Summary: A young runaway rethinks his choices at Christmas.
Rating: G Words (1455)
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar

Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~ *
Day 4

Rethinking San Francisco

They’d said San Francisco wasn’t cold in the winter, and it was true it wasn’t too bad during the day. The night, though … Even though it wasn’t cold here the same way as the army fort was cold, sleeping outside all night still wasn’t that nice. The damp settled in while the sun was down – into his clothes and his hair and his shoes – and his nose and toes and fingers especially were all pretty numb come morning. Most nights he tried to hang out by a fire barrel as long as he could after dark, but usually someone would shoo him away long before the fire burned down.

“Get outta here, kid. Ain’t enough room for everybody.”

Or somebody would come looking for free labor on an outbound ship. He wasn’t too worried about being actually caught – he was faster than any sailor or crimp, and small enough to hide in spots they didn’t even notice – but it wasn’t smart to stick around long enough to let them get a good jump on you, either. The Barbary Coast was like everything he ever expected … but it did get tiring after a while. Made him kind of wish for the fort sometimes, even if it was boring and his pa was always gone and they made him take classes like he was at school.

Well, his ma had always made him do those classes. Now that she was gone …

But he didn’t like to think about that.

He’d struck out from his usual haunts today and made his way down to the Opera House on Washington Street, figuring to hang around outside and watch the crowds. Maybe he’d get a glimpse of that actress lady who was all anybody seemed to talk about these days. Young and pretty, he’d heard, and some people were sayin’ she rode a horse across the stage naked! Other men scoffed at that, said she was obviously wearin’ clothes of some sort that just made her look naked. For himself, he didn’t know what to think except it would probably be pretty uncomfortable to ride a horse without any clothes on. And pretty cold.

Or maybe he was just cold.

The place was all done up for Christmas. It made him think of his ma, and he almost wished he hadn’t come. She’d of loved all the garland and pine boughs and red velvet bows draped along the balcony. Red and gold and silver and glass ornaments hung over the entrance and the upper story windows. A quick glance inside showed a tree, even. He’d heard about those – a real live tree brought inside and decorated for Christmas – but had never seen one himself. His ma had always said that puttin’ candles in a tree was just askin’ for trouble … but bein’ careful like that hadn’t kept her alive any longer, had it?

He wondered what his pa was gonna do for Christmas this year, with him and his ma both gone, then shook the thought away. He wasn’t gonna think about that either. Anyway, his pa was never home – he was always off on some patrol or hunt or delivery.

His pa probably still hadn’t even noticed he was gone.

You know that isn’t true, a little voice scolded, sounding an awful lot like his ma. He ignored her, tucking in against the brick and blowing on his fingers.

Maybe he’d stick around, see if he could sneak inside tomorrow night before the show. The crowd had been pretty thick both goin’ in and comin’ out, and maybe nobody would notice if he stuck close behind and pretended to be someone’s kid. He wanted to see that Christmas tree. And he wanted to see the lady.

And it was probably warmer inside. Nobody had mentioned that when a person woke up wet and chilled, it wasn’t all that easy to warm up even in San Francisco.

He must have dozed off, because the voices woke him. A man and a woman, arguin’ as they came out the entrance and turned toward him. He didn’t mean to listen, but they didn’t see him in his corner and didn’t seem to care anyway who heard.

“… told you I would be late tonight. Dorothy wanted to do some work on the waistline and darts – she said they were bunching during the final scene.”

“When you said late, I didn’t know it would be–”

“I told you that you didn’t need to wait.”

“And I told you that I didn’t want you walking home alone in the middle of the night.”

“I’m not worried about–”

“The entire city is busy talking about the Naked Lady, dear. If you don’t think–”

“Are you jealous?” Her laugh didn’t sound like his ma’s laugh. It was sharp. Angry, almost. “Well, I didn’t think you–”

She was pulling on her gloves as they swept past, and one dropped at his feet. He snatched it and leaped up, starting after them. They were both already turning, and the man stepped quickly in front of her. He skittered back, and the lady shouldered impatiently around her companion.

“Oh, don’t be silly.” The man harrumphed, but did not move to pull her away. The lady approached and he tucked his hands shyly behind him, kicking at the ground. She stopped, and he could just see her smile in the moonlight. “I thank you.” She did? He remembered that he was holding her glove–actually a mitten, thick-knitted and warm–and unclasped his hands, thrusting it toward her. She took it, and he felt the blush spring up as her fingers brushed his, and her laughter was warmer than it had been. “What is your name?”

It took him a minute to remember. “Candy.”

“Candy?” Her smile widened, and he braced himself for the joke or comment. There was always some joke or comment. She didn’t, though. Instead, she pursed her lips closed, tilted her head, and considered him in the silvery San Francisco moonlight. “What are you doing out here alone, Candy?” He shrugged, not sure what to say. She didn’t really care–she couldn’t–she was just bein’ nice because he’d picked up her mitten. The lady sighed, then tugged off her other mitten and held them both out to him. “Your fingers are freezing. Why don’t you take these?” He shook his head, but she tucked them into his hands. “You take these, and you get warm, then go home.”

They were a little small—even at fourteen, his hands were bigger than hers—and would probably be some girly color in the daylight, but he didn’t even care. He tugged them quickly on, still almost warm from being inside until a few minutes ago, and curled his fingers waiting for the cold to pass. She watched him for a moment, looking like she would say more, but the man took her arm and tugged her away. She went with him, but as they crossed the street she looked back over her shoulder, and her voice seemed a little sad.

“Go on home, Candy.”

He flexed his fingers as the feeling returned, then tucked his hands beneath his arms to hasten the warming. When his pa was actually home, he would always have all their gloves by the stove in the morning so they were toasty before you even pulled them on. And around Christmas, his pa always somehow found chocolate for them to drink and a peppermint stick to go with it—even if he wasn’t there himself to drink it with them. Go on home, Candy boy. It was his ma’s voice this time, and he didn’t push her away. You know your pa does his best. He’ll be missing you somethin’ bad.

Yeah. He stamped his feet, and rubbed his hands together, and watched the lady and man disappear around a corner. The Christmas ornaments hanging above him glittered weirdly in the pale San Francisco moonlight—not like Christmas should look at all.

Yeah, maybe he would.

Merry Christmas!

Character: Candy Canaday

Item: Knitted mittens

Secondary character: Adah Menken

Summary: A young runaway rethinks his choices at Christmas.

So … the timing of when Candy would (probably-ish) be 14 and when Adah Menken would have been in San Francisco doesn’t work out quite right — however, as the show itself didn’t always care about these things, and didn’t get Adah’s timing exactly right either, I figured a little literary license doesn’t hurt anything. 😉 Also, she was technically with a different husband (number 3) when she was in San Francisco than the one upon which John Regan was based (number 2). I intentionally left it vague – feel free to imagine her with either John (from the show) or Robert (her real husband of the moment).

Link to the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar – Day 5 – Bringing Peace (by AC1830)