We All Scream for Ice Cream

Posted on Mon Sep 4th, 2017 @ 1:05pm by Veronica Kiley & Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD & Lieutenant Rhiannon O'Connor Barak

1,241 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Pulling Together
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Prior to Shore Leave

"Prime Number!" Rhiannon said. "I haven't been here in ages! So Veronica, what's your favorite flavor? Bet you can't guess mine!"

Arnon smiled. Rhiannon looked a lot like her mother did when she was young and having Veronica along brought back pleasant memories of his children's early years. They're mothers had followed him there so they could conceive and stayed after the birth of Rhiannon and later Carlos so that the children could have at least a few years with their father physically present in their lives on a daily basis. It had been a happy life, one interrupted by the start of the Federation-Klingon War and later the Dominion War. Arnon went back to serve, still as a civilian contractor. Rachel and Shannon had done their time in service and chose to move to Rigel V, where their children would fit in better than they would on Earth or a similar human-centric colony. Still, Arnon was a constant presence via electronic mail and subspace radio and visits. Many, many visits over the years.

Veronica followed the two adults to the holodeck where they promised to take her to an ice cream place. Her mother promised to join later, after she finished doing whatever she did with those medical records. Grownups were always reading and writing records and doing all those boring stuff. The girl wished she'll be different when she grows up.

"I like cherry and chocolate and cinammon and vanilla and strawberry and banana and cocoa and pistacchio and melon and fudge and raspberry and mango. And of course, grapefruit. Did I mention cinammon?", she answered honestly to the nurse's question.

"You did, in fact, mention cinnamon," Rhiannon said. "Those all sound really yummy! My favorite is white chocolate blueberry! My dad thinks it's sickeningly sweet, but I love it!"

"She also used to bake blueberry muffins with white chocolate chips in them," Arnon said. "She like that combination so much that, if I didn't put limits on how much of it she ate, she would eat herself sick."

"Oh," Rhiannon said. "But it was SO worth it! So, what flavor do you want to have today?"

"I don't know about her, but I'm having coffee cookies and cream," Arnon said. "That's my favorite, mint cookies and cream being a close second. Something about the texture of the cookies and cream mixed with either of those flavors makes them taste so good!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rhiannon said. "I knew you were going to get one of those two! I was asking our new friend what she was getting! Hey, look! There it is! Come on Veronica! Let's go take a look at the flavors and find the perfect one for you!"

Veronica listened through the adults conversing without uttering a word. They were kinda occupied with themselves and honestly she couldn't decipher everything they said. However, ice cream was the subject, and that made her curious. "Do you always tend to talk so much?", she asked naively, without any intended bad manners, turning her head first to Arnon then to Rhiannon.

"Well... I'd like...", the girl said, thinking for a moment. Honestly, she'd eat all the flavours one by one, but she was sure her mom would ground her for a month afterwards. "Vanilla!", she finally said, choosing almost completely randomly. Vanilla was always a winner. One can never go wrong with it.

"Vanilla it is!" Rhiannon said. The trio walked over into the ice cream shop and Arnon ordered everyone's ice cream, including a fair-sized helping of Coffee Cookies and Cream for himself. He handed out each cone as it was handed to him. "There you are ladies! Shall we walk or sit? The park is quite nice this time of day!"

Rhiannon turned to Veronica.

"Up to you, kiddo," she said. "Since this is your first time here."

"Why would we sit in a park?", Veronica shook her head in disbelief. What were they thinking? "Of course, we walk!"

Arnon chuckled and started walking.

"I was just saying to Rhiannon the other days that parks were definitely for walking, not sitting," Arnon said. "But she kept insisting that it was fine to sit in a park. She's always been very stubborn. She gets that from her mother, I think."

"Hey!" Rhiannon said. "I'm not stubborn! And neither is my mother...okay, yeah, we're both stubborn."

"Parks are for playing soccer.", Veronica stiffly said, enlighting those 'non-believers', "But, of course, we can also take a walk in one."

Arnon laughed.

"How could have been so foolish?" he said. "Of course parks are for playing soccer. But I agree with you that we should walk first. So, Veronica Kiley, tell me everything there is to know about you!"

"Hmm.", Veronica thought for a moment, "I'm a future soccer champion. My mom is a former soccer champion."

"Really?" Arnon said. "You know, I think there is a soccer club on the ship. We don't have quite enough children to have a youth league, but there is a group that gets together and plays against each other. They usually divide the children up so that there's about an even number on each team. If you'd like, I can have the ship's morale officer get in touch with you about the soccer club. Would you like me to do that?"

"Of course!", Veronica responded with an honest excitement in her voice. Her mom promised her she'll have lots of kids to play soccer with on their new Galaxy-class home, but she didn't yet have the chance. "But let them know that I probably play better than any of them.", she added without any sincerity in her voice. She was good and she knew it.

Rhiannon stifled a laugh while her father replied.

"Oh to be sure," Arnon said. "I wouldn't want the other players to be taken completely by surprise when you show them all up."

Was I like this? Rhiannon wondered. How did my dad ever manage to keep a straight face in a conversation with me? He never laughed or made me feel silly unless it was clear I was goofing around. If he even suspected...probably better than suspected, considering his empathic abilities, that I was being serious, he took me seriously. I don't remember him making me feel stupid even once! Wow. I wasn't sure how serving with him would affect our relationship. We haven't lived in such close proximity for an extended period of time since I was a little girl. So far, though, it seems like it's going to be great!

Veronica, not sure, if she was taken seriously, folded her arms, "Ask my mom. She can tell you I'm the best player she's ever seen."

"Computer, give me a soccer ball, professional grade," Arnon said. Said soccer ball appeared at his feet. Arnon grinned and lightly kicked it over to Veronica. "Prove it."

The girl raised an eyebrow when the counselor guy unexpectedly ordered a soccer ball to materialize. Hey, they didn't say I had to play now, she smirked, but, of course, she was much more proud than turning off the 'invitation'.

"Alright.", she picked up the ball, then placed it on the ground, so she could perform a few tricks, "Just watch."

OFF.

By

Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant Rhiannon O'Connor Barak
Head Nurse

Veronica Kiley
Civilian

 

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