A Confusing Gift

I saw something posted about licorice ice cream. I know some people who love it. The picture triggered a memory. I was about ten years old. My Dad drove me and a bunch of my little sisters to the 29 flavor ice cream shop in Alexandria, MN. We go in and my Aunt Geneva is behind the counter. My father speaks for his sister for a time and we don't listen but we're very interested in the buckets of ice cream in front of us. I see chocolate and fudge and strawberry and butter brickle.  My aunt asks us if we want a free ice cream cone. We shake our heads that yes, we do want a free ice cream cone. Our aunt does not ask us what kind we want. She grabs the scoop and goes for a bucket of ice cream toward the back that is green in color and has some black specks in it. She gave us all a licorice ice cream cone. Such a confusing gift. On the one hand it was a free ice cream cone and who can complain about that? No one can complain about free ice cream. On the other hand it was licorice flavor. Out of all the 29 possible flavors, why do we get licorice? We say thank you as we are handed our free ice cream cone. My father declines a cone. We eat our cones in silence, pleased by the cold and sweet creaminess yet disgusted by the licorice. We know better than to complain about the free ice cream cone. Once we are back in the car and driving away my father asks us how the ice cream tasted. We tell him the truth. The ice cream was terrible. He says something about she probably had a good supply of that flavor because not many people like it. As we drove out of Alexandria, past the beautiful lakes and nice homes, I sat in confusion. How is it possible that the offer of a free ice cream cone be so disappointing?