Sincerely Yours, No Matter Where

The Power of Friendship IV

"Really?!?" she squealed. "I can eat any kind I want?"

"Yup. Let's try a different bunch!"

They drove to Kartal, a more modernized city than many of the areas in Suriyer, where large off-white and gray buildings competed for attention. The quaint little cobblestone streets had disappeared and concrete roads had taken their place.

Dondurmaci Ali Usta, though spacious and wide, was easy to miss if the driver didn't know where it was. Luckily for James, he'd already been there twice with Thomas. The children's eyes widened when they neared it, bursting into gleeful cheers as he parked the car in front of the store.

A big blue sign with white and red letters was above it, making it appear as one of those old traveling carnivals. Images of cones with several colorful scoops of ice cream on top and an assortment of sundaes decorated the facade. There was a spacious order window, similar to order windows on ice cream trucks, but triple the length and height. It was for customers that bought their ice cream on-the-go, or preferred to loiter on the sidewalk. Several of them stood outside, eating modest-sized cones. Thomas didn't want that, he wanted the largest platters they had to offer.

He ran to open the door. Stopping abruptly as he waited impatiently and stomped his feet, begging his father to hurry.

James sighed, fearing that it was going to be an exhausting day for him. How can they have so much energy this early? He wondered and pathetically whined while gathering his things, "yes, yes. I'm going as fast as I can."

"Dad! Not getting any younger!"

"Well, that's typically how it's supposed to be! You know," James held the door and peered down at his son, "you're beginning to sound more like your mother."

Thomas grinned at him.

"Just ... go in."

"Look at all the ice cream! What do we get?" Christina asked. Her tiny hands gripped at the glass as she stared at all the flavors.

Asking the employee for what he wanted wasn't easy. He stumbled through several words in a broken Turkish, while the man just stared at him.

He waved his hands in front of him, nervously signaling Thomas to stop. "There are things a child should never say. You order in English, I understand."

"Oh," Thomas's cheeks reddened. Lowering his head, he made invisible circles with a finger on the counter. "I'm sorry."

"Is okay."

"Can I have the largest platters, please?"

When he held out the money, the man leaned forward, "you wanna buy place? Because with that you can," he laughed.

"He can?!?" Christina asked.

It was a lot of money for ice cream and James knew his son couldn't eat the amount it could buy, but he was curious about what Thomas would've done with the remaining money.

Confused, Thomas stood there for a moment. He soon realized what had occurred and turned his head, squinting at his father.

"What?" Christina tugged on his blue shirt.

"Nothing." He shook his head and smiled.