what's better on a hot summer night than ice cream?
(A flash fiction piece) Breathless summer heat retreats with the sun. People come out after dusk - like nocturnal animals. We’re hunting ice-cream, at a carnival-painted shop. There are four serving windows, hundreds of flavors and crickets serenading from the dark. My BFF Kim and I are with my older brother - we run to the line and he follows. We’re waiting in line when the noisy muscle car roars up. The driver is Kim’s ex-boyfriend - Rob. Dumped but still, somehow, on the planet. We fear the contamination of simple ice-cream pleasures with sour drama. We turn our backs as they park and they join a nearby line. I feel Rob watching us, we’re tense, like maybe there’s a spider nearby. Rob comes over - he wants something from her - she’s bored with understanding. He stands close - private-space-invader close - he’s high-school-junior smooth. His assertions have no creativity - just history repeating itself - the talk is brief. After a minute, he storms off - his friends are disappointed - I think they wanted ice-cream. Tire squealing and motor roaring announce his departure - his reputation is upheld. I got two gigantic scoops- one Banana Peanut Butter Ripple the other Key Lime pie. YUM
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