DISCLAIMER:
This is a fanfic story, therefore its goal is only recreational.
I dont claim any kind of right over the characters belonging to Ludo Studio, nor the of the lyrics transcribed here.
CHAPTER ONE.
"¿Mum? psssst! mum ¿are you awake?".
"I think she's not, Bingo. Oh! She's moving!".
Chilli gently moved herself to one side of the bed while opening her yet sleepy eyes, a loving smile appearing into her face at the sight of her two teenage daughters. "Morning girls", she said.
"MORNING MUM!! HAPPY ANIVERSARY!!", the two of them squealed and, giggling, proceeded to accommodate a bountiful breakfast tray in Chilli's lap while climbing onto the bed, leaving the mother snuggled between them.
"Ouch! Watch out! You are not so little anymore!", chuckled Chilli contentedly, then she sighed and said: "Thank you girls, this looks delicious!".
"Only the best for the best!", said Bluey snuggling her head into Chillis shoulder.
"And since this is your first wedding anniversary without dad, we decided to make it extra special, so well eat our brekky here in the bed with you!", said Bingo.
"Aww my sweet girls... yet, I cannot help but miss your dad!".
"We know it", said Bluey. "So ... we made a special arrangement", she continued while propelling her tablet, where an incoming call could be seen, into the bed coverings. "Oh! Is this an incoming call from London?!", she said with feigned curiosity, while Bingo let out a little squeal of excitement and Chilli held her breath.
THIS EPISODE OF BLUEY IS CALLED "WEDDING ANNIVERSARY".
"Hey babe!", said Bandit, lovingly looking at his wife in the screen. "Morning kiddos!".
"Bandit!!", exclaimed moved Chilli. "...But love... it's midnight in London! You must be awfully tired". "Not enough to miss out this chance to specially greet my one true love! … and my lovely daughters of course...".
"Aww!", cooed the three of them.
"Wait a sec... Bandit is that a breakfast tray?".
"Yup! Im eating brekky with you! Yet Im afraid that the prezzie I got ya must wait until tomorrow morning".
"Ow...no need to worry about it, love...", said Chilli lovingly.
"Ahem! Were still here do you remember?", said Bluey clearing her throat.
"But", Bingo interrupted looking reproachingly at her sister. "We can go out if you two need to be alone, lovey dovey birds!".
"No need for it right now, but tomorrow morning you shall leave your mum and I alone", said Bandit while shooting a seductive look to his wife, earning a smirk of a somewhat bashful Chilli. The girls just giggled.
The Heelers chatted away the first part of the morning, until Bandit was almost falling asleep over his now empty tray, so it was time to end the call.
"Thank you, girls! That was lovely...", said Chilly while hugging her daughters, "but now, there is plenty of work to do, this house is a mess!".
"Mhh...not really! We have already made ALL the house chores!", said Bingo wagging her tail.
"Yup!", commented Bluey, "we told you, we wanted to make it extra special!".
"Oh My!", said Chilli surprised, "so we have the whole morning for us?!".
"Yep!".
"Then, what about a little walk to the beach?".
"Hurray!", said the daughters.
The blue of the sea and the morning sky blurred into one at the horizon, and the warm sand called for relax, so that was what our three Heelers were doing, while resting very close to one another. Chilli was sunbathing, while Bluey got her snout deep into a book and Bingo listened to music on her earphones.
"Mum", said Bluey who had stopped reading.
"Yes?", answered Chilli.
"Dad always retells his version of how you two met, he does it every anniversary of yours, how come we had never heard your version of it?".
"Yeah!", interjected Bingo, "You said you two had met in a party in London, yet we have never heard about it...".
"Oh! Thats because my version of the story is one for a more... grown up audience, and your dad's one is really sweet any way".
"Oh! But I want to know yours!", Bluey begged.
"Yeah, me too! Besides, we are grown up now!", said Bingo smugly.
Chilly laughed at that and said: "Sixteen and Fourteen is very hardly grown up, honey! Yet ...", she added with a sigh, "... I must admit both of you ARE growing very fast ... maybe too fast for my liking", she ended with a hint of sadness. "Well, righto! You are mature enough to not get too shocked about your Parents's reckless youth, arent ya?!", she said while sitting.
The girls imitated her with curiosity in her faces and wagging tails. "Oh wait! Well need this!", said Bluey while extracting a thermo with tea and cups from her backpack.
Bingo smiled appreciatively "Oh! Beautiful!", she said.
"Well," Chilli began, "Your aunt Trixie and I had travelled to London for a work seminar. As you already know, I knew her at my first work, and we were staying at a rather nice hotel in the centre of the city. The thing is that, at one Fridays night, a girl we had met there invited us to her birthday party on a Club: The "Dancing Pony". It was only a couple of streets away from our hotel and it had a good reputation for its live music and bar, so we agreed to go..."
