Page 7 of Scoop Me Up
She shook her head. “I get to make my own sundae over there.” Ellie giggled and led the way to the booth, which did turn out to be a sundae-making station.
We walked down the line and I helped her craft what she called the perfect sundae, which included an ice cream that turned out to taste like breakfast cereal, a spoonful of marshmallow creme spread, and maple syrup drizzle. My child was going to get a massive sugar high if I wasn’t careful. As she dug in, I let my mind wander back to the magnetic teacher I’d just met.
“Hey, Bug?”
Ellie raised her eyebrows and looked at me before mumbling around a mouthful of ice cream. “Yeah?”
I opened my mouth to ask her to tell me more about her teacher, but I closed it again. What was I going to ask?Why can’t I stop thinking about your teacher?Hardly. I shook my head. “Never mind. You ready to head home for a little while?” I’d figured we’d stopped by the festival and entered her flavor, and now it was time to head back to her mom’s house for the day, while we waited for the judges to decide and avoided the crowds. Ellie seemed to have other ideas.
“No way. We just got here,” she protested, a pout forming on her face. She finished her sundae and guided me to a kids’ station where there were coloring pages, sidewalk chalk, a face painter, bubbles, and more—enough to make a kid’s head spin. It seemed that the ice cream festival was a child’s wonderland. I took a seat under one of the canopies while Ellie played, my mind wandering once again to her teacher.
While I tried to stay comfortably in the shade of the canopy, I let my gaze roam around the square, taking it all in. There were residents sprinkled throughout the area, a group of people watching the drag queens set up for their performance, a line of folks waiting their turn at the ice cream sundae station, and more. A pang hit me square in my chest—the ache of not being part of the community.
Ellie’s mom, Jennifer, had moved the two of them to Maplewood when we’d gotten divorced last year. Now that Ellie and Jennifer had been living in Maplewood for almost a year, it was clear they’d really made it their home. Everyone was unbelievably friendly and kind, and it was obvious why they loved Maplewood.
As I looked around, I spotted the teacher again, laughing and chatting with someone I didn’t know, and let my gaze linger on them. Sam had dark brown hair and a five-o’clock shadow, and their eyes lit up as they talked and laughed with their friend. I couldn’t quite pin down what it was that kept my attention, but Iwatched for longer than what would’ve been considered strictly polite, only tearing my gaze away when someone next to me spoke.
“They’re cute, aren’t they?”
I turned to find someone grinning at me. The person had long, bleach-blonde hair styled in an undercut, with the shaved part light brown, and kind, dark eyes. When I furrowed my brow, confused, they tipped their head toward Sam. “Sam, I mean.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I shook my head. “Oh, no. I’m not—I mean, I’m—they’re—” I took a breath to compose myself. “I’m straight, I mean.”
The person nodded slowly. “Right. Sorry.” But the smirk on their face said they thought otherwise.
As we sat there, I couldn’t stop the thoughts that raced through my mind. Why had they assumed I was into Sam?Hadthey caught me staring? Did it matter? I wasn’t offended by it, not by a long shot. Just… surprised. While my thoughts swirled around the subject, the person cleared their throat.
“So, I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you just passing through? Which kid is yours?”
I glanced at them and they gestured toward the kids coloring at the table. “Oh, that would be Ellie.”
At the sound of her name, she looked up from her coloring sheet and waved at me. “Hi, Daddy!”
“Hi, El.” Turning back to the person, I smiled.
“Oh, I’ve met Ellie. She and her mom come see me at Sparky’s all the time.”
“Well, I’m just visiting for the summer from Burlington. I wanted to get out here and spend some time with Ellie. I’m Gabe.”
“Sage. I work at Sparky’s. You should come by and grab a meal sometime.”
“Oh, is that the diner? I’ve been there.”
“Awesome. Now you just need to make sure you don’t go to Red’s. Ours is better.”
I chuckled and nodded. “Noted.”
At that moment, Sage stood and brushed their palms on their thighs. “I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you around. It was good to meet you, Gabe.”
“Sounds good. It was great to meet you, too.” A few moments passed before I decided we’d been there long enough. “Hey, Ellie, let’s get going.”
“But, Daddy…”
Another adult stopped by to collect their kid, too. “Time for the ice cream eating contest. Do you want to go watch it?”
Before I knew it, Ellie’s eyes lit up. “Daddy, can we go watch, too?”
I gave her a soft smile. “Sure thing, El.”
