DISCLAIMER: This licence isn't mine. The opinions express by the characters are not mine. I do not support nor encourage the illegal acts or words present here. I can make a distinction between fiction and reality and I trust in my readership's ability to do the same.

Chapter 48: Pie Family's Life

Strawberry Shortcake and Berrykin Bloom had noticed Blueberry Pie was not feeling well. To be totally honest, Strawberry Shortcake had guessed it even before Berrykin Bloom's warnings. Of course, it was normal that some children were a bit shy. After all, Blueberry Muffin herself was, when she was young. But she had never met a child as reserved and introverted as Blueberry Pie. And you can trust me when I say that Strawberry Shortcake was an expert in child psychology: in her eager to always make new friends, she had met tenth of children during her travels. Some of them were not quite loquacious, but most of the time, it was due to their isolation. When they were given the opportunity to meet potential new friends, all their discretion disappeared; and they became as cheerful and lively as the others.

But it was not the case for Blueberry Pie. She had everything she would need to be happy in Strawberryland: space for playing, birds singing in the air, no pollution, beautiful flowers. However, something was missing to Blueberry Pie, and this gap was visible in her attitude which often leaded her to shut herself away from the world. Sometimes, Strawberry Shortcake saw her looking at the twin princesses playing, her nut-brown eyes filled with envy.

-Go play with them, she nicely purposed her, but Blueberry Pie used to shake her head.

-I'm fine, she said; but her "I'm fine" sounded like "I'm not worthy of playing with them", and this lack of self-confidence particularly expressed itself when Blueberry Pie dared to approach the princesses', that is to say when she played the games they wanted to play. In a word, Blueberry Pie was locked in a prison she had herself built, but Strawberry Shortcake was not sure she could bring her the key. Maybe she was wrong? Maybe Blueberry Pie was not unhappy, but only had a berry solitary disposition? Anyway, at certain moments, Blueberry Pie forgot her shyness and shared the princesses' activities. She might know what was good for her, and did not need her advices.

The day he had fell ill, Berrykin Bloom had put a finger on Blueberry Pie's problem, thanks to the Princess Berrykin's observations: Blueberry Pie had understood she was unwanted. Without being sure of her parents' love, she did not dare to find her niche in a world where she was not supposed to be, and she was withdrawing into herself, as if she was wishing to disappear. And the only persons who would be able to reassure her were her parents.

Strawberry Shortcake had contacted first Blueberry Muffin: she was her mother, and maybe some mother/daughter activities could make the little girl feel better? Against all odds, Blueberry Muffin had refused: her studies were too time-consuming for coming to Strawberryland this week, but if Blueberry Pie was still free in three weeks, during her holidays, she would certainly do something for her. Meanwhile, Strawberry Shortcake could take care of her: she was so good for this kind of things, she was almost like a mother figure for her. She would certainly cheer Blueberry Pie up, faster and better than she would do.

In desperation, Strawberry Shortcake had called Huckleberry Pie for help, and he appeared to be much more cooperative than Blueberry Muffin.

-Of course, I can take her right now! He cried. "I'll handle things to find a babysitter for her when I'll be at work, but it will be okay. I'll put an extra mattress on my bedroom. I'll write her an absence note. Anyway, it doesn't matter to miss some days of kindergarten. I'm sure her teacher will understand."

Joy and impatience were so much spreading from Huckleberry Pie that Strawberry Shortcake could not say anything else, except promising him she would send him Blueberry Pie by the first train to Green Meadow Village. Blueberry Pie was exactly in the same state of mind. For a reason unknown by Strawberry Shortcake, the little girl was particularly pensive and worried, but when she heard she would have a vacation at her father, she jumped of joy, laughed and cried like all happy children used to do. During the rest of the afternoon, Strawberry Shortcake helped Blueberry Pie to pack her bags, and patiently listened at her telling all the wonderful activities she would do with her dad. The very night, they had to add in Blueberry Pie's luggage a mysterious letter from Berrykin Bloom.

