AncilThe sun beamed down on my mom’s car as Samantha and I drove to the ice cream store which she was really eager to get to; more eager than I was.
We got to the ice cream store which was called the Al-Cream Store. It was a big building that looked really new and fancy. It was the kind of building that you just wanted to go into without even any intentions of buying anything. As we got to the door, a young man staggered through bumping into us in all his drunkenness. The smell of alcohol on him was very strong. So strong that I got high with just his stench. I gulped at the thought of ending up like him.
We entered the Al-Cream store and were greeted with the smell of alcohol. There were about a dozen people in the store but they didn’t display any kind of bubbly exuberance that I would normally associate with an ice cream store. Most of the people looked depressed and somber. One lady sat by herself slowly eating a giant sundae with her makeup smeared all over her face and her hair in a mess. Her face was soaking wet from what I assumed were tears.
“This place is so depressing,” I said to Samantha while we were making our way to the cashier to order.
“Can I get two Vanilla Al-Creams, please? One for me and one for my friend here.”
“Coming right up sugarcup,” the kind lady at the cashier smiled.
Samantha and I then went to a seat and awaited our order.
“What were you saying?” Samantha asked.
“This place is really depressing.”
“Yeah, because broken people usually come here. Most people, when they want alcohol they go to a bar. When they want ice cream they go to an ice cream shop. But to want them both in one requires a certain type of need; a need to fill a void that neither alcohol nor ice cream can fill.” As Samantha spoke, I heard sobs from within the shop. “People usually come here after a breakup, getting fired from their job, or after the death of a loved one.”
“Hmmm,” I mumbled. At that moment one of the workers came and placed two giant cups filled with al-cream on the table. It looked like any other regular ice cream sundae but the ingredients were different. I glanced up at the waitress for a split second acknowledging her presence.
“It’s a place for the broken, really broken” Samantha said as she scooped up some of the al-cream and threw it down her throat.
“So why are you here?” I asked while taking a bite out of the al-cream myself.
“I’m here to help you get over your breakup.”
“No. Why are you really here Samantha? My bullshit detector is ringing off the hook right now. I would like to believe that you came here to help me out but I sense that there is more to your visit than just that.”
She looked at me, speechless. I could tell that all the nuts and bolts in her head were turning to come up with the best defense but she eventually broke with a sigh. “You’re right.”
“What happened?”
“Jonathan and I broke up last night.”
I nodded my head and scooped up some more al-cream.
“I needed someone to come here with and you were the best suitor since you just recently got your heart broken and stuff,” Samantha said.
“Misery does love company,”
“To misery!” Samantha shouted, raising her bowl of al-cream to the sky for a toast.
“To misery,” I affirmed raising my bowl and knocking it against hers. I lowered my bowl and then asked. “So how did you two break up?”
“I prefer not to say.”
“I already know why anyway,” I said, after scooping up some al-cream. Some of the effects had already started to kick in and I felt slightly woozy.
“You do? Really?” Samantha said.
“Yes. Isn’t it obvious? Last night, aliens abducted Jonathan, took him to the mother ship, and stole what they thought was his brain. After they stole his supposed brain, they sent him back to earth on a grueling quest to find a supposed brain because after much testing they realized that he didn’t have one to begin with. How can you steal something that doesn’t exist or how can you lose something that you never once had? It was basically just a tale of a dog chasing his tail only to realize in the end that….”
“He never had a tail,” Samantha finished.
“He never had a tail,” I repeated. “And what’s the moral of the story?”
“Never date a brainless fool,” Samantha said.
“No, that’s not it. The moral of the story is; that you never know what’s on the inside of someone till they are put to the test. The aliens learned that the hard way, and so did you.”
“I feel so much better now,” Samantha said, sounding unsure.
“As you should,” I said before sucking down on another spoon of al-cream. “As you should.”
