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Bandit and Chilli stepped out of the car, the blazing Brisbane sun shining its merciless rays down on the recently married couple. Although the heat wasn’t going to stop Bandit, he was on a mission.
“Here we are! The old caravan park!” Bandit proudly announced.
“My God, being back here brings back so many memories.” Chilli stated.
“Would any of those memories happen to be of you meeting a 10-year-old blue heeler two decades ago?”
“Nope, still doesn’t ring a bell.” she replied smugly.
Bandit groaned in mild frustration.
“I’d swear on my grave you were the one I met all those years ago!”
“Well, maybe taking a nice walk around the place might jog my memory. Although, that might be a bit difficult considering what’s become of this place.”
Bandit looked over, noticing that the “caravan park” wasn’t a caravan park anymore. Half of the place had been turned into a summer camp, while the other half was abandoned and left to rot.
“Here’s hoping the place where I saw you still remains.” He hoped.
“Well, let’s go and find out.” She said, taking his hand and giving him a quick smoochy kiss.
The two of them walked around the ruined park, hand-in-hand, memories resurfacing as they looked at old shops and landmarks they recognized.
“Oh hey, I’m pretty sure that’s the Fish N Chips shop over there.” Chilli said, pointing to an old building with a dilapidated sign that read “M-d Mundy’s F--h - Ch-p-s”.
“Oh yeah, their battered fish was to die for! Their crumbed fish on the other hand was horrific. How can something be both too dry and too greasy at the same time?”
“Yeah, we learned the dangers of this place’s crumbed fish the hard way.” She remarked.
“And look, there’s the old bike path!” Bandit exclaimed, pointing to a nearby overgrown dirt path.
“You know, I never really biked that much as a kid. Was it fun?”
“Oh yeah! Whenever we would come down here, me and my brothers would bring our bikes. We’d race down this path, no helmets because it was the 80s and we were cool. Then when we got to the end, we’d practice skidding with our bikes. It was awesome!”
Chilli placed her paw on her forehead and shook her head in disapproval when Bandit said they didn’t wear helmets.
“I do hope you’re not too cool for helmets nowadays.”
“Why, are you scared I’m going to make the other girls jealous of you.”
“Moreso I’m worried about you losing that cranium of yours before you get that archeology job you’ve been talking about.” She explained, petting his head affectionately.
“Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll keep that in mind whenever we decide to go biking.”
“That’s all I ask.”
The two of them continued wandering around the place. Reminiscing of days gone by and how much their lives had changed in the many years since they had last been here. Eventually, as the sun started to set, and they were heading back to their car. Bandit stopped them.
“Wait, Chilli!”
“What, what is it?”
“This is the place.” Bandit said, pointing to a large Bindii patch near the remains of the restrooms.
“This is the place where you handed me my hat all those years ago.” He explained.
“Man, they never did remove this Bindii patch, did they?” she commented.
“Yeah, that’s why you gave me my hat back, because it was stuck in the prickles.”
“What was 9-year-old me doing running through a Bindii patch?”
“You were wearing a costume with shoes on. It was that fighting princess character that was really popular back then. What was her name?”
“She-Ruff?”
“She-Ruff! That’s her name!”
“I did used to watch She-Ruff around that time, but I don’t remember getting a costume of her. I’d have to ask my dad for old Halloween pictures.”
“So, you don’t remember it?”
“Unfortunately, I still don’t think it was me.”
Bandit sighed in defeat, staring disappointedly on the ground.
“Hey, Bandit? Are you ok?”
“I’m sorry, I… just really wanted that dog I met all those years ago to be you. It would have been so beautiful to bring you back here and relive that moment, but I guess not.”
He felt Chilli take his paws into hers and he looked up, her eyes staring lovingly into his.
“Well, for what its worth Bandit, it was very nice coming out here and reliving some of my childhood with you here tonight. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you that great Fairytale reunion you were looking for, but while were standing here, I want you to know something.”
A mad blush spread across his face as she cupped his cheek.
“This relationship has been magical in its own way. We came across one another halfway across the world and stuck with one another no matter the distance. We traveled the world together, got married, and are now preparing to raise a family together. I love you Bandit, you’re a magical, one-in-a-lifetime kind of guy.”
His heart fluttered and his tail zipped back and forth as he shared this moment with his wife.
“So, do you remember me telling you anything before I left?” She asked.
“Not really, we just told each other… ‘see you later’.”
She placed her hands on the side of his head and pressed her snout against his.
“In that case, I’m glad I did get to see you later.”
As she said that she pressed her lips up against his. His eyes widened, his heart pounded in his chest, and his mind was brought back to the day he saw that little red heeler, handing him his hat all those years ago. After she had run away, his heart was filled with uncertainty. He had been too young to understand love, but he still felt like he’d missed out on something. Like he had a once in a lifetime encounter that he had missed out on. But now here he was, two decades later, in that same caravan park, kissing the one he was sure he met that day.
He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his wife. Savoring every moment of their kiss, their reconnection. He accepted that Chilli would never remember meeting him that day. Memory was such a fickle thing. But he was certain she was the one, and even if she wasn’t, his heart belonged to her.
To Chilli, his happy ever after.