Tic Toc

Ten

Remington
Pennsylvania
Ice Cream Shop

It was three in the morning and usually everything will be closed, especially silly ice cream shops.
But Alex loved it here.
What she didn't love was how it's always so crowded.
So I did what any loving parent would do.
No, I didn't take a sundae to go.

I rented out the whole shop for a night. For another three hours, it was ours.

"Happy birthday!" The waitress volunteered for this torturous shift smiled brightly as she brought out a cake.
It was a mixed of ice cream, all kinds of candy, and actual cake with sweet 16 candles on top.
She was being such a good sport about it; she could have very easily acted like a bitch because she's entertaining us while most people are sleeping.

"Woohoo!" I said as she carefully set the cake in the center of the table. "Make a wish, baby doll."

Alex wasted no time in closing her eyes and blowing out the candles. The waitress and I both cheered. She took the glasses from our milkshakes and went to the back.

"What'd you wish for?" I asked as I cut her slice of cake. Ice cream oozed everywhere and KitKat pieces fell on the table.

"I can't tell you. It won't come true." Her face was playful, but there was an underlying seriousness in her tone.

"It's alright, Moonchild. You can tell me." I promised.

I cut a piece for myself. Alex picked up a KitKat and took a bite. She looked as though she was putting way to much thought into chewing.

"I wished that we'd find your match." She said quietly.

I swallowed hard. Yes, I did make this trip a lot more fun than it was supposed to be. But that didn't mean that we weren't looking. We've been all over the state.
While I was out looking at every person I walked by, she was in our hotel room scanning the internet. Had it not been for the airport issue, we would have gone somewhere else.

"I know you're scared baby." I began, not knowing where I was going with this. "But we'll find him. Don't worry. He's probably right under our noses."

"But what if we don't?" She asked.

For a moment I thought about lying. I thought about telling her that everything was going to be fine. It was going to end like a fairytale. But I didn't want to die without telling her the truth.

"If we don't, just know that I love you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. No matter what Sebastian or grandpa tell you, your my whole world. Okay?"

She bit her lip and looked as though she were about to cry.

"Okay." She whispered.

"Alright enough of that." I smiled at her. "How about we invite that nice lady to have some cake with us?"

She looked over at the waitress, eyeing down her half red, half black hair. Her dark shadowed eyes caught ours and she smiled and waved. She looked like someone we could hang out with.

"I suppose." Alex said finally.

"Hey you! Yes, you with the hair!" I said playfully.

She laughed and came over.

"We decided this was too much cake for us." Alex said bravely. "So we thought you could help."
She patted the spot next to her, which surprise me.
Usually Alex would go out of her way to avoid people.

"I'd love to if you're sure it's okay." She said.

"Of course it is. I'm Remington." I offered hand over the table. "That cutie patootie is Alex."