Chapter 65
Standing in front of
the freezer cases at one of the oldest, smallest, and least popular Tampa-area
grocery stores, Nick contemplated his selection in peace, his eyes roaming the
shelves of ice cream, his mind processing the various brands and flavors. There were too many to choose from. After a moment, he opened up one of the
cases, reached in, and selected a carton of mint chocolate chip, his favorite. He hesitated a moment, then also grabbed a
container of rocky road. And maybe…
banana split? Ew, no, nothing with the
word “banana” in the title. Cookies and
cream, perhaps? Or maybe strawberry
cheesecake instead? Mmm… cheesecake… oh
hell, why not both?
Smiling
triumphantly, Nick grabbed one carton of cookies and cream and one of
strawberry cheesecake and added them to the stack he was accumulating. I should have gotten a cart, he
thought; the four tubs of ice cream he had in a death grip under one arm were
painfully cold against his skin. He
started to hurry his purchases up to the cash registers at the front, afraid
his arm was going to freeze to the side of the ice cream containers, and he’d
have to pour scalding water all over his arm just to pry it off… that thought
reminded him of “A Christmas Story,” when the kid gets double-dog-dared to lick
the flagpole… he smiled to himself and did not realize there was someone behind
him until a voice asked, “Hungry much?”
Startled, Nick spun
around, almost dropping his ice cream in the process, and found himself face to
face with Claire, of all people.
“I thought that was
you,” she said with a smile, and her eyes traveled to the four cartons of ice
cream in his arms. “Gorging yourself on
ice cream, are you? Sounds like my kind
of night.”
“Hey,” he said with
a shaky laugh, still getting over his shock.
“What are you doing here?”
She held up a frozen
pizza. “Just got off work and thought
I’d grab something to heat up for dinner when I get home.” Shrugging, she added sheepishly, “I’m not
much of cook.”
He noticed for the
first time that she was wearing hot pink scrubs, a white bandana dotted with
tiny pink flowers wrapped around her head to coordinate. “Oh,” he said. “You don’t get off till seven? I didn’t think most dentists’ offices stayed
open that late.”
“Oh, well, I
actually got off at five,” she clarified.
“But then I dropped by the hospital and hung out for awhile.”
He blinked. “You go to the hospital to hang out?”
he asked. Wow, looks like someone
needs a hobby.
“Well, yeah, I hang
out with the little kids up in oncology,” she elaborated. “I read to them or play video games with them
and stuff. It gets lonely up there; I’m
sure you know that. And haven’t I told you
all this before?”
He shrugged. “Maybe… well, that’s cool of you.”
“Yeah…” She trailed off, studying him a moment, then
asked, “So, what did you do today? Hang
out outside all day?”
“Yeah, I took my
boat out… how’d you know I was outside all day?”
“’Cause apparently
you forgot the Sunblock, Lobster Boy.”
If Nick’s face had
been red before, it became even redder now.
“Really?” he asked, clapping a hand to his cheek. It stung with the touch and felt warm against
his fingertips, and he realized he had gotten sunburned. He hadn’t even noticed it, having not glanced
in a mirror since he got back (he tried to avoid mirrors as much as possible
these days). It surprised him; usually
he tanned very easily and rarely got burned.
“Ohh yeah,” said
Claire. Her eyes scanning upward, she
asked, “You did remember to cover your head, didn’t you?”
Nick grimaced,
glanced around to make sure there were no other people in sight, and slowly
tugged off his hat, the skin of his scalp tingling unpleasantly once again. “How bad is it?” he asked, bending over so
that she could see the top of his head.
There was silence at
first, then a sharp intake of breath, and by the time he straightened himself
back up to look at her, she had her hands over her mouth, stifling back
giggles, her eyes wide.
“God, Nick,” she
breathed after a moment. “It’s already
blistering! That’s gotta hurt like a
bitch.”
“Yeah,” he said,
gingerly pulling the hat back onto his head.
“It does…” He was just beginning
to realize how much it stung now and wondered if the knowledge made it seem
even worse.
“You should put Aloe
on it,” Claire advised knowledgeably.
“It’ll cool it off, make it feel better.”
“Aloe?” he repeated
dumbly. “What’s that?”
“It’s like this
clear stuff that you put on your skin… it’s good for sunburns.”
“Oh. Well, where do you get it?”
“You should be able
to find it at any drugstore or some place like that. I’ve got some nice-smelling stuff from Bath
and Body Works… I use it all the time, cause I burn so easily. Damn my white Irish skin,” she laughed.
“Bath and Body
Works?” he repeated, wrinkling his nose.
“Well, I sure as hell ain’t gonna set foot in there… that place freaks
me out.”
“What, you
don’t like to smell pretty after you shower?” she asked innocently and then
giggled at the expression on his face.
Then the smile left her face, and, suddenly seeming almost shy, she
said, “Hey, if you aren’t doing anything tonight other than pigging out on ice
cream… do you wanna come over to my place?
I can, you know, let you borrow my Aloe…” One side of her mouth turned up in a
half-smile.
He returned
the smirk and quipped, “Only if I can bring my ice cream.”
“Oh, you
bet! I wouldn’t let you come without
it,” said Claire. “So… whaddya say?”
Nick grinned
cheekily. “I say you’re on, girl.”
***