Rocky Road (32 page)

“That captures you, all right,” Winnie said, squeezing my hand.

“Wow. Thanks,” I said, feeling like I was onstage holding an Oscar at the Academy Awards. Who knew an ice cream special could make a person feel so special?

“Well deserved,” Ma said, glowing as she stood beside Mac. “I’m predicting this treat draws more attention than my Lone Star flag!”

“Let’s hope it pumps up the incremental volume!” Mac added, serious like a true retailer.

I rolled my eyes and everybody laughed.

Jingle-jingle
. A customer came through the door. “I’ll handle it,” I said, walking back behind the counter.

“Hey, Desperate. Remember me?”

A boy with an easy grin and a fine sense of style was looking at me. He wore a collared shirt, khaki shorts, and a dog-tag necklace.

I smiled awkwardly. He looked familiar, but from where? With those high cheekbones and that classic look, I
should’ve
remembered.

“I brought you something so you’ll never forget my family business,” he said, placing a tiny plastic dog on the counter. “Go on. Press the button on his tail.”

So I did—and his back leg lifted like he was peeing and squirted water in my eye!

“You’re Son of Clown!” I blurted out, laughing. What a difference an unpainted face and no wig made; he was undeniably cute!

“Actually I go by Kevin when I’m off duty.”

“Yeah, Kevin. The kids loved you on Opening Day, and—well, thanks for trying to help when Jordan’s turtle got loose. About the Grand Opening … I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

He shrugged. “Don’t sweat it. Besides, we clowns are tougher than we look.”

I pointed at the dipping cabinet. “You want a cone? No charge.”

“Sure. I’ll take cookies and cream,” he said, and
poof!
He pulled plastic flowers from his sleeve. Goes to show that, even off duty, you can’t take the clown out of the kid.

I introduced Kevin to everybody and made cones for the two of us. Then we went for a walk outside in the sunshine. We squeezed past couples who were enjoying lunch in the newly opened alfresco dining area of Bianco’s Pizzeria. I peeked at my reflection in the window—making sure my hair was smartly covering my ears. The air felt thick with fresh summer heat and the clicking of cicadas. A ruby-red sun lingered above us.

We crossed Barrett Street, right where Ma’s Toyota was parked. A giant
A CHERRY ON TOP
banner was draped across its rear window.

“Is that your mother’s car?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Sure is green,” he said, grinning.

“And it’s equipped with air-conditioning, all year long,” I added.

Kevin licked away at his melting cone, telling me about the latest
Star Wars
model he was working on and asking what I liked to do when I wasn’t scooping ice cream.

“I’m into arts and crafts—and peer mediation,” I said proudly.

I snuck a sideways peek at him when I said it. He nodded approvingly, and my heart started pitter-pattering like rain on the roof. Now it was Gabby’s voice that played in my head:
Ice cream shops offer endless possibilities
.

As we crossed Franklin, for a second I thought of Pop and the letter I’d written him, still on my night table. I couldn’t call him or write him now, but who knows. That might change one day; so much had changed in my new home.

Home
. Was I actually thinking of rusty old Schenectady as home? It practically made me laugh. But it
was
home, apartment 418, even with that rickety elevator that was always breaking down and the guy next door blasting war movies.

Kevin looked over and caught me daydreaming. “Back at the shop I noticed the special of the month has your name, Tess. What’s up with you and rocky roads?”

I smiled.
Oh, if he only knew
.

Schenectady Snow Shake

“Thick with whiteout conditions, like the blizzards we get here.”

2 cups of the tastiest vanilla ice cream you can find

1 cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup ice

In a blender, combine ice cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Add ice and blend for 2 minutes. Pour into fancy-schmancy glasses and serve with a straw. Mmm, delish! Serves 2.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

“Sells big with upstate conservatives—and liberals love it too!”

⅓ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup water

juice of ½ lemon

½ cup red currant jelly

2 cups rinsed blueberries

2 scoops strawberry ice cream

whipped cream

red, white, and blue sprinkles

Make the blueberry sauce first: In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water and lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add jelly, then simmer for 5 minutes. Gently add blueberries and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.

Scoop ice cream into a cheery red bowl, then ladle blueberry sauce over it. Now get your patriotic groove on by dressing up this creation with whipped cream and sprinkles. Store leftover sauce in the fridge.

Made in the USA—marvelous!

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Mocha-Fudge Frappe

“In honor of Winnie: a nurse, an entertainer, and a soulful fairy godmother wrapped in one.”

4 cups chilled coffee

½ cup crushed ice

4 tablespoons instant chocolate milk powder

1½ cups milk

½ cup whipped cream (plus more for garnish)

4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Pour coffee, ice, instant chocolate milk powder, and milk into a blender and mix. Add whipped cream and ice cream and blend at
FRAPPE
setting. Pour into a mug and garnish with additional whipped cream. Serves 2.

Note: Taste is enhanced by listening to Motown on your iPod.

Tess’s Rocky Road Treat

“Hands down, the finest sundae ever created, according to Tess Dobson.”

1 whopping scoop each of luscious chocolate and vanilla ice creama

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup mini marshmallows

whipped cream

fudge sauce

Find your favorite bowl and pile in all these tasty ingredients. Then swirl, swirl, swirl with a gentle hand and a hopeful spirit. You can’t go wrong when you whip up this classic. Eating Rocky Road always puts you on the
right
road.

The
Inside Scoop
isn’t the only source that claims there’s a link between personality and ice cream flavor preferences. A study in ice cream “flavorology” was actually conducted by a neurologist named Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. The results suggest that distinct personalities do gravitate toward certain flavors when we step up to the ice cream counter. So skip the horoscopes and the fortune-tellers. Allow ice cream to be your guiding light on the path to self-awareness!

So what does
your
favorite ice cream flavor reveal about you?

Chocolate:
You are creative, lively, and flirtatious. You also like being the center of attention and become bored with the same old routine.

Vanilla:
Don’t believe the myth. The vanilla lover’s choice is
never
boring—you’re colorful, impulsive, expressive, and a risk taker.

Mint chocolate chip:
You have strong morals and you always fight for what you believe in. You are ambitious and confident too—and, truth be told, a little stubborn.

Butter pecan:
You are devoted, orderly, respectful, and fiscally conservative. Odds are high that you make your bed every day and never have a messy desk.

Chocolate chip:
You’ve got a competitive streak and you work very hard. You’re also generous with time and money.

Coffee:
You thrive on the passion of the moment and you throw yourself into all that you do. Friends know you as adventuresome and dramatic, but you tend to overcommit yourself.