Magdaline Bennett (ex_earthshak141) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-09-30 20:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | 04-11-2017, maggie, maggie and riley, riley |
Ice Cream Run
Who: Maggie and Riley
When: Early evening
Where: Market
Riley had realized almost too late that he had absolutely no ice cream. If he was going to entertain a group of ranch hands and a six year old girl, he was going to need that. He could also use a few other things. And while Mrs. Haggerty had offered to run out and get anything he wanted, he’d had way too much foreknowledge about what this night was supposed to hold to let anyone go out in his stead. The last thing he needed was someone he knew and cared about becoming stranded out in town with werewolves. Because who knew if all had been accounted for or would be joining the effort at the encampment.
Which was how he found himself pursuing fresh produce for sweet fruit and hoping that someone had stocked the market with at least vanilla ice cream. That was one thing about this place that reminded him of home. You weren’t always sure if something would be in stock because it depended on locals to produce the luxuries if possible. When he found what he wanted, plain brown paper cartons marked with what looked like a sharpie, he was immediately unsure what would be the best choice. Vanilla or strawberry? Or something else? Lia would’ve known what their girl liked, but he wasn’t going to add to her burden this evening.
That he had been reduced to a babysitter during a time when he could’ve been very helpful wasn’t lost on him. In fact, it was weighing on him pretty heavily and he was beginning to lose his temper over ice cream. He cussed under his breath, about to decide that Sophia didn’t need ice cream when he realized he wasn’t alone. His expression turned a bit sheepish then.
“It’s not that big a decision,” Maggie smiled, looking over at Riley as he debated on what ice cream to get. She was excited to see there was some in stock, even if there wasn’t much left. “I’d go with vanilla if you’re going to do toppings of some sort, otherwise strawberry.” She just wished they had chocolate. It was one of the few things not grown in the dome, the cocoa bean, which meant finding chocolate of any kind was a real specialty.
Riley glanced over at the sound of Maggie's voice. He'd been in his own world of indecision and, combined with his experience with the ghost girl that morning, he startled slightly and then laughed inwardly at himself. "That's good advice. And little girls love piling toppings on ice cream, I'm sure," he said and turned a bit more toward her. "Not sure how we managed to get lucky enough to find any of this left."
“You have a little girl?” Maggie asked, thinking of her little sister. She was like a daughter to Maggie, since she’d practically raised her these last few years. It still grated on her that she couldn’t live with her. “They have ice cream every few days. I’m sure it’s a pain to make, but people pay for it, so they might as well. If I had a cow of my own, I’d think about making it myself,” she laughed. “I guess I could buy the milk and go from there.”
"Mm," he said with a nod, looking a bit indecisively at the ice cream even though he was pretty sure he'd choose the vanilla. "She's six and my sole responsibility this evening is keeping her occupied. I figured ice cream was a good element somewhere in there." He smiled and glanced back at Maggie. "My mother used to make sarsaparilla ice cream in the summer. I tried to help once and it never became ice cream. I stopped helping. But it was kind of fun. Wonder if you could find an ice cream machine in here."
“It’s pretty easy to make an ice cream machine, if you make the old style crank kind,” Maggie said. “And if you’re going to occupy a six year old for several hours, you need a game. Do you have a deck of cards? You could play go-fish. I’ve also thought it would be good to make an Old Maid deck, but I’m not sure I have the artistic ability to do so.” She had hours and hours of experience at occupying her brother and sister while the zombies had them locked up tight. One night would be easy as cake.
"Is it? Are you an engineer?" he asked, looking at her with interest. That a tiny gal like her would know how to make machines was unexpected and something he wanted to know more about. And was she prescient? He'd told Lia that he'd get a game of cards going for Sophia with his boarders. That wasn't going to happen now, but he was definitely bringing the cards. "Do you have kids?" he asked nosily because she seemed to have some fairly apt insight. "You can play Old Maid with a regular deck if you wanted to," he added, tilting his head slightly to give her another look.
“Me? No,” Maggie grinned. “My grandparents just had one when I was a kid. It seemed like a barrel filled with salt and ice, with another container inside of it. That’s where you put the ice cream. There was a crank on top and we all took turns churning it.” That seemed like so long ago now, in a world that no longer existed. She was glad she had those memories and she hoped that she could create some happy ones for her brother and sister, even if they weren’t quite the same. “No, but my sister was six when the zombies attacked, so I learned to play just about everything to keep her occupied. My brother liked some of the more sophisticated games, but we needed some that she could play, too. And I know you can play Old Maid with normal playing cards, but it’s just not as fun.”
He nodded again, remembering his mother's ice cream maker to be very similar to the one she was describing. "The fun was when you got your turn at the crank," he said nostalgically. "You were sure you were making ice cream with every twist." Even though he'd never been successful. It had still be fun. The anticipation and the hope for the sweet treat. These days there wasn't such a thing as that kind of simple fun. Was there? He smiled at her mention of brother and sister. So she sort of had kids. "Maybe all you need is someone who can conceptualize your ideas and make them manifest. I know of someone who might be able to," he said, thinking of his wife's friend Gin the artist.
"Really?" Maggie smiled. "I think it'd be fun to try and recreate some of the old games, like Clue and Candyland. Kids need a chance to be kids and games are part of that." Anything that took their mind off the chaos that was happening around them. Even inside the dome, there were things to worry about. "If you don't have a board game or card game, you can always go with hide and seek or something similar. Orrrr you can build a fort. Do you have blankets?" When it came to keeping kids occupied, Maggie had learned all the tricks.