-TWENTY OR SO YEARS AGO:
"I think this is the club Chilli!".
"Defo looks like it is!", said Chilly looking at the sign of a dancing pony over the entrance. "I think I like the place already", she added, satisfied with the reference of the logo and name.
They were admitted by the bulldog guarding the door. Inside, an Indie Rock Band was playing among bright coloured lights. Chilli let her eyes get accustomed to the expected clubs darkness and found the place where their new friends were sitting and laughing.
The two newcomers greeted the birthdays girl and when they were about to sit, the guitarist of the band, a corgi, said at the microphone: "HEY!! WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY TODAY!!! Moon, the pretty lady on the fourth table, and her friends are celebrating her birthday in our humble place, so cheers to her!!!". All the people in the club cheered and clapped, yelling "Happy birthday!!".
He continued his speech saying: "So, we have a present for you all!!", everyone cheered again. "Exclusively for the people of the Dancing Pony: In the drums, this time also in the leading voice, our favourite Aussie, with a new song of his own. PhD. BANDIT HEELER!!!".
"Not a PhD yet!!" yelled a blue heeler behind the drums.
THE PRESENT:
"NOOOO WAYYYY!!!", said the two teenagers at the same time.
"Yup! Your dad was a rock musician in London", said Chilli in deadpan style.
"Oh, oh, oh, I have always thought our dad rocks, but this is a whole new level of rocking!", said Bluey to Bingo.
"Yeah! This is even literal! How come we had never heard of this before, mum?!".
"Well," said Chilli, "you two have never asked about it! Besides, the man is allowed to have his little secrets, after all, your dad IS a box of surprises!".
"But", said Bluey, "he doesnt even have a drum!".
"Yeah! We knew he could play the drums and sing, but to do it at the same time, in a rock band on London is just... rock star material!".
"Oh! And that he was, Bingo!", said Chilli, "defo rock star material! I still don't know how he didn't get famous and all that".
"Please mum, keep up the story telling!" begged Bluey.
THE PAST:
The lights on the scene changed his colours abruptly, and the Blue Heeler started to count: "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" and the band begun to play, while he sang:
"It's a couple's fight
Goin' into the night
I think it started at 6:30, this morning
Yeah, it's a couple's fight
We know it ain't right
It just came out of nowhere without warning (…)"
Trixi looked at Chilli and, smiling, she said: "Hey! He is kinda cute, don't ya think?!".
PRESENT:
"So ... That was the first time you saw our dad?".
"Yes".
"And what did you feel?".
PAST:
Chilli looked at the blue heeler and felt her heart going wild, enlarging and beating at the rhythm of the song. She was suddenly aware that she was holding her breath, enraptured looking at the drummer, and that her tail was all too happy wiggling madly on its own.
"CHILLI!", she heard her friend almost screaming over the music.
"WHAT?!"
"I TOLD YA HE IS KINDA CUTE!?".
Chilli had never saw a dog like him; so handsome, charismatic and energetic in such an attractive kind of way, and so she thought: "Kinda cute? Mate, Are you blind? He is a blue god of rhythm!!!"; therefore, she looked at Trixie and said: "Oh! He is a very good musician!".
PRESENT:
"Mum! What did you feel when you saw dad?!".
"Oh!", said Chilli leaving her reverie. "Well, I thought my heart was going to explode!".
The girls squealed in excitement, wagging their tails with happiness. "Was it love at first sight!?", Bingo asked expectantly.
Chilli thought for a couple of seconds and said: "No, it wasn't".
"¿! What?!", exclaimed the daughters. "But you said your heart was about to explode. I dont get it!", Bingo complained.
Chilli laughed tenderly, "Well, it was a very big crush at first sight, thats for sure!".
The two pups kept silence with their faces full of curiosity, waiting for an explanation.
"You two will do well in keep this in mind: To have a crush on someone, or to feel in love, it's not the same that TO LOVE. Love, the real thing, doesnt just pop up of thin air at the first sight of a handsome face!".
Chilli looked at the sea and closed her eyes for a second then, peacefully looking at the horizon, she continued: "True love is an unending quest in which youll find yourselves happier and wiser than before its beginning. True love is true commitment with the happiness and growth of your beloved, without having to renounce to your own dreams and essence, and true commitment with your common dreams and projects. To love truly is to laugh with your beloveds happiness and to cry his or her tears, and yet to be strong and kind enough to always had his or her back, not with overpowering but with trust and respect. Its to be humble enough to know that you have defects and therefore, to dont ask for perfection; knowing that even if you and your beloved have flaws as individuals, you are better when you are together... all that with heaps of romance!".
Both girls were silent, looking at the sea. Bingo with hope and tenderness, Bluey seriously pondering her mothers words. "Mum?", she said.
"Yes honey?".