In the train, Blueberry Pie was unable to stand still. From one side, she could not wait for seeing her father! Which surprises would he have planned for her? To the other side… she nervously fingered the letter Berrykin Daniel gave her. This letter did not seem official at all; in fact, it was only a sheet of paper, fold in four, and not even sealed. Blueberry Pie wondered what was written in it. As soon as the train had left the train station, she had tried to decipher it; but Berrykin Bloom's writing was so thin and narrow that she had not managed to do so: if she was well-versed in reading print characters, this clue remained unsolvable for her. But she could guess that if Berrykin Bloom had took the trouble to write this letter, if must be because he had things of the highest importance to share with her dad. And if – Blueberry Pie shivered – he wanted to tell him that he had fallen ill because of her? That he had been force to chase her in the middle of the night because she had fled the Café? She saw her father so rarely that she didn't want him to be mad at her. And what would happen to her if he was so angry that he sent her back to Strawberryland? What a shame it would be for her! But where else could she go? To her mother? She didn't even know were she lived! If her dad rejected her, she would wander on the roads, indefinitely, like the tramps of whom adventures she read at the Orange Mart. Maybe it would even be funny.

Fortunately for her, none of her fears became reality. Her dad was waiting for her, at Green Meadow Village's train station, a large smile on his face, and when she got off the train, he embraced her and kissed her with so much passion that the little girl chuckled, imagining he was an ogre who was going to gulp her up. When she shyly handed him the letter, he hardly glanced at it.

-This paperwork can wait, he said. "Come and discover your new house!"

It was the first time Blueberry Pie slept at Huckleberry Pie's house. In fact, it was not a house, it was a flat. To be totally honest, it was more a studio than a flat. Well, I say studio, but it had anything in common with Plum Pudding's studio. The term "garret room" would be the most appropriate. Huckleberry Pie used to make as many saving as possible, in prevision of the day he would be wealthy enough for buying his own house, with a big garden and at least three rooms (why should Blueberry Pie stay an only child?). His last misfortunes had taught him it was always better to have your own belonging. For the moment, the room in which he was greeting Blueberry Pie was the exact opposite of his dream house. He had made the effort to do the washing-up and to take the trash out, but some piles of clothes were still on the floor, and his rudimentary furniture were as well covered with dust as animals' hair.

-I know this is not quite luxurious, Huckleberry Pie had said, a bit embarrassed. He knew that his daughter used to live at Strawberry Shortcake, in a berry elegant Café were the tables and the floor could be used as mirrors and were it was impossible to find the least fingerprint on the windows.

-It's the best house I've never seen! Blueberry Pie cried, jumping on the bed.

Her dad could not offer her all the comfort she had in Strawberryland, were she had her own bedroom and were the kitchen and the living room were two separated rooms. Anyway, it was in green Meadow Village she felt the most at ease, because her dad was with her. This night, in her guest bed, Blueberry Pie had the fantasy of imagining being a princess holding captive with the king, her father. Of course, she manages to flee with him, and then she rescued the whole kingdom. She was full of assertiveness, and when someone teased her or criticized her, she put him back in his place thanks to her incredible repartee… or her sword. In this kingdom, everybody loved her, and she never, never felt like she was not at the right place.

The next morning, Huckleberry Pie having been caught on the hop, he remembered he had no one to take care of Blueberry Pie. In desperation, he turned to the only one who seemed to have solutions for every problem: Sister Pudding.

-It's a long story. Let's say I'm greeting Blueberry Pie, but I'm not sure I can take some days-off for her, and I haven't found a babysitter yet. Would you know someone who would do me this favor?

-This person is standing just in front of you, brother. The other sisters and me used to guest little children who hadn't got everything they needed from Providence since their birth. Maybe Blueberry Pie could join them, exceptionally, today?

Huckleberry Pie thanked her a thousand times and entrusted her Blueberry Pie, who was not quite at ease to be in front of a such big building like the convent, and without her father.

-Listen, little Blue, consider this is just a day-care center, right? I'll be back tonight. You will be berry nice with the sisters, won't you? I have to go now. Have a nice day, sweetheart!

Blueberry Pie did not really enjoy her stay at the convent. First of all, the building itself had not been imagined for hosting children: with its high roofs and its narrow windows, its rooms were fresh and gloomy. It reminded Blueberry Pie some of the horror stories she had read, and she was not particularly keen to come face to face with the tricentenary ghost of an austere nun. Well, let's talk about the sisters! With their long dresses and their white headdress, they silently walked through the ambulatories and the gardens, sometimes humming psalms addressed to Mother Earth, they looked like unreal figures from an old fairy tale book, who would vanish if their universe was disturbed. Their spectral presence seemed to be there to prevent the children from running, from talking too loudly, from forgetting they were in a cloistered convent; in a word, to prevent them from playing.

