“Can we have an ice cream please?” His tiny eyes beamed at her with all their blackmailing superpowers . She gave in even though they were running a little late . He could ask for the earth , moon and stars and she couldn’t say no . She loved him to bits , he was the only living person on the earth she could now love any more.

As their car navigated the cobbled roads of the quaint little hill station that was still half asleep , she tried to read the boards of the petite shops painted in bright colours. It was 7 :00 AM and the chances of an ice cream shop existing here much less being open were bleak . She’d have to think of ways to distract her grandson to avoid a tantrum before their 10 hour journey back home even began.

“Um, baby , it’s too early in the morning for ice cream parlour to be open , I promise we’ll go to your favorite place straight away as soon as we reach home.”

“What If I take you to someplace I know?” his smugness at knowing something that she didn’t because it was his home terrain was so adorable.

And before they knew it , they found themselves in the middle of a bakery that seemed right out of a fairytale book digging into a choco-chip sundae. She was intrigued .

It seems the shop was a month old opened by an Italian Desert Chef who was now back in his home turf. A town that gained one more accredition to boast about besides the internationally renowned school where her grandson studied.

She was halfway through investigating the back story of the mysterious shop owner & the voice of the creator of the magical ice creams filled up with a cheery ‘Buongiorno’.

Her mathematics degree in Rome almost 40 years back had taught her the theory she perhaps spent the most time wondering about as an academician ‘The improbability principle’ . The idea that extremely improbable events are commonplace .  That summer , just before she returned to start a new chapter back home , taught her how much unrequited love hurt.

Years later , in that unassuming little ice cream parlour in a town that hardly featured on anyone’s must visit list , the amazement of the first hit her head as the ache of the second played havoc with her heart.

“Granny , what happened ?” the little kid pulled her hand as she stared at the salt and pepper hair gentleman who mirrored her expressions.

What are the chances that you fall in love at first sight with the same man again?

Join me on my journey of #EveryDayWomen tales, in this 26 part short story series all through April. To read the other stories you can visit me at the AtoZChallenge page here . To know more about AtoZChallenge , you may want to read my very first post here and my Theme reveal post here. If you liked what I wrote or didn’t , do leave me a note , a remark , a critique or even an idea for my next story ! Hope to see you again tomorrow