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.”
***
