If only he’d believe it.
“Two or three weeks tops.” When the phone rang, she stood and patted his leg. “Thank you. You’ll start tomorrow morning.”
“Ugh!” he yelled, over-exaggerating as she walked by laughing. In the kitchen, she answered the phone, and by her tone, he knew it was his father, who was out of town for a company business trip. Something that happened more and more lately. Gavin wondered if he was assigned the trips or if he volunteered to get away.
Rolling to his side, he snatched his phone up and texted Dylan. His friend sent several laughing emojis in response to the news.
Gavin: Thanks for the support. You know this affects your plans too, right?
Dylan responded with the poop emoji, and he laughed. His friend then sent a basketball emoji. Gavin shook his head and sent a thumbs up. Dylan used way too many emojis and GIFs, but it mirrored his over-the-top personality. Gavin stood from the couch and moved toward the stairs. As he began to climb, he yelled down to his mother, “I’m not wearing the uniform though!”
3
Monday
He wore the uniform. Monday morning, he showed up at the Summer Scoop in the mandatory, bright pink polo shirt. The small, colorful building was just big enough for a handful of tables inside. Most of the customers sat at the outdoor picnic tables under the yellow umbrellas or on the benches around the playground. Within walking distance of the beach, it all sat on a small hill overlooking the lake, making it the perfect summer destination. Everyone loved the Scoop.
Gavin pushed through the blue back door. Though it was only the first week of June and fairly early in the morning, the muggy air was already stifling. He took a deep, relieving breath as he stepped into the air-conditioned hallway. A familiar tune by a certain mermaid played in the front of the store, which opened in twenty minutes. He walked to the end of the hallway, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall.
Lila had her back to him, dancing back and forth as she set up the topping bar. He hadn’t heard her sing in years. It brought back a flood of memories.
As she twirled and caught him watching, she screamed. Sprinkles went flying through the air. She cursed under her breath with a hand to her chest. “Seriously?”
Gavin doubled over, holding up a hand as he tried to stop laughing. “You should have seen your face.”
She quickly moved to turn the music off.
“Still obsessed with Disney, I take it. Glad to see some things don’t change.”
Turning around to glare at him, she demanded, “What are you doing here, Gavin?”
“Looks like we’re going to be work buddies for a few weeks.” By her gaping mouth, he knew his mother hadn’t told her. “My mom needed someone since the other two quit.”
“I thought they just called in sick?”
“Nope,” he replied. “Apparently they have better things to do. Much like I did… yet, here we are. My mom’s going to hire a couple more people but doesn’t want you to have to do all the work and train them at the same time, I guess.”
Lila rubbed her temple with one hand and closed her eyes. He knew she hated him, but surely they could last a few weeks without killing each other. Not waiting, he turned and opened the closet.
“Here.” He pulled out a broom and held it out as he approached her.
She opened her eyes and raised a brow at him. Crossing her arms, she shook her head. “Oh, no. You clean this up. I already did most of the work setting up for the day.”
“Fine.” Before she could walk away, he reached out toward her hair, but she smacked his hand. “Easy, Weston.”
“Don’t touch me,” she yelled.
“I was just getting a sprinkle,” he yelled back. “You are infuriating, you know that?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
She shook her head again and narrowed her eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to get the ice cream from the freezer.”
As she stepped around him and disappeared into the walk-in freezer, he started to sweep. “This is going to be a fun summer.”
Lila passed over two ice cream cones then turned to find Gavin blocking her way. He reached around her with the shake she needed and handed it to the mother outside the window. The woman thanked them and turned to follow her two kids down to the beach. Their laughter drifted up to the Scoop on a refreshing breeze.
As she was the last customer in the afternoon rush, the shop finally stood empty. Lila closed the window, sealing in the cool air. She moved to her bag and pulled out a folded paper. She’d created the summer bucket list the night before. One last chance to live it up after high school. She read through it, trying to decide where to start. There wasn’t a lot of time.
“What’s that?” Gavin asked, coming to look over her shoulder.
She folded it up and shoved it back into the pocket. “Nothing, just a grocery list.”
Kicking her bag under the counter more, she faced him. The air conditioner hummed in the background with music playing softly from the overhead speakers. Hazel eyes bore into her. She crossed her arms, refusing to look away first.
His mouth quirked up on the side. “What are you hiding?”
“Nothing.” She had years of practice keeping her voice calm.
Gavin eyed her for a moment before shrugging and walking away. He moved to the topping bar, cleaning up the spilled candy between the canisters. Kids were so messy.
Few others trickled in until the evening, when a little league baseball team and their families swarmed the small space, celebrating a win. Their shouts and laughter echoed off the walls, making Lila’s head pound. When she handed the coach his change and he followed the last little player out,
