Well. So that was a way to end that chapter.

The amount of research I'm trying to do but nothing is answering my questions ... you wouldn't believe it.

So there will be a lot of things that I won't know what I'm writing about.

So, right now, I'll write about what I do know.

And that's having a touching moment while they still can.

Enjoy! :)

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In two days, Jack, David, Spot, Race, and Mush will be on their way to Europe. They have no say in this matter. They can try to run or to hide, but that won't work. And honestly, at the moment, no where in the world is truly safe for them to run to and/or hide in. And even as they dread the idea of going overseas and fighting in a war of unprecendented size, they'll have to anyways.

But surely the war should be coming to a close soon, they reason. Why would they need more people?  The answer is simple, really. This is a war of power and innovation, where neither side wants to be the one to give in.

Yet it is also a war of destruction, and a war of loss.

And soon, they will be directly involved with it all.

Race hasn't been the same since he got drafted.

To be fair, none of them have been, but Race had been affected the most. No one really knows what's been going on inside his head these past few weeks. Spot doesn't try to pry. He just stays with Race, being a form of silent comfort for Race. Race cherishes the gesture.

Spot is trying his best to hold it together. He knows that Race needs him now. He just ... doesn't want Race to know how much time he spends lying awake at night, terrified for what this means for him, for both of them.

David is the most subdued out of the five of them. He knows that all of them are being sent to fight in France. Not him; the British need poeple who can fly planes. And so, he and many other American pilots who have been drafted, will end up in England. He'll tell Jack soon. He feels guilty about procrastinating, but he wants to focus on the present.

Jack ... Jack looks out to the horizon at sunset each day, wondering what life would have been like if he escaped to Santa Fe all those years ago. Wonders if it's too late for him to still do just that. Maybe this time, he can take David with him. And they can run away from the world together.

Mush is determined to hold on to the present. He tries to make sure that every day has a happy moment, in any way that he can. He cries at night thinking that this peaceful home that they've built is soon going to be empty, with not a sound of laughter or love to fill it. He wishes that he could keep his friends in here forever, so they won't have to go to war, so that he won't have to go to war. And it makes him devastated that he can't do that. 

They all just want to enjoy this peace and happiness while they still can.

"What would you consider the perfect day to be?" Mush asks as they eat breakfast together. He tries to make it as casually and making conversation-like as he can, but they all know what he's trying to do. And honestly, they don't mind it.

"Are we talking about current day perfect day or newsie day perfect day?" Race asks.

Mush shrugs. It's palpable he likes the question though. "You can decide."

"Well, my perfect newsie day would be going to Sheepshead," Race starts.

Spot snorts.

Race looks at him. "What?"

"No, nothing."

"Obviously there was something funny."

"No, it's just-" he smiles, with so much fondness in his eyes. "It's just so you."

Race smiles too. He faces outward again. "Did you hear that they're closing the track soon? It better still be there when we get back from Europe."

"I thought you hated automobile racing," Jack comments.

Race nods vigorously. "Oh, I do. That doesn't mean I want Sheepshead gone, you know? Its spirit might have left when they stopped the horse races, but it's still Sheepshead. There's still hope for it."

"Only you could speak so fondly of a racing facility," Spot says, grinning.

Race doesn't even try to deny it. "That's probably true."

"What else does this perfect newsie day involve?" Mush asks, even though he knows where this might go.

Race shrugs. "Anywhere Spot Conlon would be, probably."

"Aww!" Spot smiles widely. "I am a part of your perfect day?"

"You're the one who makes it perfect," Race tells him, then pecks him on the cheek. Spot grabs Race's hand under the table and squeezes gently. Race squeezes back.

"My perfect newsie day would have included Kid Blink," Mush says sadly, nostalgia glistening in his eyes. "We would have woken up with the sunrise together, got our papes together, sold our papes together, get food together, probably see a vaudeville show together, and then watch the sunset together. We might stargaze for a little while. And then we would fall asleep in each other's arms, having had a fulfilling day, excited for the next one to be just like it."

They all go quiet for a moment. It's been five years since Kid Blink passed away. They all still miss him. So, so much.

"Part of me is glad, in a sense," Mush continues, sadness in both his voice and his eyes, "that he won't be able to see any of this. That's one less person I have to worry about going off to war."

"You know, he wouldn't like you to do that," Jack says quietly. "You know he probably would've loved to have been a part of something so big and important." A small smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mush smiles too. "He did love being the center of attention, didn't he?"

"Well, he did lead a strike," David points out.

"And he stole the floral horseshoe from me!" Race adds.

Everyone starts laughing.

"I'm sorry Race, but I think Kid Blink won that one fair and square," Jack tells him.

"No he did not, thank you very much!"

"Race, it's been nearly twenty years," Spot laughs. "I think it's time to let go of that grudge."

Race stops. "Nearly twenty years?" He does the math. His eyes widen with the realization. "Oh. You're right."

They think on that for a moment.

Twenty years ago, they were kids. Teenagers. Not ready to be adults yet. Leading a strike. Making history. Having not a care in life. That was twenty years ago.

If someone told them twenty years ago that they would be here, about to go fight in a war taking place over all the globe, and to go fight that war in Europe, they would have said that was crazy. Yet here they are now.

"How has it been twenty years?" Mush's expression conveys all he's feeling. "Doesn't it feel like it was just yesterday?"

They agree, it does feel like it wasn't that long ago. Okay, maybe not yesterday, but certainly not onescore ago.

"So what would your perfect current day be?" Mush asks Race, circling back to his earlier question. He looks around the table. "And I will hear from all of you."

Race thinks for a moment. "I think my perfect day would be ... just being here. With all of you. With nothing to do but just spend time together."

"Me too," Spot agrees.

"Me as well," David and Jack agree.

"I think we can make that happen," Mush says happily. "We can make today the most perfect day we can."

And so they make it their goal to have the perfect day as a family, all together, all happy.

They cherish this time while they still can.

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Even with the underlying sadness, this is still cute.

Am I stalling? Possibly. Am I trying to drag the plot out? Possibly. Do I have a conceivable plot yet for Part 2 of this story? ... Possibly.

Have you noticed how these chapters are barely getting to 1100 words? I mean, this one is 1300+, but recently there have just been a lot of 1000 word chapters.

Don't worry, I'll probably write something that's 2000 words at some point haha.

So what did you think of this?

I hope you enjoyed this while you can.

Because the next chapter...

...Is going to be in Europe.

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who really does not feel ready to move on to the next part of this story)