1992 Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Milly knelt in front of Uncle Hugo's old record player dressed in worn out jeans, and a faded gray T-shirt of Eric's that had his school's logo on it. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was smiling flipping through Uncle Hugo's rather impressive vinyl collection. It was late June, and both Eric and Milly had officially graduated college. Eric had graduated early, due to all of the extra programs and classes he had been taking. He was working part-time as an assistant coach on the school's basketball team, and was truly doing wonders with the young autistic freshmen that were starting the same school he had truly shown massive growth at. Milly couldn't believe that just four years ago, Mrs. Sherman, Uncle Hugo, and herself were taking Eric for his first tour around campus. How nervous he seemed, holding onto her hand tightly, and looking around with wide frightened eyes. Milly remembered feeling scared for him, and hated the very idea of them being seperated. Still, so much had happened in those four years. Good and bad. Eric had made such great progress. He was fluent now in sign language, which was his first form of communicating. Milly had taken honors in American Sign Language, and was constantly practicing with him. His writing, and reading were all supar now, and even though his math grades, and test taking were exactly the best, he thrived in all of his electives, and shops, and was actually getting better and better dealing with sound. For certain things he still needed his ear plugs, but Milly was blown away by how much his tolerance was. In fact, during his sophomore year of college he got his driver's license, and just six months ago got his motorcycle license much to her mother's horror. He had fixed up an old bike that he had bought, and had it street legal. Milly could never forget the first time he picked her up at school on it. He had insisted she wore a helmet, but Milly had felt almost the same exact way she did when he first took her flying all of those years ago. She held onto him tight, turning her face to the side, before she relaxed, and as fast as they went, she somehow knew he wouldn't do anything to put her in danger. Instead, she clutched onto his firm warm body, before she began to laugh, as they drove up the curving roads of the back highway.

In fact, going on rides on the motorcycle was one of her favorite things to do. In fact, one night she admitted to him that her top three favorite things to do with him was to have sex, fly, and go on the bike with him. This caused him to laugh, which usually was soundless, but every once and awhile Milly would hear him actually chuckle, and it was one of the purest sounds in the world. She lived for it. She did see the looks of horror from her mother whenever Eric pulled up on the bike. She had ranted and raved that it was a "death trap" and she forbade her daughter climbing onto it and risking her life, even though Luis and Garry had taken several rides on it. Milly was annoyed with how her mother had been acting, but she suspected things were only getting worse since the reality of Milly and Eric staying together was becoming clearer and clearer. Somehow the little looks, eye rolls, and remarks were starting to become clearer and clearer. Milly felt maybe in some unspoken way, her mother did know about the miscarriage from the accident she suffered freshmen year. She knew it was only a matter of time until finally the tension grew too much and they would have the blowout to end all blowouts. She knew her blood was boiling and that Milly had moved in next door with Eric after Uncle Hugo passed away and left the house to him. He still would receive his monthly allowance from the money his parents had left to him, more than enough to pay all of his bills, as well as keep him comfortable. He would fully come into all of his inheritance once he was twenty-five. He was working for Mr. Eggston, had made friends, and was helping do small repairs.

His Uncle's death had hit him hard, but since Milly moved in, he seemed to be doing so much better. In fact at his graduation, Milly and Mrs. Sherman stood up clapping and cheering like crazy when it was his turn to walk across the stage. Milly remembered him locking eyes with her, smiling proudly, before he took his diploma, and posed for photos. Milly had never been happier in her whole life, and afterwards, she ran up to him wearing a short baby blue sundre. She spotted him in the crowd, and squealed with delight before running through the crowds of families and graduates, before leaping into his arms and deeply kissing him. Eric smiled through the kiss, swinging her around, before Mrs. Sherman, smiling proudly, walked over with her camera ready. Two weeks later was Milly's graduation, and the second she walked across the stage in her cap and gown, she looked out into the crowd, and saw Garry, Luis, her mother, and Eric...it was Eric she locked eyes with and smiled. Afterwards while she was posing for countless photos, her favorite ended up being the one that Garry thought of. Eric scooping her up, and holding her in his arms. She only caught it for a second, but she could tell her mother was annoyed. Still, she didn't care. She was working non-stop, publishing articles that were receiving great feedback, and had some pretty great ideas. Ever since she met with the cousin of one of her favorite professor's, who worked at a publishing house, she had started to toy around with the idea of writing a book, and Eric constantly encouraged her. She had a part time job at a bookstore, and was having the time of her life writing in her spare time. Eric was co-coaching basketball at his recently graduated school, working for Mr. Eggston, and doing spare repairs here and there. Their biggest project this summer was continuing with fixing up Uncle Hugo's old house. Eric had enough money to slowly work on it, since half of the cost was just materials since he, along with several guys from the hardware store were helping. Still, Milly absolutely loved it just being the two of them.

