Tomorrow was February 14th. Valentine's Day. And Courage still had no Valentine to share it with. He had spent all morning wracking his brain for names. He was determined to not spend another Valentine's day alone, but the longer he spent trying to think of someone to ask, the more he realized what a hopeless endeavor it would be.
He didn't really know anybody to begin with, and those he did know weren't exactly Valentine material. By noon, the only option he had come up with was Shirley. He knew better than to ask her though. He knew she'd reject him, and Courage also knew that he'd probably continue to need her help whenever some supernatural threat came along and threatened his cozy life on the farm. He didn't want to make things between them awkward when he knew he couldn't avoid encountering her forever.
"Courage!" Muriel called from the kitchen. "Would you like to come help me make lunch?"
Courage drowsily lifted his head at the call. He had been laying in Muriel's old rocking chair, thinking. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed Eustace get up out of his own chair to join Muriel in the kitchen.
Somewhat drowsy, Courage slunk out of his comfortable seat to go help Muriel. He rubbed his eyes to try and wake himself up a little, then he walked through the doorway and into the kitchen. There, he was greeted by a smiling Muriel. Eustace could be seen sitting at the table, frowning like always.
"Ah. there you are, Courage!" Muriel continued to smile brightly. "Could you be a dear and get the salami out of the fridge for me?"
"Mmmm-hmmmm," Courage nodded enthusiastically, wagging his tail in delight. If there was anything he loved to do the most, it was helping Muriel around the farm. Be it chores, cooking, or tending the hen-house, Courage took great joy in it all.
Lunch went by rather quickly, and Courage was thankful for the distraction. He had spent too much of his morning over-thinking about tomorrow, and it had left him feeling a little depressed.
His thoughts began to wander again as he helped Muriel clean up. What was he going to do? He wanted so much to have someone to spend Valentine's day with, but he had no-one to ask. Muriel had several friends from town that had pets, but they had always been so mean to him. It wasn't until he had settled down in the living room on Muriel's lap that a thought suddenly came to him.
What about the computer up in the attic? Sure, that old machine was close to unbearable, but he would be better than nobody.
Then Courage's mind started to buzz. Computer was probably lonely too, being stuck in that attic all alone. The only time Courage ever went up there to talk to him was when he needed his help, and even then he always kept the discussion to a minimum.
The more he thought about it, the more he began to feel sorry for the poor old computer. What would it be like to be stuck as an immobile machine 24/7? Courage didn't want to know. Perhaps Computer was just bitter. Bitter that he was never treated with the respect that any other person deserves. That would explain a large portion of his attitude. Courage suddenly felt guilty. It wouldn't hurt to start treating him better... would it? He became resolute; he was going to ask Computer out for Valentine's, no matter what his response may be. And even if Computer rejected him, he would still make it a point to visit him more often.
With his mind having been put at ease for the time being, he allowed himself to drift off to the squeak of Muriel's chair as she rocked back and forth. He'd have plenty of time after dinner to come up with a plan.
. . . . . . . .
Courage walked up and down the flower isle, unsure of which arrangement to choose. After dinner, he had managed to sneak away in Eustace's truck and went to town in search of an appropriate gift. Being as close to Valentines day as it was, there was pink and red decorations in the windows of nearly every store he looked at. He'd already spent nearly twenty minutes looking at all the colorful decorations that had been set up, and now a new sense of despair overwhelmed him.
What kind of gifts would a computer like, anyway? If any at all? He knew to avoid foodstuffs like chocolate, given that a computer couldn't appreciate something like that to begin with. But as he continued to stare at barrage of color in front of him, he couldn't help but feel that he had made a calculated mistake.
"Ooooooooh, this is useless!" He whimpered, pulling at his ears in frustration.
This was impossible! There was absolutely nothing that Computer would like here! Then Courage remembered that Computer probably didn't like anything in the first place. Given his sarcastic attitude, he'd probably laugh and shrug him off whether he liked the gift or not.
Feeling somewhat reassured by this thought, Courage decided that he would try flowers after all. Instead of going for one of the bright and eye-catching arrangements, he went to look for more muted colors. Something more toned-down, yet still sophisticated. He finally settled on a bouquet of dull blue. Unsurprisingly, It had been hard to find amongst all the bright reds and pinks. It was also fake, as Courage quickly realized when he pulled it off its stand. The little blue blossoms smelled more like dust and chemicals than they did pollen, and the paper they were wrapped in felt a little worn. Still, he couldn't help the extra wind in his paws that he felt upon seeing it.
