Summary:   June 2013 C&R Challenge. Adam and Joe are in San Francisco and all Adam wants is one night of culture.

Word Count: 502  Rated: T

                                                            A Night In San Francisco

Story Notes:

June 2013 words are:

Disastrous

Impresario

Scantily

Installment

Joint

“I can’t believe you did that!” shouted Adam Cartwright at his seventeen-year-old brother. “You made this night into a debacle, a disaster of epic proportion. I knew I shouldn’t have brought you along, and I told Pa that. Business or no business, you’re too young to be here. You should have stayed home where you belong.”

Joe sunk lower in the chair he was sitting in while the older man ranted and threw his suit coat across the hotel room.

“Adam, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“You’re sorry? You didn’t mean? You didn’t mean what? For that to happen? You never mean for anything to happen do you? Just one night, that’s all I wanted, was one night to enjoy some of the culture San Francisco has to offer. But could I do that? No, I couldn’t. And why is that, Little Joe?”

“Um, cuz I got inta a fight.”

“And why did you get into that fight?” Adam held up his hand when Joe started to speak. “I’ll tell you why. Because you were ogling that man’s wife!”

“Is it my fault that she was so scantily dressed? If her husband didn’t want people to look at her, then she shoulda been wearin’ somethin’ else,” protested Joe.

When a knock sounded on the door, Adam strode over to it and pulled it open. Outside in the hall stood a young boy and a cart bearing the ice Adam requested. He tipped the boy and took the basin before closing the door.

Grudgingly, he broke up the ice, put it into the supplied bag and threw it at his brother.

Catching it before he was hit in the face, Joe gently put it against the bruise that was developing on his cheek. “Ah, come on, even that impa . . . inpac . . .”

“Impresario! The word is Impresario. I’ll swear that it was a joint effort between the two of you to make such fiasco out of everything. Do you have any idea how much that mirror and its installment is going to cost me?”

“I can’t help it if he jumped into it too. All I did was look at her. I can’t help it if she smiled back at me and winked.”

“But you didn’t need to wink back at her and give her that smile.”

“What smile?”

“Don’t you even try playing innocent with me. You know what smile I’m talking about and one of these days a woman is going to take you up on the offer that it suggests. You’ll be in over your head with no idea what to do.”

The smile that graced Joe’s face left Adam with his mouth hanging open in disbelief as he slowly shook his head back and forth in denial.

“No, that’s not possible. There’s no way that could have happened. Why you’re just a kid.”

Joe’s smile grew even larger.

“Night, Older Brother,” Joe said, turned and strutted into his room shutting the door behind him.