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It was Louise’s last show and tell before she graduated from Wagstaff School and needed to decide what to do. By now she wore trousers and shirts instead of her green dress, but one thing that hadn’t changed about her was her pink bunny ears. She got a few taunts of “ Four Ears” because of them, but they were mostly affectionate. She had heard of cannon balls from the Revolutionary War period that might exist in the caves of Seymour Bay. The caves were also potentially dangerous, but the town council didn’t want to spend the money needed to block them up, and they were safe to enter at low tide and not long enough to really get lost in or small enough to get stuck in. Get in, get out, I’ll be fine. Soon enough she was scrambling over the rocks and found a cave and went into its depths even though the tide was certainly coming in. Soon enough she located it, a large cannonball that was red with rust. It was very heavy but she lifted it up and put it into a basket that she had brought with her. As she started to walk out, the first wave entered the cave and washed her over. Dropping the basket, she tried to get up and get out of there but another wave pushed her down and suddenly she was swimming instead of walking and being swept into the cave.
Is this how I die? Drowned in a sea cave because I didn’t think to check the tide timings properly? No one will hear my cries for help above the waves…Just then a rope came flying towards her and she grabbed it, and pulled her way against the current and out onto the rocks, and found it was Millie Frock who had thrown the rope to her. Millie was wearing brown trousers and a kakhi shirt.
“MILLIE! I never thought that I would be happy to see you following me. I could have drowned in there if you hadn’t rescued me like Grace Darling once rescued those seafarers. I suppose I owe you a favor within reason.”
” Let me kiss you,” Millie replied, and planted a kiss on Louise’s salty forehead and a warm, passionate but surprisingly restrained kiss on Louise’s lips, and Louise didn’t wipe the kisses. “ And one more thing…I want you to go on a date with me.”
Louise rolled her eyes, but nodded rather grudgingly.
”OK. One date.”
That evening the two were having a date at the most expensive restaurant in Seymour Bay, with fine steak and fries and Brie and watermelon to eat. Millie wore a dress of fine green silk, with silver bracelets and a pink strapped watch on her wrists and her hair curled. Louise wore a blue dress and her bunny ears.
” You really pulled the stops out for this date, Millie, and it shows. You must have spent so long looking beautiful for me. This is not paid for by forged money is it?”
”No, I have been saving small amounts of money at a time since when I was nine years old for this moment. Even before I could fall in love I knew that when I did fall in love it would be with you.”
”But why? I am not famous or ever likely to be really wealthy. I doubt I would have the money to get health insurance or even go to university without a debt that would follow me for the rest of my life, whilst you live in a house rather then an apartment and could probably afford to go to Harvard or Yale. Why are you in love with a burger flipping girl? Are bunny ears sexy to you? “
”Your mind, your personality, those expressive brown eyes that darken when you feel strongly about something , your sweet voice.”
” You know, I want to give you a chance as my girlfriend, but don’t spoil it by being controlling, stalkerish, girlbossy to me. Don’t try and force sex when I am not in the mood, or constantly smother me with love the whole time, or pinch my bottom in public. Let me be with my friends, both boys and girls and have the career that I want to have. And in return I will be a sweet, loving, faithful and sexy girlfriend to you. I know you would never cheat on me or go distant towards me but you are like a sun that wants to cook me and I very much want to stay in your habitable zone. Can you do that, Millie?”
” Yes, I can.”
At the end of the date they kissed, passionately, and Louise knew that they would soon be going beyond kissing.