Chapter 20: Diamonds

One warm June evening, Bugs and Lola were in Bugs' black Volkswagen driving home from their date at the roller skating rink. The whole shock of their miscarraige had blown over a while ago but it still entered their minds sometimes. But they weren't focused on that now. Right then they were just focused on each other and their romantic night out.

The sun was setting and Bugs noticed it made Lola's golden hair sparkle. His arm was around her and she was leaning on him.

Bugs stopped paying attention to the road and started focusing on her. She looked at him and smiled. They leaned in. Just as they were about to kiss Lola noticed some animal right in front of the car.

"LOOK OUT!" she said pointing to it.

"Aw snap!" Bugs turned the steering wheel to the right and the car jerked. Then he slammed his foot on the breaks just as they were about to go into a ditch making them both plunge forward and slam back into their seats.

Lola's eyes were wide and she looked over into the ditch they were about to fall into. Her heart was pounding.

Bugs looked at her. "You okay?" he asked. He was a little shaken himself.

Lola nodded. "Yeah." She brushed her hair out of her face. "Thank God we didn't fall down there."

"Sorry 'bout that," Bugs said. He put his hands back on the wheel getting ready to back up.

"It's okay," Lola said still a little dazed. She looked back to where the animal had been but it was gone. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Bugs said as he put his foot on the gas. "I think it was a squirrel."

"Or a cat," Lola said.

"Or a platypus," Bugs said playfully.

Lola laughed. "A platypus? That thing was too small to be a platypus."

"It could've been a baby," Bugs pointed out.

"Those things live in Australia anyway," Lola said.

"It hitched a ride on a cargo ship and when he was trying to go home but ended up on the road trying to kill us."

Lola rolled her eyes. "Nice story," she said.

"Thanks. I give myself credit for having a good sense of humor and storytelling abilities," Bugs said sarcastically.

Lola rested her head on his shoulder again. "You're so stupid."

"And you're not?" Bugs said. Lola was just as weird as he was.

Lola shook her head stubbornly. "Nope. I'm not."

Bugs looked at her again. He couldn't help it. There was just something about her that attracted his eyes.

Lola looked at him. She sat up. "No, no." She turned his head towards the road. "Eyes on the road. I know I'm pretty but we don't need any more accidents."

"Yes ma'am," Bugs said. "So I guess I haven't passed my driving test tonight huh?"

"Maybe I'll take away that bad grade if we get home safely so you can kiss me," Lola said. She leaned back up against the chair.

"I can do that."

They got to their house safely. Bugs pulled into the long driveway and got out to open her door. Then they walked to the front door.

Lola put her arms around him and moved towards him. Bugs kissed her deeply. He moved one hand down her back and rested it on her hip. He pulled away for a second.

"Do I get my A plus?" Bugs asked.

Lola nodded. "A triple plus." She quickly pulled him into another kiss.

Then they went inside.

"What time is it?" The next morning Bugs woke up at 7:30 without really meaning to since he wanted to sleep late. He saw the time and lay back down and looked at Lola who was sleeping soundly next to him. He put his arms around her and twisted her bra strap around his finger. He wished they could just stay like that all day but that wasn't possible, they both had things to do. The quiet of the early morning and the soft humming of the ceiling fan set a peaceful mood and soon he drifted off to sleep again.

When Bugs woke up later it was almost 12:30. Lola was nowhere in sight and had apparently left already so he got dressed and left himself to do something. He didn't know what yet. He ran into Lola a few houses away from theirs.

"Hey Lola," he said.

Lola kissed him. "Somebody slept late today. You should've taken my advice and stopped talking about stupid stuff with Porky and Daffy."

"As a matter of fact we weren't talking about stupid stuff, we were talking about manly things like…"

"Yeah I don't care about manly things…except your boxers and…you get it."

Bugs chuckled. "Where have you been?" he asked curiously.

"I went to go get some food. I'm surprised we haven't starved to death these past few days, the refrigerator was empty. You didn't notice?"

"No," he lied. He'd thought about grocery shopping that morning when he found there was nothing for breakfast but decided to do it later.

Lola laughed and slapped his arm. "Yeah you did."

He slapped her back. "No I didn't." This went on until they got home.

They went inside to put away the food then sat on the large windowsill covered in cushions that faced the front yard (there was one on every floor if I didn't mention that already). Lola rested her head on Bugs' chest and he had his arms around her. They looked at the occasional car passing by and the water coming out of the fountain.

"I could stay like this all day," Bugs said. He rested his head in her hair with smelled exceptionally fruity but with a sexy smelling tint to it. "Your hair smells nice. What did you put in it?"

"I got this new shampoo at Bath and Body Works called Passion," Lola said.

"Use it more often, it smells really good."

