by Shar Dimick
“Aunt Maddy!” Lena called. “Can I get two scoops?”
Maddy shook her head no and held up one finger. She knew her niece’s eyes were way bigger than her stomach. She would never be able to finish it before it melted down her arm. Maddy peered into the curved window of the long freezer that ran across the front of the store, displaying the various flavors -- chocolate, vanilla, rocky road, chocolate mint, chocolate chip cookie dough, bubble gum, strawberry…They all looked good.
James pointed to the blue colored ice cream at the back. “That’s the one I want,” he indicated.
“Hey, that’s the kind I wanted,” Lena complained.
“You both can get the blue one,” Maddy said.
“She’s always copying me!” James narrowed his eyes at his little sister.
“Am not. I wanted that flavor first,” she retorted.
“OK, you two. That’s enough. What difference does it make if you both get the same flavor?” Maddy asked, remembering a similar argument she’d regularly had with her older sister, Liv.
James sighed. “Never mind. I’m going to get cookie dough instead.”
Lena opened her mouth as if to change her mind too, but thought better of it and closed it.
“Have you decided then?” Mrs. Jenkins asked. She plucked the ice cream scoop out of the bin of warm water it was soaking in. A small, wiry woman, Mrs. Jenkins had been scooping ice cream for as long as Maddy could remember.
“Yes. I think so,” Maddy answered. “Go ahead, Lena. Tell her what you’d like.”
Lena stood on her tip toes, pressed her nose against the glass and pointed to the blue ice cream. “I want a scoop of the blue one.”
“Cake cone, sugar cone or waffle cone?” Mrs. Jenkins inquired.
Lena looked at Maddy for guidance.
“Why don’t you get it in a cup instead? It might be easier to eat that way.”
Lena pouted. She wanted a cone like she knew James would get.
“I could put it in a cup and then put the cone on top,” Mrs. Jenkins suggested.
Lena smiled and nodded yes as the older woman fitted a sugar cone on top of the blue ball of ice cream and then pressed in two chocolate chips for eyes and a third for a nose.
James spoke up next. “I’ll have a scoop of the cookie dough in a waffle cone.”
Mrs. Jenkins nodded understanding as she deftly carved the ice cream into a perfectly round sphere of yumminess and placed it into the waiting cone. She stuck a spoon into the back of the waffle cone and handed the napkin-wrapped cone to James.
She looked expectantly at Maddy. “What about you, Maddy dear? Butter pecan in a sugar cone?” After all these years, Mrs. Jenkins still remembered everyone’s name and favorite flavor.
“You got it, Mrs. Jenkins,” Maddy answered. She always thought about trying one of the new exotic flavors, but the salty sweetness of butter pecan beckoned to her in the end.
“So how’s your grandmother doing these days?” Mrs. Jenkins asked as she scooped the ice cream.
“She’s as busy as ever. Right now she’s planting petunias.”
“She always has the most beautiful flower beds.”
“Can we sit outside?” James interrupted.
“Sure. Just don’t go down by the water without me. Stay on the benches outside the shop.”
“We will.”
Maddy turned back to Mrs. Jenkins and handed her the money for the ice cream.
“I saw your sister a few weeks back,” she commented as she made change.
“Which one? Lisa or Liv?”
“Liv. She looked radiant.”
“I know. I’m so happy for her,” Maddy answered. She paused a moment and twisted her mouth. She was happy for older sister. Happy and jealous. Liv was marrying her childhood friend, Cameron, at the end of the summer. They’d reconnected the previous summer after almost a decade apart. Liv had already been married once before and had a beautiful daughter named Sara. Liv’s ex-husband had been overly critical and controlling. Maddy was amazed at her sister’s strength and knew how hard it had been for Liv to leave him. Cam was perfect for her sister. Yet, Maddy couldn’t help the feelings of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. It didn’t seem fair. When would it be her turn? Never, her inner voice told her.
As if reading her mind, Mrs. Jenkins reached over and clasped Maddy’s free hand. “Don’t worry sweetie. It’ll be your turn soon enough.”
“Right,” Maddy answered softly. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…” she joked with the older woman, trying to put on a happy face.
Mrs. Jenkins held her gaze. “It’ll happen to you. Believe me. It’ll happen when you least expect it.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Maddy answered with her voice, but her mind filled with disbelief. Not in this lifetime. “I better get going before the kids get antsy and wander off. Thanks for the ice cream.” Maddy hurried out of the shop into the warm sunshine. She sat on the bench next to her niece and licked off the drips of melted butter pecan ready to fall on to her leg. Ice cream was definitely one of her weaknesses. She pondered going on an “ice cream only” diet as she crunched into the cone. Upon finishing the last bite she wiped her mouth and turned toward Lena.
The girl’s chubby face was smeared with the blue ice cream she still spooned into her mouth.
“You’re quite the sight to see,” Maddy teased. Lena stuck her tongue out at Maddy. It was also blue. Maddy stood up and backed a few feet away from Lena. She grasped the camera hanging around her neck and brought the viewfinder to her eye. She focused on Lena and pressed the shutter release repeatedly, capturing the various faces the little girl made as she ate her ice cream. After a few moments she lowered her camera and sat back down.
