Louisa looked at the boy skeptically and asked, “Would you not have to dig the gold out of the ground before you could put it in the boat—ship, I mean? I cannot picture admirals digging in the ground. If they do, I shall get someone else to take me all around.” “I guess you’re right, Jane,” he said. “So, maybe I’d better take you all over the world to sing. If I did, would I be able to get in free to hear you?” “Naturally; that would be part of our deal,” she replied. “You would be in charge of running the ship and finding the way by—you know—navigating, and all that; and I would dress up really pretty and do all the singing. You don’t sing, do you?” “Not very good,” he acknowledged, “but admirals don’t have to sing, do they?” Louisa sighed impatiently before replying, “Of course they do not have to sing, you silly goose! I imagine you could sing if you wanted to and if you were pretty good at it. But, I wouldn’t want you singing when you were supposed to be concentrating on running your ship. You do have to concentrate pretty hard, don’t you?” “Oh, yes!” Joel affirmed. “Sailing a big ship takes a lot of concentration—that’s why I want to be an admiral, because most people don’t know how to concentrate enough to sail a ship. But, I think I could do it, so that’s why I’m going to be an admiral. Aunt Ginny says I concentrate almost too much, and then I don’t answer when she asks me something. She says I’m going to grow out of it, though. By the time I grow up I’ll be able to concentrate just the right amount to be an admiral, she says.” “I should hope so,” Louisa remarked. Then she added, “So, what do you say? When we both grow up we shall get back in touch and by then you will be an admiral and I shall be a world famous star, and you can come and get me in your ship and take me all around and I will pay you a lot of money because I shall be a queen, or at least a princess. So, how about it?” “Well, okay, I guess,” he answered soberly. “Is that all?” she asked in exasperation. “What kind of a deal is that? I thought you would promise or something, or perhaps make a pact.” “Fine,” he said. “I can make a promise, but I’m not sure I know what a pack is.” “PACT!” she declared. “A pact is something like a promise only you write it down, I guess. Anyway, we don’t need to write it down as long as we trust each other. You do trust me, don’t you?” “Sure, I trust you. Why wouldn’t I trust you?” He felt a little anxious even as he said this. Did he look to Jane as if she couldn’t trust him? He wanted her to trust him, if nothing else. Louisa tilted her head to one side and thought a moment, then said, “I have it—we shall seal it with a kiss!” “Do I have to?” he asked. She was beginning to get impatient with him again, and asked, “Don’t you know anything, Boy? When you make a promise and you don’t want to make it a pact by writing it down, you have to seal it and, if it’s between a girl and a boy, you have to seal it with a kiss. Two girls can seal things with a kiss, especially on the cheek, but I guess two boys would have to write it down, or shake hands, perhaps. So, anyway, do you want to write it down or should we seal it with a kiss?” Appearing to be a bit confused, Joel asked, “On the cheeks, do you mean?” Placing her fists on her hips, Louisa cried, “No, no, of course not, silly, a girl and a boy seal a promise with a kiss on the lips—don’t you know anything?” He said, “Oh,” and just sat there. Louisa, deciding it would just have to be up to her to take the initiative and, placing her hands over Joel’s ears, planted a sweet little kiss directly on his mouth. He was stunned into dysfunction. Without warning, his entire world shifted. An altogether new perspective on life was thrust upon him in that brief instant. He felt as if he must start living all over again and try to establish a new point of reference. Never in his twelve years of life, to this juncture, had he been so unsure of anything. He was reduced to staring into those great, soft, dark eyes. “There,” she declared, “it’s all done, and neither of us can break the promise now. By the time we’re all grown up and ready to travel the world together, I shall be famous already and you won’t have any trouble finding me, so you can come and get me and I shall be ready. You had better not forget, Boy!” When she turned to walk away, her long, dark ponytail swung halfway around her. Joel watched her from behind as she took her short, dainty strides, until she turned the corner and was out of sight. Nevertheless, he tucked that last picture of her away securely in his memory. Henceforth he would, from time to time, see in his mind’s eye the long ponytail swinging to and fro, the pink ribbon that matched the pink sash of her dress, and those huge, soft, dark eyes flashing as she turned to leave him. But, more vividly still, would he experience the slightly moist, faintly fragrant, and heart-wrenchingly soft kiss.
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