Bombs Away

Chapter 13 - Remember me?

Ben's POV

I arrive in the city of Portland, Maine, and breathe in the smell of the ocean wafting onto the shore. The people here are seemingly always happy; even the seagulls look joyful. I walk with my hands in my pockets down the street, taking in the classic New England architecture. It's weird that I used to call this place home.

An ice cream shop catches my eye and I decide to enter, despite the chilly air. The bell of the door dings when I open it, drawing the eye of the women working at the counter. I immediately recognize the elderly lady.

There are somethings that stick with you for a while, if not forever, from your childhood. Many of those memories are random ones, and most of mine started from this town. Every Sunday, I remember vividly my dad and mom taking Amber and I to this shop, Portland's Ice Cream, and the same old lady, Iris, giving us our orders. She would always sneak in an extra scoop for me, when my parent's weren't looking. After all, I was a 'growing boy', as she said with a wink.

Iris looks up at me with a smile as I walk into the shop, my feet heavy with nostalgia. Half of me hopes she doesn't recognize me, since she thinks I'm dead. But the other half secretly wants her to, so at least I'll feel remembered. I know that it's unlikely, since I look much different now than my four years old self.

"Hi hun, how ya doin'?" Iris greets me as I approach the counter. She doesn't look like she's changed, or aged, much. I would guess that she's about 65 now.

"I'm okay, thanks," I shrug.

"Just okay?" Iris puts her hands on her hips and looks me up and down, as if I'm a puzzle she feels obligated to solve. "That's not good enough." She then smirks and asks me what I want to order.

I ask for a single scoop of Rocky Road on a waffle cone, and just as I predicted, she gives me a double scoop.

"There ya go, don't worry about the extra charge." Iris hands me the ice cream, a sweet smile on her face. "After all, you're a-"

"Growing boy, I know," I smile knowingly at her, and her eyes widen. Apparently nobody has stolen her line before.

"Do I know you, son?" She asks quizzically, scanning my face.

"Once, you did." Smiling sadly at her, I throw a five dollar bill on the counter and walk away, no matter how hard I just want to stay and talk with her. I fight to keep my emotions down as I eat the ice cream cone while strolling down the sidewalk, memories from my earlier years coming back to me. When dad took me away from Amber and mom, I never understood why.

FLASHBACK

"Daddy, where are we going?" I clutched my teddy bear in my small hands while peeking at my dad frantically packing our bags.

"Just a boys trip, Benny. Just you and me," Dad wouldn't look at me, shoving my clothes in a small duffel bag. Finally, he turned around. "You want to carry Teddy or put him in here?"

I shook my head and held the small bear tighter. I was about four or five, and couldn't understand why we were going on a trip this early in the morning, and this suddenly.

"I've got school tomorrow," I piped up. I couldn't quite pronounce tomorrow correctly, so it sounded as if there were no r's in the word. "What about school?"

Dad sighed and ran a finger through his hair. "We'll call you in sick."

"But I'm not sick Daddy, I'm just-"

"Ben!" Dad snapped at me, picking up our bags.

I jumped, startled. He sighed again and knelt down to my level, looking morose. "Sorry, buddy. This is unplanned for me, too. You'll understand when we get older, but don't worry, you'll come back. I promise."