Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream

There are approximately four hundred twenty-six flavors of ice-cream in the world. Many of these are entirely unknown to Americans. Carl, however, has tasted every flavor he has ever chanced upon. Carl is an ice-cream king. 

Carl owns an ice-cream shop, unsurprisingly, and he thoroughly enjoys his life as an ice-cream connoisseur and provider. His shop is named: Carl's Custards, and children and adults alike come from all over the city and state to taste his fabulous ice-creams and frozen custards. He had flavors like "mushroom-pecan," and "bacon" in his store. Every month he put on special a flavor from around the world. Carl went to ice-cream conventions. 

He loved other things besides ice-cream, of course. Most of these did not love him back quite in the same way, but Carl had always been a little over-dramatic. He loved the woman who worked as a cashier in the store across the street from his: Lisa. She reminded of Vanilla Bean ice-cream. He loved his fourteen regulars, like Callie, the twelve year-old obese girl who lived down the street, and John, the recently divorced and suddenly much happier man that came in every day after lunch for the same thing. The two of them reminded him of mint-pistasio and cherry-chocolate ice-creams, respectively. 

He loved his small but quiet, old dog named Abu. Abu reminded him of that bacon ice-cream, lovable, but a little strange. He loved his town house with the blue door and the neighbors who partied into the small hours of the night and never invited him to drink with him. He was older than they were, anyway. Carl loved his full name: Carl Macy Jones. He loved his parents and he loved his siblings. 

Carl loved just about everything but himself. He reminded himself of lobster ice-cream, one flavor with which he never was really satisfied. He was about 100 pounds overweight, which he hated about himself; he had few friends, and fewer best friends, and he had never really loved another human being romantically who requited his love. He loved Lisa, but she barely realized that he existed. 

The lovable ice-cream man decided, one day, to hold an ice-cream-fest. He would invite everyone who worked in the businesses on his block, his regulars, and anyone else who would buy a ticket. Free ice-cream samples, prizes and gift-certificates! Carl printed up several hundred fliers to spread around his city block and went door to door, imploring several businesses to tape them up in their windows. 

He walked down the street, passing an old, smiling, homeless man with worn out shoes. He handed out fliers to passersby, some happy to receive the small slips of colored paper, most others anxious and annoyed, hurrying to get on with their lives, uninterrupted by fat men with fliers. 

He handed the flier to a lady who became, the moment he looked at her, Lisa. She stopped walking and smiled. 

"I do love your ice-cream, Carl. Thank you." 

He stared at her for a moment and smiled back, nearly dropping his fliers. 

"Will you come? To the..." he asked, his eyes searching for a deeper answer. 

"Absolutely. I can't wait," she responded, happily. 

The rest of the day was a bit of a daze for Carl. The rest of the week, really. And she did show up, staying for most of the day in the shop, eating small samples and smiling at people, and at Carl. His vanilla-bean girl, knowing his name. 

I've decided to post a new one of these every time I finish the next one after it. So yeah.