Finn Fest 2007 officially starts tomorrow at noon when I drop whatever I'm doing and race to South Bend to meet Uncle Bill and Miss Bobbie. I'll leave my car at the airport and from there the three of us will have the road trip of our lives up to Lewiston. Uncle Bill said he's only bringing 80 bottles of wine due to space limitations.
Finn Fest is our annual family reunion. There's nothing really Finnish about it, besides the Finn flag. We just eat and drink and swim off the pontoon boat. And the kids fight. I'm excited. I love Tee Lake in the summer. And I'm excited to eat something that's not the same thing I've been eating for two weeks. I expect a lot of fanfare for my homecoming. Stuff like, "We've missed you terribly!" and "Sometimes I miss you so much I can't sleep at night!" and "You look GREAT! Are you modeling out there in Chicago?"
My neighbor Beth is going to feed Peewee while I'm gone. She came over last night so I could show her where everything is. I've been calling her "Auntie Beth" to Peewee. Like, "Your Auntie Beth is going to take care of you for a few days" and "Do you love your Auntie Beth?" Well, I think Auntie Beth is a little nutty. She's a nutty scientist. When she came over last night she brought her cat Tristan with her. Only she said, "He followed me over here!" I think she wants Tristan and Peewee to be friends. Everyone knows that's crazy, right? So Tristan was in the hallway, and she said, "Open the door and see if he's there!" I'm thinking, Oh God, oh God, oh God, because I know Peewee is going to freak out. But how can I say no? She'll put a science spell on me. So her cat came in my apartment and the two of them had a hissing fight, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT CATS DO, AUNTIE BETH, and Peewee howled like I've never heard her howl before. Then for half an hour after they left, Peewee sat staring at the door. Poor thing was traumatized.
So I'm a little worried that Crazy Auntie Beth will bring her cat every time she comes over to feed Peewee. Plus, she thinks a cat should never be left alone for more than a day, so she's coming all four days. Which is very nice of her, but she also told me that Tristan always needs a body at night—she has someone stay at her apartment when she's gone. So now I'm just picturing her sleeping in my bed and wearing my clothes.
