Saturday, June 16 2001

Seven-year-old Kurt's head snapped up from the teapot and cup he was holding, his ear following the sweet music that suddenly filled the air. He and his best friend, Blaine, were having a tea party outside of Blaine's front yard. The weather outside was super nice that day with the sun shining bright and the weather warm around them, and Kurt's daddy said that he could play with Blaine for the mean time while him and his mommy went out to buy stuff. Blaine's mommy said she had absolutely no problem with watching over the boys that day and, though the boys didn't know it, it touched her heart to see the two friends innocently playing outside with teacups, teapots and stuffed animals.

But now, with the familiar melody playing above them, Kurt's attention was turned towards the source of the sound: a big, white ice cream truck. As soon as the music played just a second earlier, Kurt knew immediately what was coming towards him and Blaine. The young boy experienced only last week having a delicious treat delivered to him by the man in the truck, where the music blasted from the stereo coming from the speakers above the vehicle. Burt, Kurt's daddy, said that the man in the truck was the ice cream man, and that the truck he drove around was to serve people with ice cream. The chestnut haired boy was amazed at the information.

Ice cream! Being served to people by a friendly man in a white truck! Who knew?

Which is why he was currently really, really happy to see the familiar white truck driving down the street. It was still a ways away, but Kurt figured if he and Blaine ran to the corner of Blaine's street, maybe he could catch it in time.

But they needed money first. Kurt remembered his daddy paying for his ice cream last time.

The little chestnut haired boy looked to his friend. The tanner boy was pouring the "tea" (it was really water, but they could pretend it was tea just fine) into his own cup now, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Kurt thought it was funny whenever his curly headed friend did this. And he began to laugh about it too, until he heard the sound of the ice cream truck coming closer. Kurt immediately jumped out of his seat then, visibly startling his best friend. But Kurt ignored this and grabbed Blaine's hand before rushing towards his friend's house, tugging a very confused Blaine behind him. Blaine's mommy was already opening the door by the time Kurt and Blaine reached it.

"Mrs. Anderson!" Kurt asked in a huff and hurry, "Can Blaine and I get –"

"– some ice cream from the ice cream truck?" she cut him off with a knowing smile.

"Yes, please!" Kurt answered in a happy voice, jumping in excitement. Mrs. Anderson grinned down at him then excused herself to go inside and get her wallet.

Apparently Blaine still didn't figure out what was happening though because he asked, "Kurt, what's going on? Why are you jumping?"

Kurt turned to his best friend, the smile still plastered on his face. "We're going to get ice cream from the ice cream truck!" He was biting back a squeal, and Kurt was glad he was able to keep it in because Blaine looked so confused.

"What's that?" Blaine asked curiously, his mop of curly hair bouncing slightly when Blaine tilted his head.

Mrs. Anderson was coming out of the house now (her wallet in hand, Kurt noticed). She closed the door behind her and motioned for the boys to start towards the corner of the street. Kurt obeyed, forgetting his friend's question, and immediately sprinted towards the end of the street, pulling Blaine with him as their hands were still clamped together.

"Kurt! Kurt!" the shorter boy started giggling, "What's going on? What's a ice cream truck?"

When the paler boy finally reached the end of the street, he let out a little squeal when the truck turned their way. After a beat, Kurt turned to his best friend. "The ice cream truck brings ice cream to people! There's a really nice man inside who gives the ice cream. I got one from him last week with my daddy!" he explained excitedly.

The curly head began to smile too and replied, "Oh! Neat! So, we're getting ice cream?"

"That's right, honey!" Mrs. Anderson responded, closing the distance between her and the two best friends with a few steps. Once she was behind Blaine, she placed a hand on his shoulder and looked down to him, asking, "So, what flavour do you want, baby?"

Blaine looked up to his mother and scowled. "I'm not a baby, Mom!"

Kurt bit back a little giggle because, despite what he just said, Blaine kinda did look like a baby. Or, at least, he sure was acting like one. Not that he'd tell Blaine this, because Kurt was pretty sure that would only make Blaine get madder. And he didn't like it when Blaine was mad at him.

However, Blaine's mommy did not hold back her own laughter, seemingly unaware of how un-fun it was when Blaine was mad. "Okay, sweetie, I'm sorry. You're not a baby," she apologized. "So, Big Boy, what flavour do you want?"

