──────────❥─────────── I should've named this book, "(The/A) House of Cards," lol
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The wind gently brushed past us as we sat on this bench, admiring the scenery that lay within the timely yet beautiful park. The people were so peaceful, the decorations were so old—older than me—yet so beautifully reserved for all curious eyes to see.
It's still so pretty.
A sigh slipped from my lips covered in a gentle layer of mango. I turned my head to face the children—all of them focused toward the ice creams that they happily licked at.
"So, who took you to the park?" I asked them, their eyes giving glances toward me, "You said your mother was at work, right? Did you come with a babysitter?" I asked the children, not sure if I had just kidnapped them from a poor babysitter who left them for a moment to take a surely well deserved nap or break.
"Yup," Dixie answered for the group, using a sleeve to wipe the thin layer of vanilla from her face, "Two of them."
Our bodies all sat on a long, wooden bench—nails were sticking out and rusted, paint chipping off with time.
I remember this bench.
I twirled the lightly damp cone in my hands, its texture running along each finger and bump that belonged to my hand. "So they just left you here?" I asked, sceptical of whether or not I should call Child Protective Services. Or inform their mother that she should ask for her money back.
"Today we asked to be big kids," Ace replied for his sister, "so they went to get a coffee and said they would pick us up at 12. Then we'd go home to have lunch."
"I want dino nuggies!"
Take a wild guess which one that was.
"Alrighty," I said, looking at my phone for the time. "You guys have around five minutes left. I should probably go, too."
Dixie's wide, green eyes turned to me, tilting the ice cream cone downward. "Why, Mister?" she asked; it seemed she didn't want me to go. Shocking, as the only thing I did was give her a very large, very yummy ice cream cone.
I tilted her hands back up, trying to put out the fuse before a disaster. "My friend will be worried. I told her that I'd be off for a run, but I've only been sitting here eating ice cream." I took another lick of the dripping liquid. I winked. "Don't tell her, though."
All three children giggled at my lack of responsibility.
"You remind me of our Aunt," Dixie said, going back to attack the unfreezing chocolate milk.
I struck a dramatic pose in front of the kids, being careful not to spill my ice cream. "Beautiful and charming?" I asked with a childish grin on my face.
