Lemon Drops & Candy Shops

15 | root beer and vanilla

15. ROOT BEER AND VANILLA

☀☀☀

[hana | liam]

[The scene continues a quarter past nine, at a small diner north of the boardwalk, with checkered linoleum floors and cream-white counters. With the late hour, only a handful of customers remain, listening to the quiet jukebox music playing in the background or sipping from milky glasses while browsing the Internet. The brown-haired boy tugs the blonde girl in the direction of a corner booth complete with red vinyl chairs and faded beige salt and pepper shakers shaped like burgers.]

❝Wow, I feel like I've just been transported back to the fifties in the Chok'lit Shoppe.❞

[He chuckles at her awestruck expression, her blue eyes wandering over the wooden tables and framed prints of old colourful postcards and maps.]

❝I used to come here all the time when I was a kid. And sometimes after late practices still.❞

❝Where the team comes to celebrate too?❞

[She glances around and at the doors. He shakes his head with a shy smile.]

❝Nope. Usually just me. And you, now. So the offer still stands.❞

[She gulps. He waits.]

 ❝Maybe we can get a milkshake or something first. I feel like a brain freeze might be helpful.❞

[He orders a root beer float. She asks for a Sprite float. When the two frosty glasses arrive, she sips from the straw before beginning to speak.]

 ❝I still don't really know why all of this hit me so hard today. I mean it's been a pretty great night otherwise.❞

[Her eyes meet his, before she fiddles with the straw. He leans back against the red seat.]

❝Sometimes the best of days are the ones when you think of the worst of things. It's just like life to come crashing down and rain on your parade, huh.❞

 ❝True. I guess I thought the whole thing would have been even better if I could have just shared it with the 'rents, you know. If they were here.❞

[A sad smile plays on her lips. He can tell that she's still holding back.]

❝How do you think they'd take the news?❞

 ❝Oh, they would've been ecstatic. My dad held down the fort usually and to save the store would have been a big relief. My mum was the one who loved the candy — got my sweet tooth from her — and experimenting with flavours; she would have loved the rock candy.❞

❝I'm sure they would be very proud of you too, seeing all of the work you've put in these last few years.❞

[With a small sigh, she nods.]

 ❝Sometimes, I still feel like they're with me when I'm in the store. Strange as it sounds, I can imagine myself as a little girl again, watching them dance around the shop like they used to.❞