If you go down to the park today...
The tinkling of the ice-cream van floated over the stagnant waters of the duck pond. Children paused in their games and looked hopefully at parents, not always their own. It was sunny and I fancied one too, a reward for walking my dog when I could have been home looking out the window at the sunshine.
I ambled over and joined the queue of pestering kids and tired adults. The queue moved slowly but eventually I got to the head of it, to see a sign 'Special surprise flavour! Today only'. Well, I'm always on the lookout for kicks, so I gestured at the offer and said to the ice-cream person 'What the hell, I'll try that'. The guy wasn't the usual elderly talkative man who drives the van but, frankly, that was a relief. I'd be saved the small talk that's kinda painful when both parties are hard of hearing, him from age, me from too many loud gigs...'She's a collie' 'A corgi?' 'NO! COLLIE' 'Like Lassie?'...Every fucking time.
As I'm standing there searching for the £5 note I know is in the last damn pocket, my dog lunges to the side, growling, hackles raised. WTF...how does she always time this for maximum inconvenience? Looking over I see a small toddler holding a single red balloon approaching Kelp (my dog). That's all I need, Kelp hates balloons. I quickly fumble payment and blindly take the filled ice-cream cone in my hand and back away from the toddler. The little girl is staring at Kelp and smiling a bright and wide smile. I'm pulling Kelp back when suddenly, from behind the van, a figure moves quickly, grabs the child and takes her away before I can do anything. The girl starts to cry and, as the two figures recede towards the stagnant pond, I can make out her mother scolding the girl for approaching a strange dog. Too right! I wish all parents acted so.
Relieved now, I look to my cone holding hand. There's a melting mound of white ice-cream laced with thick whorls of deep red, with red running down the cone over my fingers and onto the grass where an ant stuggles among the cone melt. I tentatively take a lick...
Fuck, raspberry ripple! I fucking hate raspberry ripple.
Credited to Ouakha
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