Summary: Tis the season for generosity.
Rating:  G   Words 1,000
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar

Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 14 *

Good Will Toward Men

Adam pushed through the doors of the Silver Dollar figuring to buoy his spirits with a drink and idle conversation before heading for home.  He entered to a sea of miners celebrating the few days off the owners allowed them.  Cow hands were scattered at tables, losing wages they’d just earned in poker games and to the gals Sam hired to serve drinks and chat up lonely men.

He’d spent the day at a Cattlemen’s Meeting in Carson City, irritated by the back-slapping and self-congratulations of ranch owners who weren’t interested in discussing issues that needed attention, such as water rights, so Adam wanted a bit of peace, and a whiskey to warm his bones, before heading home.  That longing for quiet was shattered by a throng of men belting out “Silent Night” at the top of their lungs.

Men well into a barrel of cheap whiskey slapped him on the back in greeting. Adam nodded and gave back a tight-lipped smile.

About halfway to the bar, a man in a houndstooth suit and bowler hat accosted Adam by grabbing his elbow, attempting to steer him to a table.  Adam resisted the man’s pull and glared down at him, noting a lumpy sack the man held tightly.  The man took a small step back then flashed a crooked smile before stepping close to shout in order to be heard above the off-key singing.

“Pardon me, sir, but you look to be a man of quality.”

Adam merely raised an eyebrow in response.

It didn’t seem to be the reaction the man had anticipated. “Milton Anderson’s my name.  What I mean is you seem to be a man with refined tastes.”

“What do you want?” Adam expected the man to spew forth a sad tale ending in a request for a stage fare to return home in time for a pregnant wife’s imminent childbirth.

“I have an exotic inventory that I believe you’d be interested in.”

Adam fixed the man with a cold gaze. “Let me guess – you’re in need of a great deal of cash and have a rare Burmese ruby for sale.  No doubt it’s the last precious keepsake of your grandmother who held onto it even though it could have restored the family’s fortune.”

The man momentarily withered before he threw his shoulders back in an attempt to appear taller than he was.  “I’ve never been so insulted.  My motive is nothing but pure . . . .”

“Cut to the brass tacks.”

Milton realized the man with whom he spoke wasn’t going to abide a sales pitch.  He filled his lungs and shouted, “Oranges, sir,” just as the singing came to end.  Men guffawed and Milton turned red.

“That little feller’s been tryin’ to get in a game for a couple hours with them oranges,” said a ranch hand at a table, which set off a fresh round of laughter and mockery.

Adam’s resolve softened at Milton’s embarrassment.  It was a season for good will, even if generosity only aided a fool.

“Let me see them.”

Milton’s face lit up and he drew forth a small orange.

Adam took it and inspected the fruit as if it were a rare gem, holding it to his nose to breathe in a whiff of citrus before rubbing his thumb over the bumpy peel and giving it a gentle squeeze to determine ripeness.

The silence was broken as a miner bought a round of drinks for his compatriots and the men enthusiastically sang “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Adam dropped the orange back into the sack and ran his forefinger across his chin as if he were contemplating a fair offer on a race horse. Just as the light dimmed in Milton’s eyes Adam leaned forward to make an offer. “One hundred dollars for the sack.”

Milton’s mouth opened and closed but no words came forth.  Adam reached into his coat for his wallet and drew the money out, folding it over and putting it into Milton’s coat pocket.

“You’re too kind, sir.”

“Adam. The name’s Adam.”

“Thank you, sir.  I mean, Adam.”

Adam touched the brim of his hat and smiled with genuine warmth at his newfound acquaintance as he took the sack from Milton.  “Merry Christmas.”  Adam headed to the bar, figuring Milton and the money would soon be parted but the oranges were, to him, worth every penny.

“Don’t know why you indulged that man,” said Sam.

“Tis the season,” said Adam as he set an orange on the bar. “I’ll have a whiskey cocktail.”

“I might be a bit rusty on fancy drinks,” the bartender said as a dropped a sugar cube into a tumbler and set to crushing the solid sugar into a powder.

Adam pulled out his penknife and cut a slice from the orange, setting it closer to Sam before getting down to the business of peeling and eating the fruit.  He sucked the juice from a wedge as Sam added whiskey and a splash of Angostura bitters to the glass then dropped in the orange slice with a flourish.

Adam turned at a poke to his shoulder.  A smile flitted on his lips at the sight of Libby, one of Sam’ gals, holding a sprig of mistletoe over her head.  “Don’t want to buck tradition,” he said before gently kissing her lips.

He couldn’t help but notice the way she licked her lips so he handed her an orange, feeling a cheery warmth as her face lit up.  His eyebrows rose when she planted a lingering kiss.  “Merry Christmas,” she said before setting off for a table near the wall.

His irritability forgotten, he savored his drink, remembering long-ago Christmases in places far from Virginia City.

Finishing the cocktail, Adam wished Sam a merry Christmas before hoisting the sack of new-found treasure, adding his voice to “Good King Wenceslas” as he headed for the door and home.

The End

Character: Adam

Prompt: Orange slice

Secondary character: None

Link to the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar – Day 15 – A Toast to Tradition by Cheaux