7.10.21


the girls wanted ice cream
                            looking into their eyes he saw they were adamant

he didntwasnt interested  he began humming Whatever Lola Wants

they dressed him down in stereo eyes   suggested he might wanna cut that out

Wha he wasnt convincing 
                            he was playing  shesh No sense of humour

For that his wife said  you’re having ice cream with us.

Thats fine Im happy to have ice cream with you

No, I mean have, eat, ice cream.

Id prefer not

Com’on, Dad his girls said excitedlypicking up on their mothers derision have ice cream with us, that’d make it a real treat.
no sooner than they closed theirs mouth they worked him with their eyesthe three of them  his wife and eldest had huge brown eyes touted their hereditary brown eye treatmenthe watched guys jump hoops for his wife before they dated IDIOTS he told her when they began dating that that wouldnt work on him though only with extreme effort was he able to resist  not that he told her his youngest braided him with her greenishhazel eyes  as huge as her mother and sisters

felt like he had fallen headlong into the 60s film Village of the Damned


he went along with themthe path of least resistance 

he couldnt remember  yahhe could Sanibel Island Florida after hours of swimming in saltwater under the sun refreshing blizzards at the Dairy Queen without fail their girls were little
                                                                he conceded


it was a bright yellow ice cream parlor

there were booths

the girls had sundaes
how could they eat that much ice cream 
                                      he had a cone
they convinced him to have two scoops  creamy coconut ice cream

as they fell mindlessly into their feasts spooningingesting his cone unraveled the scoops falling into his hand
Manohman he saidbarely attracting their attention
                                                        I get a discount for eating out of hand 
they looked up
he took their barrage of laughter in good humour
                                                   Yes  Very funny  Someone wanna hand me a napkin please
the dispenser at the table was empty

his youngest boundup to the counter

she returned with a spoon
                           They’re out of napkins, something about an order unfilled, it's late . . I brought you a spoon . figured you could eat your ice cream cone out of your hand. she laughed  that tickled her

Out  of  my  hand
                     he tried to keep his anger in check  anger warms the body

You always say, Dad, waste not, want not.

Thank you doll for your thoughtfulness

You’re welcome, Daddy. that wasnt necessary  Daddy  unnecessary
                                                                             she fell back to her sundae  his problem wasnt hersher ice cream was getting warm


he ate down to the unfolded cone then with melted ice cream flowing down his forearmdripping off his elbow he stood and walked up to the counter  he apologised to the clerk asked for the manager for the mess on their floor from their failed producttheir lack of napkins

Originally he said to the manager I was going to ask for a discount
                                                                       but sticky as I am I prefer to be reimbursed for my doublescoop coconut cone  Im wearing half of it  Shared a portion of itoff my elbow with your floor

the manager correctly obliged him


the girls had exitedwaited outside for him
                                            they knew when he got something into his skull hed to be sure to get what he believed was reasonably his

they learned from his exampleparticularly his daughters
                                                           he always made them standup for themselves against adults when they were children

while they werent keen about it as girls they thanked him more times than he could say as young women


gratefully they didnt ask him eat ice cream with them again

0343,  Sunday,  3  10. 21
2313, Day-between-Two-Ts, 6  10. 21
Sarah Vaughan  Whatever Lola Wants  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Oa6oM5kzBg 

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