Ket spotted Momma B. standing by the changing rooms with her arms crossed. Next to her was a pole on which hung a couple blouses, a few other tops, and a few pairs of pants on the other side.
"Have you tried these on yet?" Momma R. asked, thumbing through her friend's choices to see if there was one she liked.
"Yup. Do you think the pink one is a little much?"
"No, especially if you use it with a dark over-shirt."
Momma B. snapped her finger. "That's what I've been missing! I'll have to get some when Emmy comes out."
Ket, tired of holding his box, placed it down by the pole. "What all is she trying on?"
"Oh you know, this and that," her mom replied cryptically.
Speaking of the deviless, she peeked around the corner of the entrance to the changing rooms. "Um...mom? Can you help me?"
"Sure hun." She spoke with hush, "Be right back."
Ket looked up at his mom.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"Is she putting on a suit of armor or something?"
She chuckled. "No. We girls just need help to look just right sometimes."
The tiger cub was suddenly struck with a bit of wonder. What was she trying on? He didn't think she was going to pick something out. She usually wore jeans or shorts and tees. Skirts also, but for obvious reasons she hadn't worn those to school since Christmas.
He wouldn't need to wait and wonder very long. Her mother emerged and beckoned her daughter forward.
"C'mon, it looks fine. Oh, take out your pony-tail, let your hair down." She turned back to the other two tigers. "Okay. Now pretend like you like it," she teasingly whispered.
"Mom..." The girl's voice nervously scolded.
"Well c'mon hun. Show 'em."
Momma B. joined the other two, and a moment later, Emeral emerged.
The dress she wore was the kind she could wear to church, and then immediately go to Perry's and it would fit both environments. It was simplistic yet expressive; cream-colored with wisps swirling downward around her, no line thicker than a whisker. The wisps were gradated, changing from orange to green to red in different combinations. The swirling was just enough to be noticed, but not so drastic as to make her look like she was caught in a tornado.
In the same vein as her swimsuit, the left shoulder was solid red. The red trailed down the front, and then transitioned from a flat color to a red ribbon. The ribbon started just above her waist, and wrapped around. There was a premade loop at the hip, which was synched in such a way to give the ribbon a clean angle from going down, to going across. The end of the ribbon was threaded through the loop, and went down the skirt of the dress, splitting in two for a few inches before it tapered.
The skirt ended a few inches below her knees, with the trim taking on the same effects as the wisps that swirled and merged into it. Below the trim, her legs were exposed from the shins down. Despite the tone of her calves, the dress made her legs look short or petite. The only disruption to the ensemble were the light blue socks she wore on her feet.
Overall the dress was maybe a bit poochey around her chest, but just like Ket's shoes in a little while she would grow into it.
"Oh Emmy that looks so beautiful," Momma R. commented. "You look like a sweet little sherbet-swirl."
"Mmm..." Emeral emitted a nervous mumble. "I don't want people to think I'm food..."
"Oh but that's the point, sweetie," Momma R. said. "It's very thematic, and it goes with your coat very well."
"I thought it would look good when you picked it out, hun." Her mom reassured. "If I thought it wouldn't look good on you I woulda said something. I think you made a good choice." She smiled, and then looked down at the tiger beside her. "Maybe she needs a boy's opinion. What do you think, Ketso?"
Ket had to refrain from making any gestures as soon as she had emerged. He almost lost feeling in his lips; had to consciously clench his jaw to keep it from unhinging. The fur on his arms had tickled as it raised up, a wave of nervousness and warmth brushing over his skin. He had to hold his breath to keep the rush of blood from the pace of his heart from overwhelming him. His hand unconsciously raised the brim of his floppy hat to let in better light and lessen his obstruction of the white tigress.
She looked at him expectantly, left arm crossed over her torso and holding the right which slinked down her side.
"Oh uncross your arms, hun. Twirl around."
Hesitantly, Emeral did so.
Ket watched as the skirt fluffed outward. At the very back, the hole that allowed her tail through to prevent the skirt from rising too high was disguised behind a loose layer of the dress that fell over her tail, giving better appeal than casual wear.
"Well, kid; what's the verdict?" His mom asked.
"It...it looks really nice."
He bit down on his disobedient tongue. Not enough to truly harm, but just shy enough to keep him from wincing.
Emeral smiled. "I guess it's not so bad." She said.
"Now, the question is: are you going to wear it more than once?"
She nodded to her mother. "Yeah. Maybe not to school, I'll see about that. But definitely other times. It's not too fancy for day-wear is it?"
"You can wear it whenever you want," Momma B. said approvingly. "You picked it out."
"Okay...so..." Momma R. began. "I'm sorry Emmy but you're really making me want ice cream now." She giggled shamefully.
