turned to Annie. "I'll need about fifteen hundred dollars from the checkbook. No, better make that two thousand dollars, just to be on the safe side."
"Two thousand dollars?" Annie looked aghast. "Whatever for?"
Rebecca looked aghast at Annie's aghastment. "Why, for the Finnish Wife-Carrying Championship, of course."
"The Finn—" Annie started to say, but Marcia cut her off.
"Oh, I know all about that!" Marcia said excitedly. "I read about it somewhere once." Then her expression grew puzzled. "But why didn't I recognize that from what Rebecca was doing with Petal?" And then her expression eased. "Maybe it's because of the way Rebecca was doing it—you know, the reduced size of the water obstacle and all that."
"Okay," Annie said, "I can understand why Marcia might know about this ... Finnish Wife-Carrying thing. Marcia just seems to know lots of bizarre little facts. But how
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