"No, Blink! You put your hand here and your feet like this!"
Red impatiently positioned his body once again to manhandle a gun. Blink glared at her.
"I can't help it! I'm a newsie, not a gunsmith!"
"Well if ya want to be an agent, this thing is necessary to your survival, trust me."
Blink sighed. "Fine." He took his stance. She grinned triumphantly.
"Ok, now shoot."
Three shots rang out.
"Now go check to see how close you got."
Blink pulled his hat over his eyes and walked out into the sun. He studied his target, then walked back to Red, a proud grin on his face. "Less than three inches."
"From what?"
"The target!"
"You mean you missed the bull's-eye? You mean from the actual target?"
Blink nodded proudly. Red slapped her forehead. "You're aiming for the little red circle in the middle of the target, not just to hit the thing." She sighed. "Let's take a break."
They both mounted horses easily and rode from the agency's shooting range into town. Red's freckled and sunburned face laughed at Blink as he tried to hold on. "You need lots of work, cowboy."
"Hey, I grew up a newsie! I didn't need to know this!"
Red just laughed again. They soon pulled up in front of the Shielding Eye.
"Lotta people here," Blink observed.
"Good observation, Blink, but what you're supposed to be looking for is why. Remember that, everything is not just what's happening, but why."
He just groaned as he dismounted. Red took the reigns of his horse and found a spot on the hitching rail for them. Blink stopped her before she went up the steps.
"Uhm…you know we've only been here a couple months, but we've been together every day because you're trainin' me an' stuff. An'…an' I guess that I've become more…favorable of your company over anyone else's, even though it's carried over from our newsie days. An'…an' I was just wonderin'" He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "…If…if you'll marry me?"
Blink leaned down on one knee and opened the tiny box for her. She smiled at him and pulled him up. "I've wanted to do this for a while, Blinkers."
Their lips met in a lingering kiss.
"I'm guessing that's a yes?"
"Yes, Blink! I'll marry you!"
He laughed and tugged the ring from its box and slipped it on her finger. She looked at the silver band with a small diamond lovingly, then grabbed his hand. They walked up the steps together. As they pushed open the door, Lorraine, the secretary, glanced up.
"Ah! The Lovebirds!"
"Lorraine!" the couple spouted unanimously. Lorraine laughed.
"You've got a few visitors. They're in the meeting room."
"Alright. Come on, Blinkers."
"Don't call me that."
Red smiled and pushed him through the door.
Several senses attacked him at once.
"Hey, Blink," was the first thing he heard.
Balloons were the first things he saw.
Dirt was the first thing he smelt.
And last but not least, his body was overcame by pain. But this was good pain, because Mush had just crushed the stuffing out of him.
"Heya, Blink. How's it rollin'?"
"Nice place ya got heah."
"How's da wheatha?"
Blink held up his hands. He'd finally disengaged himself from Mush's embrace. "Whoa, whoa, wait a sec. Uhm…everything's fine here, my question is, how'd you all git heah?"
"By train, of course. We all jumped. It was pretty easy, Blink."
He glanced around happily at his friends. They all grouped together, as if in a picture, smiling like crazy. All of a sudden he felt dizzy. Then his world went black.
- - - - - - - -
"Blink? Blink?"
"Wha…?"
"Wake up, Blink!"
"Oof! Geddoffame!"
"You could be a little more polite."
Blink opened his eyes. Above him was a familiar wooden bunk bed. Mush rolled off him, after almost tackling him to get up.
"Wha…where's Red?"
Mush looked at him strangely. "Red's been gone for a while, Blink. You're still dreaming. Get up, get dressed. Distribution bell will ring soon."
Blink shook his head and leaned to the end of his bed, reaching for his pants. He tried to clear his mind. Now how much of that was just dreaming…how much fact?
He sighed and pulled his pants on. Off to work.