"Can someone to truly love another and yet not to be loved back?".
Chili smiled softly, acknowledging the existence of another question, left unspoken by her firstborn. "Yes, that can be, true love however strong is not always reciprocated".
Bluey let out a little sigh, "What can be done about it?".
"Oh! Many things, but I think that the best is to let that person go and move on... for true love also means to truly respects the other ones feelings, so if his or her true happiness is not by your side, then thats the way it should be".
"But that would hurt a lot!", exclaimed Bluey.
"Yes, it would, but it would be true and good at the end".
Bingo looked at her mother and asked: "So mum, you and dad love each other THAT way?".
Chilli laughed contentedly, "Yes, we do!", she said.
"And it all begun with a crush!?".
"Yes, youll see, the way I see it there are two doors to true love: A crush that leads to romance, and then to knowledge of one another and true love and friendship, or a friendship that leads to romance and true love. You may have noticed that your dad and I are also best friends, true love also has a bit of friendship in its mix".
Bluey couldnt help but laugh and said, "I thought Pat was his best friend! Oh! He will be devastated!"
Chilli laughed as well, "Well he is his best buddy friend, while Im his romance best friend!!".
"So, what happened next?", asked Bingo, "you two started to romance then?". 4
Chilli smirked, "Almost", she said.
THE PAST:
The band finished the song and the guitarist, said to the public in a sultry voice: "As you can see for the lyrics, our Bandit is single, ladies!!!", and the female public cheered its approbation of it.
When the band begun to leave the dais, Trixie took Chillis hand and pulled her of her seat, "Cmon, lets say hello to the blue fella!!".
"What! Why?!".
"Ow! Cmon Chilli, why wouldnt we go to speak to a cute heeler?! You have never been this shy before!", insisted Trixie while guiding her friend to the place where the band members were.
"...Why would you pick that song if not, Bandit!?".
"Because it's a good one, Jam!!", said a little exasperated Bandit to the bassist, "and because Mina and I are nothing to each other since three geological eras ago, so be at peace about it!".
"Then tell me who dumped who!!".
"I will not!".
"Why?!".
"Because Im a gentleman, so, I do not discuss women in that way!".
"Bandit, I need to know!".
The blue heeler took a breath and looked at his friend into the eyes while putting a hand on his shoulder to say: "Look mate, I would have never picked up that song to play if there would have been any kind of feelings between she and me, she is serving the tables right now, for Gods sake! Our relationship was doomed to be a short one since its very beginning; now, I reckon you have a crush on her, so if you are so interested and want to know why we broke up, stop being such a chook and ask her directly!!".
For one short moment it seemed that the bassist has come to understand this, but then he asked again: "Tell me, Bandit!", at which statement the blue heeler and the rest of the band exclaimed "¡¡Awww, Jam!!". So, Bandit signalled to the keyboard player to come over and said: "Please Pearl, help me with your brother!!".
A tall wolfhound female came and said to Jam, "Stop this nonsense! You must take me home now to your niece, tomorrow I need to study anatomy and take care of her personally, so I need to sleep!".
"But I need to know!", said her brother.
"You need to know nothing, and you promised to take me home too, so lets get going!", intervened the guitarist.
"No!", insisted the bassist, "lets resolve this like gentlemen!".
"Aww boy!" said Bandit.
"Truth or dare!", dared his fellow musician.
"I won't do this!", exclaimed the blue heeler, "Its outrageous!".
"Oh! Cmon, you two best finish this quickly!", pressed Pearl with exasperation.
Bandit sighed with frustration and rolled his eyes. "Very well, Its dare then!".
"Stick up a finger on your nose and turn around three times!!".
"What??!".
"Please!!! Nobody will see you here! I need to go home to my baby!", insisted Pearl.
"Ok, lets do this. Only for your baby's sake, Pearl!".
So, Bandit sticked a finger on his nose and begun to turn around while counting every turn. "ONE, TWO and THREE!", and when he stopped, he froze, stunned for a vision.
PRESENT:
"NO! Then what you said was true?! I had thought it was a joke!", exclaimed Bluey.
"I believed he was only frozen when you met him!!, said Bingo while laughing.
"Well, there he was, with a finger stuck up in his nose!" said Chilli.
PAST:
The world seemed to stop, holding its breath along with Bandit, time and place blurred in an insignificant entity while he looked at her: the loveliest being ever. The club lights seemed to frame her in a warm halo, and the sparkle of the disco ball gave her fur a fairy like shimmering, but nothing of it could compare to the inner glow she possessed, and the elegance and beauty of her whole person, nor the kind glimmer of her intelligent eyes.
"... Cheese and crackers...", he murmured.
Then, the voice of another female broke the spell saying: "Eww! He is all yours, mate!!", and turned around leaving him alone with her, the most beautiful red heeler in the whole world, who happened to have saw him with a finger in his nose.
