{"id":13666,"date":"2017-01-17T15:34:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T20:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13666"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:19","slug":"fortuna-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13666","title":{"rendered":"Fortuna Smiles (by faust)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: Written for the prompt: <\/span>Adam wins the lottery. And that’s all there is to it.<\/p>\n

800 words, rated<\/span> K+<\/p>\n

\n

My Story Index and reading order for the Art-Universe<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fortuna Smiles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The throng seems more of a melee than the happy gathering of people it is supposed to be. It\u2019s atrocious. Heinous. Adam almost regrets he bought a ticket in the first place, but the Christmas lottery serves, after all, a good cause\u2014the building of a new school house\u2014and Adam is the last person to not support that purpose.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he has bought a raffle ticket (ten, to be precise, but only one of them sported a prize-promising number, the rest were blanks), and now he\u2019s wrestling his way through the crush of men, women, children, and dogs towards the stall where the prizes are handed out.<\/p>\n

If he\u2019s honest with himself, it\u2019s not about the prize at all. It can\u2019t be worth much, anyway, not when as much profit as possible is supposed to be benefitted to the school house. No, it\u2019s the concept of having won in itself, and the\u2026the surprise. It\u2019s almost embarrassing\u2014but also comforting and nostalgic\u2026and suddenly he is ten again, with the first ever ticket of his young life in hand, and the suspense is almost too much for him to bear.<\/p>\n

He has to laugh as he thinks back to that time\u2014and promptly receives a scandalised look from a pretty blonde in a handsome fur-lined coat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow dare you!\u201d she berates him.<\/p>\n

He wants to beg off, resolve her misconception; but she throws her chin up, twists her mouth: her whole pretty countenance transforms into a disdainful scowl. Haughty, but so verily not<\/em> endearing, (which haughty<\/em> can be when paired with a good dose of self-mockery).<\/p>\n

Oh, well, I guess not then.<\/em><\/p>\n

Instead, he apologises in advance to the couple that now blocks his path as he tries to squeeze himself through between them. However, the two don\u2019t even notice him, too much involved in hurling insults into each other\u2019s faces. Apparently he<\/em> had a few drinks too many, and she<\/em> bought a few things too many. Then he<\/em> tries it with puppy eyes\u2014and she<\/em> laughs him down. He starts to beg her, she to ridicule him\u2014Adam almost blushes, so much is he embarrassed for them. Eventually they break apart, not much, only opening a small gap between them, but Adam sees to it that he gets away from his<\/em> piteousness and her<\/em> malice.<\/p>\n

Finally he makes it to the raffle booth. There\u2019s only one person waiting before him, a young woman with a toddler in her arms. The boy is whining, he sags limply in his mother\u2019s clutch, his hands reach out for her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cMamamamamam,\u201d he wails.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of that!\u201d she hisses. \u201cWill you stop it already! That blubbering, always that blubbering! Just this once I want to have a little pleasure, and you\u2019re ruining it. You always do that, always! Now be still, already. Be still, be still!\u201d She rocks the little one, impatiently\u2014even Adam can see that it isn\u2019t doing any good, that the harsh jiggling only manages to irritate the baby even more.<\/p>\n

For a moment he considers offering his help, but then the woman snatches her prize from the booth keeper\u2019s hand, presses the small plush bunny at her son\u2019s chest, \u201chere! And now be quiet,\u201d and dashes away towards the fairground. Her gait is furious, her voice, too. \u201cIf only I hadn\u2019t had you,\u201d he can hear from far, nearly but not completely drowned out by the child\u2019s wailing.<\/p>\n

The booth keeper shrugs\u2014there isn\u2019t anything he could do, could he?\u2014Adam receives his prize; and then he struggles back, through the throng, past barking dogs, scuffling children, \u00a0nagging mothers, bawling drunks, squabbling spouses.<\/p>\n

Eventually he gets back. Back to where Juliet is waiting for him, beaming, and Henry on her arm is waving and gifting him with one of his wonderful, no-longer-completely toothless grins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI already began to fear the crowd had swallowed you up,\u201d Juliet says, and reaches with her free hand for his. Squeezes it, gently. \u201cHave you at least gotten something good?\u201d<\/p>\n

With a curt bow, he presents her with the red paper rose and smiles at her regal nod of acceptance. \u201cI have,\u201d he says then, and kisses the tip of her nose, and Henry\u2019s too. \u201cI have: the jackpot, no less.\u201d<\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n

Love keeps the cold out better than a cloak. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/em><\/p>\n

*** fin***<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.\u00a0 The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.\u00a0 No copyright infringement is intended.<\/em><\/p>\n

With my heartfelt thanks to JoaniePaiute for the beta.<\/p>\n

Next Story in The Art-Universe Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Birds and the Bees<\/a><\/p>\n

My Story Index and Reading Order for the Art-Universe<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written for the prompt: Adam wins the lottery. And that’s all there is to it.<\/p>\n

800 words, rated K+<\/p>\n

Part of the Art-Universe, links to stories within the series are included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":23171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1005,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-cartwright","category-a-u","category-short-stories","wpcat-1005-id","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-8-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1140,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/002-Adam-klein.jpg?fit=160%2C123&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9716,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=9716","url_meta":{"origin":13666,"position":0},"title":"All The Fun Of The Fair (by Sibylle)","author":"Sibylle","date":"September 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Ben and Adam visit a small fair on their way West.\u00a0\u00a0 Prequel 1835 WC: 670\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rating: K","rel":"","context":"In "Prequel"","block_context":{"text":"Prequel","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=30"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Screen-Shot-2014-05-04-at-4.30.52-PM.png?fit=464%2C289&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2971,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2971","url_meta":{"origin":13666,"position":1},"title":"What Do You Tell Your Children? or The Art of Explaining (by faust)","author":"faust","date":"June 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There'll come a time your children ask questions, uncomfortable questions. 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