Once the name "Big Boy" slipped Mrs. Anderson's lips though, the shorter boy immediately brightened up, looking like he already forgave his mother's slip. "Do they have Rocky Road, like the one we buy at the store?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes they do, honey," the mom replied.

"Okay then, I want that one!" Blaine's smile now looked like it could have split his face in two. Kurt knew how his friend felt because, well, getting ice cream always meant good things!

Mrs. Anderson turned towards her son's best friend now. "And what would you like, Kurt? Rocky Road too?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, I want the – the…" he trailed off, unable to remember the incredibly yummy flavour his father got him last time. He closed his mouth and furrowed his little, delicate brows, trying his hardest to remember the name of the flavour. "The one that smells like coffee!" he tried explaining, "And it has these bits of nuts in it, and it has chocolate, and it has swirls and –"

"Is it called Mocha Almond Fudge?" Mrs. Anderson guessed.

Kurt nodded happily, knowing for sure that was the flavour that his daddy got him before. "Yeah, yeah! That one! I want that flavour." Then, remembering the manners his mommy taught him, he added, "Please, Mrs. Anderson?"

The curly haired woman beamed at him and replied, "Okay, Kurt. And, remember, you can call me Molly. Alright?" Kurt nodded his head in understanding.

Finally, finally, the ice cream truck pulled up in front of them. Kurt clapped in excitement. He looked up to the window where he knew the man would poke his head out. Soon enough, the nice, old man he saw last week opened the window and looked down at them, smiling as he saw the three waiting for him.

"Why, hello!" he greeted brightly, in a scratchy but comforting voice that Kurt vaguely remembered his grandfather sounding like. "Well, what do we have here?"

"I'm Kurt, and this is my best friend, Blaine, and this is his mommy, Molly," Kurt quickly explained, pointing to each of them, "And we're here to get some ice cream!"

The man grinned down at him and responded, "And I'm here to get you some! So, what do you kind folks want?"

"Well," Molly began with a grin, "Kurt here wants a Mocha Almond Fudge. And Blaine," she said, ruffling her son's messy mop of hair, "wants a Rocky Road. As for me, I'll have one strawberry ice cream, please."

"One Mocha Almond Fudge, one Rocky Road, and one strawberry ice cream coming riiiiiiiight up!" the kind man announced. Kurt watched with wide, careful as eyes the ice cream man ducked back into the truck for a moment before sticking his head out the window once more, asking, "You folks want them in a cone?"

"Ooh, Mommy, can we have them in cones? Please, Mommy, pleeeeeease?" Blaine begged as Kurt turned to Molly, pleading silently for a "yes" with his eyes.

The mother turned to the paler boy then, and asked, "Kurt, is it okay if we get the ice creams in a cone?"

Kurt nodded jerkily with a wide grin. He liked cones. Cones tasted really yummy, and they were crunchy in a good way. Unlike vegetables and other icky stuff, at least.

Blaine's mom turned back to the ice cream man and replied, "I guess we'll have them in cones then."

The old man nodded and turned back into the ice cream truck, grabbing their orders. Not even a few minutes later, he was back out with the ice creams, the boys' orders in one hand and Molly's on the other.

"Here you go," he said as he bent over to hand the ice creams to them. He handed the orders to the correct person before looking back to Molly, saying, "That'll be $12.45, ma'am."

Kurt licked his ice cream happily as Molly went through her wallet before handing over the money. "Keep the change," she said with a smile. As Kurt licked at his oh-so-delicious treat, he noticed how Molly's smile was a bit like Blaine's: soft and kind and something that reminded him of home.

This thought was interrupted by Blaine, who slurped loudly at the ice cream that ended up at the far corner of his lips. Kurt turned to his friend and giggled before turning his attention back to his treat and licking it fiercely.

"Thanks, Mom!" Blaine said quickly, wasting no time with his ice cream and continued to lick it.

"Yes," Kurt agreed, "thank you Mrs. An – I mean – Molly."

Molly motioned towards the ice cream man in front of them, who was smiling at the entire group. "Boys, don't forget to thank the nice ice cream man," she reminded them.

Both boys turned back to the truck and looked up with bright grins. "Thank you, ice cream man!" they said simultaneously.

The old man chuckled and answered, "No problem boys. I'll see you later!"

And with that, the man closed the window of the truck. Soon, the white vehicle began to start up again, turning back into the main road and drove away, leaving the group to enjoy their sweet frozen treats on that sunny afternoon.