Cookies & Cream Ch. 33

"Vanilla"

It was five minutes until three and Ingrid stood in front of the sink tired. As she sweat, her thoughts let her forget about those five long minutes. Her fantasy of Raymond looking at her and be kind to her made her heart pound. She had long wished she were forward. She wished she could swallow her fears and make the first move. She was tired of acting like a fool whenever Raymond was around.

"Ingrid?" Tony tapped her shoulder. "It's three past three. Charles said you can go and enjoy your evening off."

"Thanks." Ingrid gripped on her moist rag, her thoughts still strong in her head. Tony looked at her as she slowly walked to the exit. "Ingrid, are you okay?"

"Why?"

"Nothing, just...you know, you have a red face and are sweating. I do worry about you. I don't want you to faint under the summer sun."

Ingrid blushed and dropped her cloth. Tony watched the cloth fall and went down to catch it. He sighed as he caught it right in the air without the cloth touching the floor. He was pleased with himself...until his head rubbed the curve of Ingrid's breasts. He stepped back and pointed to the cloth. "Trip hazard!"

Ingrid sighed and shook her head with a smile. With a chuckle, she hugged her fellow co-worker. "Thank you so much for being my friend, Tony. I know I overworked myself today. You know about Robin and Rayna's little stunt, right?"

"Yes. Pam told me to be careful in the next hour." He then whispered into her ear. "Plus, I think the Cherry Pops are extra special."

"Really? So, you like the Cherry Pops?"

"Well, when I say they are extra special, I mean there a couple of certain parts that are extra. And that itself is rather...special for women."

"I don't follow."

"It's best if you shouldn't, Ingrid. I think I need to focus on my fried fish fillets." He went back to the fryer and took out the fish. He didn't have the heart to tell her the two idols had cocks. Neither did he have the capacity to explain to her. What a world he is living. He saw something he shouldn't and now he had to keep it and not let the others know. Well, soon, their secret would come out, but not from Tony!

Ingrid got out of the diner and walked on the trail. She then felt more heat from that June sun. She gagged. "Ugh! I swear the diner kitchen is cooler than out here!" That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

She remembered she was someplace dim and cool. She felt something cool and comforting rubbing her forehead. She let a weak groan as she moved her leg. That was when she felt pain in her calf. The twinge made her seethe and struggle to stretch.

"Here, dear, let me stretch your leg." A soft voice said, her hand lifting Ingrid's leg and rubbed it. The rubbing and the soft voice made Ingrid open her eyes. She soon realized she was in the clinic and a nurse rubbed her calf. Ingrid felt embarrassed. "Oh no. What happened?"

"Heat exhaustion." Said the nurse. Her yellow ribbon adorned her pink afro pigtails. She put down Ingrid's leg and patted her knee. Her fawn eyes looked at her patient. "Someone carried you to the clinic. They said they saw you walking strange."

"Oh no!" Ingrid covered her face with the washcloth. "Aria, am I bleeding anywhere?"

"You are blood patch free. You fainted on the grass."

"Oh, thank goodness! Gravel and my skin don't mix."

"Preaching to the choir on that one. But anyway, the way they described your walk showed signs of heat exhaustion. Dizziness, excessive sweating, cold clammy hands, yep you got it."

"At least I fainted with dignity."

"Actually, as soon as you fainted, your mouth opened and tossed some cookies."

"CRAP!" Ingrid cried, her head starting to ache. "Ow! Oh, my head...my hands! Ew!"

Aria dried Ingrid's hands as Julie pushed a small cart. "Hello, Aria." She whispered. "How is your patient?"

"She is going to live." The dark-skinned nurse smiled as she saw a bowl of pudding. "Is this for her?"

"Yep! It's banana pudding. I figured she would need it when she sits up."

"Oh right, for potassium."

"I was thinking more of restoring her energy, but that works too. Bananas are beneficial in so many ways." Julie brought the bowl to Aria. The latter giggled. "That is true. And confidentially, when will you enjoy your banana?"

Julie blushed and turned away. "Oh! I think I hear a patient calling my name! Love to stay, but my work is calling me!"

Julie dashed as Aria shook her head. "I've been through a lot of crap in Martinique. What she said doesn't faze me."

Ingrid sat up slowly and blinked. "Did you actually read Julie?"

"If I want to read Julie, then I would have added I've seen bulls with the same expression before they relieved themselves. But I didn't."

Ingrid felt cool air, her nipples starting to tauten. She felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all. She smiled as she curled her feet. She enjoyed her time in the cot. She sat up and with some struggle, but she felt better. Aria grinned as the young woman took the pudding and started eating.

