Healing Takes Time

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Marco stared at me with wide eyes. "You had to do what?!"

I looked down, embarrassed. We were walking to the lodge to get something to eat. "Yeah. It was totally awkward."

"Oh, wow. That must've been tough. I'm embarrassed for you."

We stopped, and I thumped him on the shoulder. "Thanks." We started walking again.

"So what happened after that?"

"I took a shower and went to bed. Thank God I didn't have any nightmares about it."

"I'll say. I don't think I'd ever be able to look my brother in the eyes ever again if I had to do that to him."

"I know! And it was super weird at breakfast. Neither one of us talked to anybody, and we sure as hell didn't make eye contact with each other."

We got to the steps behind the lodge, and I ran ahead to hold the door open for him. He smiled at me as he walked in. So worth it. We sat at the bar and looked at the menu. It was a giant markerboard that took up the whole wall. Almost everything was ice cream. There was soda, pizza, burgers, burritos, etc. there too, but it was nothing compared to all the options of ice cream.

The lady behind the counter smiled at us from the sink. "I'll be with you in just second."

Marco smiled and nodded at her before he turned to me. "What are you getting?'

I screwed up my face as I checked out my options. Mom had told us kids that we each had five dollars to use each day however we wanted, and even though that didn't sound like a lot, there wasn't anything to spend it on other than in the lodge. I actually planned on cashing out whatever I didn't spend and put it in my wallet.

"I don't know. What about you?"

"Um..." He tilted his head. "I think I might get... a caramel coffee freeze."

"Sounds good." I turned my attention to the milkshakes. One in particular caught my eye. I leaned farther over the counter. "Excuse me, what's the fire and ice milkshake?"

She looked up. "Oh, you choose one flavor from the board and we add a drop of this super hot sauce."

"Just one drop?"

She nodded knowingly. "One drop is enough, trust me."

I looked at Marco. He shrugged.
I turned back to the lady. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'd like a fire and ice shake with marshmallow, please." I looked to Marco.

The tops of his ears turned red. "I'll have a caramel coffee freeze. Please."

I turned to Marco when the girl turned to start making the ice cream. He looked at the counter. "I'm not good with ordering."

Something about the way he said it struck me as cute. I reached forward and lightly grabbed his fingers with my own under the counter. "It's okay," I said quietly.

He looked at me gratefully. Did he think that I was going to get upset at him?

Not long after, Marco got his coffee, and I got my fire and ice. I lifted some of the ice cream on a spoon to my nose and smelled it. It didn't smell out of the ordinary. I shrugged. Maybe it wasn't going to be that bad.

I was sorely mistaken. At first it just tasted like marshmallow, but then after maybe two seconds it hit me right in the throat and spread to my mouth. It was definitely hot. "Wow."

"How is it?" Marco inquired.

I took another bite, and it cooled off for about three more seconds before going back to its hella hot state. "Interesting. You wanna try some?"