Sister Pudding was very nice, and Blueberry Pie agreed with being nice with her; however, she could not imagine she was a second mother for her. First of all, her dad called her "sister", and she called him "brother", and so Blueberry Pie could not consider her more than a kind of aunt. The other reason was Sister Pudding was not for Blueberry Pie what her dad was, that is to say fully available for her. In the eyes of her dad, she felt like she was the most precious of all the treasures. The sisters had too many persons to take care of to do favoritism. They all loved them equally, and Blueberry Pie felt, once more, invisible in the middle of all the other children.

Indeed, the other children themselves were the reason for which Blueberry Pie did not feel at ease. She had perfectly understood she was privileged in comparison to them. In the morning, a little girl had asked her: "What happened to you?", and she had answered the whole truth: "My dad had to work, so he let me here for the day." The little girl had said: "You are so lucky to have a dad", and she had seemed extremely sad after this exchange. This convent was for helpless children who had nowhere else to go. She, she had both a home in Strawberryland and in Green Meadow Village, a mom, a dad, and as many host families there were inhabitants in Strawberryland. With that, how could she accost them? Every "Hello" she would say to them would sound like "Let me tell you how luckier than you I am", she thought. Every child would surely reject her, she thought, too. They would shout at her: "Shift yourself!" if she approached them. They would push her, insult her, spit on her. The silence into which Blueberry Pie withdrawn was the best armor she had found, and she used it even before suffering with the attacks she had imagined. During the activities purposed by the sisters, Blueberry Pie "religiously" stayed buried in her work, laconically answering the questions her classmates asked her.

-Maybe she's hard of hearing, a kid said.

-Maybe she's unable to speak, another one guessed.

When Huckleberry Pie picked her up, at night, Blueberry Pie threw herself into his arms and held on tiny to him, as if she was saying: "Promise me you'll never leave me again".

-Have you been well-behaved? He asked her.

Blueberry Pie silently nodded.

-Blueberry Pie had been so discreet one would have hardly noticed her presence, said the sister who was waiting with her at the door. "She did not cause any trouble."

Of course, the nun only wanted to praise Blueberry Pie, but her words made Huckleberry Pie understood something had been wrong with his daughter.

-Thank you for your help, again, ma'am. I promise it won't happen again. Let's go home now, all right sweetie?

Going back home, Huckleberry Pie, his "Little Blue" and his dog Tom Tom slowly walked on the streets. The sun was still shining, and the air was full of the murmur of the villagers' activities which hadn't die down yet.

-Little Blue, Huckleberry Pie said, "We need to talk about this letter."

Blueberry Pie felt a lump in her throat. Her dad had abandoned her during a full day, and now he was mad at her.

Huckleberry Pie had tried to read Berrykin Bloom's letter before going to work, but the Berrykin's writing was so tiny that he had been forced to borrow magnifying glass from his boss to decipher it. The old gardener was extremely frank: he didn't hide any details of Blueberry Pie's gateway, and he summarized the talk they had had, in the train station. In brief, Huckleberry Pie had learnt that his daughter missed him, that she felt out of favor, and that she wondered if she was at her niche, or if she was a burden which should disappear. He ended by insisting on her need to have concrete answers to her interrogations, and the necessity to talk with her about her parents' remoteness.

-You ran away from the Café, right? Huckleberry softly said.

With tears in her eyes, Blueberry Pie nodded, waiting for her punishment.

-This is extremely dangerous to wander all alone on the dark, Huckleberry Pie said. "You could get lost, being attacked by nocturnal animals, or being in hypothermia. Never do it again."

Blueberry Pie could hardly believe it was over. She had disobeyed, took many risks, but her dad did not even sound angry! His voice was extremely neutral, as if he was asking her to go to the bakery and buy a loaf. It was beyond understanding.

While she was trying to guess the reasons for which her father had stayed so relaxed when he had learnt all her naughtiness, their walk had leaded them to a little park. They entered it, and, when Tom Tom was yapping and running after the sparrows, Huckleberry Pie sat down on a bench and invited his Little Blue to do the same. During a moment, they stayed together, staring at Tom Tom and at the others children playing on the swings.

Then Huckleberry Pie broke the silence.

-You feel alone in Strawberryland, do you? He asked.

-Yes, Blueberry Pie muttered.

Huckleberry Pie gently leaned toward her.

-May I tell you a secret? I often feel alone, too, without you.