"When you're finished, I'll bring you your clothes. We had to place you in the water tank to lower your temperature. I'll also give you a few ice packs. This is for your walk back to the cabin. Are you going to do anything this evening?"

"Well, I was planning a game night for my sisters. But I guess I can cool off and binge watch my shows. And I'll hog some ice cream for the night."

Aria sighed. "That isn't healthy, hon. You had exhaustion, dear. I say go with your original plan! But make sure you stay cool throughout the rest of your day."

Ingrid took the advice at heart and got dressed. She bid farewell to Aria and Julie and set off to her cabin. When she left a phone rang and Julie picked it up. "Hattawata Medical clinic. Oh yes, we do need part-time nurses during weekends. Is Dr. Daisuke expecting you? Oh great! I'll tell him you called. Okay...your name please? Gretchen Valentine. Got it! Thank you!"

Ingrid put her ice pack on her forehead to keep from getting too hot again. She saw two women coming over her. One had long black hair, the other tan with platinum blond hair. The black-haired girl ranted about some random subject. Ingrid wasn't interested in that until she heard one little detail.

"He's coming over, he said to me. No questions ask, he said! We broke up over a year ago and now he shows concern?"

"But Michelle, Michael wanted to change himself to prove he's a better man. That's the reason for the break."

Michelle gave her jolly friend a stink eye. "Pearl, I know you are showing your support with Michael and me. But, sweetie, we broke up because he cheated on me with some slut from Jersey."

"That's because you cheated on him with a stripper from Thailand."

"I was drunk! He didn't have to rub salt over my heart to remind me of my mistake! Ugh, he's the reason I went into AA for crepe's sake!"

"Hi, Ingrid!" Pearl waved over to Ingrid. She immediately saw the ice pack. "Oh no! Who gave you a black eye??"

Michelle groaned at the question since the pack was on Ingrid's forehead. "Pearl, she doesn't have a black eye! Both eyes are clear!"

Pearl's high, squeaky voice made a moan. "But I was talking about her third eye! That's where her door of the universe resides!"

"Oh my GOD! Ingrid, please ignore my friend here. She is into mysticism and her inner ego or whatever replaced her stupidity is driving me crazy!"

"Pearl is only showing her concern for me. That's not a big deal. And Pearl I'm fine. Don't you worry. I just fainted from heat exhaustion."

"Heat exhaustion??" Both women cried. Michelle touched her cheeks. "Goodness! You're a bit cool right now. I guess the ice pack is helping. Anyway, sweetie, please don't scare us like that! You'll give me a heart attack and Pearl a migraine!"

"Why would I have a migraine?" Pearl asked Michelle that. "I'm not that stupid you know."

"I know, Pearl, I know. I'm still mad at you for telling Michael about the Flasher guy."

"For the last time, I didn't tell Michael! The only person in our salon that knows about the Flasher is..." She gasped. "Grace!"

Ingrid bit her finger as Michelle gawked at Pearl's answer. "No...no! Grace wouldn't dare call Michael behind my back!"

"I should mention Grace is Michael's sister."

Michelle's face now glows red. "Oh...right! Well, that makes much more sense!"

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS??" Pearl asked. "I'm offended now! When you thought I was the one who called Michael, you looked like you were gonna murder me! Now Grace was the one who called him and you're going to let that slide?"

"What? Michael and Grace are related!"

"She also called your ex!"
"I will flay her alive!"

Michelle and Pearl, along with Grace, worked in the beauty salon with Eleanor and Skippy. Michelle came from New Jersey and moved here due her sclerosis increasing flaring. Pearl came from Washington and came here to start fresh. When Eleanor hired the two, they hit it off and became best friends. Yeah, Michelle can be a loudmouth and Pearl is flaky, but those two can overcome their flaws and give each other strength. I would soon meet them the following Monday.

Ingrid continued to walk the trail until she reached her cabin. When she set foot on the living room, the home line rang. She rushed to the phone and checked the number. She had a rule with phone numbers. If it wasn't a number she recognized, she would ignore it. She started to make a list of games when the answering machine came on.

"Hi, this is the Salisbury phone. We are not right now. Leave a message after the tone. (beep)"

"Hey Mark, this is Helena, your cousin from Connecticut. Heather called me last night about this Flasher? Now I'm concerned about you guys! I'm coming over on Monday. I'm down at Philadelphia to stay for the night. And I'll stay in Virginia Beach on Sunday night. So, I'm okay driving all the way to Orlando.

