The Darling Buds of May [antikvár]

After distributing the eight ice-creams - they were the largest vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry super-bumpers, each in yellow, brown, and almost purple stripes - Pop Larkin climbed up into the cab of the gentian blue, home-painted thirty-hundredweight truck, laughing happily. 'Perfick wewer! You kids all right at the back there? Ma, hitch up a bit!' Ma, in her salmon jumper, was almost two yards wide. 'I said you kids aU right there?' 'How do you think they can hear,' Ma said, 'with you revving up all the time?' Pop laughed again and let the engine idle. The strong May sunhght, the first hot sun of the year, made the bonnet of the truck gleam like brilHant blue enamel. All down the road, winding through the valley, miles of pink apple orchards were in late bloom, showing petals Hke Hght confetti. 'Zinnia and Petunia, Primrose, Victoria, Montgomery, Mariette!' - Pop unroUed the handsome ribbon of six names but heard only five separate answers, each voice choked and clotted with ice-cream. 'Where's Mariette? Ain't Mariette there?' 'I'm here, Pop.' 'That's all right, then. Thought you'd fell overboard.' 'No, I'm here. Pop, I'm here.' 'Perfick!' Pop said. 'You think I ought to get more icecreams? It's so hot Ma's is nearly melted.' Ma shook all over, laughing like a jelly. Little rivers of yellow, brown, and pinkish-purple cream were running down