Blueberry Pie stayed speechless, out of astonishment. She could not believe what she had heard. Her dad disliked to be far of her, too? So, why didn't he change the situation? Grown-ups could do everything they wanted, couldn't they?

-Kids like you have to obey to some rules, and, unfortunately, grown-ups too, Huckleberry Pie explained. "These rules force me to live in Green Meadow Village, in this small bedroom, because I have to earn money with my job at the Pet Shop. Really, I dislike to let you all alone, so far from me, but I have no other choice."

-Berrykin Bloom told me you had no money at all when I was a baby, Blueberry Pie said, a bit preoccupied. "He said you hadn't even a house."

Huckleberry Pie tried to control the rush of shame surrounding him. Learning that the old Berrykin had told his daughter about the less glorious part of his life was similar to a real betrayal. More than a betrayal, it was like a stab in the back… a stab in the credibility he had regarding his daughter. During these last three years, he had done his best to become a trustworthy father for his Little Blue… And Berrykin Bloom had spoiled everything, in the space of a few words.

-He's right, Huckleberry Pie admitted, "But he had forgotten the biggest part of the story."

Maybe he could still rebuild a part of the esteem Little Blue had for him?

-After your birth, I decided I would start all over again, he added. "It had been extremely difficult, and Sister Pudding helped me a lot. Well, imagine you want to build a huge castle, right? At the beginning, you only have cubes, mixed on the floor. You have to pick them up, one by one, and to guess where you have to place them in order to make the shape of the castle. Do you understand? Once the castle is over, well, you can live in it."

-Is your castle almost over?

-Uh… Let's say I finished the foundations.

Blueberry Pie sighed with a lot of annoyance. She had been waiting since her birth, and her dad told her she still had to wait for an eternity!

-Hey, what do they say at the end of the fairy tales?

-"They lived happily ever after", the little girl grumbled.

-Our story won't end this way, Huckleberry Pie declared.

Blueberry Pie winced, too shocked to say something. Her dad said he didn't love her?

-Let's rather say "They live happily right now", don't you think?

Blueberry Pie sent him a large smile, but, inside, she knew that if she was delighted at this moment, she would be back to monotony in a few days, in Strawberryland, at school, and her dad at work.

-Why is your smile so sad? You think about your return in Strawberryland?

Blueberry Pie sighed.

-"Out of sight, out of mind", they said, Huckleberry Pie declared. "I don't believe it. Each day I spent at the Pet Shop, when I'm tired or fed up, I think: "The salary I earn here will let me buy a dream house for my daughter and I". I think of you every day, Little Blue. I will never forget you."

-And mum?

-Mum? Of course, she will live with us… If she reminds us, he thought.

There was a silence again.

-Dad? Blueberry Pie softly called.

-Yes, darling?

-Did Berrykin Bloom tell you he is sick because of me in his letter?

-He doesn't. What happened? He only told me I shouldn't be mad at you after your escape.

-When I ran away, he followed me and he fell into the lake, and now he has a common cold, Blueberry Pie muttered.

She looked so distressed that Huckleberry Pie understood she needed more than everything else to be told she was not a bad person.

-It's his fault, too, isn't it? He asked with a mischievous air. "If he had opened his eyes, he would have bypassed the lake. And a common cold is not that serious, he'll be fine in no time."

Huckleberry Pie looked at his daughter in the eyes.

-The most important is your sadness. You were so sad you had turn crazy, and you though anyone loved you anymore. The real point is to make sure you will never bee so sad again. And - he winked at her - "During this exemptional holydays, I'll show you that you can't have doubts over my love for you".

Blueberry Pie nestled against her father, who was so often as childish as her:

-How do you love me?

-Can you see the fir tree, over there? My love for you is even bigger than it.

-Even bigger than the distance from us to the kiosk, on the other side of the tree?

-Even bigger than the space between the ground and the sky!

-If I ran away again, or if… I stole candies at the Mart, would you still love me?

-Forever and ever, sweetheart.

The day Huckleberry Pie had left his Little Blue at the convent, he had been so absent-minded at work that his boss had been forced to ask him what was wrong with him.

-I'm hosting… my daughter, Huckleberry Pie had said.

Anyway, he was a grown man, and his daughter was too precious for him to be hidden, like a shameful secret.

-Oh? I didn't know you had a daughter (In fact, his boss didn't even know he had a girlfriend). Is she going to live in Green Meadow Village?

-Not really. She's only spending some holydays here.