They had plans on spending the summer really getting to the major projects they had put off until the warmer weather. Eric and milly had been saving, and they had more than enough to re-sand the floors, paint, and knock down one of the walls downstairs to open up the living room. Last night they had Geneva, and Andy over, where they helped move furniture, covering everything with sheets. They drank beers, laughed, and even played a few rounds of cards which Andy was a master at. While moving stuff, it was Geneva who noticed the shelfs were jammed packed with old vinyl records. When she asked about them, Eric signed (which Milly usually translated even though Geneva and Andy knew a few signs) that they belonged to his uncle, and that he had been collecting them ever since he served in the military. Andy walked over, impressed at how old some of these were, and remarked to Eric that a bunch of these were worth pretty good money. So today, a little after eight in the morning Milly found herself holding up a faded worn vinyl jacket. She looked it over, before smiling and carefully sliding it out. Gently placing it down on the turntable, she smiled, lifting the needle, before softly dropping it. There was a tiny sound of static, before the music began. She turned and saw Eric, who was wearing his painting jeans, a black T-shirt, and a blue bandana covering his head. He had a roller in his hands. They had decided on accent walls.

One navy blue, one forest green, one burgundy, and one tan. Eric turned, smirking before Milly smiled up at him, standing up, brushing the dust from her knees, before putting the vinyl cover down on the chair that sat beside the turntable. Eric smiled, thinking for a moment before he placed the roller down in the tray and signed...

"It's funny you picked this one. One of the only memories I have of my parents was sitting on the living room floor, hearing this song, and watching the two of them dancing."

Milly smiled as Eric wiped his hands before offering one. Milly laughed, before she walked across the room, early morning summer sunlight pouring in through the windows. Taking his warm dry hand, she laughed as he twirled her around, back and forth, before taking her other hand. Slowly they started to waltz. Milly smiled, as always very surprised at how well Eric moved on his feet. They had only gone to senior prom together, but Milly still remembered what a great dancer Eric was. At Geneva's wedding, he actually exhausted Milly with how many times he dragged her out to the dance floor. Even though he was still sensitive to certain loud noises, he seemed perfectly fine around motorcycles, powertools, hammering, and cars, Occasionally he still needed his earplugs, but when it came to music he rarely did. The small handful of concerts they had attended together where he needed them, but at weddings, and the few parties they went to, he actually enjoyed the sound of music, and to Milly had the talent of making him look good even though she believed she had two left feet. Eric smiled, swaying her back and forth, as he locked eyes with her. Milly laughed, looking around the giant empty living room. The few pieces of furniture all moved to the center, covered with sheets. After Geneva and Andy left last night they had started on the first wall, which was currently painted half forest green. They swayed back and forth, before Eric slowly spun her out, and then back in.

She laughed, before she loosely hung her arms around his neck, gazing up into his big brown eyes. Eric smiled, leaning in and softly kissing her. His mouth opening against hers, his tongue slipping into hers and sucking. Milly closed her eyes, softly moaning as his lips began to firmly press against hers. Milly smiled through the kiss, before she pulled back slightly. Eric was smiling down at her, before he softly said without any trouble...

"Milly..."

Milly loved whenever he spoke her name. In fact, hearing his voice was probably one of her most favorite sounds in the entire world. Her entire face lit up, before he pulled back softly smiling, then got down on one knee. Instantly Milly stood there frozen. She held onto his hand, confused. For a fraction of a second she thought he was bending down to tie his shoe. That's when she saw him reach into his back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small black box. Milly stood back, too stunned to speak.

Eric looked up at her and signed...

"I know you love my mother's ring. I have you when we became 'official' as kids. You're the only person that knows my secret, the only person I trust. The only person who ever gave a damn about me and got me where I am today. You never treated me like a freak or an outcast. You're my entire life Milly. You're my soulmate, and when the accident happened..."

