Doctor Ryan and His Healing System

Chapter 20: The Best Ice Cream Ever

One of the main reasons why Ryan chose this particular ice cream parlor was for its proximity to the herbs that grew in the surrounding area.

Now that he was alone, he thought – There is no time like the present – and he left the store. The parking lot was only a short walk away from the forest, and when he got there, he was surprised by how creepy it was. The air was fresh, but he could not shake the ghostly vibes that seemed to be coming from the trees.

Ryan had expected an immediately bountiful harvest, so he was disappointed to find nothing useful, and he began to doubt his judgment. Then, just as he was about to leave the forest, he found a tuft of low herbage. At first, it looked like ordinary leaves, but it turned out to be a variety of rare and precious medical herb called Allheal. As chance would have it, the juice of the Allheal could highlight the flavor of ice cream, and more importantly, it could cure minor illnesses.

Ryan was pleased with his discovery and he filled his pockets with the plant before returning to the shop. On his way back, it occurred to him that he should renovate the shop. Then he could have a grand reopening to draw more customers.

The next day, Ryan brought a group of workers to the ice cream shop with him.

***

Opposite the ice cream shop stood a restaurant called Chicken Express. The owner, Toby Pearson, was a fat man, and when he saw Ryan and the workers, he hurried over with a hostile look on his face. “Don’t tell you bought this shop,” he said with a disdainful look in his eyes.

“Why not?” Ryan asked. “Do you know something that I don’t?”

Toby waved a can of cola at Ryan and said, “I’m sure you know that this is what is popular. Not ice cream.”

Ryan smiled and said, “We’ll see. My store might just surprise you.”

Toby hmphed and walked back to his restaurant. His wife greeted him as he stepped inside. “Who is that man?” she asked. “And what is he doing with those construction workers?”

Toby’s wife was as fat as he was, and her make-up was a bit over the top.

“That man is insane,” Toby replied. “He bought Zack’s Ice Cream Shoppe. Can you believe that?”

His wife snorted in disgust and said, “Poor guy. He should have done some investigation first.”

Their attitudes were perfectly understandable given the status quo of the ice cream shop. It seemed that Ryan was wasting money rather than making sound investments. Ryan turned a blind eye to those who opposed his decisions, though. He knew that first steps were always difficult, and he was determined to prove that he had been right to buy the shop.

It had cost Ryan two hundred thousand dollars to buy the shop and an additional four hundred thousand to renovate. A week later, the shop was ready for business. He cut the ribbon himself and uncovered the new name of his shop: Forest Creamery.

Unfortunately, he did not receive many customers on an opening day.

Toby watched him from across the street, and he thought – What a poor guy. He should never have bought an ice cream shop.

Ryan did not see this as a setback, though. He had not expected a lot of customers on his first day. After all, it was only the first day and people did not know about his specialty ice cream. It would take some time for the word to get out.

***

Toby was secretively pleased with the way Ryan’s first day had gone, and he took his wife over so that they could gloat.  When Toby saw Ryan, he smiled sadly and said, “Bad day, huh?” He walked around and nodded his approval of the furnishings. “No offense; you have a good setup, but you would have been better off selling chicken like I do. People just don’t eat ice cream anymore…”

“I wish you wouldn’t say that.” Ryan smiled back and said, “I think we had a fairly good launch. Now, what can I get you? What flavors do you like?”

“I would like the best seller,” Toby replied. “I can help promote it if it tastes good.”

Rya nodded and went to business. Within seconds. He was presenting Mr. and Mrs. Pearson their cones. Toby eyed it skeptically. “It looks common,” he muttered. “I think that I would rather have a cup of coffee…”

“Just give it a taste,” Ryan prompted.

Toby lifted the cone to his mouth, and when his tongue touched the dairy, his tastebuds exploded. He could not believe how good it was. He took another bite, and it took all his strength to not gobble it down like some kind of ice cream fiend.

His wife didn’t understand the look on his face, and she squealed. “Toby, are you okay? You aren’t going to be sick, are ya?”

Toby silently ate the ice cream. All the while, he ignored all outside stimuli, including his wife. Finally, she decided to take the plunge. She brought the cone to her face and touched the ice cream with the tip of her tongue. Immediately, she was sent to the seventh heaven.

For the next two hours, the couple had cone after cone until they had each eaten twenty, and neither of them could fit another spoonful in their belly.

Ryan chuckled. “So, you liked it?”

“This is the best ice cream that I have ever had,” Mrs. Pearson admitted.

Ryan thanked her and said, “Not only does it taste good, but it has medicinal properties. Why don’t you look in the mirror, ma’am?”

She gave him a curious look but obeyed. She took out a hand mirror from her pocket, and when she looked into it, she was startled to discover that she looked significantly younger than she had that morning.

“God!” she exclaimed. “What’s going on? Did the ice cream do this?”