Vanilla

Seven

[Vanilla]

We turned the bend onto the street I'd seen only just yesterday and immediately—or essentially within two seconds of walking with Si Yin going on about her butler and her favourite ice cream flavour—I sensed something off. It all came together only minutes later, when we arrived at the doorstep of the parlour and understanding hit the back of my head in the most brilliant manner. The parlour was empty.

While the store was lit by warm lights and there appeared to be a single staff member at the counter with stacks of receipts and a clipboard in hand, the tables on the first floor were quite unlike the scene of chaos I'd witnessed only a day earlier. I checked the sign. They were open.

"I may have the worst memory ever but like, didn't you say this place was a crowded mess?" Si Yin turned to me with a raise of her brow, cupping her hands around the sides of her face and pressing her nose right up against the glass.

"Well," I began after a pause. "It was that way yesterday. I'm quite sure of it."

My companion shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. At least there isn't a queue, right?" I gave the time a quick check, noting it down just in case the information proved somewhat handy to my readers or should I ever come again and wish to write in pea—but wait. I wasn't going to come again. I wasn't.

"And you're standing out there because...?" Si Yin was already at the door, holding it open for me with a blank look on her face. I apologized.

A brief glance over her shoulder and another one through the glass to confirm the absence of a certain person I was not in the best condition to see, I gathered the strength to follow her into the store. Tentative steps; furtive glances at the kitchen door by the counter.

The sole staff member on duty at the cash register greeted us with a cheery grin, placing the stacks of receipts and papers aside and giving us her full attention. "Would you like any recommendations?"

"The place is cool. Why's it so quiet at this time? I heard you guys were packed yesterday," Si Yin completely disregarded her question to ask, eyes scanning the menu items listed above the counter. "Also, what's 'Ice cream of the day'?"

"Oh, yesterday? You mean, late in the afternoon like four to five? I guess peak hour and non-peaks make a huge difference," she laughed. "I work on non-peaks 'cuz I just hate crowds but like peaks pay better. And uh, we have special flavours depending on the season and it changes by the day, so. It's apple cinnamon on Thursdays."

At once, I was feeling completely disappointed that I'd left this out of my radar, having so naively believed the marketing tactic that seemed to promote the most basic flavour to ever exist on the planet. I had the sudden urge to note down every flavour of the day and add it to the review on my blog.

"I'll leave you to look at the menu while I find us seats upstairs," was what I said to Si Yin, who could not seem to take her eyes off the display case. She turned to me abruptly.

"There's literally no one here, Vanilla. You don't need to be 'finding seats'. Come on, look at all these options! Should we share a bowl? A split? A chocolate waffle bowl? A mo-chi waffle-thing?" She dragged me by the sleeve, visibly impressed. "You're not going to get a drink after seeing all this, are you?"

I thought about it for a moment. Well, since Leroy isn't here...

"Would you like to sample some of our flavours? I recommend the butter pecan or our very special blend of Matcha 'cuz we use top-quality ingredients to make it rich and soo very creamy—just the right balance of bitter and sweet," the staff behind the counter reached into a tub of intense green and gave us each a generous serving on a wooden tasting spoon. Then, the butter pecan.