His words trailed off for a second, before he cleared his throat. Milly saw how glassy eyed he looked, before he blinked the tears back and signed...

"I nearly lost you. Just like that night at the park. I would have done anything to have made it be me. I know after we lost Jet..."

He was crying now, as was Milly. He sniffled, looking up at her, and signed again, his hand slightly shaking...

"We have our whole lives ahead of us. I promise I'll make sure nothing like that ever happens to you again. I love you Milly..."

He then bit down on his bottom lip, struggling before he slowly spoke...

"W...W-w-will...you m-m-m-marry...m-me?"

He produced the second ring, one that closely resembled the ring she had been wearing for the last seven years. There were tiny diamonds sparkling around the circular band. Instantly Milly lit up, her eyes widening in complete shock. She let go of his hand and brought her hands to her face and loudly gasped.

"Eric!"

Eric smiled and laughed softly through the tears, before she nodded faster than she ever nodded in her entire life. Eric grinned from ear to ear, before Milly, who was now sobbing with tears of happiness, laughed.

"Yes! YES! YES!"

Eric's eyes widened, before he laughed back at her, before with very shaky hands, he slipped the ring onto her finger. Milly held out her hand, looking at the tiny sparkling diamond along with the gold band he had given her when they finally became official as teenagers after he saved her on the field trip. She stood there, tears of happiness sparking in her eyes, before she laughed and stared at him. The music continued to play as she leaned forward, closing her eyes and deeply kissing Eric.

Present - March 2008

Milly sat back, sitting up on the guest bed that Eric had dragged into the living room for her after her little scare at the hospital. So far, she had followed Dr. Weaver's strict orders by staying in bed, and off her feet as much as possible. She died for an actual real shower, but Eric always insisted on giving her sponge baths as soon as he got home from work every day, no matter how tired he was. Milly of course cleaned herself up as much as she could, but found it romantic by how gentle was whenever he brought in the basin of warm water, and facecloths. He always took his time, while Milly insisted she could do it herself. Still, he always washed her back, arms, swollen breasts, legs, and a week he would bring in a larger bucket, that she knew he kept for washing the cars, and would heat up water on the stove to rinse her hair after he shampooed it. She would then change into fresh clothes he brought down for her, and blow dry her hair while Eric started dinner. Then, he would carry the food in, and they would sit side by side watching TV and eating. Geneva had been planning her baby shower, which was going to be in less than a week, and Eric promised he would move the bed into the spare room to free up some space for the actual day, but he kept reminding Geneva that no matter what, Milly had to be seated at all times. Milly was amazed by how wonderful Eric was handling all of this. She knew the hospital scare had really shaken him.

Since then, he had made it his mission to make sure Milly followed doctor's orders, and stayed off her feet until her due date. Milly knew Eric wanted this baby just as badly as she did, but he wasn't about to risk her in the process. Instead he worked around his work schedule to take her to all of her weekly appointments, cooked, cleaned, took care of everything, and never once complained. Today on this chilly Saturday, officially a week away from her baby shower, Milly sat up on the bed in the living room, propped up by her pillows, her shirt pulled back revealing her large swollen stomach. Eric had just finished doing the dishes from breakfast, and had come in and was currently laying his head gently against her stomach, his ear up against her tight skin as he listened. Milly smiled, feeling the baby gently move inside of her, as she gently brushed back his hair and stared down at him as he smiled listening and feeling their baby. Geneva told her she was going to swing by tonight and go over some of the last minute details regarding the shower. Milly didn't want to make a big deal about it, but Geneva, along with a few of her other friends all started to hype her up, letting her know that after everything she had been through, she deserved a special day. After all of the losses, heartbreak, and struggles, she was finally carrying the child of her dreams. She was a month or so away from her due date, and before she knew it, Eric and her would finally meet their baby boy. After the hospital stay, she realized how much she wanted this baby, and knew with her history, and now with her age...this very well could be her last chance.

She was exhausted, and tense, but knew much like Mrs. Sherman used to say, if you wished hard enough, and loved long enough...anything was possible.

