Page 98 of 4 Corinthians

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“That’s enough,” I laughed as I watched Judah continue to point at different toppings he wanted on his ice cream. Our mommy-son date always ended with ice cream, no matter what we did or what time of year it was. With our schedules being so busy, I always tried to make sure that I took at least one day out of the month just for us to do whatever he wanted.

“One more,” he said, then licked his lips. “I want gummy bears.”

“Your stomach is going to hurt,” I told him, then nodded at the young lady making his sundae. She gave me a quick nod in return, then added the gummy bears. “This is going to be good.”

“I doubt it,” I told him as I went to the counter to pay. Judah’s bubble gum ice cream sundae was full of gummy bears, sprinkles, and other candies that made my teeth hurt at just the thought of it all. After I paid, we went to a table near the front and sat down. Judah started eating while I sat there watching him. “Tell me what you want to do this summer.”

“Hang out with Deuce, play basketball with Mercy,” he stopped to take a bite of his ice cream. “Oh, and play the game with Krude. We have a tournament scheduled.” He smiled at me. “And eat more of these.” He pointed to the ice cream.

“I’m going to have to take you to the dentist,” I told him, and he shrugged.

“I’ll go if I can keep having these,” he laughed.

“Once a month,” I reminded him. “Only time you can binge without me saying something.”

“Next time we should bring Four,” he suggested. “He likes ice cream.”

“How do you know?”

“He told me,” he answered. “The other day after school when he was helping me with my homework, he told me his favorite foods.”

I bit into my ice cream sandwich. “Did he?”

“Yep.” He gave me a sneaky smile. “I bet you don’t know his favorite food.”

I sat back in my seat and smiled. “I bet I do.”

Judah narrowed his eyes then took another bite of his ice cream. “What is it?”

“Everybody thinks it's lamb chops with loaded mashed potatoes and asparagus because it's usually what he orders if he goes out to eat." He smirked. “But it’s not; it’s grilled cheese with baked potato soup instead of tomato.”

Judah’s mouth dropped open, and I laughed. “How do you know that?” he asked.

“I’m a mom, Judah; I know it all.”

“But you aren’t his mama,” he pointed out. “Just mine.”

I shrugged. “All good mamas have superpowers, Judah. I’ve told you that before; you just don’t believe me,” I said, and he nodded.

He ate a few more bites of his food then pushed his bowl to the center of the table. “I gotta go pee,” he told me as he stood. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and watched him go. I was comfortable with him going alone because there was only a one-person bathroom and I could see it from my seat. I bit into my ice cream sandwich and looked around the small shop as I waited.

“Your son is the cutest,” someone said from the booth behind me. I turned around to see a pretty brown-skinned woman sitting there with a smile on her face. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. He’s about six, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. I wasn’t giving her any more information than she already had, and right now she had none.

“He reminds me of my son when he was that age,” she said, and I nodded. “Enjoy him while you can.” She stood, picked up a small handbag from the table and smiled. “One day he won't be that little boy, and you’ll wonder how it happened.” Judah came back to the table and went back to eating his food. “You all have a nice day.”

Judah stopped eating and looked up at the woman. I could see his wheels spinning before he smiled. “You have a nice day too, ma’am,” he finally said.

“Have a nice one,” I said, watching her leave.

“Mama, do you know her?” Judah asked. He watched her through the window as she walked to her car.

“No, why?”