-So, who takes care of her when you're here?

-For the moment, she's at Sister Pudding, Huckleberry had admitted.

-Sister Pudding from the convent? They're running a day care, now, in addition to all their charities?

-… In fact, she's staying with the children taking benefit of these charities.

-…? I'm not sure she's having a lot of fun there.

-I know, Huckleberry Pie had said, totally discouraged, "But no one else can look after her."

The boss had stayed thoughtful for a moment, until a good idea had germinated in her mind. After all, by dint of taking care of animals and finding them loving families, she had turned extremely altruistic.

-Is she a quiet little girl?

-The quietest student of her whole class!

-Do you think she would like to stay with you at the Pet Shop?

Huckleberry had been knocked for six, to such an extend he hadn't been even able to articulate his thanks to his wise boss.

The day following their conversation in the park, Blueberry Pie had the joy to be her dad's assistant, a job she would occupy for as long as she would want.

Blueberry Pie adored taking care of the adorable hairballs of the Pet Shop. In a way, they were just like her: shivering, frightened, and desperately needing for someone wo would cuddle them. Cleaning their litters, filling their dish, brushing their furs… As many activities Blueberry Pie did everyday with the biggest fastidiousness: she was the only one in charge of those helpless animals, the one on which their comfort and wellbeing depended. The one time she was the most powerful of all… It was quite exiting to be a kind of god for the homeless animals, to be the hand that provided them food and cares. Sometimes, Blueberry Pie thought, with heartache, about the Sunday night when she would have to leave her dad, the Pet Shop, and all her little protégés. But when the fatal hour came… Strawberry Shortcake called Huckleberry Pie to announce him Berrykin Bloom was not feeling better, and that he would not be able to look after Blueberry Pie for the following days.

-She's staying with me! Huckleberry Pie declared.

-And what about school? Strawberry asked.

-Anyway, I've always thought that too much instruction is harmful. It makes you turn into a braggard, insupportable show-off.

After their day at the Pet Shop, Huckleberry and Little Blue walked Tom Tom in the park, played football with the leaves, gazed at the sunset, or simply watched a movie on the television, together in the sofa.

However, they both knew they were only postponing their separation. This is why, in great secret, Huckleberry Pie phoned to Strawberry Shortcake to know if she would agree in having a new lodger in her Café. A berry peculiar lodger, to tell her the truth, the kind who had hair everywhere and four paws.

-I truly think Little Blue needs something to reminds her of me, he said. "Maybe a little friend could help her? We've already talked about it together, and she showed me at the Pet Shop she was enough sensible to properly take care of it."

Strawberry Shortcake looked at it with a favorable eye. She herself loved animals, and Pupcake and Custard were now too old to have a fight with the newcomer.

During her last day in the Pet Shop, Blueberry Pie did not work: she chose her new pet with her father, under the kindly eyes of their boss. Why not a dog? They were Huckleberry pie's favorite animals, but he knew them too much for forgetting they needed a strict training Blueberry Pie was still too young to give them. So, a cat? Cats were less fidgety than dogs, but they were also extremely independent, and would be quickly tired of Blueberry Pie's strokes. Golden fishes were not that cuddly. Mice and rats seemed to be good companions, but their short life expectancy threatened to break Little Blue's heart… Ferrets were clever and playful, but they used to bite. Guinea Pigs were extremely social and needed to be adopted by pair, however Strawberry had said yes for one newcomer, and not for troop… (and what if Little Blue accidentally adopted a couple? She would start her own Pet Shop!). Birds were too likely to fly away. Turtles were too lazy. But, after this long inspection, Blueberry Pie discovered, in the last cage, a shy little bobble. She carefully put it in her hand and the bobble folded down, unveiling two glimmering black eyes, a curious snout, and two wiggling small ears. The hairballs' nostrils immediately jittered, eager to discover its new friend, and Blueberry Pie immediately understood it was this one.

-It's a dwarf rabbit, the boss said.

-He's so cute, Blueberry Pie muttered, to not scare the little thing. How could he stay all alone in a cage? How could the customers ignore this little rabbit, as fluffy as a cotton candy? She slowly petted it. His fur was not rough like Tom Tom's one. It was soft to the tough, like satin.

-Hey, I think Little Blue is taking with this one! What do you think of it, mister Pie? Do you think her landlord will agree with it?

-Sure!

