Chapter 17 The Skill Crane Item 2

• But there was a lot of hooting and laughing going on, and I reached in the little door of the machine and got it out and looked at it. Well, this thing was a sort of satin stuffed-toy fruit of some kind. It was about six inches long and just about an inch thick, curved. I thought it was a banana, but it had a little cap of green leaves or something glued on the top end, which a banana doesn't, and a little loop to hang it up by, like all those Skill Crane items have, because | notice a lot of people have them hanging on their rearview mirrors. I knew right away what it was shaped like. but, really, you don’t expect to find something like that in a box with a lot of fluffy stuffed toys, do you? But I was right, though, because I turned it over and saw it had a little red felt heart glued on the other side, and the heart said “I love you” on it. So I figured right then that it really was meant to be what it looked like. I blushed and stuck it in my pocket real fast.
• Somebody said, “Dandy, what’re you gonna do with that?”
• I said, “Give it to you, if you aren't careful.” I thought that was pretty good for the spur of the moment, and I don’t think anybody could tell I was embarrassed. I hope not, anyway, It's fairty dark in the bar, and the lights are mostly red, so maybe they couldn't see me blush. I went home pretty quick after that. My luck didn’t seem to be too good that night, so no use staying and drinking up the rest of my money.