ArchivedLogs:Ice Cream for Dinner

Ice Cream for Dinner
Dramatis Personae Corey, Doug, Kate
In Absentia	2014-05-12 Ice cream is a totally valid dinner food.
Location Custard's Last Stand
Custard's Last Stand, the ice cream shop with the horrible pun of a name is busy as usual once weather starts to get warmer in the heat island of the city. It's door swings in and out with a jingle of an above the door bell, the sugary smells of sweets carry into the breeze. The happy noises of people consuming ice cream come from people at various tables and the counter, the place looking much like the old school soda shops, and in fact they have a variety of flavored sodas one can drop ice cream into, and their various flavors include ice cream of the cream variety, as well as sorbets, soy based, and coconut based frozen treat varieties. Today has been a bit on the hot and humid side, as Spring marches on towards Summer, the approach of evening does not provide much comfort. So this evening, one of the rare free evenings Kate has at her job, calls for frozen treats. After the odd afternoon shift she had needed to pick up in exchange for covering her unexpected absences in weeks prior, on top of the late shift she had carried the night before, Kate had messaged Corey with an invitation to a decidedly (un)healthy dinner of ice cream and soda. Because sometimes even healers need a break. Waiting patiently outside the ice cream shop for her friend's arrival, Kate is fidgeting with her phone, repeatedly checking it for messages. Some time between that message and now, Kate has managed to return to her apartment for a change of clothes, opting for a bright teal tunic dress, belted around her narrow waist with a braided belt. Her shapely legs are left bare beneath the not-so-modest hem of the tunic, a pair of simple white and gold sandals on her feet. Her hair is left down, bouncing around her face in controlled waves thanks to a healthy helping of product to keep it under control in the mild humidity. There is a tired look about the diminutive nurse as she watches the crowds in search of the rare familiar faces in the big city. Getting to see Kate outside of people dying or in a close to dying state, Corey decides to actually wear slightly nicer clothing, or at the very least clothing that wasn't prepared to be covered in someone's blood. Wearing a pair of nice shorts in a deep brown, he has a button up shirt in a light blue laying untucked in over top of it. His hair has gotten slightly long and he has it held back with a tie due to the warmth, though he did manage to shave before coming on down. Heading towards the ice cream shop he smiles as the smell of sugar comes to him just in time to see Kate. "Sorry I'm late, there was an accident and it was blocking traffic pretty good. Nobody was hurt, just two cabbies yelling at each other." He offered a shrug and glanced into the shop. "Shall we head on in? Something cold sounds nice." It's been a long day for Doug -- or maybe a long couple of weeks (months). It's evident in the slow drag of his step as he comes down the street towards the ice cream shop. Dressed in jeans and a grey-plaid button-down shirt, the teenager looks decidedly /rumpled/. His laptop bag is slung across his chest, the list of his body making it seem like it must weigh fifty pounds. He has his phone in his hand, furrowing his brow at the screen as he comes to a stop not far from where Corey and Kate are standing. "Why is it that the stuff you really need never arrives in a timely manner?" he addresses...well, probably no one in /particular/, since he's still frowning at his phone. Kate's visage brightens when she sees Corey approaching, bouncing onto the balls of her feet to wave at him - quite possibly to draw attention to herself amid the crowd. She grins and shrugs, "Not a problem - traffic in this place is /nuts/ most days. Makes me glad I brought my vespa with me - makes it a little easier to get around sometimes." There's a quiet snort from her, and she shakes her head, "Happy no one was hurt. I'd rather not get called back into work this evening." Grinning cheerily, the tired look to her eyes clears around Corey, her disposition cheery as she bounces beside him. Kate looks a bit confused at the commentary from Doug, opening her mouth as though she might answer, but perhaps thinking better of it, her lips tugging to the side in a slight smirk. "Sure, can head on in. What good is being an adult if you can't have ice cream for dinner sometimes?" "Bad luck," Corey calls back to Doug with a smile and a wave as he heads on in with Kate. Looking around the shop, he hrms a moment then chuckles at his companions assertion of adult hood. "True, but then most people don't have the metabolism to burn through the sugar and calories. Thankfully, I don't think we have that problem." He offers her a wink, and moves to head into line, looking over the options. "I am thinking chocolate ice cream and hot fudge. Maybe some marshmallow too. And some caramel." Grinning as if he was making his point of the caloric issue being moot, he looks to her. "What about you? Something just as bad?" Doug