by Billy Taylor
“I mean, you’ve only swapped the beginning letters around, but I suppose it will do.”
“Thank you for your support, dear.”
“You’re welcome, babe.”
Mel then reentered the room. “Hey, what’s up?” I said.
“I came to let you know that we’re closing in fifteen minutes.”
“Already?” I asked, glancing down at my watch and realising it was nearly 4:45 p.m. “That went quickly.” I added.
“Do we have to go?” Madeline whined.
“Yes, Madeline, otherwise the ice cream factory monster will eat us all,” August said.
Madeline’s face didn’t budge. She blankly stared at August. “I’m eight, August, not four.” Madeline then turned to me. “Please can we stay?”
“I’m sorry, it’s not my decision. I think the only way you’d be able to stay was if you bought the factory, then you could live here.”
Ethan’s eyes then lit up. “No!” August commanded.
“Aw, but why?” Ethan whined similar to Madeline.
“Because we came here to make ice cream, not to leave here owning the ice cream company.”
Ethan frowned down at his ice cream. “I hate you.”
August threw a cookie at him. “You love me. Now let’s finish our ice cream and go home so Mum and Dad can try it before we have to leave.”
“Fine,” Ethan replied, stirring his ice cream with the spatula.
“If you love Ron’s Ice Cream so much, we could always look into you becoming an ambassador,” I suggested.
“Don’t they fight bulls?” Madeline asked.
“No, that’s a matador, Madeline. You were kind of close,” August answered.
“So what’s an ambassador?” Madeline asked.
“An ambassador is someone who endorses, I mean promotes, certain things depending on what they are.”
“If August did it, would that mean I’d get free ice cream?” Madeline asked, clearly putting her priorities first.
“I would think so,” I replied.
“August, you should do it!”
August laughed. “I’ll see.”
I put my hand inside my suit jacket and removed a business card. “Here’s my card if it sounds like something you’d be interested in. I’m sure we’ll be able to do something together.” She took the card and placed it in her back pocket. “Right, we’d best hurry up and get these into some tubs otherwise none of us will be going home with some ice cream,” I said. “The next step once the ice cream is mixed in the bowls is to scoop it all up and place them into these bags similar to what you would put your sandwiches in for your packed lunch. Then you cut a small hole on the corner of the bag, and squeeze the ice cream into your tub.”
We filled our bags with our ice cream and lined up our tubs. “Don’t spill it everywhere, Madeline, I’m not sharing mine,” Ethan said, nudging her with his foot.
“Although my hands are frozen, Ethan. I won’t be dropping any of my ice cream as its deliciousness is too precious for the floor,” she said, licking some ice cream off the tip of her finger. I paused for a moment. I couldn’t believe how well-spoken this little girl had just sounded. I think it caught August and Ethan off guard, too. And they must spend a lot of time with her.
Madeline counted us down from three, and then we all squeezed the contents of our bags into our tubs. “It’s so cold and weird,” Ethan said.
“I think my fingers are frostbitten,” August added.
“You two are such an old couple,” Madeline said, squeezing her ice cream neatly into her tub like a pro. August and Ethan both looked at each other and laughed; maybe it’s because it was a little true. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.
Once we’d filled our tubs with ice cream, I passed everyone a lid to pop on top of their tubs. And then we placed each tub in a small box so they’re easier to carry and won’t roll around.
“Make sure you put it in the freezer when you get home,” I said, passing Madeline her box.
“Oh, she will. You should see the collection of ice cream she has at home,” August said, crouching beside her and kissing her cheek.
I quickly rinsed the mixing bowls in the sink and then took them back to the reception. “Have you guys enjoyed your day?” I asked as I opened the door to the reception.
“I enjoyed it more than I thought I would actually,” Ethan replied.
“Yeah, me too,” August said, linking her arm with his.
“I loved it!” Madeline growled like an angry bear.
“Good,” I said. They signed out at the reception desk and I walked them to the exit.
“What do you say, Madeline?” August said.
“Thank you, Will,” Madeline said with a cheesy grin.
“You’re more than welcome, Madeline. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Thank you for visiting.”
“Thank you,” August said. “Don’t forget to give Zac that card.”
“I won’t,” I said, patting my jacket where the card was. And then just like that they walked out and left. I’d spent my afternoon with one of the most famous actresses in the world. How on earth did that happen? I stood there for a moment or two as I sunk back into reality. I was about to walk back up to the office to see if Ted was still there, but as I started walking up the stairs, he was walking down them.
“Hey, I was wondering where you were. How did it go?” he asked.
“You’re not going to believe who I just spent the afternoon with.”
Ted was very disappointed that he missed out on meeting August Bishop, as you can imagine. He told me not to tell him any more, as he was angry with himself for missing out on such an opportunity.
“All the boring and shit private tours I’ve done,” he said as he drove us home, “and you’re the one who gets the smoking hot world-famous actress. Was she single?”
“No, she was with her fiancée.”