She knew they wanted this baby more than anything, and the reality of finally having him was almost there. Milly stayed on strict bedrest, and the only little bit of walking that she did was when she went to the bathroom, or to the car whenever Eric took her to her doctor appointments. The last ultrasound, Dr. Weaver showed that the baby was matching up perfectly with his growth chart. Her levels and blood work all came back perfect, and hearing the steady heartbeat instantly put Milly and Eric at ease. Laying there, she gently ran her fingers through her husband's hair, smiling down at him as Eric smiled, his eyes wide with amazement as he continued listening to her stomach. Lifting his head, and looking down at her stomach. The baby's hands and feet kept moving from inside of her, pushing upwards, making the tight skin of her stomach move, as little kicks showed the baby inside of her pushing upwards. Milly remarked it reminded her of a science fiction horror movie, and joked she was probably carrying an alien. Eric as always stared down, totally amazed before he leaned down and gently kissed her stomach. Milly smiled, still stroking her husband's hair, honestly feeling like the luckiest woman in the world.

December 1988

It snowed the day of Eric's 18th birthday, and Milly celebrated the day by getting her license. Luckily the snow didn't start until that evening, and Milly decided she was ready to finally take the plunge and go take the test. It went through the school, so she arranged for Mrs. Sherman to take Eric home. She had explained to him the night before that she was going for her driver's test. and that they would celebrate his birthday once she got home. That entire night while she did her homework in her bedroom, as Eric sat on the edge of her bed making paper airplanes, she nervously chewed her pencil, and admitted to Eric she was nervous. She just hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself, and fail since a few people in her homeroom failed, and had to retake the test. So on that chilly Thursday, she stood outside with her classmate John Dunn, and they waited until Mr. Peterson came out, and had them get into the driver's ed car. Milly was going first, so Mr. Peterson sat in the passenger seat, while John got in the back. Milly put her safety belt on, since Garry had hammered that into her head. She clicked it on, turned the key and started the engine, and took a deep breath as Mr. Peterson directed her to drive down the street. Less than ten minutes later, after doing a three point turn, and parking, Mr. Peterson smiled, making tiny notes on his clipboard, before having her pull over and park.

"Okay, 90 points. You passed."

Milly blinked, the nervous knot in her stomach lifting. Instantly her eyes widened.

"I passed?!"

Mr. Peterson nodded.

"I'll give you the slip, you just need to go to the DMV in the city, the address is right here, and you'll get your photo taken for your license. Good job."

Milly smiled, before she switched places with John. Lucky for him, he passed as well. Both were clearly pumped, and Mr. Peterson directed John to drop Milly off at her house. Once she got out, she thanked them, before running inside shouting what had happened. Her mother and Garry had gotten home and were thrilled. Luis was more interested in playing his video games, and simply glanced over once and shrugged. Her mother actually seemed thrilled, and told her that this weekend they would celebrate. That Saturday morning she would take her to the DMV, and then all of them would go out for lunch. Milly hugged her, feeling wonderful, before she glanced at the clock and remembered Eric. For once her mother didn't seem to have an attitude when Milly said she wanted to shower and change, and bring the cake she brought at the bakery over to Eric's. Garry slipped her a twenty saying it was for gas money before winking at her. Thrilled, Milly ran up the stairs, and took a nice hot shower, before changing into jeans and a blue sweater. She dried her hair, before putting it up, and grabbing Eric's gift which was hiding under her bed, and hurried down the stairs. Garry was helping mom in the kitchen and both were drinking wine. Milly carefully took Eric's cake out of the fridge, wrapped in a white box with red string.

Garry told Milly to wish Eric a happy birthday, before she slipped on her jacket since it had started snowing, and hurried out the back door. Uncle Hugo let her in, a beer in his hand. He smirked when he saw Milly and she instantly told him the good news of her passing her driver's test. He patted her on the back and said that was wonderful, and that Mrs. Sherman was actually trying to work on getting Eric set up for that, even though it might take longer. Just then Eric appeared in the kitchen. Wearing jeans, and his red hoodie. The moment he saw her, his face lit up and he hurried over. Milly had placed everything down on the kitchen table as he hurried over and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight hug. Milly smiled, smelling shampoo in his hair, knowing he must have just taken a back. Eric had been getting much better at bathing himself, even though he hated showers. Milly smiled as Uncle Hugo stood back proudly looking, before Uncle Hugo asked Milly what she brought? Smiling, she let go of Eric and motioned down at the table that she got Eric's favorite. A strawberry cake. Uncle Hugo smiled, saying he had milk in the fridge and would put on a pot of coffee. Milly carefully took the cake out, and loved how happy Eric looked staring at it. She placed it on a plate and grabbed from one of the cabinets, then took out the candles she brought and counted as she plucked eighteen of them into the cake. Eric watched closely, before Uncle Hugo handed her a knife and some forks. Milly took the small bic lighter she brought over, and lit the candles carefully. Uncle Hugo shut the kitchen light off, and the two of them began to sing to Eric who stared at the glowing cake. He smiled from ear to ear, before blowing the candles out, and Milly and Uncle Hugo clapped.

