Brain Freeze!
Next we go to get ice cream. I am surprised to find that there is a store just for ice cream. However, I soon understand why.
"Wow!" I exclaim after swallowing my first bit. "This is GOOD!" Once again they laugh. I hold the next bite in my mouth, savoring the flavor--until suddenly I get an awful headache. "Ow!"
Parker jumps forward. "Are you okay??"
Max laughs at her. "Brain freeze!" he exclaims.
"Brain... freeze?" Parker rolls her eyes.
Max nods. "Yeah, the headache you get after you keep something really cold in your mouth.
"Oh." I think about that as I take another bite. "Ohh! I understand!" I exclaim after a moment.
"Understand? What is there to understand?" is essentially their collective response.
"The ice cream cools the blood in the arteries that run over the roof of your mouth, which causes a headache... Brain freeze!" I smile and they shake their heads. I continue. "That means that if you put your tongue on the top of your mouth it should help the blood warm up faster and therefore make the headache go away more quickly."
"Hey, that's cool!" exclaims a child's voice. I turn to see a 9-year-old boy who has wandered away from his parents and has apparently been listening to the conversation.
I kneel down to his level, still eating the ice cream--you can't stop or it will melt all over you! "This is the first time I've ever had ice cream... It's very good."
The boy gives me an incredulous look. "You've never had ice cream before?" I shake my head solemnly, then lean in and whisper, "She says I have, but I think I would have remembered something this good!" We laugh together.
"Does putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth really make the headache go away?"
"I don't know for sure," I admit. "Let's find out!" I put a big bite of ice cream in my mouth and tense for the headache coming. We both groan at the same time, and hurry to swallow the ice cream and put our tongues on the roofs of our mouths.
"Hey, that's really awesome! Hey, Mom, Dad!" He turns to find them right behind him, watching me cautiously but with smiles on their faces. I smile up at them, then look back to him.
"Enjoy your parents," I tell him with a smile. "Not everyone has parents to watch after them and take them to ice cream!" He smiles back, and I stand. "Your son is very friendly... you've done a good job raising him, and he's lucky to have parents like you looking after him." We exchange smiles and I walk back to Max and Parker. The boy yells his thanks and I smile back at him as his parents lecture him about "inside" voices. I wonder what an outside voice is.
The other two are both watching me, smiling. "Ready to go?" asks Max. I nod, still thinking about family. We walk out to the parking lot. Max looks to Parker. "Is your car still at the Centre?" She nods reluctantly. "Okay, then we'll head back there so you can go home."
As I yawn, the word 'home' hits me. Where am I going to sleep tonight? The thought that it will not be within the Centre excites me, but scares me a bit too.
As if reading my mind, Max continues. "As for you, Jarod, if you want to stay in a hotel that's your prerogative, but you're free to sleep at my house. I've got a comfy couch that's calling your name." 'Calling my name?' I think. Max answers my unspoken question. "It's personification! People do that a lot in speech to give emphasis. Makes things more colorful."
"Ah." I smile mischieviously. "So I could say that the couch will be calling *your* name if you don't get me there soon?"
"Do I have to refer you back to the 'who can beat up whom' conversation AGAIN??"
"You know, we still haven't tested that theory, and if you keep referring to it I might force the issue."
"Bring it on!"
-----
Miss Parker listened from a back with a smile. The two acted like brothers. Her smile faded as she considered if this was how he and Kyle would have interacted. In a perfect world... She looked up and caught Max watching her in the rear view mirror. She smiled at him, waiting until his eyes returned to the road. At least she knew Jarod was in good hands--Max seemed at least as adroit as Sydney at intuiting and disarming negative emotions.
-----
The trip to Max's house is mercifully short, because I am exhausted. When we reach it, he quickly gets the "couch" (which is really a bed that folds up like a couch... he calls it a 'futon') ready.
It is strange to go to sleep outside of the Centre. The room is bigger than I'm used to, and I can hear cars going by outside. For a while I lay awake watching the patterns the headlights make on the walls. Finally I drift off.
