For his first-ever date, Jack hoped to take Leigh out, the girl in his sophomore high school class, but with friends ever present, his shyness limited him to short but, he sensed, encouraging conversations with her. Now, at the luncheonette he worked at after school, he couldn’t believe his luck when she walked in. As usual, afternoons were slow, and the long counter was empty.

Opposite the counter, a display of plush animals was lined up on the top glass shelf of a showcase. Leigh stopped to gaze at them, some of which she had at home. Her favorite, a smiling winged dragon, which she named after the ballad, “Puff the Magic Dragon,” was there. She had been given it four years earlier, in 1963, after the song had come out.

When she sat on one of the round chrome base stools, the type little kids loved to twirl and watch spin, Jack felt that he couldn’t just come out and ask for a date. He first needed to talk about something that might impress and help win her.

“Weren’t you a princess at one of the school Halloween parties?”

“Yeah, back in the fourth grade, I think. And you were the pirate with the goofy paper hat.”

“That was me,” he laughed. “You remembered.”

“Because you looked so funny. I’d like a vanilla cone, please.”

Her request sparked an idea. “Leigh, try the black walnut. It’s new here.” Jack pointed to the wall behind him, where a photo of a dish featuring the flavor hung.

She squirmed, her seat shifting left and right. “I don’t know. It resembles weird stuff my mom sometimes makes.”

“You should give it a try.” He stuck his finger into the freezer tub and brought up a small chunk. He reached across and offered it to her.

“Off your finger? Gross. Are you a jerk? Like a real soda jerk?”

“Don’t call me that. I’m an ice cream expert.”

“Even if your hands are clean, I’m not trying it off your finger.”

He reached over to the nearby sink, rinsed his hands, and said, “Leigh, you should try new things.” Then, without thinking, he blurted something he’d heard one of the older boys say. “Vanilla is boring. It’s like kissing a girl with her mouth closed.”

Covering her mouth to suppress a giggle, she spun around and, eyeing the toy showcase, uttered, “You’re a soda jerk and a pig too!”

     Why did he say that? Jack wanted to bang his head against the countertop. How stupid!

“Just give me the vanilla,” she said, spinning back and waving her hand.

Despite his idiotic comment, it had to be a positive that she didn’t walk out. He grabbed a sugar cone, and, about to serve the ice cream, he stopped. “Leigh, how about I mix the two? Half vanilla, half black walnut.”

Leaning forward across the counter, she studied him, her eyes half closed.

    She was considering it! “Um, if you don’t like the combination, an all-vanilla cone is free. If you do—” His hand trembled; the ice cream began to drip.

She folded her arms and tilted her head back. “Yeah, what then?”

“Um, come to the Autumn Dance—” His voice went up an octave “—With me. On Saturday.”

Sitting back, she caught her breath and gently pushed against the counter, making the stool swivel ever so slowly halfway around. Her eyes fell on the stuffed animals and focused on Puff. She realized that her Puff at home had a wide grin with teeth showing. This dragon, the one on the shelf, had to be a new model. There were no teeth, and the smile wasn’t a smile. It was more of a wistful grin.

When she didn’t respond, Jack added, “I’ll rename the flavor after you.”

Her back to him, she said, “Yeah, right. You’re going to call it Leigh? How silly is that?”

“We’ll call it Leigh’s Special.” The ice cream kept melting, trickling onto his hand. “Because—she is!”

Smiling at Puff and remembering how often she had played with it, she instinctively understood that she had outgrown such things and why she had deliberately chosen this time, when the place was empty, to visit.

She turned back around and faced Jack. “Okay, I’ll try it.”

Whether I like it or not, she thought, I win.