attention and joined the conversation.
Celia punched her fist in the air and mimicked Walter’s catchphrase. “Boop.”
“Come on. Are you exaggerating?”
“No. I’m not exaggerating or making this up. I counted how many times he said that word, and I think he said it a million times. Well, the million is a slight exaggeration.”
Kate poked Tom in the shoulder. “Do you believe this guy?”
Tom kept his eyes on the road as he turned in to Timmy’s parking lot.
The trio walked to the dilapidated old shack. Timmy’s had been the beach’s snack bar for years. The building was situated behind a bench-lined pebbled walkway.
“What flavors are you guys getting?” Celia read the list of flavors.
“Vanilla. How about you girls?” Tom stood at the counter and waited to place their orders.
“I’ll have coffee and moose tracks.” Celia reached for her wallet. “In a waffle cone, please.”
Kate pushed Celia’s hand down. “Put that away. Our treat. I’d like caramel turtle and black raspberry. Thanks.”
Celia scrunched her nose. “Caramel and black raspberry? Together?”
“Yes, together. I love both flavors. They don’t have to complement each other. It’s ice cream. It’s fun food. Tell me more about last night.”
They walked to the walkway and sat down on the benches facing the ocean.
“Another waste of time.” Celia licked the coffee ice cream from the top of the cone. She wiped a large drip from her shorts. “Why can’t I eat ice cream without it dripping all over me?”
“What did you do with Ramona and her brother?”
“Oh, Boop Boy? Not much. We went to the bar across from my office. I left as soon as I could.” She wiped another spot of ice cream from her shorts. “Why is mine melting this fast? Yours isn’t.”
“Even if you didn’t have a good time, I’m still glad you went out. It’s good to get out occasionally.” Kate used her napkin to wipe another drop from Celia’s leg. “I think the bottom ice cream wasn’t as cold as it should be. That’s why it’s melting so fast. The kid should have put that flavor on top.”
“Forget about my night with Boop Boy and his big-chinned sister.”
“What? What about her chin?” Kate closed her eyes for a second and shook her head.
“They both have unusually large chins. They’re attractive, but, as I said, they have big chins.”
A boat raced toward the harbor—its engine loud and disruptive. “He’s not supposed to be going that fast right there.” Tom pointed his finger to the boat, as the driver cut the engine.
“What did you guys do last night?” Celia quickly licked the ice cream as it dripped down the sides of her cone.
Tom snickered, and Kate squinted.
“Watched television. Caught a little Jeopardy!.” Tom took the last bite of his cone.
“I didn’t know there was parasailing around here.” Celia pointed to the person who soared high above a speedboat in the distance. “You’re still competing with each other for Final Jeopardy?”
“Yes, we are. Your little friend here is a sore loser. Aren’t you, Kate.” Tom touched Kate’s head and ruffled her hair.
“Don’t be so smug. You had a lucky streak, that’s all.” Kate smacked Tom’s hand away from her head.
“I think I should get another dog. Boop.” Celia punched her fist in the air.
Kate glared at Celia. “Don’t do that. That’s how bad habits start. You think you’re fooling around and then before you know it, you’re not conscious of doing it.”
“Don’t do what? Get a dog?”
“No! Don’t do that boop thing. It’s not funny, even as a joke. But I think you’d be crazy to get a dog now. You live in a third-floor walkup. Do you want to walk a dog at five o’clock in the morning in the middle of a blizzard? Boop. Boop. Boop.” Kate bopped Celia’s forehead three times.
Celia seized Kate’s hand. “You make a good point. I do love being comfy in my bed when it’s snowing.”
They watched the sailboats off in the distance.
Trudy
Celia felt triumphant when she beat the paper thief to her Sunday Globe. She flipped through the headlines and the lifestyle section, as she relaxed with a fresh cup of Kona coffee. The coffee was a gift from Kate and Tom after their recent trip to Hawaii.
She barely rinsed her coffee mug before she placed it in the wooden dish rack to the right of the sink. The dish rack also held her ice cream bowl from the previous day and four large soup spoons she had used to scoop the ice cream from its container. Daily, Celia would use one of her largest spoons to shovel out an oversized serving of ice cream, lick it dry and then toss the used utensil into the sink. After three or more samplings, she inevitably gave in and filled a cereal bowl to the top. For Celia, pint size meant single serving. A carton of ice cream lasted a very short time in her freezer.
She gathered the magazines, circulars, real estate section, and a bowl of fresh cherries and then walked down the three flights to her front steps. The sunlight streamed in between her building and the one next door. The dwellings were close together. The driveway was narrow, barely wide enough for the tenants’ cars to pass through.
Like most summer Sundays, the street was quiet and somewhat deserted. Celia opened her first magazine when, in a flash, her solitude and serenity ended. He raced toward her. His tan and white ears flapped up and down, his tongue hung out to one side and his leash jingled as it dragged behind him. His tail wagged wildly as he put his front paws up where Celia sat. He pushed his shimmering wet nose into the circular. She moved the paper to her other side as he plopped himself down, just about in her lap, and nuzzled against her. “Aren’t you the cutest little thing?” She stroked his floppy ears and the top of his head. “And who have you escaped from?” He was barely full-grown and extremely energetic. She continued to rub his head and neck while she checked for tags. He was well-cared for, with a shaggy light-tan coat dappled with swirls of white.
Within seconds, a young boy dressed in baggy denim shorts, a dark-green T-shirt, and a dingy white and red baseball cap, worn backward on his head, appeared at the opening of her driveway. Except for the panicked lost my dog expression, he was like every other kid in the neighborhood. He walked toward Celia and his liberated puppy, who sat comfortably by her side.
“Trudy! I thought I lost you! Stay there!” He relaxed his shoulders and let out a big sigh. “Stay!”
“I'm holding his leash. He won’t be going anywhere, at least not right now. You have a friendly little dog! Quite the leaner.” The dog continued to lean into her pale-blue sundress. “If he leans against me any harder, he’ll push