He ran to the checkout with renewed vigor, clutching his attic-bound bouquet in his paws and smiling like an idiot the whole way.
"Blue, huh?" Asked the shopkeeper rather boredly.
Courage nodded. He felt his stomach flip as his initial excitement began to melt away into anxiety. He felt his smile fade as he handed the flowers to the woman.
"Your girl likes blue, huh?" The shopkeeper said as she searched for the bar-code on the tag.
Courage nodded again. It was a lie, but that didn't matter. He wasn't sure if Computer even had a gender, but he was fairly certain it wasn't female.
Finally, the woman handed him the flowers back along with the receipt.
"Well, you two have fun now!" She dropped her bored tone for just a second and waved to him as he turned to leave.
Courage waved back to her as he exited the store. Making the trek back to Eustace's truck, Courage let out a sigh of relief. The first part of this whole ordeal was done! Despite this, the anxiety he had felt at the store had not gone away. In fact, it was getting stronger by the second. Courage frowned.
On the drive home, he let his thoughts consume him. How was he even going to present these to him? He had been wondering how he might solve this problem all evening, but to no avail. What would he say? How could he pull this off without making a fool of himself? Such a thing was not possible. He knew that the machine would mock him no matter what. He couldn't say he was looking forward to it, but he wanted to do something nice for a change. This wasn't even about Valentine's day anymore. He had dredged up guilt he didn't even know he had over the way he had neglected his computer over the years, and he wanted to make up for it. If that meant putting up with his less-than-pleasant disposition, then so be it.
He stepped on the brakes as the farm came into view. Slowing to a stop, he pulled the keys out of the ignition. He reached for the door handle and paused. A light bulb lit up in his head as an idea came to him. Of course, it was nothing genius, but it was a start. He felt his heart flutter again and swallowed. It dawned on him that this issue was probably the cause of his anxiety. No matter. He'd worry about it more tomorrow.
As he climbed out of the truck, he looked up at the sky and noted that the sun had just set, leaving orange and red streaks fading out along the horizon as darkness closed in overhead. Funny; he hadn't even noticed the difference before now. It had been light outside when he left the store. Courage yawned, reaching his arms up into the air in a stretch. He felt an odd strain in the back of his eyes. Perhaps he'd go to bed early tonight. His heart leaped yet again at the thought of what tomorrow had in store for him, but he crushed it in one fell swoop. He'd worry when the time came.
. . . . . . . .
It was close to noon when Muriel finally woke him. He was surprised that he had slept so long despite his early retiring last night.
Courage stretched and yawned. His stomach then growled loud enough to rival an angry tiger. He clutched his abdomen and grinned sheepishly.
"Eheheheheeee!"
After joining his owners for a late breakfast, Courage decided it was time.
He hopped up the stairs in his bouncy, dog-like fashion. The flowers had been hidden under the old couple's bed the previous night, and as Courage reached his paw under the bed-skirt for them he felt his fear bubble up once more. No, no, no! Knock it off! It's just Valentine's day! All he had to do was present the flowers, get rejected, and go on his merry way! That's all. No more, no less!
Courage put a paw to his face and sighed. That was no way to think. He could hardly help it, though. Computer always seemed to bring out the worst in him, somehow.
Clutching the bouquet in his paws, Courage walked down the hallway to the attic. Why, oh why had he thought this was a good idea? The flowers had already been bought. There was no going back now.
And then Courage remembered why he was doing this in the first place. Some of his eagerness seemed to return to him. Smiling, he turned the knob and walked inside.
The attic looked as it always had. Mostly devoid of contents, excluding the retro 80's computer sitting on a rickety old wooden desk in the corner of the room. An unused lamp sat beside it. The chair still had the bucket Courage always used for extra height sitting on it from last time Courage had been up here. He walked up and hopped onto the chair, hiding the bouquet behind his back.
The screen was dark. Courage didn't remember turning Computer off, so he assumed that he had overheated or something and crashed. He felt a pang of guilt at the thought. It was yet another example of the mistreatment Courage had put him through over the years.
Courage flicked the power switch to 'on' with his free hand. He watched as the screen flickered to life, revealing a bluish-green backdrop.
"What are you doing here?" Came the dryly accented voice.
The very sound of it almost made Courage blush against his will. He had always liked the machine's voice. It had an authoritative air to it that helped to calm him down during his panic under the normal circumstances he was up here. And on top of all that, it just sounded nice. Too bad the tone with which he spoke was almost never as pleasant.
Courage typed in his reply, going rather slowly due to only having one free hand.
'I wanted to see you,'
"And just why would you want to do that? I'll have you know that I'm not fond of company..."
