18 August 1988
"So are you ready to go get some ice cream now?" Duke Lavery asked his stepdaughter as they wandered the aisles at Wyndham's, hand in hand. "I think we have everything we need for your Mummy."
"Are you sure?" Robin Scorpio asked.
"Well, let's see. Pretty earrings?"
"Check."
"Lovely nightdress?"
"Check."
"That book she wanted: Presumed Innocent."
"We got that, too!"
"Well, then? Ice cream?"
"Oh, yes!" the little girl exclaimed gleefully. "Oh, wait! I know what else. Over here, Uncle Duke." She went running toward the music aisle and began rifling through CDs. "This one, Uncle Duke!"
Duke followed her and looked over her shoulder at the item in her hand. "Eli Love? You think your Mummy would like this?"
"Oh, yes," she said definitively. "He's her favorite."
"Are you sure?" Duke asked skeptically.
"Yes, she listens to him in the car when she takes me to school all the time."
"Well, which one, then?"
"The box set. Definitely. It even has the live tracks and B sides."
"All the Love"?
"Mommy will love it, Uncle Duke. Trust me. I know she will!"
"Alright, then, you're the expert. We'll pay for this and then…ice cream?"
"Aren't you supposed to tell me I'll spoil my dinner?"
"Well, this is a special occasion, so we'll make an exception. Come on, you."