Next we go to get ice cream. I am surprised to find that there is a store just for ice cream. However, I soon understand why.
"Wow!" I exclaim after swallowing my first bit. "This is GOOD!" Once again they laugh. I hold the next bite in my mouth, savoring the flavor--until suddenly I get an awful headache. "Ow!"
Parker jumps forward. "Are you okay??"
Max laughs at her. "Brain freeze!" he exclaims.
"Brain... freeze?" Parker rolls her eyes.
Max nods. "Yeah, the headache you get after you keep something really cold in your mouth.
"Oh." I think about that as I take another bite. "Ohh! I understand!" I exclaim after a moment.
"Understand? What is there to understand?" is essentially their collective response.
"The ice cream cools the blood in the arteries that run over the roof of your mouth, which causes a headache... Brain freeze!" I smile and they shake their heads. I continue. "That means that if you put your tongue on the top of your mouth it should help the blood warm up faster and therefore make the headache go away more quickly."
"Hey, that's cool!" exclaims a child's voice. I turn to see a 9-year-old boy who has wandered away from his parents and has apparently been listening to the conversation.
I kneel down to his level, still eating the ice cream--you can't stop or it will melt all over you! "This is the first time I've ever had ice cream... It's very good."
The boy gives me an incredulous look. "You've never had ice cream before?" I shake my head solemnly, then lean in and whisper, "She says I have, but I think I would have remembered something this good!" We laugh together.
"Does putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth really make the headache go away?"
"I don't know for sure," I admit. "Let's find out!" I put a big bite of ice cream in my mouth and tense for the headache coming. We both groan at the same time, and hurry to swallow the ice cream and put our tongues on the roofs of our mouths.
"Hey, that's really awesome! Hey, Mom, Dad!" He turns to find them right behind him, watching me cautiously but with smiles on their faces. I smile up at them, then look back to him.
"Enjoy your parents," I tell him with a smile. "Not everyone has parents to watch after them and take them to ice cream!" He smiles back, and I stand. "Your son is very friendly... you've done a good job raising him, and he's lucky to have parents like you looking after him." We exchange smiles and I walk back to Max and Parker. The boy yells his thanks and I smile back at him as his parents lecture him about "inside" voices. I wonder what an outside voice is.
The other two are both watching me, smiling. "Ready to go?" asks Max. I nod, still thinking about family. We walk out to the parking lot. Max looks to Parker. "Is your car still at the Centre?" She nods reluctantly. "Okay, then we'll head back there so you can go home."
As I yawn, the word 'home' hits me. Where am I going to sleep tonight? The thought that it will not be within the Centre excites me, but scares me a bit too.
As if reading my mind, Max continues. "As for you, Jarod, if you want to stay in a hotel that's your prerogative, but you're free to sleep at my house. I've got a comfy couch that's calling your name." 'Calling my name?' I think. Max answers my unspoken question. "It's personification! People do that a lot in speech to give emphasis. Makes things more colorful."
"Ah." I smile mischieviously. "So I could say that the couch will be calling *your* name if you don't get me there soon?"
"Do I have to refer you back to the 'who can beat up whom' conversation AGAIN??"
"You know, we still haven't tested that theory, and if you keep referring to it I might force the issue."
"Bring it on!"
-----
Miss Parker listened from a back with a smile. The two acted like brothers. Her smile faded as she considered if this was how he and Kyle would have interacted. In a perfect world... She looked up and caught Max watching her in the rear view mirror. She smiled at him, waiting until his eyes returned to the road. At least she knew Jarod was in good hands--Max seemed at least as adroit as Sydney at intuiting and disarming negative emotions.
-----
The trip to Max's house is mercifully short, because I am exhausted. When we reach it, he quickly gets the "couch" (which is really a bed that folds up like a couch... he calls it a 'futon') ready.
It is strange to go to sleep outside of the Centre. The room is bigger than I'm used to, and I can hear cars going by outside. For a while I lay awake watching the patterns the headlights make on the walls. Finally I drift off.