“Can I see?” Lena asked.
“First go throw your empty cup in the trash over there.” Maddy pointed to the trash receptacle a few feet way. “And then wipe off your mouth and hands. Here’s a wipe.” She pulled the small packet out of her backpack and handed it to Lena.
“Can I have one too?” James asked.
“Sure.” Maddy handed a second packet to the boy.
Lena raced back and sat in Maddy’s lap as Maddy put the camera in front of them and tilted the LCD display out of the sun so they could see the various images of Lena flip by as Maddy pressed the forward button.
“I look silly!” Lena laughed.
“You sure do!”
“Go over and stand by your brother and I’ll take a nice one of the two of you.”
James frowned. “Do I have to?” he complained.
“Yep, you do.”
Lena hurried toward her brother, who leaned against the boardwalk railing. The blue lake expanded in the background behind them.
“OK, a little closer.”
James grudgingly took a small step closer to his sister.
Maddy smiled to herself. He was just like his mother. She hated getting her picture taken too. “A little closer. Put your arm around her James,” she instructed. He glared at his aunt.
“Come on. It’s not going to kill you! The sooner you let me get a good shot, the sooner you can go down to the water.” James reluctantly put his arm around his sister.
“Now smile,” Maddy prompted. Lena pasted a goofy smile on her face and James remained stoic. Maddy snapped the photo anyway. She realized the impromptu photo shoot wasn’t to be. She lowered the camera. “OK. Let’s go down to the water.”
“Yes!” James shouted and pumped his fist in the air.
“Can we get our feet wet?” Lena asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Maddy answered. They sat down on the bench and took their shoes off and stuffed their socks inside. Maddy placed them under the bench out of the way. James was halfway down the beach to the water’s edge before Maddy stepped off the boardwalk. Lena lagged behind him.
“Wait for me!” she called.
Maddy smiled as the two kids waded into the water.
“Don’t go out too far,” s
he called as she framed their smiling faces in her viewfinder and snapped a series of candid photos. That’s better.
She stood at the edge of the water just out of reach of the lapping waves.
“Come on Aunt Maddy,” Lena motioned to her.
Maddy tentatively dipped her toes into the water and jumped back.
“Sorry! It’s too cold for me.” The water wouldn’t be warm enough for her taste until at least the middle of July. Right now she could still feel the icy winter in its touch. “I’m just going to sit over here on the beach and watch.”
Lena nodded and went back to searching for shells on the lake bottom. Maddy continued to watch them play in the water, broad smiles crossing their faces as they screeched and laughed at each other. Watching. Maddy was good at watching, observing and recording. She was always the woman behind the camera, never the one in the spotlight. She preferred to blend into the background. That’s how she got her best photographs; by blending into the background, being totally unremarkable. She had a face that no one remembered. Maddy sighed and struggled to keep herself from wallowing further in self-pity. Her mind wandered back to her conversation with Mrs. Jenkins. She laughed at herself as she brought her knees to her chest and rested her camera on them as a make-shift tripod. She didn’t have much hope in “it” happening to her anytime soon. Out of the four Adams sisters, Maddy was the youngest and the plainest. Maddy determined the good genes must have run out by the time they got to her. She didn’t have the deep blue eyes that her mother and sisters all had; hers were gray or green or hazel or who really knew what color they were. She didn’t have the curvy figure of her sisters either. She would have thought she was adopted if it weren’t for her grandmother. Maddy favored her with her stick-straight figure and hair.
A late bloomer, Maddy rarely dated in high school. The two dates she’d gone on were border-line disasters. She’d been so shy and clumsy. Neither boy asked her out twice. In the back of her mind she figured one of her sisters or friends had put them up to asking her out in the first place - pity dates. Maddy sucked her breath in at the painful memories. She hadn’t gone to her homecoming dance or her prom. She pretended not to care; to prefer a good book and warm cup of cocoa to a superficial dance, but in reality she would have jumped at the chance to go to the dances -- to go shopping with her mother, to pick out a fancy dress, to get her hair and nails done… It hurt that no one had asked her to go and she was too shy to do the asking herself. Too shy and too afraid of rejection. She did have that trait in common with her sisters. Once she got to college she focused on her studies, while her roommates partied. Inexperienced socially, she felt awkward around boys and the party scene. Everyone seemed light-years ahead of her. She felt content and safe fading into the background again. Now that’d she’d graduated college, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do next.
Maddy’s phone vibrated in her pocket, disturbing her from her thoughts. She glanced at the kids now building a sandcastle on the shore and pulled her phone out. The screen told her it was a text message from her best friend and college roommate, Monica. Speaking of pity dates, Maddy thought as she scrolled through the message. Monica was always trying to set her up with some guy. This time the guy happened to be Monica’s older brother.
“Hey Mad, how’s it going? Mason is visiting friends at your lake! I know you would hit it off. I can set it up!”