"Mom," Ket grumbled. "Don't be rude."
"It's okay, Ket," Emeral said, stepping up to them, her socks shuffling on the carpet. "Maybe making people think of ice cream isn't so bad."
"Isn't it too close to dinner time anyway?" He commented.
"Maybe..." Momma B. replied. "But...I kinda want ice cream, now, too..."
Emeral laughed. "Who're the kids here? Whadda you think, Ket; should we let them have ice cream before dinner?"
Ket shook his head. "I don't care."
Emeral shook her head with him. "We're such lousy parents."
Their moms shared a laugh. "Okay. Change back and let me find a couple more things," Momma B. said, "then we'll go find some ice cream."
* * *
"What the heck! Did everyone else in town get the same idea?"
The place was packed. There were more than a dozen tables and all but a few of them were taken up by families or couples. Amazingly, there wasn't a line at the counter.
"Hello!" The teenager behind the counter said, trying very hard to show up despite her short stature hiding her behind the cough-shield. "What can I get ya'll?"
"Just give us a sec," Momma B. said.
"Sure, no problem," she opted to move by the cash-register so she could be noticed. "If you want you can get a sample-spoon of any flavor. We also have all kinds of cones or waffle-bowls, and you can mix in fruits or candy."
"Wow," Emmy whispered. "That's like a bajillion combinations."
"Do you guys need us to read you what flavors they have?" Momma R. offered.
"No, they have them down here, too." Ket pointed to the wall at the mothers' shins. Sure enough, the flavors, along with a little window to see the ice cream, were clearly displayed at kid-friendly height.
"That's ingenious," Momma B. stated.
"Ooo, I know exactly what I want," Emeral said.
"Well, go on and order it," her mom said.
Emeral stepped up to where the register was. She was surprised to see the teenager wasn't more than a foot or so taller than she was. "Um...can get a sherbet and mix strawberries into it?"
"Sure. Cup, on a cone, or in a waffle bowl?"
"Can I do a waffle bowl?" She asked to her mother.
The tigress nodded.
"Ket, what do you want?"
"Um..." he looked at the flavors. "French vanilla?"
His mom raised a brow. "Just vanilla? You can get another flavor, too if you want."
"Um..." he looked at the flavors again. He was never one for variety. "No just...just vanilla."
"Will you at least mix something in with it?" His mom pleaded.
"Um..." he looked at the mix-ins. "Raspberries?"
"Waffle-bowl, cone or cup?" The teenager asked.
"Um...cone..."
"All right, let me get these fixed up and I'll get the next two." Even as she was talking, she was working on the white tigress's order. She scooped a bit out and plopped it onto the slab. Sprinkling the strawberries on it, she began gently mixing it in.
"Why don't you guys go pick out a spot and we'll bring it to you?" Momma R. suggested.
"Kay," Emeral beckoned Ket to follow her, retrieving the bag with her dress in it, which gave her the idea of the flavor she wanted. If she was going to look like sherbet she might as well see what it tasted like.
Ket followed her idly. She arrived at a high-table near the wall. It had two chairs for them to sit in, each with four skinny legs. They clambered up, leaving their items beneath the table.
Emeral put her dress on top of Ket's shoebox. She warned him to watch his head as they rose away from beneath the table, and then he had to help her into her seat. When they had gotten up and settled, their moms came with their ice creams.
"Here you are," they said in unison, speaking in a snobby, royal accent.
"Thank you," Emeral said crisply, while Ket said it plainly.
"You guys picked the only table on this wall y'know." Momma R. stated.
Emeral looked around. "Well...we didn't have much of a choice."
"Maybe we'll find a couple of chairs and just sit nearby."
"Uh-uh, no moms allowed." The tigress protested, crossing her arms. "We've had to deal with you guys all day. We wanna eat our ice cream in peace, right Ket?"
He rolled his eyes. "I guess." He licked the red-speckled ball at the top of his cone, the sharp sourness stinging the spot where he had earlier bitten.
"Fiiiine," Momma B. huffed. "We'll be over there," she pointed at a table in the middle of the room, "at the cool-people table."
Emeral stuck her tongue out as they walked away. When they were out of earshot, Emeral stuck her spoon in the soft cream and took it to her mouth. Her tongue tickled as the citrus hit, causing her mouth to water as it melted into her palate. "Finally, some time alone," she commented. "Is your head still feeling good?"
He nodded, taking another meek lick. "The hat helps..." He replied distantly.
"Good. Sorry I didn't put mine back on. I will as soon as I can do a pony-tail."
"You don't have to do that," he replied.
"Mm," she pulled the spoon out with a smack, "I'm going to anyway. It's too hot to have my hair down. Just walking over here I think I lost a pint of water in sweat." She giggled. "That sounded sooo attractive."