"So guys, get ready! Hurricane Helena is coming!"

"Uh-oh!" Ingrid whistled and write the game "Clue" on her list. "Looks like Helena didn't receive the new message from Heather. And when she comes here in vain, she will be livid!" She grinned. "She'll fit right in!"

There was a knock on the door. "Ingrid, are you in there?"

"Yeah, the door's open."

Will opened the door and rushed over to her. "Ingrid, are you all right? The girls and I found out about your fainting spell! Charles told me about it when I came to the diner."

"What?"

"Yeah, he found you after Tony gave him his concern for you. Man, Charles had good instincts! Speaking of, Charles and Emma are giving you a few days off so you can cool off. And Emma wants you to work in the ice cream parlor."

"Oh, come on! I have parents in Michigan! I don't need parents in Orlando!"

"It's not because of the heat exhaustion. They've been wanting you to assist Emma making ice cream for quite some time. I guess the heat exhaustion was a clear sign. And girl, you weren't meant to be in that dish room. You earned that position. You earned it!"

Ingrid pulled her hair ties out of her hair, combing it through her fingers. "Wow! I would never think

to believe Emma would give me such a responsibility."

"Well, Cookies & Cream will have an expansion and migt have a chain soon. So, why not, right?"

"Right." Ingrid sighed. "Well, that is awesome news. It's quite great compared to what Mark will receive on the phone." She told Will about Helena's message. And she knew who Helena was. "Oh, her! That human version of Aunt Flo is coming over here? Man, can this part of Florida handle her?"

"They have to. With the Flasher on the loose, she wants to be there for the capture."

Will made her realization face. "Oh my God! That's why Winnie called me!"

"Winnie? Your best bud from Dixon, Mississippi? She's rather eccentric to call you so random."

"No, she's not. She calls me twice a week to check up on me. I only mentioned about the Flasher once and at first she laughed. But after seeing something on Facebook, her mood changed. So, Winnie the human circus will be in town."

Winnie was called 'the circus' for good reasons. She excites people, she scares them, she intrigues them and is extra flexible. Did I mention she was a gymnast in her college? Well, she still is. With a few piercings on her ears and bellybutton, she's your average badass Southern Belle.

I met her when she came in from to the camp. The first reaction to her appearance was shock. And Billy's words beat me to the punch. "I don't know about you, girl, but I think this place took an odd turn." (More on that later.)

"So, Will, what are you going to do when Winnie comes here?"

"She and I are sisters for life! We got a lot of catching up to do! She's also in college. She goes to Ole Miss. So, I can ask her how my home state is when she comes."

Ingrid nodded and jotted down one more game on her list. "Okay, I hope you're not offended, but I need to take a shower."

"Girl, since when do I get offended on personal hygiene? Get your shower, girl! I'll look at your list while you're at that." And looking was what Will did. At some games she approved, others not so much. She turned up her nose with Clue. She frowned when she saw Scatagories. When she found Skipbo, she beamed.

"Oh, hellz yeah! Skipbo! We're playing this tonight!" She grinned and circled the game on the list. When she walked to the living area, she caught something red at the corner of my eye. That gave her the shivers whoever that was. She thought it was the Flasher. She looked for something to protect herself. She found paperweight at the coffee table, that'll do. She heard the knock at the door, and she was ready. She opened the door and showed the guest her war face.

"Take a picture and you die!" She yelled. She stared at the scarlet jacket and started to look up. Raymond stared at her with his unemotional eyes. She put the paperweight on the windowsill. She made an embarrassed look on her face. "Raymond, I'm sorry! I thought you were the Flasher!"

"I've been called worse." He walked inside the cabin, his face showed color. "Is Ingrid here? I heard she had a little accident. I want to give her comfort."

Dina and Tabby came after him with a bouquet of daisies and a pint bin of vanilla ice cream. Will's face brightened when she saw the cosplay costumes. "Ay! This is great, guys! You're playing 'Hellsing' the series! I love! Care if I join?"

"Well sure!" Dina grabbed Will and took her outside. Tabby took a good look at Raymond and went, "Alucard. It's up to you now. Remember our little discussion."

Now, for you guys to understand, let me take you back to two forty-five where they walked into the soccer field. It was empty since there were no practice on the weekends. They could see the diner with outdoor tables around it. Dina reminisced their brunch time. She sat on the wood bench and rubbed the wood table with her hand.

"Man, when I come back here fifty years later, I'll say, 'Remember the time.' And then I can ramble on what we did here."

"Yeah." Tabby agreed. "It's the time you told us about a summer-less Florida."