Maddy frowned. She’d never met Monica’s brother, Mason, and had no intention of going through another painful pity date, especially a blind one. She didn’t want to hurt Monica’s feelings, but she also didn’t want her brother to be obligated to go out with her on his vacation. She sighed as she touch-typed her response.
“I’m not sure I’ll have time with all the wedding stuff going on.”
A few seconds later Monica’s reply flashed across the display. “You’re always too busy. Take some time for you this summer. At least think about it.”
Monica was not going to give up. “I’ll think about it,” Maddy typed and pressed send.
“That’s better than ‘No’” Monica’s reply popped up seconds later.
Maddy rolled her eyes at her friend and tucked her phone back in her shorts pocket. She picked her camera back up and shot some more candid photos of her sister’s children building their sand castle. She scanned the horizon and the surrounding boardwalk with her zoom lens. She’d left her telephoto at home, but her every-day lens still had a decent zoom on it. She snapped a photo of a sailboat skimming the water. A few seconds later a pair of seagulls dipping into the water filled her frame. She panned over to the docks and the line of boats tied to it. Sail boats, speed boats, jet skis, row boats, pontoon boats and even a canoe were moored to the three long wooden piers that jetted out into the lake. A small houseboat made its way into one of the open spaces on the pier closest to Maddy. She saw a golden colored dog sitting on the deck of the boat. She zoomed in a little closer. The dog sat perfectly still except for his wagging tail and panting tongue. The dog stared straight ahead as if guiding the boat into place. The boat bumped the edge of the dock and the dog didn’t flinch. Maddy watched as a man joined the dog in her view finder. She sucked in her breath at the sight of him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his well-muscled back glistened with sweat. Unable to turn away, she snapped a photo as he turned toward the dog. The man bent down and reached to pat the dog’s head. He had a broad smile across his tanned face. Just as the man scratched the dog behind his ears, the dog turned and flicked his tongue right into the man’s mouth. Maddy giggled to herself as she continued to snap a series of photos as if on autopilot. The man quickly stepped back and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth on reflex. He wagged his finger at the impish dog and gave him a mock scolding, before scratching his ears again, this time with his mouth closed. Maddy adjusted her camera to see if she could zoom any closer and caught the sun in her lens. She could see the glare as it flashed across the man’s face. Crap. So much for blending in.
The man looked up and out toward the beach and Maddy. She quickly dropped her camera back around her neck as she felt her cheeks grow hot from being caught watching the man and his dog. She’d been so mesmerized by their interaction that she couldn’t help herself. The photos were for her personal collection and wouldn’t be sold, so there was no real harm taking them. With more people now dotting the beach, he probably hadn’t even realized she’d taken his photo. She was worrying for nothing. Maddy waited for her heart to start beating normally before she looked up and glanced over toward the man again. He seemed to be watching her, studying her. He must see someone he knows, she thought as she continued to stare at him. He wore a pair of faded cut-off jeans that hung off his slender hips. His dark eyes caught and held hers a moment as he slowly brought a smile to his lips. Maddy felt her cheeks burning again. He’s not looking at you anyway. So why are you blushing? She chided herself. He raised his hand and waved. Maddy quickly turned to look behind her. He surely wasn’t waving at her. Her imagination must be playing tricks on her again. She swallowed and glanced back to the pier, but both the dog and the man were gone.
“Who are you looking for Aunt Maddy?” James asked dripping sandy water on her bare legs.
Startled Maddy looked up at her nephew. “No one. I was just people watching…”
“What’s people watching?” Lena asked plopping down on the sand next to Maddy.
“Well, it’s when you sit back and observe or watch what people are doing.”
“Boring,” James commented.
“As a photographer, people-watching is one of the ways I get my best photos. I like to get candid or natural shots of people doing what they love to do.”
“That sounds neat, Aunt Maddy. Someday I want to take pictures just like you!” Lena put her arm around Maddy’s waist and laid her head on her shoulder.
“I have an old digital camera somewhere,” Maddy said. “I’ll dig around for it and see if I can find it when we get back home. You can have it, if you wa
nt it.”
“Really?”
“Yep, really.”
“Can we go find it right now?”
“Are you done playing at the beach?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“What about your brother?” she looked at James.
“I’m ready to go too,” he agreed.
“OK, let’s roll then.”
The kids raced across the hot sand ahead of her towards the bike rack and their shoes. Where do they get their energy? Maddy wondered again as she followed behind them.
About the Author
Shar Dimick started writing stories and poems as a grade-schooler. Her passion for writing continues to grow. Whether writing, a blog entry, a software manual or a chapter in her next novel, not a day goes by where she isn’t writing something. Cousin to her love for writing, Shar’s also an avid reader of romance novels from contemporary to historical. Drawn to the genre from an early age, it seemed natural that her first novel, Take a Deep Breath, be a contemporary romance.
Shar holds a Master of Arts in English from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She is the mother of two young daughters and a grown step son. Shar, her husband and their daughters live on a small farm in Northwest Ohio, where she’s already working on her next novel.