blinks when his question gets an actual response, and he looks around with a sudden, wary look. But, it's only Corey, and Doug has a smile to offer /him/, at least. "Oh, hey, Corey," he says, veering towards the door to follow. "I didn't even see you there." The older man seems busy talking to his friend, though, and the teenager falls into a polite silence, studying the interior of the shop and inhaling ice-cream smells deeply. "Oh, man," he murmurs to himself. "That sounds like chocolate heaven. Maybe with banana." "That's the easier answer," Kate chuckles, eyeing the menu and selection of icy treats, pondering, "I was going to go with 'maybe it's not what you really needed in the first place?' But that seems a bit heavy for conversation outside an ice cream parlor." At the rapport between Corey and Doug, Kate looks a bit curious, perhaps waiting on an introduction. She snorts at Corey's commentary about calorie consumption, shaking her head, "Uh huh. I was going to go with chocolate cherry-almond, maybe with some hot fudge and marshmallow. Hm. And whipped cream, with more chocolate." A self-conscious chuckle escapes her lips, and she looks guiltily at the menu, offering a sheepish smile, "It's been that sort of week." Gesturing between Doug and Kate he smiles, "Doug, this is Kate. Kate this is Doug," Corey says. Pondering a moment if more explanation is made, instead he is distracted actually putting in the order of the chocolate pile to be put into his face. "I think chocolate heaven requires chocolate whip cream. And chocolate chips and sprinkles. Maybe the little caramel turtles too." Chuckling he steps to the side to wait for the other orders to occur. "My week has been rather quiet, I've actually been able to get back to the gym between studying and classes, so I can pretend that is justification." "Nice to meet you," Doug says, bobbing his head when Corey makes introductions. "Your things sounds good, too." He wrinkles his nose at the counter, and screws up his mouth thoughtfully. "It's been that kind of week," he agrees with Kate, an almost-grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. "I think I'm going to join you guys in the Death by Chocolate club." He waits for Kate to place her order, then puts his in -- a banana split with triple chocolate ice cream, smothered in hot fudge and topped with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. "How are your classes going?" is directed at Corey. "You going to be all official soon?" Kate smiles and offers a friendly wave to Doug, "Pleasure to meet you." There's a cadence to her voice that says 'not from around here,' though it is perhaps a bit difficult to place. "I'm still working off apology shifts to make up for sleeping through when I was scheduled to be on," Kate says with a crinkle of her nose, eyeing the menu again, "I wonder if the coffee ice cream has actual coffee in it. Or more importantly caffeine." She ponders, and steps forward to order her 'dinner' - a scoop of chocolate cherry-almond, a scoop of coffee, and enough chocolate, whipped cream, and hot fudge to make almost any week better. Moving down the counter to wait with Corey, watching as her ungodly sweet meal is prepared for her. Corey does settle in to pay for Kate's chococoffee concoction as well as his own with a little smile, looking a little sheepish though. "Yeah sorry about that. They really did appreciate your efforts though. We owe you one, well more of one than ice cream." He shrugs slightly at that, then chuckles at Doug's query. "Sometime In the summer actually. I needed to do my ride alongs still, but after that it's basically settled. There shouldn't be any problem in theory if I sign in to join the city's emergency services at least." Hey, that's cool," Doug says, his smile widening a bit. "Good luck with it." He pays for his order, then moves to the side to watch as it's prepared. "You don't sound like a local," he says to Kate as he grabs some napkins from a dispenser, tipping his head to one side as he looks at her. Up close, there's definite fatigue in his features, although it looks like he might have slept recently. "Are you an EMT, too?" When Corey goes to pay for her meal, Kate opens her mouth to protest, blushing at the apology. "S'ok. I was happy to be able to help. Just pushed myself a little further than normal," Kate mumbles sheepishly, shaking her head, "Thank you for the ice cream." The mention of ride alongs gets a bit of a grin, and she nods, "The ride alongs can be interesting. I had to do a handful of them back when I was in college. Though I imagine the ones back in Oklahoma are a bit less exciting than the ones here in New York." She snorts, shaking her head, the faint shadows of exhaustion making dark circles under her eyes, still, "Nah. Emergency room nurse, for now anyway. Just moved here fairly recently." There's a faint grimace at that, and a guilty look, "Between my card coming in, and missing work without warning might make them less than willing to keep me around much past my probation period." Acquiring ice cream Corey starts to head over towards a table to settle in with the pile of ice