"Okay, moving on! How about the time Lisa stacked her pancakes like a leaning tower of Pisa?"

"And the pancakes didn't fail its name." Raymond laughed as he remembered the pancakes falling on our table. I can laugh now, and I must say I love that the pancakes landed so perfectly on my plate. But boy, were my sisters pissed! Our table were sticky with maple syrup and blueberry juice! And Lindsey, sweet Lindsey, gave Lisa the finger! Uncalled for, not necessarily harsh, but Lisa could sometimes be egotistic. And her competitive nature always gets the better of her. She had one hundred pancakes, but balance was not her strong point.

Tabby would agree with me on that one. She sighed after her laugh, thinking about Lisa's competitive streak. They sat at the table for twenty minutes talking about the sisters of Rho Beta Mu. Just then, Charles rushed out of the diner and ran like the Dickens. Emma came out and her face was pale. Raymond knew something was off when he looked at Emma's wide eyes. It was obvious to him that Charles didn't make any obscene joke that time.

A moment later, Charles came back carrying Ingrid in his arms. Dina and Tabby stood and panicked as Raymond gasped at the girl. He didn't know if she felt unconscious or worse! Charles yelled to his wife to grab the truck keys. Everything was a blur until they saw Charles's truck driving on the gravel road and headed to the clinic.

"Oh, that sweet angel!" Emma cried, wiping her face with her apron. She removed her hair net and the sweat and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Ingrid! Lord Almighty! Spare this child! She has a whole life ahead of her!"

Dina and Tabby held hands, starting to cry. Raymond was stunned about what happened. Ingrid and he were friends for so long. She was his first friend when he came to Florida. She introduced him to Charles and Emma. She guided him to his job. He owed her so much. He sat down and put his hat on the table.

"I feel selfish." He said at last. It broke the silence. The women looked at the man to fell back to Earth. He clenched his fists and flared his nostrils. "Ingrid did a lot for me. She's really kind and charming. I can honestly say she is the only person I admire. I...I want to give her more."

"More than keeping her in the friendzone?" Tabby admitted in a flat tone. Dina wanted to scold her, but Tabby knew she wasn't wrong. Raymond looked at the raven-haired girl. "You think I'm friend zoning her?"
"That's how she sees it. She pines for you and yet you push her away."

"That's ridiculous, I wouldn't friendzone Ingrid. I gave her five pussy jobs in one night."

"Yeah, but how many nights did you know her?" Tabby asked. Emma snapped her head back after hearing Raymond's sex confession. "Raymond, you gave Ingrid pussy jobs. Oh, hold on, what the hell is a pussy job??"

Dina blushed and bit her lip. "It's like...a blow job, only this job gives it to a woman."

Emma glared at Raymond. "You degenerate scum!" She hissed. Tabby and Dina went over to Emma, holding her back. "You teased that little angel, making her fall in love with you! And you make moves like that so she could hope you would..."
Emma was too furious to say anything else. She wanted to pulverize her employee. Many people watched as Raymond blushed red. It was rare to see Raymond blush so deep. He could see where the girls had the idea of Ingrid thinking like that. He rubbed his scalp and groaned. "Emma, you're right. I was too blind to realize Ingrid had feelings for me."

"You're damn right! What?" She lowered her fists and stood right at the tall man. "Honey, what made you think she didn't have feelings for you?"

"She encouraged me with my relationship with Rudy. Course, I wouldn't call it a relationship. He just likes only one part of me."

"We know." Dina and Tabby agreed. The formed coughed. "So, you have feelings for Ingrid?"

"Of course, I love her! I feel safe when I'm with her. I feel comfortable and warm when she's near me. When she's around, I go all fuzzy. I can see her heart...yet I was blind about her heart pounding when she's near me."

Emma sat down beside him, patting his back. "I apologize, honey. I guess you both feel you're in the friendzone. It's a mutual attraction."

"Yeah."

"Well, here is my idea. For it to work, we're going to need a few things."

And now we will turn the clock forward to five fifty-six P.M. Ingrid turned off the shower head and exited the shower. Her wet body was refreshed and clean. She felt lighter from the heavy uniform. She looked at the mirror and felt beautiful. In fact, she felt love for herself for the first time.

"Wow!" She said, looking at herself at the mirror. "I feel great! I look fantastic! What is this? Why do I feel I can overcome anything? Huh...maybe Julie is right. Bananas are beneficial! I'm going eat bananas more often." She curved her smile and at that moment blushed from the idea. Eating bananas? That's a metaphor, baby. You know what she's thinking!