For The Love Of Ice Cream

Completely cutting through the quiet rustling wind in the trees, in the distance of the park, one of the kids is screaming at the other. I slowly run my hands over my bearded face. Why can’t they leave each other alone?

“Sorry Zac, I should see what the gremlins are carrying on about. Mind the things.”

I heave myself up from the park bench, my stomach making it more difficult than I remember. My oldest son, Isaac, just continues sitting there, leaning forward on his elbows while slowly getting sucked into his phone. Having a biblical name definitely doesn’t suit his personality, or his emo fringe at age sixteen. Obedient and loyal? Hmph, only to World of Minecraft. Or whatever it is he plays on there.

I kick off my flip-flops, just in case I have to run. I walk several steps before hearing Zac’s detached voice behind me.

“… Mind what things?”

Walking through stacks of leaf litter and out of the shade of the trees, I’m hit by the sun’s rays. It’s quite nice on this brisk day. Nearly enough to overcome the chill of the wind. Not the sound of the kids though, as they chase each other across the field. Sarah is running with a ball, giggling to herself as David tries to get it off of her.

“Give it! You’re not playing fair!”

More giggling.

“Give it!”

I see it unfold before it happens. The boy is quite riled up, with tears glistening in his eyes. He picks up speed and is no longer aiming for the ball. She tries a lazy sidestep but like a predator, his focus is unwavering. It’s a perfect tackle.

In a tumble of limbs, fresh grass and yelling, the ball escapes their clutches and conveniently lands near my feet. I pick it up and absently toss it up and down, watching the emotional chaos unfold while considering who in their right mind would want to have twins? Obviously it’s not something you really choose. More like get awkwardly lumped with.

“Get off, you’re squashing me!”

“Give me… the ball!”

“You mean this ball?”

They continue wrestling, Sarah curled up on her side and David trying to grab her arms while trying to wipe off the tears running down his face.

“I don’t have… get off!”

“The ball is here guys.”

“Give it!”

“Go away David!”

“The ball is… Hey! It’s here Silly”

David finally notices that I have the ball and unceremoniously steps on Sarah to claim it. She tries to trip him as he does but with no luck. Tears start to well in her eyes as she slowly gets up and comes over.

“She wouldn’t give it. Can I have the ball please Dad?”

“Ah… No.”

“What! Why not?! She wasn’t playing fair.”

“I know. I heard and saw it all.”

They plead their cases for a couple minutes, all indignation and denial. I do the dad talk of fair play, explaining to Sarah that she was being mean, and to David that he needs to control his frustration and his reactions. I pat him on the head and hand him the ball.

“It was a good tackle, but don’t do it again. Now you two kick the ball together nicely… Hey! Sarah where are you going?”

“It’s not fair!”

She runs off crying towards the trees and I tell David to go play near Zac for a moment while I get her. Taking a deep breath, I jog after her. Her legs carry her away quickly into the trees, faster than I can catch up. My breathing gets heavy, and I vow to never again go somewhere they can outrun me or escape. Uncomfortable words like, ‘gym’, and ‘exercise’, also start emerging from the depths of my mind.

The shade of the trees cover me, and I have to hobble for a moment after stepping on a stick that I couldn’t see under all the brown leaves. Looking around, I hear Sarah scream nearby. Pain forgotten, I call her name and sprint past several trees to find her standing behind one, looking down and flapping her hands. She looks up at me in anguish, then down at her feet, where a dead cat lies. My heart drops as I look at it, thinking it’s our cat Jimmy. But then I realise the patterns are different and this one is clearly older. My heart slowly starts it’s long trek back up into my ribcage.

She turns to me and clutches my leg, her cries muffled in my jeans. I pick her up, reassuring her that it’s not our cat while carrying her back towards the field. We re-emerge onto the field and into the sun, my foot hurting and her sobs settling down.

“Dad, why-y did she have to d-ie?”

