The Will

Dessert Delights

Maye stood by the window, observing the steady stream of cars passing by, hoping one would stop in the driveway. To her disappointment, none of them did, and she began to worry that the day's delivery had already come and gone without her realizing it.

She paced around the kitchen, briefly considering the option of searching the house for any letters that may have been left, but quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that it would upset her grandmother.

She plopped down onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands. She knew this was nothing to stress over, but she was looking forward to another letter. She picked up her phone to call Mr. Harold when a soft knock interrupted her.

Behind the door stood a girl in a Scout uniform. Memories of Maye's time in the organization flooded back; every badge earned in baking.

"Hello," Maye smiled down at the little girl in braids.

She pulled a box of cookies from her green satchel and said, "Hi, ma'am, I have a delivery for you. Have a nice day!" With a smile, she skipped off to the next house.

Maye considered this to have been a mistake. She didn't order any cookies. She looked down at the box and saw a Sharpie note in the top corner.

Thank you for the brownies!

"Mr. Harold," Maye whispered with a big grin. She walked over to the couch and opened the box. Inside, she found a wrapped package of cookies and an envelope. She tore the envelope open with excitement.

"I scream, you scream, we all scream."

Her eyes widened like an owl's as she read, "Well, that is terrifying!" She repeated the words out loud, and suddenly, it hit her - the song she remembered from her childhood, "We all scream for ice cream."

She stood up and walked over to the freezer but found it empty, with just a tray of ice cubes. Then she remembered her grandmother had a deep freezer in the laundry room, another room she had yet to explore.

Upon reaching the laundry room, she noticed the deep freezer in its usual spot, covered with the same towel and fake flowers.

Grandma had tried to decorate the top to look like a table. Maye moved everything off of it before opening the lid. There were bags of peas and okra still frozen inside of it. She rummaged through the frozen veggies when she felt a flat Ziplock bag. She lifted it in front of her face and saw the paper safely inside it.

She returned to her favorite chair to read the letters and pulled the cold paper from the bag.

"My sweet Maye,

Today is going to be challenging for you. However, I have faith that you can do it. I hope you have met a friend on your few adventures so far. I'd like you to invite that friend for ice cream at the local parlor. You must provide Mr. Harold with a photo of this. Today is about comfort zones. Take a step out of those and try something new.

Love Always, Grandma"

"Oh lovely..." Maye sighed and tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling. She tried to recall all the people she had met so far who she considered friends.

Her first thought was Ethan, but she didn't want to ask him out as she didn't want him to misunderstand and think it was a date. After briefly considering her options, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

The grocery store was fairly quiet that day, with only a few customers. As Maye scanned the checkout counters, she spotted Kiesha on lane six. Maye walked to the lane and grabbed a candy bar to avoid awkwardness. Once Kiesha noticed her, Maye's nerves dissipated.