A/N: Trying to plow through some industrial strength writer's block, put together this little ditty. The end of this piece is so syrupy, Diabetics be warned. ;)

January, 1945

His jacket is too short and his grin too wide. He runs through the double glass door, panting, his work boots covered in mud.

Great, another person who's decided to extend the New Year's celebration by another two weeks.

He removes the brown cap from his head. "'Scuse me, Miss., are you still open?"

No, I had tickets to the theater, but I decided to dilly dally around the Muskogee County Clerk's Office just in case you stopped by.

"Yes, sir! How may I help you today, sir?"

(Smile.) Not too wide, don't want him to get the wrong idea. Not that he's your type. Too rough, too weather-beaten. And those finger nails… Eww. Apparently Mr. Grin has not been formally introduced to Miss. Soap and Water. Although those muscles...

He takes another deep breath and moves towards the glass window, his grin is so big it's about to break his face.

Probably brews his own Moonshine too. (Stand at an angle), don't want to inhale those beer fumes.

"Hello, Miss. I need to ask a favor…"

Well, what a surprise, he's NOT drunk. Not a hint of alcohol on his breath. Is it normal for someone to be this happy and sober? Now, comes the fun part, guessing why he's here. Marriage? Nope, he seems too happy. Divorce? Nope, not happy enough. Death? Well, wouldn't be the first time someone waltzes in here with a grin on their face to file a death certificate. Birth?

"my wife just had a baby."

Ah, that's it, birth. Probably first born. Probably a son, probably named the little tyke after himself.

"You should see him, 9 lbs even! You wanna see a picture?"

Not really.

"Yes sir! I'd love to see a photo."

"Ain't he somethin'? I mean, I know I'm a bit biased, but come on, have you ever seen a better lookin' baby?"

Is his head supposed to be that big? Hmm, sorta ugly, ain't he?

"Aww, well ain't he just a little honey bee of a lamb! He's so adorable! I could eat him all up."

This crummy job doesn't pay nearly enough

"Sure caused his mama some problems in the delivery. Pretty long labor too. I wasn't there of course, but you know what? I'd put my wife against any heavy-weight champion in the world, she's amazin'."

Fascinating

"Oh my, my. (Put hand on heart). Bless her heart, sir, bless her heart! It was all worth it for that little apple-pie dumpling!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Oh, good he bought it. And people call Jennifer Jones an actress! Oh, he's still talking... Dear Lord, does this man ever shut up? Labor was probably a blast compared to listening to Mr. Grin ramble on and on.

"...Well, you see I was so excited, I didn't notice that the lovely nurse made a mistake on his birth certificate."

You missed something? I don't believe it.

"You see, I'm Darrel Shane Curtis, Sr. and my boy is supposed to be Darrel Shane Curtis, Jr."

Of course

"But, it seems like the nurse over at Tulsa General was a bit too fond of the typewriter, cause she added an extra "n" and an extra "y" to his name."

Wait, Tulsa? If Mr. Too-Wide-Grin wasted all of this time chit-chatting away when he was in the wrong place to begin with...

"Sir, this is Muskogee. If you want to change your son's birth certificate you'll have to go to Tulsa, where he was born."

(Don't roll eyes.)

"Oh, I know! You see, I don't want to change his birth certificate, I want to change mine. I would like to legally change my name to Darrel S-H-A-Y-N-N-E Curtis. I figured I come here to pick up a copy of my birth certificate so I can apply for a name change."

"Wait, you want to change your name, sir?"

"Yes, ma'am, you see, most fellas name their sons after themselves, but I know the score. My ship has long sailed. I work hard, love my wife and my baby, but I know I aint' nothin' to write home about. Heck, my wife didn't exactly marry Clark Gable. She coulda too, marry Clark Gable, I mean. She's incredible, smart as a whip, beautiful, funny as hel-heck. I mean, long labor and everything! Ain't that something? My boy, he's gonna be someone special one day, too. I mean, he's only one-week old and he's gotten me beat on looks, charm and intelligence! There ain't no one in the world I'd rather be named after."

Oh.

Wait, are those tears?

(Don't cry, don't cry).

Dammit.

"You'll have to excuse me, sir, this January cold gives me horrible allergies."

A/N S.E. Hinton owns/inspires

Jennifer Jones was an actress who won "Best Actress" at the 1944 Academy Awards

Darrel was named in honor of his Paternal Grandmother, Elizabeth Shane. The Shane family made a brief cameo appearance in Chapter 7 of my Mr. Curtis story "Both Horse & Driver"

Thank you for R&R :)