Tears come unbidden to my eyes because I know she isn’t talking about the cat. I let them flow and I stop to look at her.

“Because sometimes bad things happen in life. That’s just the way it is. But sometimes good things happen too. Good things like you, and your brothers. And that’s what I thank God for every day. But we… sometimes we also need to be thankful for the bad things, because they make us appreciate the good even more.”

The sounds of birds and the wind quietly accompany us as we take our time traversing the ocean of grass.

“So, what do you appreciate kiddo?”

“Umm… I appreciate Jimmy. He makes me laugh when he licks my face. And ice cream! It’s my favourite. Should I thank God for Jimmy and ice cream?”

“If you want to kiddo, go for it. I mean you don’t have to, we’re not that religious but it’s still ok to believe in something bigger than yourself. Also, try not to let Jimmy lick your face. You never know what that cat has been eating, let alone licking.”

“Dad, if we’re not religious, why did you give us religious names?”

Her question makes me blink rapidly and I take a moment to transition her weight to my other arm.

“Well, your mother and I grew up with stories from the Bible and the lessons that come from them. But you’re right to ask. I suppose we hoped that having names from them would inspire or guide you.”

“I miss mum.”

“Me too kiddo. All the time. But I still thank God for her. Because if not for her, I wouldn’t have you! And remember that I’ll always love you. Hey… How about we go get ice cream?”

“Yeah! Can we?!”

“Sure thing. But there’s something I think you should go do first though. You weren’t playing nice with David before, were you?”

Sarah biting her finger, looks down and shakes her head before letting herself down from my arms. She takes off without prompting and catches David unaware in a big hug, making him drop the ball.

“Hey! What are you..?”

“I’m sorry. I just want to say I appreciate you. Even if you are a poo-head. And guess what! We’re getting ice cream!”

Even Isaac looks up from his phone, mouth open and eyes slightly more present at the idea of the confectionary. David’s head whips around towards me in a livelier imitation of Isaac's expression. I roll my eyes and puff out my cheeks in an explosive sigh. The kids smile, with the proclamation now confirmed.

We all make our way along the footpath in the direction of the shops down the road. Isaac, walking beside me, looks at me sheepishly and dips his head. His slight slump makes me realise he’s grown again and is nearly as tall as me.

“What’s up mate?”

“Nothing. Well actually, remember the hundred dollars you gave me for my birthday?”

I frown and squint at him, but keep my mouth closed.

“Well, I spent it. Wait! Before you say anything, I know you wanted me to save it and do something with it later. And I know you want me to learn to manage my money well, so I put it into an app on my phone. I thought I lost it all, but I didn’t and now I want to pay for the ice creams.”

“Ah, what?”

“I made money off it instead. So I’d like to buy the ice creams with it.”

“Right. So, you invested the money and made a profit? How much?”

“Yeah! I made fifty-five dollars!”

He holds the phone up to my face, revealing a bunch of numbers and graphs, most of them green. I squint and stare at him again for a moment before breaking into a big smile and putting my arm around him.

“Well done Zac! I’m proud of you. It’s risky business investing but even if you lost it, I’m glad that you’re giving it a go and learning about it all first-hand. Just don’t go silly with it. Okay?”

“Sure thing. Do you think mum would be proud?”

“I don’t think so. I know so. She would be so proud that she would want you to keep the money and make me pay for the ice cream anyway. It’s fine, I insist mate, you deserve to keep it.”

Outside the shops with ice cream cones in hand, we start heading home. Sarah stares at hers for a moment then looks at me.

“Dad, why didn’t you get one?”

“Because I’m sweet enough as it is kiddo. Besides, after today, Dad’s going to start eating better I think.”

With a perplexed expression on her face, she shrugs and goes to eat her ice cream. The top of the ice cream, having melted so quickly, falls to land on her shoe the moment she licks it. She looks down and scrunches up her face, lifting the afflicted shoe off the ground to inspect the damage.

“Ah poo! Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.”