Riley hadn't thought about it before now but he had to say he agreed with her. "You're right about that. Kids need to be able to be kids in the middle of all of this chaos. Anything like games that can continue their innocence and wonder…" He trailed off, thinking about how hard Lia must've worked at shielding Sophia because the little girl was as bright and vivacious as they came. "I think you should form a project of some sort, mate. Pull people in who can help, and do that." He thought about what they'd have at Lia's house and wasn't sure if they would have extra blankets or anything like what he would have had at his own place. Damn that stupid ghost girl for ruining his plans. "I hadn't thought of a fort, but I can see a child really having a great time with that."
"I don't really know anyone to pull in," Maggie shrugged. She usually just made things for her brother and sister, when she had time to do so. All of her attention went to them before herself, though lately that had improved just a little. Sometimes she had Jack to distract her. "Kids love forts of any kind," she smiled. "Any reason for the special entertainment tonight?" Most of the time, she'd say they could also go play on their own. Give them crayons or a book, or even just a doll, and they'd be occupied for hours.
Riley wasn't sure what was behind her shrug and statement of not knowing anyone to pull in. Did that bother her? "You could always pull in some kids. I'm sure you could borrow Sophia." As soon as that came out of his mouth he wished he could put it back. He didn't want her to think he was flirting with her when he was merely attempting to be encouraging. "It's a bit complicated, I guess," he answered. "Tonight is the first one I've had alone with her. Well, it won't be alone but while her mum is out. Guess I'm trying to make sure she doesn't start crying that she wants her mum. Distraction and entertainment seem like the best options." He laughed self-deprecatingly and shifted on his feet.
“It’s something to consider, but that might make it a bigger project than I can take on. I run the salon and I’m studying to become a veterinarian, so I tend to create games just for my brother and sister, but if you’d like some for Sophia, I’m sure I can loop her in,” Maggie offered. She didn’t pick up on his discomfort, assuming that he was a married man by the wedding ring he wore on his hand. She knew some people continued to wear one even after their spouse had died, but that usually meant they weren’t open to looking. “Probably the best thing would be to do what you usually do when her mom is there. Keep things normal so it doesn’t feel like she should be missing her. Then pull out the distractions when she does realize something is different.”
Riley nodded his understanding. "We could use a good vet, to be honest. But you're not talking about large animals, are you?" he asked, though he could hope. The one he had now was almost blind and sometimes mistook the front of the cow for the back and vice versa. Riley only called the guy when he absolutely had to. "Loop away. I'm sure she'd love it. But only if you have the time." He was grateful she didn't take his offer the wrong way. He was just a little sensitive after being accused of flirting earlier today by the damned ghost. He supposed he was nervous too about keeping Sophia happy this evening. And, of course, the underlying tension being the full moon and not knowing if his wife was going to come back the same. Or at all. Having some normal, adult conversation was really nice and so he let it all go and slid back into it again. "I hadn't thought of it like that. You think going over the top with distraction will tip her off that something isn't exactly right?" Last thing he needed was to have her asking a hundred questions he couldn't or wouldn't answer.
“Any animals!” Maggie said enthusiastically. “I’m just studying, but I’m sure you learn a lot on the job. And a vet in training has got to be better than no vet at all, right?” It was a lot to take on, but she wanted to be doing something worthwhile. People needed their haircut, but anyone could do that in her opinion. Some just did it themselves. “Is there something she shouldn’t know about?” she asked, realizing afterwards that that was probably a bit too personal a question. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. She’s six. If she’s been even a little busy today, you can probably have her in bed by eight, nine at the latest.”
"You have no idea," Riley deadpanned, thinking of the blind vet. "I wish you the best of luck on your studies, mate. I'm sure I'll be seeing a bit of you at the cattle ranch once you're on the job, yeah?" He shook his head at her question, a sheepish smile on his face. "Oh, I guess I worded that funny. She's just not used to it being just her and me. I'm not sure if she's all that aware that adults need to have nights off. Don't want her thinking her mum's abandoned her." He hoped that wouldn't be the end result of the full moon. "Getting her to bed early would be a problem if I fed her ice cream though, wouldn't it?" he asked a bit rhetorically with a chuckle. He hadn't realized just what he as in for when he'd agreed to babysit. He was beginning to think it might be more difficult than being at the wolf encampment.
“Call me even before then if you have anything I can observe,” she said, hoping he would do so. It would help to at least see some things before calling herself a vet with no experience. She thought Riley probably saw things out on the ranch that might seem common to him, but would be excellent educational opportunities for her. “It’s nice that you have the whole family together,” Maggie said with a small smile as she paid for her ice cream. “And I understand needing a night off. I’m sure everything’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much about it.” A six year old could go one night without her mother. It was when they didn’t come back that that was the problem. “Well, I’m going to head out. Good luck tonight!”
"Will do," he replied with a friendly nod. If she wanted foot rot or infected dags she'd get her fill. If it wasn't one thing it was another at the ranch. He set his ice cream down to pay for it as she finished with hers. It was nice to have the family all together. He hoped she did or would at least one day have hers. He nodded to her as she left. "Good night to you, have a good one." And a safe one too.