End Of A Century
Blink sighed. "The world is not going to end."
"It could. If it was gonna, tonight would be the night."
"Mush, the world is not going to end. Tonight is just another night."
"It's New Years."
"So?"
"So it's... It's gonna be a whole new century!" Mush insisted. "It's gonna be 1900. We'll never see 18-anything again!"
"So?"
"So..." He shrugged. "The eight hasn't changed in... ninety-nine years."
"That don't mean the world's gonna end."
"But it'll be confusin'. Think of the printers! They're all set to... 18-whatever, right? What if they don't have a 19? What if they just go back to 1800 instead? An' we're supposed to sell papes with the wrong date? Come on, it's gonna be a problem."
Blink sighed and grabbed one of Mush's wrists, drew Mush close to him. "Mushee, do you trust me?"
Mush nodded.
"Then please believe me, the world ain't gonna end. The papes ain't gonna mess up, they've been makin' sure they can print '1900' for months now. It'll be fine." He kissed Mush quickly. "Okay?"
"What if it ain't fine, Blink? What if you're wrong?"
Blink shrugged. "If I'm wrong? And the world ends?"
"Yeah, what then?"
"The then last thing I'm ever gonna see is you. An' if I gotta go, that's the way to do it."
Mush blushed a little and they began to walk, hand-in-hand, to the party in the lodging house. "..but it ain't gonna end."
"It could."
"Nuh uh."
"It could!"
"Mushee..."
And on and on. Because, regardless of the date, some things never changed.