Page 34 of Missing

"I like both. Though I’m not a fan of generic pistachio, it always tastes fake to me.”

“And it’s green. What is it with companies making ice cream green?” He laughed. “Grab some bowls, we’ll split them. Unless there’s one you want all to yourself.”

“I’m good with sharing.” I handed him two bowls. “Do you want anything to drink? I have beer, wine, water, coffee-”

“I’m good for now. Thanks.”

Doug split the two large servings of ice cream in half, which meant I was getting more than I would have given myself. I was thinking of ways I could work off the extra calories when Doug handed me a bowl.

“Apology ice cream is calorie free, so enjoy.”

Damn it. I needed to get better at not broadcasting my thoughts all over my face.

We sat on the couch, almost close enough to touch, but didn’t turn on the TV. He told me how he got his scratches and picking up his truck after the interior was cleaned.

“Did they get it all out?” I asked.

“It’s hard to tell, right now the disinfectant is so strong I think it killed off some of my sense of smell. I’ve been airing it out since I picked it up.”

I felt bad for him. “Hopefully all the smells will dissipate soon.”

“Hopefully.” He shook his head as he chuckled. “How was your day?”

He’s even tempered. Not the kind of guy to throw a fit about things he couldn’t change. Not once had he mentioned billing the clients for the cleaning. Though I was confident John would cover it, once he found out, because it happened on the job. But it said something about Doug that he wasn’t expecting or demanding it.

“A little stressful. Chase wandered off at the park today and gave Angela and Shawna a scare.” I didn’t tell him I’d panicked when they called; he didn’t need to know I’d had a few heart palpitations as they recounted the story.

Luckily, he’d ran back as soon as he heard them calling his name and was standing safely at their sides when they called me.

“He chased a frog behind a bush so they couldn’t see him. He came running, carrying said frog, when they called him. H was so excited, he tripped and fell.”

“Is he okay?” I could hear the concern in his voice, and see it in his eyes.

“He is. He scraped his hands and knees a little when he fell, but he was more upset about losing the frog.”

“Poor kid.”

“He wasn’t a happy camper when I picked him up, not only was he sad he’d lost his frog, he was worried he’d get in trouble for wandering off. He calmed down after I cleaned him up, put dino Band-Aids on his knees, and reassured him he wasn’t in trouble.”

He wasn’t in trouble, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get a talking to about the dangers of walking away from Angela and Shawna. Chase didn’t wander off intentionally, he was just a typical kid who was easily distracted, especially when animals were involved.

“Then I made him his favorite foods, dinosaur shaped mac and cheese and a hotdog.”

“He’s really into dinosaurs, isn’t he?”

“They’re his favorite things. He’s been into them for over a year now, which means he’ll probably change his mind soon.”

Doug laughed.

I was only half done with my ice cream but couldn’t eat anymore. “Will you be offended if I save the rest for later?”

“Of course not.”

When I came back from putting our bowls away, I sat just a hair closer to Doug. We still weren’t touching, but a slight shift by either of us and our legs would make contact.

We leaned back on the couch and relaxed while we talked. We starting talking about our favorite TV shows while deciding what to watch. I liked comedies and fantasy, while he liked crimeshows, sci-fi, and documentaries. We never turned on the TV. Doug admitted to playing video games more often than watching TV. I could relate, I read more than I watched TV.

“I was one of those awkward, skinny, gamer geeks in high school.” He admitted with a self-deprecating laugh.

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