Slushy

We were at the park when we got the news.

“Slushies are free today at 7-11!” Colorful food dye dribbled from the corner of the mouths of sugar-crazed kids. It wasn't long before my dear, sweet, innocent children accosted me with their newly found information.

“It's freeeeeee!” Rhia assured me, her red hair bobbing as she hopped on one foot.

“Nothing tastes better than free food...unless it's moldy!” Danny's freckled nose scrunched as he quoted from the movie Big Hero Six.

“Everyone else has one!” Simon lifted sad, puppy-dog eyes to mine. His bottom lip wobbled at the unfairness of the world.

I sighed, picked up the baby and hollered for the three-year-old to follow. It looked like we were going to the convenience store so the kids could experience their first Slushy.

“This'll be a piece of cake,” I mumbled as I left the parking lot. I conveniently forced our past excursions to the back of my mind. With a thousand failures in family experiences, we were one easy event.

“When will we get there?” Zoey whined. “We've been in the car forever!”

“Five minutes isn't forever!” Danny snapped.

“Won't be long now,” I promised as the light turned green. A line of cars stretched ahead and when I squinted, I could see they were all heading to the same place: 7/11. My heart beat faster and I swallowed, suddenly nervous, as I calculated the patience of four kids and a baby standing in line for who knew how many hours in a store the size of a postage stamp. It didn't look good.

Neither did the parking. By the time we got to the store I could see my worst fears confirmed. There wasn't a single empty parking spot. Every street near the store was crammed with cars and homeowners were happily offering spots in their driveways...for a fee.

I flashed my brood a sad smile and shrugged. “It's too busy, guys. I can't find a place to park.”

“We can park and walk!” Danny argued. “We don't mind!” I pretended not to see the skinny elbow he used to nudge Rhia, who immediately nodded and agreed with her logical big brother.

“Yeah! We can walk!”

“I don't know,” I hesitated, which was the worst thing I could have done. Pouncing on my indecisiveness, all four kids started yelling promises about how they would walk without complaint and how they would be one hundred percent obedient. The baby added a few "goos" and "gahs" for good measure.

“Fine. Fine!” I yelled over their noise. “Just...let me find a spot to park this boat of a van, okay?”

Thus began our walk from the Shire to Mordor.

I hefted the baby in my arms. Not having the foresight to bring a stroller or baby carrier, I was stuck carrying the wee lad. Shifting him from one arm to the other, I found my strength fading as we walked. Simon held Danny's hand until the journey became too much for him and he flopped to his rear on the hot pavement.

“Hold me, Mama!” Simon cried, rolling across the sidewalk and bumping up against my feet. I blew a wisp of loose hair out of my eyes and looked at Danny.

“Can you carry Dean?” I didn't wait for a response but shoved the baby into his arms and hefted the toddler into my arms. He immediately wrapped his legs around my side.

Another block passed under our feet.

“Whoops!” Rhia yelled and, stumbling, crashed into Zoey.

“My sandal!” Rhia shouted, lifting a foot to show the broken strap that held the shoe together.

“My knee!” Zoey shrieked, pointing at a trickle of blood dripping down her leg. Both girls aimed an accusatory finger at the other.

“It's all your fault!” they simultaneously sobbed.

“Simon, stand right next to me,” I ordered, setting the boy down on his feet. Fishing in my purse I pulled out a band-aid and doctored up Zoey's knee.

“What about my shoe?” Rhia huffed.

“Let me see what I've got in the ole magic purse,” I joked and pulled out a roll of duct tape. Snatching it from my grasp, Rhia ripped off a piece and slapped it onto her shoe. Danny's jaw dropped as I shoved the tape back into my purse.

“Why do you have duct tape in your purse?” he hissed. “That's so embarrassing! People are going to think you're a serial killer or something!”

“Which cereal did you kill, Mama?” Zoey asked, wiping her arm across her runny nose. I reached into my purse and found a tissue.

“Count Chocula.”

Four sets of blank eyes scanned my face. The baby squealed.

“Before your time, eh? Never mind. Look, we're halfway there. We can either turn around and go home or —“

“We've made it this far,” Danny grunted. “We can't give up now.”

I lifted my gaze to the 7-11, sparkling like a safe haven several blocks away. It looked hazy in the heat, like a mirage.

“You know,” I said, slowly coming up with an alternate plan, “that store is probably packed like sardines in a can. We'll have to wait and wait and wait to get our free Slushies. How 'bout we go to Dairy Queen and get ice cream instead? I'll let you order anything you want.” The bribe fell easily from my lips.

“Okay!” Rhia said. “I want a strawberry cone!”

“No, I want strawberry!” Zoey argued.

“Butterfinger Blizzard.” Danny nodded and licked his lips.

“Ice cream!” Simon screamed.

“My sanity!” I whispered as we all turned and made a hasty retreat to the van. The drive-through at DQ was short and the treats were sweet. I lifted my chocolate cone in a toast.

“To a long, arduous journey come to its end!”

Danny shoved a spoon full of ice cream into his mouth and rolled his eyes. “Mom, you are so weird.”





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Written for The Writer's Cramp
Prompt: Write about the end of a difficult, harrowing journey
986 words