BOOK 2: Blaze

The air’s stagnant heat had reached 94-degrees. All we could see in every direction was flat high desert, covered with sagebrush that barely stood tall enough to shade a prairie dog. I photographed the horizon every hour, just to document how it never changed. Each photograph raised the same question of whether to fill its frame with one-third sky and two-thirds land, or two-thirds sky and one-third land.

“Just keep the horizon straight,” SeeHawk insisted. “If it’s crooked, your empty landscape will look cockeyed.”

Several hours of silence passed, before I hit upon an idea that caused me to blurt out, “Hey, do you realize that getting married will make us eligible for the Newlywed Game? Maybe we could win enough cash to pay for this trip.”

“Sign me up!” SeeHawk joked.

“We’d just need to practice knowing how to answer each other’s questions,” I reasoned. “It’s as good a time as any. Do you want to try?”

“Sure,” he agreed.

“Okay, let’s see. What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” he fired back.

“No, it isn’t!” I exclaimed. “How many times have you told me your favorite color is purple?”

“Okay, purple,” he corrected himself.

“You have to be consistent, or we won’t be able to win.”

“Of course,” he laughed. “What’s your favorite color?”

“I suppose it’s…” I thought for a moment. “Well, actually, orange, yellow, purple and green, side by side, are my favorite colors.”

SeeHawk groaned.

“Maybe we should try an easier question. How about…what’s your favorite song?”

“…uh, that’s not easier.”

“It doesn’t need to be your ultimate lifetime favorite. Just pick something we can both agree on.”

“How about Europa?”

“Haha, no way. That’s my favorite song.”

“Can’t we have the same song?”

“Not without boring the committee who picks contestants.”

“How about LA Woman?”

“I’ve never heard you listen to LA Woman.”

“I like it, though.”

“But it’s not your favorite, so you won’t remember it on TV.”

“Maybe the Newlywed Game is too hard for us, Sunshine.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I conceded. “Plus, it’s getting pretty hot for thinking.”