The UsUk Collection

Hugs and Returns

Arthur and his son, Liam, receive the best Christmas present this winter.

"Daddy, can we get ice cream?"

Arthur glanced down at his son, his forest green eyes sparkling at him with hope. The boy pulled his biggest puppy dog look as he put his hands together, curving his pink lips to a pout.

The man chuckled before ruffling his son's sandy-blonde hair. "Now, Liam," Arthur says with a sprinkle of chastise in his tone. "Why would you want to eat ice cream during this cold winter?"

"It's not that cold," Liam giggled.

"It is," Arthur replied with a smile.

It was December twenty-fourth, the day before Christmas, where the streets in Virginia are covered with inches of snow. The air was frosty, but it was bearable enough for the citizens to go ice skating at the frozen lake or go to the supermarket to do last minute shopping for their dinner during Christmas Eve.

That was exactly what Arthur Kirkland was doing with his seven-year-old son.

"Can we please get ice cream?" Liam pleaded once more, taking the seam of Arthur's sleeve and tugging it. "Just for tonight, I promise! Then I won't eat ice cream again!"

"You always say that, poppet," Arthur teases with a wink. "You've mention that little promise before, but when we went to the store the next day, you were begging for another tub of mint ice cream."

"But I was really hungry that time! And it was really hot!"

"It's not hot right now, though." Arthur nods to the supermarket's glass window. Snow was falling outside, but it wasn't as heavy as the one from last night.

"Hmp…" Liam pouted once more, but he was persistent. "But Daddy, can we still get? Please? Please? Please?"

It was obvious the little bugger wasn't going to give up. Arthur sighed in defeat. He couldn't resist those eyes. "Well, alright, we can perhaps buy one tub." He chuckled as Liam jumped in joy.

"Yes!" The boy exhilarated. "Thank you, thank you!"

The smile never left Arthur's lips. "Well, go on then, get the one you like before I change my mind," he says, causing Liam to giggle and race to the freezers. He came back with a small tub of Butter Pecan ice cream. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it," Liam chirped, giving the tub to Arthur so he could put it in their shopping trolley. "Can we go home now?"

"Not yet, we still have some more shopping to do. Don't tell me you want to eat ice cream already," Arthur inferred, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his son.

Liam only replied with an innocent smile.

"We're only eating ice cream once we finish dinner," Arthur declared with a smile before pushing the cart forward to the next aisle.

Pouting, Liam followed along and helped his father spot their needed ingredients for their dinner.

About a half hour later, the father and son exited the supermarket with plastic bags hanging from their hands. Arthur gazed up into the sky with his green eyes; the snow had receded, which cleared up the foggy view around their area. The sky was still populated with grey clouds, and the wind was gushing frigid air into their faces.