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“You two go on and sit down, and I’ll bring that over in a jiff,” Mama Lou says, dismissing us with a wave of her hand.
I tug Vanessa toward the backdoor. “Let’s go before she changes her mind.”
Vanessa laughs as we make our way into the backyard, where there’s a terrace out in the open. Most of the tables are already occupied, but we manage to find one in the corner, away from the kids playing.
“That was…” There’s a slight pause as Vanessa takes her seat, choosing her words carefully. “Interesting.”
“Yeah?” I sit opposite her, placing my hands on the table. “How so?”
“Well, for starters, I didn’t realize this is your family’s place.”
“Not exactly.” I chuckle at Vanessa’s frowning face. “Mama Lou is my foster mom. She took me in when I was seventeen.”
“Oh,” Vanessa’s lips part in surprise. “I didn’t know that.”
I shrug. “It’s not something I talk about a lot.”
“Is that why you like to help in the community center more than the rest of your teammates?”
My coach has this idea that the whole team will volunteer at the community center. We’d rotate and lead basketball practices, give kids tips, play ball… stuff like that.
“In a way. But I really enjoy doing it. There are some insanely talented kids there.”
Before Vanessa can say anything else, Mama Lou comes out.
“Here you go.” Mama Lou places our two cups on the table along with two glasses of water. Her hand falls on my shoulder, giving me a little pat. “If you need anything else, just holler.”
“Thanks, Mama Lou,” I smile at her, watching her walk away.
Rubbing my hands, I turn to Vanessa. “Now, you’ll try the good stuff.”
“You’re going to eat all that?”
“Yup!” I grab a big scoop of ice cream onto my spoon and shove it into my mouth. Heaven.
Vanessa shakes her head. “You’re crazy.”
“Try it, andthenwe can talk.”
She rolls her eyes but takes a bit of ice cream and carefully slips it into her mouth. Her eyes fall shut almost instantly, and I can’t take my eyes off of her as she savors the taste.
“Good?”
“Mhmm…” Those long eyelashes flutter, big brown eyes staring at me. “I have to give it to you. It’s amazing.”
I grin at her. “I know what I’m talking about. I still think you should have tried something different. There are some really amazing flavors.”
I dig my spoon into the ice cream and offer it to her. “You have to try this.”
She watches the spoon for a heartbeat. “What did you get anyway?”
“This isSummer Rhapsodywhich is some mix of pineapple, blueberry, and orange, and the other one is calledDark Dream, which is dark chocolate, in combination with coffee and cookies.”
“Those are your favorites?”
“At the moment. But with Mama Lou, you never know when that might change. I think I tried some of her best flavors and some of her worst too.” I offer her the spoon. “C’mon, Ness. It’ll melt, and then we’ll make a mess. You want to try this one, trust me.”
Her teeth graze over her lip as she weighs her options.
