18

Jody and Chris had been travelling and travelling for what seemed like hours.

"Are you sure this is still the plumber's?" asked Chris.

Jody didn't reply. The sinks, toilets and bathtubs had ended. Something about the dank dirt passageways going by reminded Jody of a ride on Chicago's "El" train.

I have no idea why, she thought.

Gradually, after a short transition of empty tunnels, the plumbing paraphernalia had become a portrait gallery.

"I am surprised, I'll admit," Jody said. "I didn't know there were any tunnels this long. Maybe electrical access tunnels but, I don't know, we're going an awfully long way. I wonder if we're even in Sloan anymore."

"Maybe they just want to melt it down into coins, or bars," Chris suggested.

"That's possible," said Jody. They walked along and their feet clicked on the tile.

"Where is the light coming from?" asked Chris.

Jody didn't know. She concentrated on the sound of their shoes on the dirt, going in and out of phase. Jody looked over and noticed what nice things Chris did for a "4077-MASH" faux Hawkeye outfit. It was just a little piece of random licensing Chris had found at Target.

Did Alan Alda maybe have a kid he wanted to put through college? No, it probably wasn't Alda's decision to make. A producer maybe?

Had Jody known the truth, she wouldn't have expected it. The same convention where Jody and Chris had met was actually the site of a bloodthirsty licensing battle, in which television stations were getting wooed by production companies and hopefully convinced to buy the syndication rights to questionable TV shows such as She's The Sheriff, starring the mediocre actress Stacy Sun.

"I want that," Stacy had told her husband and manager, Alan Hamel, pointing at a poster of Farrah Fawcett.

Chris was probably still in diapers at the time.

"You want the poster?" Alan asked.

"No, silly," Stacy answered. "I want her fame."

Alan grinned. "I'll see what I can do," he said.

Once again, Jody snapped out of a daydream. "God," she said. "I'm getting a little highway hypnosis down here."

"Awww," Chris said sympathetically, looking at Jody with round eyes.

Jody looked at Chris.

"Chris," she said. "You're so good-looking!"

Chris leaned in.

They kissed each other. They touched.

"Of all the weird places, huh?" Jody laughed.

Chris growled and kissed Jody hard. "Doesn't this damn showroom have any beds?"