-How could I call you? Blueberry Pie asked her new best friend. "What about Fluffball? Cloudy? Snowball? Candy? Which name would you prefer?"

On Wednesday, when Blueberry Pie came back in Strawberryland, she was not feeling blue. A new life was starting for her, the little girl who no longer doubted about her father's love and no longer needed to beg for attention. She was caring her baby, Ice Milk, on her knees, a tiny, vulnerable dwarf rabbit she would protect and love since that day.

Huckleberry Pie, too, wanted to start a new life. That's very well to be a single father, but he had understood his daughter suffered of this situation. And he could not stop thinking about Blueberry Muffin. Had she really forgotten their daughter? What was she doing? What did she think of him? And him, what did he thought of her? Hatred? Scorn? Disappointment? … Was their long friendship over? Anyway, could they be more than friends, or would he have to find another girl who would play the mom for his daughter?

In her confined room in the Berry Big City, Blueberry Muffin could not stop thinking about her daughter. The year she was pregnant, she had fled the college before her pregnancy got visible; and when her classmates asked her why she was gone, she simply answered she had health trouble. In a way, it was true. If the questions became too intrusive, Blueberry Muffin retorted she did not want to talk about it. The other girls were enough impressed by disease for insisting. In college, no one knew about Blueberry Pie, as if she didn't exist. It arranged her. She could pretend she was like all her classmates. She could keep up appearances, but deep down she wasn't satisfied. When Blueberry Pie was still a baby, Blueberry Muffin had felt a kind of strong revulsion against her. She reminded her too much her faults, her sins, her mistakes. At the end, her revulsion had come to a point she could not even stand to hear or touch her baby. But what could she do? Asking her friend for help? Impossible! What would they have thought of her? They would have said she was a monster for rejecting her own, innocent baby! So, Blueberry Muffin had fled. Fleeing seemed to be the last option before hurting her baby. She had come back to school. But, after some time, she had accepted Blueberry Pie. Maybe she was idealizing her memory, but anyway she had regretted to have left her all alone. But once more, she had been stopped by her amour-propre. She had tried to imagined her return in Strawberryland. "Hello everybody, it's me, Blueberry Muffin, I'm here to get my daughter I abandoned when she was a couple of months old". The other girls would certainly have kicked her out, without her baby. So, she had stayed in Berry Big City, where she could see her daughter surrounded by other people who knew how to take care of them, and turning one, two, three, on her own. She knew her voice, her high-pitched, drawling voice; and she knew about her personality thanks to her report cards; but it broke her heart to see this little being, the flesh of her flesh, did not need her.

This night, when she recognized Huckleberry Pie's number on her ringing phone, she clearly hesitated before picking it up. Was he going to make her new reproaches? But maybe something was wrong with Blueberry Pie, and she needed to know it.

Blueberry Pie was alright, and Huckleberry Pie only seemed desirous to exchange platitudes with her.

-Well, Huck, she said, "I like you, but if there's nothing else you want to tell me…"

In fact, it was just an icebreaker. What Huckleberry Pie wanted was much more serious.

-When will you finish your studies?

-I repeated my freshwoman year, so I'm in junior year and I'll have my bachelor next year. But I think I'll make a master, after that, so it'll take me two more years.

-And what will you do after that?

-I'll work. Huck, what's the-

-Blueberry, I think our daughter needs both of us, for her sanity.

-… what do you mean?

-She's wondering why she hasn't got a father and a mother, and if we abandoned her, and… so many other questions like that in her little skull. She really needs you, Blueberry!

Strawberry Shortcake was gifted with an extraordinary resilience and could forgive to everyone who had hurt her, but Blueberry Muffin was not sure it would be the case for Blueberry Pie. What could she tell her? What could she invent to justify her absence, for the past three years?

-Huck, I've heard you're doing fine with her. What do you purpose?

-I wonder if… we shouldn't… live together.

Blueberry Muffin's saliva went down the wrong way, and Huckleberry heard her coughing for a long time through the handset.

-You mean… me? Live with you?

Blueberry Muffin didn't know how to say Huckleberry Pie she was not even sure she loved him as a friend or as a lover.

-Yes, Blueberry. I know it's a bit… hasty, but… I think we should test it. Just to give Blueberry Pie the family she dreams to have. Maybe it will work.

-I don't know, Huck. It's… We're not even engaged!

-Please, Blueberry Muffin, promise me you will seriously think about it. If you don't do it for me, do it for our daughter's sake.

To be continued…