He tried to laugh. It was a little pathetic. "It's fine, I don't care. It's gotta be better than drool..."
His words sort of trailed, like he was regretting what he said halfway through saying it, but kept going anyway.
"If you think about it," she observed, her spoon turned upward in a philosophical way, "it's all pretty much just water." She pulled a napkin from the table. "You got a little on your chin."
He took it and quickly dabbed the spot. Why hadn't he gotten a cup?
"Hey, I just realized," she bit into the waffle cone part sticking out of the cup and chewed it a bit. "I didn't get to see what your shoes look like. You owe me a demo," she pointed her spoon at him.
"Oh...okay..." he looked out toward the crowd. A couple finished up and left; their moms were already sitting at their table. "Hey, Emmy...?"
"Hmm?" She asked, spoon stuck in her lips, her tongue practically addicted to the flavor.
"A...about your dress..." He rested on the table, still not able to match her face. "I...I thought it looked gorgeous." He said softly. "I wanted to say that before but with our moms there—" Finally, he met her expression.
She smiled. "Really?" She asked, but in a way that sounded like That's nice to know.
"I mean...is there something more than gorgeous?" He asked to himself. "I dunno, whatever it is," he swallowed, "That's...that's what I thought. Same thing with your swimsuit...and your pancakes..."
She laughed through her nose. "My pancakes were gorgeous? What does that even mean?"
"N-nevermind," he replied with a sigh. "I just..." he looked away again, his voice turning sour. "It's probably too late to change your mind about it anyway."
"Hey."
Somehow, despite his embarrassment, his head snapped to her when she called his attention.
"...You liked the dress, right?"
"I told you," he said, a little frustrated, "I think it's gorgeous. I really, really do."
She turned her head in admonishment. "That's not what I asked," she said. "I asked if you liked it; the answer is either 'yes' or 'no'."
"Y...yes," he stressed, a little confused.
She smiled approvingly. "Okay."
"Okay?" He mumbled. "You're not mad...that I just said 'nice'?"
One corner of her smile wilted a little.
"I mean, I meant to say that before—"
"Ket..."
"—But I just made a mistake. I didn't know you'd get upset—"
"Ket."
"—And I tried to tell you that night, but I don't think you were really listeni—"
"Arkethius." She said sternly, just above a whisper.
He swallowed his words, along with the frog in his throat.
She bit into her cone again, crunching it as she mulled over what to say. "All I care about is whether or not you like something." She finally said. "How much you like or don't like stuff isn't so important. I mean—it's nice, I'm glad you think the dress and the swimsuit and...my pancakes, I guess, are gorgeous. But all that really matters is whether or not you like it. Okay?"
His shoulders lowered a little. "All right," he agreed, a little unfulfilled.
"And you'd better be honest," she warned. "Cuz if I find out you say you like something and you actually don't, then I'm going to be mad. Got it?"
"Got it."
"C'mon," she said softly. "Don't sound so gloomy about it. I'm sorry I made you think you were upsetting me—you really weren't." She smiled again, hoping that would help ease him. "Oh no, Ket your ice cream!"
He looked down. It was starting to melt over his hand, dripping onto the table. "Gah!" His mouth shot forward, and he bit into the frozen ball.
Then the pain. Oh man, the pain radiating through his teeth was immense.
"Oh jeez, I didn't mean for you to bite it like that!"
Tears began to well in his eyes as he brought a hand to his head, his face contorted in agony.
"What happened?" Momma B. asked urgently, both of them rushing to the table having noticed Ket's reaction.
"Brainfreeze," Emeral said.
"Well why'd you go and do that, silly?" Momma R. said, making to rub her son's head. He wiggled her arm off.
"I'm fine," he said, the pain ebbing. "I was just trying to hurry and eat..." He looked at his melted cone. Emeral was already putting napkins beneath his hand to keep the table from getting too messy. Carefully, he began eating the rest of it.
"Boy, kiddo," Momma B. commented. "You're not doing so hot the past couple days are you?"
"Mom, be nice." Emeral scolded.
"Why don't we finish up here and go to the carnival." She suggested. "Maybe that'll put some fun back in the trip."
"Carnival?" Emeral lifted a brow. "Where'd you get that idea?"
Her mom pointed to the wall beside them. A poster with the bottom corner curling up advertised a local carnival, open for the week.
Emeral took in a breath. "Yeah! It'll be like the fair we went to around Christmas. Only they'll have rides and stuff! How about it?" She asked to Ket.
Beneath the table, where their mothers couldn't see, her feet ensnared one of his. A white-kiss, on the lips.
He looked at the poster. It looked like they had a Ferris wheel, at least. He smiled. "Sure."
Maybe there was no reason to be so gloomy. Especially not at a carnival.
