First Beer

Under the hot sun, Nadeshiko walks to the parking lot of the supermarket briskly and stuffs the cold beer in her arms into the back seat of the motorcycle. As she is about to climb onto the motorcycle, her thigh is attacked by an unknown creature.
Nadeshiko looks down and sees a girl looking up at her with big confused eyes.
"Hmm?"
"*Sobbing* You're not mommy... *Cries*"
Nadeshiko is flustered and doesn't know what to do with the bawling girl in front of her. After a moment, she finally manages to return the bewildered little girl who is hiccuping and crying to a young couple who are anxiously looking for her near the supermarket.
They thank her enthusiastically, and by the time she finally manages to escape and hurry back to the parking lot, she is not surprised to find that the cold beer had become lukewarm in the sweltering heat.
With quite a headache, Nadeshiko looks up at the asphalt road that looks distorted by the rising heat in the distance.
Her father had sent her out to buy cold beer before dinner like he does as usual, but today was full of twists and turns.
The convenience store near home was temporarily closed, and when she walked to another one that was slightly farther away, she was told they were sold out of beer. So she drove a motorcycle to a larger supermarket even farther away, thinking that she would finally be able to complete this tortuous task, only to encounter the unexpected delay from before...
Today is not her day.
"Forget it! I'll worry about it later. It shouldn't take too much time to chill the beer again in the refrigerator anyway..." After comforting herself in her heart, she hops on the motorcycle and drives home.
Nadeshiko returns home sweating profusely after half an hour. She looks expressionlessly at the dimly lit refrigerator that is dripping water, standing there stuck in the motion of putting the fragile cans of beer that had become slightly deformed in her hand into the refrigerator.
Oblivious of her feelings at this time, her father walks happily out of the kitchen with food.
"Oh, there seems to be a little problem with the refrigerator, so let's not worry about it for now. The beer is still fine at room temperature. Speaking of which, you're already 20 now. Wanna have a drink with me?"
A shadow is cast over the girl's already stern facial features, evoking a chilling smile.
"Old man, you only drink icy-cold beer, right?"
"Hahaha, that's right, but... Hmm? Nadeshiko?"
Sparks fly everywhere as Nadeshiko starts to repair the refrigerator.
Her father laughs out loud after a moment of confusion, then he rolls up his sleeves to help.
He knows his daughter too well. Originally, this was just an everyday task that she was forced to do, but everything that got in her way has made her feel competitive about it. Everything is different now that she is seeing everything as a challenge.
A few hours later, by the time Nadeshiko has put the beer into the refrigerator after fixing it, her father is already full and is snoring loudly on the sofa after finishing the food and drinking the warm beer by himself.
Nadeshiko also dozes off on the sofa until the alarm clock she had set rings in the middle of the night. She rubs her sore shoulders and opens the refrigerator door, releasing cool, icy air. The corners of her mouth curl into a satisfied smile, and she takes out a can of cold beer. She pulls back the tab and takes a sip after tapping it lightly against her father's empty can.
Dense foam and rich carbonic acid bubbles mixed with the fragrance of wheat sweep through her mouth explosively. This one sip refreshes her and instantly washes away the fatigue of the day, filling her with a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
...Hmph, this tastes better than I expected.
Nadeshiko licks her lips and suddenly understands why her old man likes beer so much.