This week we have been asked to write a short flash fiction story containing the words, house, umbrella, and ice cream. Here goes:

Mary’s mood matched the weather. Gray and depressing. She’d finally gotten a day off from work, and she was stuck inside with her four-year-old son, Noah, watching the rain pour down. He wasn’t in a much better mood than she was. Last night, she’d promised him a day at the park. That was before she’d seen the weather forecast. “Mom, I want to go get ice cream.” “It’s too cold for ice cream.” “Why?” (His favorite question these days). “Because ice cream is for warm, sunny days.” “But I want to walk to the ice cream store,” his voice reached a high-pitched whine. “It’s raining.” “I like rain.” Mary sighed. Logic never worked with a four-year-old. She glanced out the window. The rain had not let up. “Pleeeease,” His small voice said. Oh, what the heck. Her day couldn’t get any worse. “Go get your rain boots on.” Yay!” She stepped into her own boots and grabbed their raincoats and a large umbrella out of the closet. “It’s an adventure,” her son yelled. As they stepped out of the house, the rain pelted down on the umbrella. She struggled to keep it over both of their heads. That lasted about halfway down the driveway. “Look, Mom a puddle.” Before she could stop him, her son ran ahead and jumped with both feet into a huge puddle at the end of the driveway. He giggled, and it was contagious. She couldn’t help laughing with him. They walked the four blocks to the ice cream shop, with Noah hitting every puddle along the way. Once inside, he spent several minutes pretending to consider all thirty flavors before ordering strawberry, like always. She smiled as they sat dripping at a small table and enjoyed their treats. The walk back was much the same as the one there. Noah found even more puddles to jump in, and when they reached their block, he even convinced her to jump in some with him. By the time they walked back in the house, they were both soaked to their knees. “Did you have fun?” she asked, taking off their wet boots in the mudroom. “So much fun!” She had to admit, she was in a much better mood now. Sometimes you just needed to think like a toddler. Now hop on over to Jenna Da Sie’s blog and see what she wrote at https://jennadasie.com.