It is now Christmas Eve, afternoon, after one o'clock at 755 15th Street. JonBenet and Burke are wired on adrenaline at the thought of what they will get tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Patsy is, all by herself, in complete charge of every single thing the family is doing and/or about to do. Who fed everyone today so far, for breakfast and lunch? Patsy did (if, that is, she did not just throw Pop-Tarts at everyone and have them fend for themselves).
The trip to Charlevoix is about take place in less than 48 hours. What will everyone wear? The house up there only has summer-weight clothing in the closets and drawers. John has absolutely no interest in making sure his own children are wearing weather-appropriate clothes, and Charlevoix is freezing cold, far colder even than Boulder. Is it snowing up there? Should Patsy make sure everyone has sturdy boots to trudge through the snow of the yard with, or will ordinary shoes be okay provided that the children can be convinced to stick to the shoveled driveway and porch? By the way, is the driveway up there shoveled? What about the lengthy porch? The family obviously does not live there, so they have not had to maintain the house as a livable place for people to enter and leave as they wish. Linda Mason, the interior decorator, was there a few days ago to decorate the house, but she is not paid to shovel driveways.
What about the Big Red Boat cruise? That takes place just three days from now. Somebody, meaning only Patsy, has to pack the clothes appropriate for a cruise in warm weather, a day after coming back from unpacking clothes appropriate for snowstorms.
And, of course, there is this afternoon. Oh dear, now it is two in the afternoon. The St. John's Episcopal Church service is in a couple of hours, everyone should really have a bath or a shower and have their hair brushed well so everyone looks their best. And what will everyone wear to church? So many good impressions to make on everyone every single day this week, all these decisions that never go away. It would have been nice to be able to stay home and not have to work so hard, but John wants to go to Charlevoix, and he earns all the money that pays for everything, so when he says Jump, Patsy has to be the one to figure out How High.