“Fiancée?”
“Yes.”
“I thought she was like eighteen?”
“Nineteen,” I corrected.
“And she’s engaged already?”
“Yes. I think they’ve been in a relationship for a long time, though. He’s that magician guy that was on Patrick Miller’s show that everyone was talking about on New Year’s Eve.”
“Was he a good-looking dude?” he asked.
“Yeah I guess so, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I’m not into guys, am I?”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t comment on a guy’s looks. Like me, you think I’m stunning, right?”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever been quoted saying that before.”
“Well, as a best friend it is your obligation to find your other best friend attractive for moral support. Even if they look like a donkey or they allow you to insult their ugliness.”
“I disagree, but fair enough.”
We pulled up to a set of lights at the bottom of our road. Our apartment was in sight. I then remembered the photo August and I had together. I took my phone out of my pocket and put it in front of Ted’s face.
He snatched my phone from my hand and after staring at it for a couple of seconds he threw it onto my lap. “She’s not that good-looking,” he said.
“You’re only saying that to make yourself feel better.”
“Will, be quiet and let me comfort myself, ok?”
“Ok.”
The lights changed and we moved forward again. The car was silent as we drove up the hill to our apartment. And then I remembered the card August had signed for Zac.
“August signed a playing card for Zac as well. I think I might drive over to hers later and surprise her with it.”
Ted’s face twitched, but instead of being frustrated with himself or annoyed with me, he decided to change the subject. “You like her,” he said childishly.
“Who, August? She was nice, friendly.”
“No, not August, Zac.”
<
br /> “Oh, yeah, she’s great.”
“You know what I mean. You really like her.”
“We’re keeping it casual.”
“Ah, casual. That explains why you’re going to drive over there later to drop off the signed playing card from August.”
“Ok, I really like her. But she doesn’t want anything serious so I guess we’ll see how it goes. I don’t know what else to say.”
“If she wanted something serious, would you want to be with her?”
“We’ve spent four days together, so it would be a bit soon. But yeah, I can see myself in a relationship with her. But she doesn’t want one, which is why I said we shall see how it goes.”
I was only at the apartment for five minutes before I was driving over to Zac’s apartment. I bought her some more flowers on the way, too. And while I was there I bought a gift bag and a frame to put the card in from August. I also brought the ice cream I made for her, too.
I knocked on her apartment door, and Zac’s head poked around the corner of the door a few seconds later. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not seeming very happy to see me.
“I bought you flowers.” I said.
“Aw, you bought me flowers,” she said, all cute. But then her mood snapped back. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry to show up unexpected. I bought you flowers, and I got you a present,” I replied, holding up the flowers and the gift bag.
“Why?”
“Because it’s a great present.” She stared at me blankly and I don’t think she knew what to do or say. “Is this a bad time?” I asked.
She opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. She made like an umm sound.
“Is there another… guy here?” I asked.
“No!” she quickly replied. “My friend, Natalie, is here and I haven’t told her about you yet.”
“Ah I see, but we’re not a title, remember? So why would you have?”
“I know, but we’ve spent some time together. So she’ll get suspicious. And you brought me flowers and a present. That’s very implicative.”
“Yes, but it’s a very good present, you’ll want to see this.”
“Zac, what are you doing?” I heard Natalie ask inside the apartment.
“Nothing,” she replied, turning her head back into the apartment.
“Then who are you talking to at the door?”
“No one.” Footsteps then approached the door. Zac went back inside and shut it. Then I could hear talking and then little knockings against the door. The door opened a small amount and then it shut. And then it opened a small amount again and then it shut. Meanwhile I stood there with the flowers and the gift bag wondering what the hell was going on. I then heard someone say, “Ouch, why did you do that?” And the door fully opened this time.
Zac was stood behind the most unattractive girl I’d ever seen in my entire life. That’s a lie, but I have to find every other girl that Zac knows unattractive because that’s just the rules. If I show any slight interest or Zac gets suspicious, then my life is at risk. Even though we’re nothing serious. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. But the thing is, I’m not interested in any other girls anyway.
Natalie had brownish red hair. And she was a couple of inches taller than Zac. She had very big eyelashes, and her eyes were a dark brown. And she had quite a noticeable jawline.
“Zac…why is there a really cute guy at our door holding flowers and a little red bag?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“Natalie, this is my friend, Will,” Zac replied. I looked back at her with a slight puzzled look that meant friend? But she tilted her head and glared at me for a moment as if to say Just go with it.
Natalie folded her arms and scanned me from head to toe. “So this is the guy you’ve been spending time with?” she said smugly. Once again I had no idea what to say so I stood there quietly.
“How did you know?” Zac said loudly.
“I didn’t,” Natalie began, “but you confirmed it for me just then.” Zac seemed to get angry with herself for falling into such an easy trap. “Is he coming in?” Natalie asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “No, he has to leave,” Zac said, raising her eyebrows very suggestively to me.