Turning the lights back on, Uncle Hugo handed Eric a small package that was wrapped in newspaper. He apologized he didn't put regular wrapping paper on it, as Eric turned the package over with curious eyes in his hands. Slowly he began to rip the newspaper away, before revealing a small box. He lifted an eyebrow, before opening it, and inside was. Swiss Army knife. Eric looked puzzled, and looked up at Uncle Hugo who was pouring himself a cup of coffee since it had just finished. He smiled at him.

"It belonged to your father. I Want you to have it. He would be very proud of the man you've become."

Eric smiled, looking down amazed, before Milly smiled, cutting slices of cake and putting them on plates as she plucked the candles out and laid them on a napkin. Eric examined the knife as Uncle Hugo showed him all the different things it had, before he patted Eric on the back. Milly smiled, loving seeing this, before they all sat down and dug into the cake. Eric ended up having two slices, and Milly put the rest of it into the fridge. After cleaning up, Uncle Hugo told them to have fun (Milly meanwhile hoping Uncle Hugo didn't exactly know what they were planning on doing in the attic.) and took out a six pack and ventured into the living room to watch the game. Milly checked out the window and saw it was snowing even harder. Sighing, she told Eric she hoped they got a snow day tomorrow to make it a longer weekend. Taking his hand, she held his still wrapped gift from her under her arm, and they both climbed the stairs, and then the second set of stairs into the attic. Eric went and clicked on the Christmas lights, and Milly turned on the two portable heaters they had lugged up here. She knew within ten minutes the attic would warm up for them. Together they sat down on the pile of blankets, before Milly pushed a strand of her hair away from her face and smiled.

"You know what Eric? You're eighteen now. The clinic can never take you away again since you're of age. Isn't that great? No more worrying!"

Eric smiled, before Milly leaned over and gently kissed him smiling.

"Just think. Now that I have my license we can go anywhere we want if I borrow my mom's car. We can even go to the point together..."

The point was a makeout place way up on Pie Hill. They had gone only a few times with Geneva and Alex, but as always the making out never got too hot and heavy since there were two other people in the car with them. Milly couldn't wait to have a little more privacy, and the thought that the clinic wouldn't do anymore warfare checks warmed her heart. She then smiled, and handed Eric his wrapped present.

"Happy birthday Eric."

Eric smiled, looking at the wrapped box, before slowly ripping it open. He pulled back the wrapping paper, before finally getting to the box. Instantly he raised an eyebrow before Milly giggled and lifted it out of the box for him.

"It's a walkman. I got you some of your favorite tapes. You can listen to music whenever you want, even when you're in bed."

Eric looked at it amazed, before Milly helped load one of the tapes she got him, and loaded it in. She carefully placed the headphones on Eric's head, before turning it on and turning on the volume. Instantly Eric's entire face lit up again as he smiled. Eric looked amazed and grinned. For the next half an hour Milly played music for him, and showed him how it worked, and how to load in tapes. Finally he took them off, placed them aside with the tapes she got him, and turned to face her. By then the attic was nice and cozy. Smiling, he gently cupped the sides of her face, before pulling her forward and kissing her. Milly smiled through the kiss, before she pulled back and smiled.

"You wanna?"

Eric raised an eyebrow, before Milly reached and pulled her sweater off and tossed it to the side. Just sitting there in her bra, she smiled at Eric's reaction, before she leaned forward and began kissing him.

Later...

Eric laid on top of Milly thrusting away, his shoulder blades arching as Milly laid beneath him. Just then Eric stiffened, snapped his eyes shut, and climaxed. Milly held onto him tightly, before he collapsed on top of her, panting for breath. Milly laid there, before she smiled as he lifted his head, his face flushed. "

Happy birthday Eric."