Courage had to stifle a sigh. Here he goes again, with the snobby attitude. It was a test of his patience, but that was just as well. He supposed he could use the practice, after all.
'Because I wanted to!'
Courage was not about to give up. Determination was one of his greatest virtues, and he'd put it to good use here.
"But... But why?" The machine's voice wavered slightly, seemingly taken aback. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
Courage felt his jaw hit the floor. He hadn't expected Computer to break character so easily. This would mark the first time he'd heard Computer speak without that nasty sarcastic tone.
Just as quickly as it had happened, however, it was gone. Computer returned to his annoyed, bored tone.
"What is it you want? I haven't got all day, you twit."
Undeterred, Courage put on an innocent smile and typed,
'You'll see.'
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" The machine questioned, sounding a little confused.
'You know what day today is?'
This seemed to confuse him even more. "Why yes, I... It's February 14th, is it not? It's Valentine's day."
The machine's puzzlement amused Courage greatly. How had he not figured it out yet? What's more, how had he not noticed Courage typing with only one hand? If he had noticed, he had not commented on it.
'Yes, it is! And so...'
Courage pulled the flowers out from behind his back, an enthusiastic grin plastered on his face to mask his nervousness. He felt his face go red as he did so.
"Would you be my valentine?" He said aloud.
For the next five seconds or so, silence followed. Then...
"E- excuse me?" The shock in his voice evident and unmasked. "Would you... Would you repeat that?"
Courage laughed. "I said, would you be my valentine?"
"... I- I don't... Nobody's ever... I'm sorry, dog, but I'm afraid I don't..."
Courage bit his lip. So it was true- Computer had never had a valentine either. Well, he'd at least try to fix that. He sat the bouquet down on the desk and started typing again.
'Well, I figured you were kind of, I don't know, lonely. And I'm lonely too, so I thought we could, you know, be lonely together.'
"Look dog, I appreciate the sentiment, but I-"
He was cut off by Courage leaning forward and hugging his monitor.
"Hehee! That's okay! I was only asking. Is there anything I could do for you that would make your life a little easier, aside from leaving?" Courage was determined to do at least one nice thing for his computer. He just needed to know what.
"Hmmmm..." The machine spoke, sounding thoughtful. "Well, I could use an anti-virus. The fact that you never bothered to install one in the first place shows me how much you actually care."
This made the pink dog frown. He had never known much about computers in general, much less what an 'anti-virus' was or why it was necessary. But after the whole 'artichoke syrup soup' ordeal, he had realized just how dangerous computer viruses really were. He couldn't help but internally facepalm at the fact that he hadn't installed one immediately after that.
"Well, let's install one now, then. Better late than never, right?"
Computer's bluish-green backdrop disappeared as he pulled up a browser with several tabs open. All of them appeared to be download pages for different anti-virus programs.
"How kind of you," Computer replied dryly. "Make your choice."
"Why not all of them?" Courage queried, feeling lost. He didn't understand what the differences were.
"Because they all work in the exact same manner, you imbecile! Now pick one."
Stifling yet another sigh, Courage reached for the mouse and clicked the download buttin for the one on the first tab. The downloading process went by surprisingly quickly.
"Alright. Now here's the part that I need you to do. I would have installed one ages ago if I had been able to do it myself. I need you to click 'accept' for me. See it right there?"
Courage nodded and did as he was told. A green pulsating bar popped up as the installation process began. A strange sense of rightness crept over him. He felt like he were righting the wrongs of the past, and he thought left a gentle smile on his face.
"You know, dog..." Computer interrupted his train of thought. "I think I'd like to take you up on your offer after all."
Courage's ears perked up. "You would?" He could not mask the joy in his voice.
The machine let out a surprisingly genuine laugh. "Sure, why not? I'd like to add at least one more thing to my list of unusual experiences before I drop dead of old age. I'll admit that sitting up here all day gets boring after a while, anyway. I suppose the extra company couldn't hurt, either..."
"Yes!" Courage nearly fell out of his chair with joy. He couldn't believe it. Computer said yes!
"Well, not if you keep that up!" Computer exclaimed, annoyance seeping into his voice.
Courage was too busy wiggling in his seat with delight to take notice of Computer's comment. Never in a million years had he expected things to turn out this way. Even now, every scenario he could think of played out the same way in his head, ending with a sharp telling off or worse. He briefly noticed his own tail wagging at least a million miles an hour behind him.
Grinning like an idiot, he leaned forward and hugged Computer's monitor once more.
"Now you'll never be lonely again!"