It takes a toddler yelling out my name to tear myself away from her and to stop myself from pulling her into my arms like I’d dreamed this morning.
Almost two hours later, she turns around to see the four of us walk back from the court to her.
“Hungry?” she asks.
“Starving!” I say, throwing the ball to Brian.
“Who won?”
“We did!” Michael yells out, lifting his arms into the air.
“Well, it was the three of you against me,” I clarify.
“Yeah? Can I play next time?” Malynda asks.
Michael splutters, “You’re a girl.”
“Oh, I get it, you’re scared ‘cos I’m a girl, I’m obviously better at b-ball than you,” she taunts him, winking at me.
My brother’s not sure how to respond and she laughs, poking him in the stomach.
“Hey!” he grumbles, swatting her hand away.
“How ’bout this? Me and Xavier, against you three, whoever gets the most baskets in five minutes buys the others ice cream!”
“But we don’t have any money,” Brian responds.
“Then you better win!” She steals the ball out of Michael’s hands and runs toward the basket, whooping as her first throw nets her a clean basket.
“Your girlfriend is crazy, Xave,” Brian points out.
“She’s not my girlfriend, but yes, she’s a little nuts.”
“Just like you,” Michael giggles as I chase him over to the hoop.
***
“And I want three scoops, double choc chip and with chocolate fudge and chocolate spinkles.”
“Mikey, there’s no way you’re going to be able to eat that,” I say, horrified.
“Yes, I will! I never get to order what I want and since Malynda’s paying, I can!” he insists.
I gesture to the server at Dairy Joy to make them super small scoops and she gives me a wink. We’re pretty used to kids ordering way more than they can eat. We’ve both also had the experience of being the ones who have to clean up, once the kid discovers just how much they can really fit in their tiny bodies.
“That’s not nice, Mikey! Don’t take advantage of Malynda’s generosity,” I scold him.
He pouts, “I’m NOT, I’m taking advana-avtaga, um…”
“Advantage…”
“Advantage of her being bad at throwing baskets!”
Malynda throws us all a look of mock hurt and the boys all dissolve into laughter, clutching their respective ice creams as we follow her to an empty table in front of the ice cream parlor.
It’s hot and the ice creams are melting fast.
There’s silence for the first time since this morning as we all race to lick up the drops of ice cream dripping down our arms before they reach our elbows.
It’s a losing battle for Hamish and before long, there’s more ice cream on his arms and legs than left on the cone. He doesn’t care, he gives me a big chocolate covered grin as he laps at his treat like a parched dog.
I can only shake my head and grin back, glad that they had some fun today. I take a bite into my own chocolate dipped cone and savor the crackle. I love that sound. It’s the breaking of a shell to reveal secrets hidden beneath it.
“Oh. I think… we’re losing one,” Malynda speaks first, tilting her chin toward Mikey.
She’s not wrong, he’s struggling under the sheer weight of his ice cream, barely making a dent in the giant dessert he’s cradling with both hands, but he’s not giving up despite the distinct green color that’s creeping up his neck.
“Er, hey, buddy. Why don’t you take a break, yeah? We’ll take it home and put it in the fridge and you can have it later,” I urge him, though I predict it will be in vain.
“No! You guys will eat it!”
“No, I promise it’s all yours,” I try to reassure him.
“Make Brian and Hame promise too,” he begs.
“Guys…”
“I won’t eat it, Mikey, I pwomise,” Michael’s twin says, giving him an earnest, chocolate covered mouth grin.
“Brian,” I nudge him with my elbow. But he doesn’t say anything, just grins and reaches out to Mikey’s ice cream with his finger.
“No!” Michael cries, twisting out of his brother’s reach, and taking the ice cream with him. “I told you!”
“Bri!” I yell.
“Fine, I promise, geez. I don’t want his germs anyway, he’s licked all over that thing,” Brian sulks, popping the last of his cone into his mouth.
Michael smiles triumphantly back at his brother, finally letting go of his sundae. I check my watch, and as much as I want to stay, to be with her every second that I can, the twins need a nap.
“Okay, guys, have you thanked Malynda for your ice creams?”
“Thank you, Malynda,” they repeat in unison. They’ve recovered from their initial shyness, but their respective crushes on her are still evident. I don’t blame them.
“Thanks guys, but save up those pennies. Next time, you’ll be paying for MY sundae and let me tell you, I’m going to ask for EXTRA cherries!”
She says the last word while jumping up from the table and pretends to leap toward them, making them scatter across the front of the Dairy Joy in a chorus of screams. Her laughter penetrates my ears and echoes inside of my brain for a moment, and I forget where I am. Her laugh does things to her face that her smile doesn’t. It breaks up the elegant structure of her jaw, her cheekbones puffing out, her eyes crinkling.
“What?” she says, noticing my stare. I thought she’d be used to that by now.
“Nothing. I just like hearing and seeing you laugh.”
She reaches out, her hand squeezing my arm. The gesture surprises me. Other than the hug she always gives me before we say goodbye for the day, something about today, maybe because of the presence of my brothers, I think we’ve both been especially aware of our bodies and their proximity to each other’s. I look up into her eyes, her smile softens, and she leans in a little closer to me.
“Hey, lovebirds.” A voice speaks up just then and we both turn to see a crowd of kids from Malynda’s high school strolling up to us.
The guy who’d fought me is standing at the front of the pack, his face plastered with a smug expression. I feel Malynda’s eyes on me instantly, but I keep my gaze locked on him, and remind myself my brothers are there.