“Come on in, Will,” Natalie said, stepping aside and allowing me entry to their apartment.
“What? No! He has to leave!” Zac said, standing in the way on my entry. I therefore stopped and thought I’d better wait.
“Zachary, stop being an arse and let the hot tall guy with the flowers into the apartment, you silly child.”
“He has to leave!” Zac yelled. I took a step forward and whispered between them, “I think I’m just gonna go.”
“No!” Zac blurted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And we all stood there in silence.
“So you want me to leave, but you don’t want me to leave?” I asked with a small squint.
“He’s coming in for dinner,” Natalie said.
Zac opened her eyes and looked at Natalie and then at me. “Fine.”
They stepped aside and I gave Zac her flowers and gift bag as I walked in. “Take a seat on the sofa, Will,” Natalie said. I did as she asked and sat on the sofa facing the back wall. She sat on the one across from me. “How tall are you?” she asked.
“He’s six foot one or two,” Zac answered as she dashed around the kitchen to replace the previous vase of flowers I had bought her with the new ones I had bought her.
“Ah,” Natalie said. “And are you at university or do you work or both?”
I opened to my mouth to respond, but Zac once again spoke on my behalf. “He works at Ron’s Ice Cream. His best friend is the great-grandson of Ron.”
“Ah,” Natalie said again. “So you’re her new boyfriend that she is trying to keep from me, I presume?”
“No!” Zac yelled.
“She’s so amusing when she gets all worked up like this,” Natalie whispered.
“I heard that!” Zac replied.
“Please say something, Will, you look very uncomfortable,” Natalie expressed with a wince on her face.
“Am I allowed to speak, Zac?” I asked, turning towards her direction.
Her head poked up from behind the corner. “Of course you can, why wouldn’t you be able to?”
“No reason,” I replied. “What would you like to ask me next?” I asked Natalie.
She ran a hand through her hair and then asked, “Have you two had sex?”
Zac then jumped up from behind the counter and head flicked between the both of us like she was watching a Ping-Pong match.
“So that’s a yes…” Natalie joked. “How many times?”
Zac grunted, “Really, Natalie?”
“I’m only trying to find out how well you two know each other.”
“Well, ask how we met or something more appropriate,” Zac suggested.
“Eleven times,” I answered.
“Will!” Zac shouted.
“What?” I replied.
“You counted?!”
“Am I not allowed to?”
Zac placed her flowers onto the kitchen side and then walked over and sat beside me with her gift bag.
“Hi,” I said to her.
“Hi,” she replied, all flustered. She started brushing her hair with her hand and then she got annoyed with that and decided to tie it up.
As she took the bobble off her wrist I said, “Stop worrying about your hair, it looks lovely.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye and continued to tie up her hair. And then she looked over at Natalie.
“I like him,” Natalie whispered to her. “Open your present then,” she added. Zac placed the bag and her knee and peered into the bag. She looked at me before pulling out the frame with the card inside.
“What is it?” Natalie asked.
“Dear Zachary Williams the third,” Zac began to read aloud. She gave me an unamused look after reading that.
“Will told me you liked my film. Just wanted to say thanks. Lots of love, August. And she put a kiss at the end.”
“She came into the factory for a private tour with her fiancée and little sister, and I was the one who showed them around,” I said.
Zac shook her head. “No, I’m not buying it. This is fake, you used it as an excuse to come over, didn’t you?”
I smugly removed my phone from my pocket and showed her the photo of August and me making ice cream. “No way!” Zac whispered, snatching my phone from me.
“Is she the girl from the film you were telling me about last week?” Natalie asked.
Zac nodded, still staring at the photo. “I can’t believe you got to meet her.”
“Spent most of the afternoon with her. We made ice cream together.”
“I want to make ice cream with her,” Zac moaned. She placed a hand on my knee and said, “Thank you, Will.”
There was a slight pause and then Natalie said, “And I can’t even get a text back.” Zac and I smirked.
“This was nice of you do to do,” Zac said, hiding away and going back into shy mode.
I stayed with them for dinner. We had pasta. Zac prepared it in the kitchen whilst Natalie continued to question me about who I am and what I do. But I didn’t want to interrupt their evening, and I had work tomorrow so I said I was going to leave after my pasta. I asked to use their bathroom before I left, and when I returned to the living room, Zac was sat with her coat and her beanie and her shoes on.
“Are you coming with me?” I asked.
“Of course she is,” Natalie said. “Unless you want you’d rather I came back instead?” she added smugly.
“Let’s go then, Zac,” I said.
January 30th
Since Zac had the day off work, but I was working, I gave her a key to our apartment in case she needed to go anywhere. She could stay in bed all morning or watch TV all day. Whatever her preference was. I trusted her to not steal anything, and if we did come back and everything had been stolen, then we knew who it was, and where they lived. But I doubted highly that would happen.
After work, Ted and I stopped by the store to pick up some food and other essentials. “You should buy some things for Zac,” Ted said, stopping at the toiletries isle.