Ice Cream Girl
by Jerry Guarino
Remember the song that
played on summer afternoons, as the truck pulled
into the neighborhood? It was the clear sign that
the ice cream man was here. All the kids would
run over and get in line, holding a dollar from
their mom or dad, ready to get a push pop, ice
cream sandwich or another of the dozens of treats
pictured on the van.
That large ice cream truck has been replaced by a
motorized tricycle with a small freezer, no
bigger than a golf cart and no longer driven by a
man looking like Captain Kangaroo. No, now the
treats were delivered by a young girl, in her
teens with a long pony tail, cut off shorts and
tie dye t-shirt, the ice cream girl.
Marley (vegan dog) and Jeri (stoned cat) were the
first to notice her, hiding in the bushes hoping
to get a treat dropped by a young child.
“Marley, what’s happening?”
“See that girl, handing out ice creams. Her
name is Nikki. And that boy holding the child’s
hand is Tommy. He likes Nikki, but he’s
afraid to ask her out.”
“They would make a cute couple. Can we help
them get together?”
Jeri tilted her head. “I’ve got an idea.”
She bumped into a little girl, who dropped her
ice cream cone. The girl started to cry. Jeri was
quick to lap up the vanilla treat. Tommy stepped
up.
“Don’t cry little girl.” He handed
Nikki a dollar. “Please give her another
cone.” The little girl smiled with gratitude.
Nikki was smiling too.
“That’s very kind of you. I’m
Nikki.”
“I’m Tommy. No little one should lose
their ice cream.”
Marley smiled. “Well done, Jeri.”
“I think we need to do more. Tommy isn’t
asking her out.” So, Marley and Jeri
recruited Larry Bird (the cockatoo) to follow
Nikki and Duck to follow Tommy and find out more
about them.
***
The next week, the birds
came back with their report.
“Well, if we’re going to get these two
together, Tommy is going to have to know
something about Nikki.”
“What?”
“Well, she just broke up with a boy who was
cheating on her. She won’t stand for that.”
“Of course, most girls wouldn’t.”
“But that’s not all. He was cheating on
her with her mom. She caught them making out in
the house when she got back from her ice cream
job.”
“Oh my! That’s got to hurt.”
“Yes, so Tommy shouldn’t push her into
a relationship right now. She needs time to
recover emotionally.”
“Duck, you’ve been following Tommy.
What’s his state of mind?”
“Not good. Tommy’s been getting ready
to ask her out, even going over to her house to
do it in person.”
“That could blow up big time. If he happened
to be there alone with her mom, waiting for Nikki
to come in.”
“We have to follow Tommy and intercept him.
He can’t go over there yet.”
So, Marley, Jeri and the birds tailed Tommy.
Soon, they found him buying flowers and walking
towards Nikki’s house. Nikki was finishing
her ice cream route, so he would get there before
she came home. Disaster.
Marley rolled around in some mud, then ran up
against Tommy’s pants.
“Argh. Damn dog. Now I have to go home and
change.”
Crises averted for the moment. Tommy would have
to wait another day.
The next day, Tommy tried again, but Larry landed
on Tommy’s shoulder.
“Hey. Get off me.” But Larry just
smiled and stood there. Tommy tried to shake him
off, but to no avail. And duck walked in front of
Tommy, interrupting his gait.
“What is this, a Hitchcock movie?”
Larry started pecking his neck while duck nipped
at his ankles.
Tommy screamed and ran home. One more day of
relief for Nikki, but the animals knew they
couldn’t keep Tommy away forever.
He decided that a lesser gesture might be more
effective. No flowers, no showing up at Nikki’s
house. He would just approach her at the ice
cream truck.
The next day, he waited behind the little kids
getting their treats. Marley, Jeri and the others
watched quietly from a safe distance. When he was
the last one there, he handed Nikki a dollar.
“May I please have a creamsicle?”
Nikki smiled and handed him the frozen treat.
“Of course, Tommy. I haven’t seen you
here in a while.”
“I’ve been thinking about the future.
How have you been?”
“Well, I had a problem with my old boyfriend,
but I’m over that now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Would you like
to talk about it?”
“Maybe we could. What are you doing later on?”
“Not much. Can we meet down by the beach for
a burger?”
“I’d like that Tommy. Six o’clock
good? I’ll bring the dessert.”
Tommy and Nikki smiled.
Ice
Cream Girl by Jerry Guarino
Copyright August, 2020 – All Rights Reserved
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