“To make it go faster. Heidi, could you work with Tricia, and Dan with me.”

“Sure.”  Heidi said. They went to work immediately. When they had completed, we could hardly recognize ourselves.

“Here’s the plan, Dan. You and I are double dating. Heidi, you’re last name is to be Smith, Heidi Smith. I am John Chrisman, and Tricia, you are Jennifer Johnson. We’ll go in pretending to be on a date, but we’ll really be spying on Matt and Noelle.”

“Good plan. Let’s do it.”  Dan added. We left and went to the Smoking Gun. As we entered, ladies first, we quickly spotted Matt and Noelle, and claimed a booth adjacent to their’s. The lights dimmed, and the show began.  I, not knowing that this dinner came with a show, was puzzled. Tricia got up to go to the bathroom, just when a cowboy came in the door. He grabbed her around the neck, and covered her mouth and pulled out a gun.

“Nobody move, or she gets it!”  The cowboy said. Where have I heard that voice?, I wondered. I put my hands in the air. Just then a sheriff came in the door.

“Let her go, Reddish.” Reddish!  It’s Pat!!, I thought. It was just a show!  They had a fake fight out, and the sheriff dropped his guns.

“Now don’t anybody try to stop me.”  Pat said.

“I’m sorry, sir, but that’s my date!!”  I said. He threw a punch and I pretended to be knocked out. Pat dashed out of the room via a back door. I got up and said, “Sheriff, why don’t you go after them?”

“That’s Pat Reddish, he’s killed over a hundred men, not counting injuns!”  The sheriff said. I picked up one of his guns.

“Well if you’re not going to go after them, I will!!!”  I ran towards an exit and went up the steps inside. I approached a door and heard laughing. I opened the door and there was Pat and Tricia discussing what was to happen next. “Well if it isn’t Patrick Reddish who’s ‘killed over a hundred men, not counting injuns!’” 

“Yeah, that’s me. Do I know you?”  Pat did not know that it was really me in disguise.

“So what’s next?”  I asked, avoiding his question

“Well, I’ll go down first with my hands in the sky. Jenn here will give you a kiss. You say, ‘Reddish, you’re through in this town.’  I’ll pick up one of the sheriff’s guns and shoot you. Here, you’ll need this.”  He handed me a pouch of something.

“What’s this?”

“Fake blood. When I shoot, hit this and it will appear that you are bleeding. Then, the sheriff will come in and shoot me, see?  Then we’ll both be dragged out, to come back in and take a bow.”

“That’s great, let’s go.”  I went downstairs, with my arm around Tricia. When we got to the bottom of the steps, I came out and asked, “Are you all right, Jenn?”

“Yes, because you’re here.” (Or something to that effect.)  She kissed me on the cheek. (Fortunately, the makeup stayed on!)

“You’re through in this town, Reddish!”

“Oh sir, I think you forgot something.”

“What?”

“This.”  He picked up the gun and shot. I hit the pouch and fell to the ground. He again grabbed Tricia’s arm just when the sheriff came back in the room.