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As the family sat around on the familiar TV room couch one day watching TV, Homer found his mind wandering.
This wasn't unusual. But it was usually maracas and cat songs. Today, he was thinking about the distant past.
And food. But that part wasn't new.
Going down a wondrous rabbit hole of nostalgia, Homer imagined himself flying past food and drinks.
Dessert Dogs, the Good Morning Burger, the Ribwich, Root Beer Noodles, a thin stew made of fish, vegetables- wait he never ate that-
Until finally, something swam into view, like an angel descending from the heavens...
Chocolate Milkshakes.
Pulled out of his fantasy, he gasped, and jumped off of the couch, startling his family.
"Frosty Chocolate Milkshakes!" He yelled in distress.
Everyone stared at him blankly.
After several awkward moments, Bart managed to say something.
"...say what now?"
"Frosty Chocolate Milkshakes! Remember?" Homer exclaimed, in disbelief that they didn't seem to get what he was talking about.
"We used to go out for them all the time! Why'd we ever stop?!" He questioned, his tone making it clear that this was a fate worse than death.
The others looked around at each other, murmuring cluelessly, and shrugging, no explanation coming to them.
"That's it! We're getting some right now! Come on everyone!" He rallied, waving them toward the front door, before running off into the technically living room.
The kids wasted no time hopping off of the couch and chasing after him, cheering for him as they went.
Marge watched as Maggie tried her best to run with them, but tripped and fell over in the process.
"Mmm, I don't know if I'm ready to go out..." Marge murmured with indecision. "I haven't done my hair ye-" She was cut off by Homer grabbing her arm with one hand and Maggie with the other, and yelped a second later as he pulled them along to the car...
As they stood in line at Krusty Burger, Homer dug through his wallet.
In his excitement, he'd forgotten to check if he even had the money on him to afford such a luxury.
Doing the math (which was a herculean task on its own for Homer), he found that he had just enough money for 4 milkshakes.
He let out a sigh of relief, just in time for the squeaky voiced cashier to call them up to the register.
"Four Frosty Chocolate Milkshakes, please!" Homer requested with pride.
With surprising speed, they exchanged money for goods and services, and everyone grabbed their milkshakes, taking their first sips.
Lisa's eyes lit up. "This is great! It feels like I haven't had one of these in over 30 years!"
Bart laughed deliriously. "Ohohohooo, MAN! This makes me wanna go steal Skinner's mailbox again!"
Marge let out a low hum of pleasure. "Oooh, this was so worth letting my hair run wild..." She muttered, as her hair fell out of its beehive shape and spilled all over her shoulders messily.
Homer lifted the straw to his mouth, hyped up by the others' reactions, so ready to indulge in the delicious goodness of a frosty chocolate milkshake...
When he heard a sucking sound, that made him pause. "Huh?"
He looked down at Maggie in Marge's arms, sucking on her pacifier desperately, and reaching out toward his milkshake, grabbing at it.
He gasped, and looked around frantically for a fifth milkshake, before realizing that there was no fifth milkshake. He didn't have enough money for one.
He cursed himself internally, one, for forgetting about Maggie's milkshake, and two, for not having more money.
Maybe he shouldn't have bought all those boxes of Dingos Donut Holes... But there was a 10 for the price of 2 sale! What else was he supposed to do?!
He scanned the faces of his family, lost in the taste of their milkshakes, and his youngest daughter sadly pleading for one...
And he didn't have the heart to say no.
He let out a long, drawn out groan of disappointment. "Okay, Maggie... You can have Daddy's." He conceded, and handed it over to her.
She quickly spit out her pacifier, and locked her lips around the straw, still somehow making that same sucking noise as she slurped up the drink.
As soon as she tasted it, her eyes bulged out of her head, and she pulled back, laughing cutely, a wide grin on her face.
Homer smiled softly, his disappointment washing away as she went back in for more.
He wouldn't trade her joy for all the milkshakes in the world.