cream, poking it with his spoon. "I am hoping that things will settle down with the heat of summer for my ride alongs. I mean, I'm from Florida, and this city is just as bad, if for no other reason than the heat getting trapped in the sky scrapers. I don't think the water does much good in bringing down the temperature either." Scooping some ice cream into his face he smiles happily. "I do need to find a place with a pool though, well a pool that isn't intended to just do laps in at least. Just float around in my trunks and soak in the sun." It does seem perhaps to be trying to steer conversation to happier things. "Oh, hey. Oklahoma's cool. We lived there for about six months when I was a kid." Doug bobs his head, shoving his acquired napkins in a pocket of his laptop bag. "Welcome to New York." He manages an actual grin, though it doesn't hold, and takes his banana split when it's ready. He chooses a table near enough to talk to Corey and Kate, but definitely keeping himself out of what might possibly be a date. He snorts a laugh at Corey's wish, and shakes his head. "Sorry," he says, pulling the napkins back out and putting them on the table. "It's just evident you're not from around here. Summertime is when people go craziest." He inhales a shuddery breath, and shakes his head. "We can't handle the heat like you Southern types." Corey's plan gets a small lift of his shoulders. "/That/ is probably how I should spend my vacation,' he says. "It's the best plan yet." Snagging her coffee-chocolate mess, Kate follows Corey to a table settling in and grinning at the confection in front of her. "Hm? Oh! Heh, thanks. I grew up just outside of Oklahoma City, figured I'd try life in the Big Apple," Kate explains, smiling brightly. "Yeah, hate to break it to you, but summer is worse, no matter where you are. Heat stroke, exhaustion, dehydration, and a whole host of other issues you get in the summer. Your ride alongs are going to be hot and sweaty," Kate offers in agreement with Doug, scooping a massive spoon of ice cream into her mouth. The shuddery breath from Doug earns a curious, concerned look from Kate while she works her way through the coffee ice cream first. "I think there's some lakes and stuff around here that are good for swimming, if there aren't pools. Don't even think my building has a pool," Kate muses around another spoonful of ice cream. "I don't mind the hot and sweaty. I just would prefer those cases to violent cases," Corey says with a bit of shrug. "Hrm, I hadn't thought about lakes though. I know there's some beach stuff, but that didn't seem quite like a smart move with the water quality around here. I've smelled the Hudson after all." Making a face, he shoves more icecream in his mouth to remove the scent memory. "I think there's lots of vineyards near the lakes too. Ah well, maybe sometime after I get my certificates and such. Not much time for long trips now." "There's plenty of hot and sweaty around here during the summer," Doug says, wrinkling his nose. "And plenty of violent, too." He straightens in his seat, twisting his back a bit before he grabs up his spoon and digs into his 'meal'. He nods at Kate's suggestion, and waves his spoon as he clears his mouth. "There's plenty of nice lakes upstate," he affirms. "Most of them are within an hour's ride on the train. Or, if you're wanting to go to the beach, the water's way less toxic up in the Hamptons." He lifts a shoulder. "There's always people doing time shares up there you could probably buy into." Kate uses a healthy spoonful of chocolate ice cream to hide the smirk that twitches at her lips at the comments about summer heat, shrugging a bit as the conversation moves on. "Huh, not too far away at least," Kate snickers at the thought of buying into a time share, "I can't imagine buying a time share in the Hamptons is exactly an affordable thing." She munches on her ice cream,swirling through the marshmallow and fudge, "Wonder about camping around here, though, I mean, I used to when I was little, on my cousin's ranch. After the way winter and spring have gone, I'm a bit hesitant to think about vacations." She's musing quietly, nibbling on her ice cream as she thinks. "I don't think I'm really the time share kinda guy," Corey says waving his spoon a bit dismissively. "Camping might be fun though. Ah well, maybe next year when everythings settled more. Unless I go for a paramedics certificate right away, which is yet More schooling that I am behind on." Making a face, he sighs and settles in to consume ice cream amidst his friends. "Plenty of camping to be had up that way, too," Doug confirms. "There's all kinds of woods and stuff. I'll email you some sites for the parks services up there." He waves his spoon, and offers the other two a sympathetic sort of shrug. "I think the whole city could use some vacation time," he says. "Between the insanity and the snow, I think people are just ready to kick back for a while." He wrinkles his nose. "Hopefully." He falls into a thoughtful silence, though, considering that as he carves out chunks of banana and ice cream. Eventually, he speaks again. "I know /I/ am."