They sat there for about ten more minutes. "You know, there was something I wanted to say, like fifteen minutes ago," Lola said. "Hmmm. Oh yeah. Daffy and Sly are gonna kill me. You wanna come to the gym? You can help me throw Daffy and Sly into the dust. I told them I'd be there a half an hour ago with you on a leash," she said.

"Alright c'mon as long as I don't have to wear a leash."

"No you're good. I'll let you off the hook just once but next time you're wearing a leash."

"But leashes give me a rash."

"I'll get you a hypoallergenic one."

Lola came over to them with Bugs close behind. "Alright you guys, let's go!"

"Look who finally decided to show up," Sylvester said.

"Where the hell were you?" Daffy exclaimed.

"Sorry guys. We were talking and Bugs was sniffing my hair…"

"Who sthays he had to come justh because he'sth your 'boyfriend'?" he made air quotes on "boyfriend."

"Daffy chill out!"

"Hey!" Sylvester exclaimed. They turned to him. "Are we gonna play or not?"

Daffy said tossed the basketball purposely hard at Bugs who much to Daffy's dismay caught it with ease and didn't end up with a concussion.

"Fine. Two on two, me and Bugs against you and Sylvester," Lola said. Her and Bugs walked to the middle of the court with Sylvester on their heels. Daffy swore under his breath. As much as he despised Lola, he wanted to be on her team so he'd win.

The end of the game came pretty close. The score was tied 19-19. Sylvester passed the ball to Daffy.

"We're gonna win! We're gonna win!" Sylvester said jumping up and down happily.

Daffy was about to score but Bugs snatched the ball out of the air with his ears. "Thank you!"

Daffy's eyes got wide. "Stupid rabbit earsth!"

"Lo, catch!" Bugs passed the ball to Lola.

Lola caught the ball. Sylvester tried to take it but she dodged him and scored. "Yes!"

Lola jumped into Bugs' arms and gave him a hug. They won the game.

"THAT'STH NOT FAIR! YOU CHEATED! THOSTHE DUMB RABBIT EARSTH!" Daffy shouted and added a little more profanity.

Lola put her hands on her hips. "You're just jealous!"

After their game Bugs sat on the bleachers watching as Lola shot some hoops with Daffy and Sylvester looking at her in awe. She jumped in the air, flipped, dunked the ball and landed gracefully. Daffy and Sly looked on in amazement as she smirked at them. She glanced back at Bugs as if to make sure he was watching her. He chuckled at her trying to show off for him and gave her a thumbs up, then she continued to shoot more hoops.

He'd been thinking about her a lot lately, more than before. He really loved her, he couldn't ask for anything more than her. She was his everything. It had been running through his mind that maybe he's ready for something more, to take their relationship to another level. A few girls he'd been with he'd thought about marrying but none of them would have been right, they weren't Lola, he never had the same burning desire for them deep in his heart. He nodded to himself, he needed to marry her. The only question was when. He wanted to do this when there was nothing else on his plate, at a time where he could dedicate every ounce of his time to her. There was one week of school left then he'd be free for the summer. He couldn't think of anyone he'd rather share his life with, she was the one.

"Hey. Earth to Bugsth Bunny. Are you sthill here?" Daffy said waving his hands in Bugs' face to get his attention.

Daffy was blocking his view of Lola. Bugs kicked him out the way just barely missing his balls. "Move it Daffy!"

"Hey! Watch where you kick people!" Bugs had that look in his eyes again. "What are you staring at rabbit?" Daffy followed his eyes and saw he was staring at Lola. "Oh her. C'mon Bugsth I thought you were past thisth whole stharing thing."

"What?" Bugs snapped out of his trance again and glared at Daffy. "Shut up."

Daffy sat next to him. "Stho…you gonna marry her?"

Bugs' head snapped to look at Daffy and his random question. "What made you say that?"

"C'mon Bugsth, I may not be the brightesth crayon in the box but I'm not sthupid. You've been with her for over three yearsth and you're stharing a lot more than usual. She'sth the one isn't she?"

Bugs wasn't ready to discuss this with anyone yet. So he settled on a simple, "I think so."

Daffy nudged him with a smirk on his face. "Well…"

Bugs pushed him off. "Leave me alone Daffy."

Lola came over to him and gave him a kiss. "I hit Sly in the face with the ball," she said proudly.

"And you're happy about this?" Sylvester said rubbing his nose.

"That's my girl," Bugs said approvingly. He hugged her then playfully pushed her away. "Ew, you're all sweaty."

Lola hugged him again while he fake struggled to get her off. "Smell it, taste it, feel it!"

"Hey Lola, Bugs has something to tell you," Daffy said. Bugs gave him a warning look.

