“How do you feel now, Ivan?” asked Carey.

“Shell shocked, if you’ll pardon the pun,” said Ivan, “If Mrs L had eaten me before I found the Calling Shell, then Amy and I would never have had this reunion today. I’m so glad to see you again and remember you, Amy.”

“If I could have eaten you forever, I would have,” said Amy, “I don’t know if I should just pick up where we were as 14 year olds.”

“I don’t mind that you wanted to do that. I love you, Amy. I think we were meant to be together, and were kept away from each other for years, because we let things be decided by a painful problem outside of our control. I wish I’d kept my memory of you, so that I could come back once the Calling Shell had made me safe from your belly’s more lasting effects. You won’t be able to find more male Ocean Mites easily, but you can eat me as many times as you like, and I’ll always be OK in the end. So you don’t need to feel bad.”

“I suppose that’s a really good thing,” said Amy, “But your problem was only outside of your control. If I had found and caught you when we were 14, I would still have been able to decide whether we went on dating or whether you went down the hatch, and you know exactly what I would have decided.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t do it now, but if you don’t want me, then I want Carey and the Sea Sapphire to make me forget again. It’s too painful knowing about you if I can’t be with you.”

“And you’d really be happy to be an endless supply of undigested meals for me?”

“Of course I would. Even if your Mom ever found me and ate me, I’d still get safely back to the shell.”

“Let’s go home,” said Amy.

“I’ll tell nobody,” said Carey.

Amy took Ivan to her own home, with the knowledge that her Mom still lived close by, and then put the shell down on the floor.

“I’m really touched by your devotion to me,” she said, placing him on a stool to look at her, “But you’ve overlooked one thing.”

She jumped into the air, and brought her full body weight down, stamping both feet hard onto the shell. He instantly understood her reasoning. With the shell destroyed, he would be at the mercy of her belly with no round trip available.

But the shell wouldn’t break.

“It’s indestructible,” he said, “And it still works.”

“Let’s put it to the test,” said Amy, and she suddenly picked him up and dropped him into her mouth and swallowed him without taking any time to enjoy the taste.

He soon emerged from the shell and smiled up at her.

“I guess you’re stuck with me,” he said, “I know I still want to be stuck with you.”

The next time the beach was deserted, Amy took him down and let him have a head start in the water. He dived in and swam out and into the depths. Soon he saw the beautiful Surfergirl diving in after him, with a phenomenal size advantage, and yet no ability to breathe. He knew that she could gulp in a volume of air, which much exceeded the space occupied by his own body. She pursued him underwater until she caught him, and then took him home and ate him.

They played this game on several occasions, and he became more adept at using seaweed and other underwater growths to evade her for a while. In the end, he enjoyed being caught and teased and eaten.