Eric stared down at her, before he struggled and said...

"Milly...I...love...you."

Milly smiled, absolutely loving whenever he said her name. Leaning up and kissing him, she smiled, never feeling happier than she did at that exact moment.

Later...

Both had dressed and Eric walked down to the second floor with her. They could hear Uncle Hugo's TV going in his room, his door closed. Turning, Milly gently tugged on Eric's hair before smiling.

"Sweet dreams and happy birthday. Maybe we'll get a snowday tomorrow?"

Eric smirked, before she leaned over and pecked his cheek, before she wished him a good night, and walked down the stairs. It was dark, besides the small light over the stove. Opening the back door, she felt a gust of cold wind, and walked out. There was at least an inch on the ground, and it was still snowing pretty hard. Looking up at the pinkish dark sky she smiled at how pretty it looked. Walking down the steps, thankful she wore her boots, she started making her way towards her house.

That's when she heard her name.

"Milly?"

Milly froze and turned, only to see Alex in his winter coat and hat, holding a snow shovel. Surprised to see him this late at night, less than ten minutes from her curfew, she looked at him and blinked.

"Alex?"

He walked down Eric's driveway towards her.

"Hey, I thought that was you. My dad has a plow on his truck and he's plowing out some driveways, I was shoveling here and there. Crazy weather huh?"

Milly looked up and nodded as tiny snowflakes got caught in her hair.

"Yeah, think we'll have school tomorrow?"

Alex shook his head.

"No way, We're supposed to get another few inches, total mess."

Milly smiled before she remembered and her eyes lit up.

"Oh my God I forgot to tell you! I passed my driver's test!"

Alex grinned.

"That's awesome!"

He walked forward, opened his arms and hugged Milly. Pulling back, he stared at her, and instantly Milly felt off as he locked eyes with her.

"That's awesome. I knew you could do it."

Suddenly he smiled, before leaning in...and kissing Milly.

Present - March 2008

Milly's babyshower had been a total success.

Geneva really stuck with what the nursery theme was, so decorated kites, birds, and planes were all over the downstairs living room. Streamers of baby blue and white were everywhere, and since Eric moved the bed out that morning, and moved back the sofa, there was plenty of space for everyone. Twenty five or so guests came, all Milly and Geneva's friends. Milly's boss from the publishing house even came and had a great time. Milly wore a blue blouse and white pants. Her perfectly round stomach showed behind her shirt, where most of the guests remarked, gently kissing it, or touching it feeling the baby kick. Milly usually hated this much attention, but went along with it since Geneva was really going all out for her. She had been in charge of everything, including the food. Milly unwrapped gifts from everyone, as Geneva made a game that how many bows she had would be how many girlfriends Marshall would have. Milly ended up breaking a total of seventeen bows, which cracked everyone up. She was beyond thankful to everyone, and hugged them all goodbye. Everyone was so happy that this was finally happening for her, since they all knew her history, and how badly she wanted this baby. Geneva gifted her with a bouncing baby seat, a music box that played the most beautiful lullaby, and several little outfits for the baby. Eric came in, having been in the garage with most of the boyfriends and husbands having beers, as he helped Geneva bring everything upstairs and cleaned up as they demanded for Milly to sit back and relax. Finally, everything was cleaned up and Milly hugged Geneva, thanking her for such a wonderful day.

Geneva left a little while later, and Eric dragged in the bed again and made it up for Milly who sat on the couch. The baby was being more active than usual, kicking her up a storm. She smiled, thanking him for everything, before he smirked, and leaned down kissing her stomach. Just then the doorbell rang. Raising an eyebrow Milly looked over.

"Must be Geneva, she must have forgotten something."

Eric nodded and strolled over to the front door before opening it and then freezing.

"Hello Eric."

Milly instantly froze. She was sitting on the sofa when she heard it. Looking up, she saw her husband's body blocking the door. Getting up, holding her large stomach, she walked over and looked over her husband's shoulder and felt her blood turn ice cold. Eric was glaring, his body blocking the doorway, but Milly stood behind him and saw. Her mother stood there. She saw Milly behind Eric, and looked at her.

"Hello Milly."