Lola gave Bugs a questioning look. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Um…well…" He thought fast and smothered her in a deep kiss. "I love you." She smiled and kissed him back. "C'mon, let's go." They started to leave and Daffy came up behind him about to make some smart remark. "Don't you dare tell her anything or I will hang you by your toes from the bell tower of Acme Loo," Bugs threatened. Daffy snickered. "I'm serious!" Daffy gulped in fear.

It was Sunday, a few days after the last day of school. Summer had officially started and Bugs had big plans for that day. Lola had informed him that day that the girls were dragging her to the mall so she wouldn't be home. With knowing he could avoid her suspicions in mind, that afternoon Bugs went downtown to Jared Gallery of Jewelry.

Inside, Bugs looked through the glass at the front counter. One ring caught his eye. He saw a sparkling 25 karat ring with about a dozen red ruby roses arranged in a heart. The inside of the heart was filled with diamonds and said "I Luv You."

She'll love it, he thought.

An old woman who looked like she was in her nineties came over to him behind the counter. "May I help you sir?" she asked.

Bugs pointed to the one he wanted. "That one Doc. The one with the roses."

The woman looked under her black rimmed glasses and squinted. "Which one?" asked the woman.

Bugs pointed to the one with the roses again. "The heart shaped one with the roses," he said again.

"What does it look like?" asked the lady.

Bugs was starting to get frustrated. "The 25 karat heart shaped diamond ring with the roses," he said.

The woman stared at him. "What?"

Bugs tried to be patient but it wasn't working. "The heart shaped diamond ring with the fancy roses," he said slowly.

The woman clicked on her hearing aid. "I'm sorry, what?"

Okay now she's just being mean, Bugs thought. "THE HEART SHAPED DIAMOND RING WITH THE ROSES YA' OLD GEEZER! GEEZ IS YOUR HEARING AID ON !" he shouted.

The woman stared at him with a shocked expression. "No need to shout," she said. She took the ring out of the glass case and started to put it in a black box.

"Hey Doc, could I get the purple box?" Bugs asked.

The woman put the ring in the purple box with the gold trim. "This ring is half price. It's on sale for $500, son," she said.

"Sweet! Thanks." Bugs took out his wallet. He gave her $500 and took the ring. He turned to leave. Then he turned back. "Oh, and by the way, I go by Bugs not 'Son'," he said. Then he left.

Outside Beaky Buzzard swooped down and snatched the ring from him.

"HEY!" Bugs shouted. He ran after him. He spent good money on that ring he sure as Daffy was a greedy idiot wasn't about to lose it!

Bugs chased Beaky Buzzard for about a block and a half. This wasn't working. He looked around and a light bulb turned on above his head. He quickly climbed the tree behind the one closest to him. Then once Buzzard came above him he jumped up and grabbed the ring but Buzzard wouldn't let go.

"Let go! Uh, let go!" Buzzard yelled trying to shake Bugs off.

Bugs got the ring but then started falling. He looked down and tried to slow down but fell into a woman's shopping cart.

"AAAHHH!" she screamed.

Bugs waved at her and then jumped out. I've got to get home before some bone head destroys this ring I paid good money for, he thought.

He was almost home. Then he heard gunshots and a tree that was about ten feet in front of him blew up. Bugs jumped at the sudden explosion.

"YOU CONFLAB VARMIT! GET OUT THE WAY! MOVE!" Yosemite Sam shouted. He shot his gun about six times.

Bugs sighed. So much for protecting this ring, he thought. He turned around. "What's the big idea Doc?" Then his eyes got wide.

Then he could see why Sam had said move. He was flying at him at about 50 miles per hour and his pants were burning. Looked like he'd just shot himself out of a cannon not that that was abnormal for him. Sam was always blowing himself up.

Just as Bugs was about to move Sam slammed right into him sending the ring flying into the air.

Bugs stared at the ring with a horrified expression. He was steaming. "Why?" He turned to Sam. "WHY? WHY DOC? I SPENT $500 BUCKS ON THAT RING! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND DYNAMITE, DON'T YA' KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS? NOW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO GIVE LOLA? HUH? WHY I OUTTA…!"

While Bugs was ranting about the ring when he could've been saving it Sam was doing his share of screaming.

"DOG GONE IT YA' CARROT EATIN' VARMIT! WHEN I SAY MOVE I MEAN MOVE !" He looked up at Lola's ring which was still flying. "Your ring's gone by the way."

Bugs turned around. "OH MY GOD!" he screamed. Then he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Then he another light bulb turned on above his head. He looked up. How long has that been happening? He reached up and turned it off.

He grabbed onto the tree next to him and pulled the tip of it down towards him. The he let go and the tree shot him flying into the air. He didn't know what the deal was with trees these days but they sure were useful.

He caught the ring just as he was about to fall. And then he fell right in front of his front door. Convenient huh?