Flash 9/10

Life in General

The warm summer air hung over the driveway as Charlie hosed off his beat-up truck. He was just finishing up when he heard the sounds of sniffling from down the sidewalk. Leaning around the truck, he saw his youngest brother, Dennis, trudging toward the house, tears shining on his cheeks.
Charlie dropped the hose and ran over. “Hey, kid, what’s up?” He asked.
“Nothing.” Dennis shook his head miserably.
“Nothing?” Charlie asked doubtfully. He sat down on the sidewalk next to Dennis. “It doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
“Why are you so happy?” Dennis asked; the world, bleak as it was to him, didn’t seem to offer much joy for anyone anymore.
“Life in general,” Charlie said with a slight smile. He pulled the boy onto his lap. “Now, what’s bugging you?”
“No one in my whole entire class likes me,” Dennis said, sniffling.
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Charlie protested. “You’re a great kid. They like you.”
“Nuh-uh,” Dennis insisted. “They hate me. And now I’ll have no friends this year.” He wiped at his eyes again. Charlie frowned, standing up.
“Well, you know what I think we should do instead of thinking about it?” Charlie asked, gently taking Dennis’s backpack off.
“What?” Dennis asked, sounding dull rather than curious.
“I think we should take a ride in my truck to go get ice cream.”
“Really?” Dennis’s face lost some of its sadness.
“Really,” Charlie confirmed. He tossed the boy over his shoulder as he walked over to turn the hose off and quickly wrapped it up.
“Can I sit in the front seat?” Dennis asked hopefully.
“‘fraid not, bud,” Charlie said regretfully. “Mom’d kill me.”
“Oh, alright,” Dennis said, sitting in the back. It was a testament to his deep despair that he didn’t bounce on the seat as he normally did.
“It won’t be too much longer ‘till you can,” Charlie assured him with a grin. He started the truck and they began the drive to the ice cream store.
Dennis cited all the examples of his class’s dislike for him, sinking back into upset. Charlie listened sympathetically, remembering the years when that had been the most important thing in his life, too.
“Time for ice cream,” he told the boy as they parked.
“Okay.”
They trekked into the shop and Charlie got a waffle cone with a scoop of strawberry.
“I’ll have the same thing,” Dennis said, eyeing the pink confection eagerly.
They sat out in the bed of Charlie’s truck, watching the cars on the busier road go by.
“Thanks for the ice cream,” Dennis said, licking a sticky finger.
“You’re welcome,” Charlie said. Dennis giggled. “Now, what’s got you so happy?” Charlie asked teasingly.
Dennis gave a bright, pink-smeared grin. “Like you said earlier,” he said, leaning back. “Life in general.”
Charlie laughed, ruffling his brother’s hair. “That’s good, kid. I’m glad.”