"CHEESE AND CRACKERS!!", he repeated when this realization hit him.
The red heeler looked at him somewhat appalled and begun to turn around, but he quickly said: "Please pretend I didnt just do that!!".
She stopped, "Is hard to unsee something like that", she replied.
"Nevertheless, please... give me a chance to make another first impression to you...", he pleaded.
Something in his voice tugged at Chillis heart, "OK", she conceded.
"Would you wait for me here if I go to wash my hands?", he asked somewhat timidly.
Chilli couldnt help but smile, "I will", she said.
Bandit ran to the bathroom and opened the tap; he washed his hands and splashed his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, and said to his reflection: "Mate, she is the most beautiful woman ever!!! I know you started awkwardly, but you can do this! Though it up, Bandit!".
When he returned, he couldn't see her immediately and thought she had gone, but then he saw her. "Hey!", he said. "You waited for me, thank you!".
"I said I would".
They smiled to each other in silence for an instant, neither of them knowing what to say. So, since they were beside a side table with drinks and all kind of appetizers destined for the staff, he offered her a cup of punch, which she accepted.
"So, Bandit Heeler not a PhD yet?",
"Yup! That's me", he said while popping a chilli into his mouth.
"Whoa! are you going to eat that raw?!", she exclaimed.
"Oh yes! I love Chili!"
She smirked widely and could not help but ask him, "Oh! Do you?!".
"Yup, I love Chilli, its hot and spicy, just the way I like it!".
PRESENT:
"What?! Thats outrageous!!", exclaimed Bluey while crossing her arms.
"I cant believe he said that!!", said Bingo while laughing wildly in the sand.
"How did you react, mum?".
"Very much like Bingo, Bluey!".
PAST:
Bandit was pleased to hear her laugh; it was a sound as free, contagious and musical as he had imagined, yet he couldnt help but feel somewhat confused. "Did I say something funny?".
"Yes and no", she answered catching up her breath. "By the way, my name is Chilli".
"Aww Man!", said Bandit flattening his ears, looking utterly defeated. "Im very sorry"- "No, please I'm sorry!", they said to each other at the same time.
"Did I offended you?", asked he.
"No! You did not, no worries please; I should be sorry to have laughed at you, could you forgive me?".
The blue heeler looked at her in the eyes, she was true. "Theres nothing to forgive", he said smiling, "any way I think I sucks at second impressions also".
"Aw, cmon you didn't know my name! Don't be so hard on yourself!".
At that moment, a very pretty English springer came to his side, not paying any heed to Chilli, "Hey drummer, do you want to dance?", said the newcomer to him.
"Oh! Im flattered, but not now. Thank you, maybe another time".
The springer got away with a somewhat bitter expression, and Chilli said to him, "Hey, you could have gone with her if you wanted to".
"Why would I? You are here!".
Chilli felt her heart to jump at these words of his, then he held his hand up to her to take, and when she took it, his touch provoked electric waves through all her being. "Nice to meet you Chilli, do you want to dance?", he asked to her softly.
"Show me to the dance floor", she said.
The music was slow and romantic at that moment, so they had to dance quite closely. They danced in silence, just observing and enjoying each other.
Bandit couldn't help but to notice how beautifully her hand fitted into his hand, and how perfectly her head would fit into his shoulder if she decided to recline on him. She couldn't help but to imagine how perfect it would be to be in his embrace, his size being just right for her to feel snuggled and yet not to look like a mouse at his side. Then he looked at her in the eyes, and she was amazed at how sweet and intense at the same time was his stare.
"You are a very good dancer, Chilli", he said with a smile.
With a smile matching his, she added: "And you are very good at third impressions, Bandit Heeler".
PRESENT:
"Aww! That's so romance!" Both girls said while sighing.
"Yes, it was!!", said Chilli, also sighing and smiling for the sweet memories she was recollecting.
"So, he corrected himself finally! I thought he would keep being awkward all the time", said Bluey.
"Dont be so hard on your dad, sweetie!", corrected Chilli, "besides, it's only natural to be a little bit awkward when you just met someone who you like, and then, it was my turn to be awfully awkward!".
"No way!", said Bingo, "you cant be awkward!".
"¿What?", said Chilli.
"Its just not on your nature", the youngest of them all continued. "You are always smooth, proper and perfect!".
"Aww! Sweet child of mine!" said Chilli hugging her, "Im only a woman just as any other! Besides I was young and in the company of my greatest crush ever, of course I was awkward! And irresponsible! So please, don't you ever do what I did!".
"What did you do?!" said Bluey waging her tail.
N.A:
Hope you had like it. Thanks for reading so far.
If you want to hear Bandit singing, go for the song "Couples fight", from Custard.
The song that Chilli and Bandit danced is "Wahooti Fandango", from the same band.
Reviews are very much appreciated.