{"id":1784,"date":"2010-06-20T20:18:05","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T00:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1784"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:26:00","slug":"the-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1784","title":{"rendered":"The Commitment (by Cheaux)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Joe makes a commitment without fully understanding what’s involved.<\/p>\n

Rated: \u00a0T — WC \u00a01200<\/p>\n

Story Notes: \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>This story was written\u00a0in response to prompts offered by\u00a0others. \u00a0It was a challenge for me to incorporate their prompts in a meaningful–and hopefully entertaining–way.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/strong>:\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

The Commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Little Joe loved to party. If there was a barn dance or a church social or fiesta anywhere within 20 miles, the seventeen year old would be there with bells on. The only thing he liked better was getting all \u201cduded up\u201d as his older brother Hoss would say. While Hoss generally objected to wearing fancy duds, Joe loved them; loved the way he felt in them and especially loved the way the girls looked at him when he was wearing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Always shorter and lighter than his brothers at the same age, he never had to suffer hand me downs. Ben bought his youngest son\u2019s work clothes at the mercantile in town, but his fancy, Sunday-go-to-meetin\u2019 clothes were ordered from the Emporium in Sacramento, and on extremely rare occasions from Ben\u2019s own tailor in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was a rare occasion. The family had been invited to the wedding of Maria Elena Alejandro y Montoya, the seventh daughter of one of Ben\u2019s oldest friends in Monterrey. Arroyo Seco was one of the largest ranchos in Monterrey and the wedding would be attended by at least 300 guests and last 2-3 days. With Hoss and Adam attending to a cattle drive, it was Ben and Joe who would represent the Ponderosa at the wedding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Little Joe could hardly contain himself, he was so excited\u2014not only about the wedding which promised plenty of dancing with pretty senoritas\u2014but about the new clothes he was going to get in San Francisco. He knew exactly what he wanted: tailored black pants with silver studs up and down the legs.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t wait until Pa and Adam finished going through the mail and finalizing the ranch details so he and Pa could get into town and catch the stage for San Francisco.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPa, will there be mariachis at the wedding?\u201d Joe asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMariachis? Oh, you mean musicians? Yes, I\u2019m sure there will be,\u201d said Ben, distracted by what he was reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, listen to this. Elena\u2019s cousin Eduardo broke his leg in a riding accident and can\u2019t be in the wedding. She\u2019s asking if you would agree to take his place as a groomsman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGroom what?\u201d asked Joe, his vision of whirling around the dance floor with willing senoritas dissolving into stables and brushes and curry combs.\u00a0 He frowned momentarily; then in quick Joe-like fashion imagined himself riding the fine Arabian horses at Arroyo Seco and smiled again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe male attendants to the groom at a wedding,\u201d responded Adam.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s one for every bridesmaid so they can walk down the aisle together before the bride.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow come she doesn\u2019t ask another cousin or neighbor?\u201d asked Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMmm,\u201d Ben said as he perused the rest of the letter.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems it\u2019s a large wedding party and most of the available men are either already in the party or are too tall or heavy for the clothes which have already been custom made and fitted.\u00a0 Joseph and Eduardo are roughly the same size so she’s asking as a favor.\u00a0 If she can’t find someone to take Eduardo’s place, then her cousin Teresa will not be able to be in the wedding either.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s tray de luck?\u201d asked Joe, reading over his father\u2019s shoulder.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTra-hey de loo-sus,\u201d Adam said. \u201cIt means suit of light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe took a huge bite of the apple he had been holding and gazed upward.\u00a0 He could see himself already in his silver studded duds. He remembered some of the mariachis also wore silver sombreros and he knew he would dazzle the senoritas in such a suit of light.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll look great,\u201d he mumbled as he chomped on the apple.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat son?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018It\u2019ll be great.\u2019 Being in the wedding, I mean.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure you want to, Joseph?\u00a0 It\u2019s a big commitment and you\u2019ll need to be very attentive to the bridesmaid you\u2019re paired with and participate in all the rituals and customs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSure. Anything to help Elena out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cJoseph, come here please,\u201d Ben asked again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am not doing this!\u201d said Joe from inside the wardrobe in which he had hidden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, you will finish what you started and that\u2019s final. You made a promise to Elena and you will not dishonor yourself or this family by not following through on that commitment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear me? Elena\u00a0and Teresa are\u00a0counting on you, son. Come on out now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t pa. It\u2019s embarrassing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t be that bad, son. All the other men in the wedding party are wearing the same thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen I won\u2019t be missed if I\u2019m not there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph! You come out of there this instant!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Slowly the door to the wardrobe cracked. \u201cDon\u2019t laugh,\u201d Joe begged, his voice trembling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI promise I will not laugh.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPromise you won\u2019t tell Adam and Hoss.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI promise. Out. Now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe stuck a white stockinged leg out the closet door and a leather slippered foot felt around for the floor. \u00a0First one leg emerged and then the other until he finally stood before his father in his\u00a0traje de luces<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first Ben\u2019s attention was riveted solely on the slippered foot and then, as his\u00a0gaze slowly traveled upward, his eyes widened\u00a0and he covered his mouth with his hand to stifle an \u201cOh my.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of the Charro outfit Joe was expecting to wear\u2014the black pants with silver studs and matching silver trimmed jacket\u2014he was dressed in a peacock blue matador\u2019s costume, elaborately embroidered and\u00a0very, very<\/em>\u00a0fitted. In spite of Joe\u2019s slight frame, the skin tight pants left nothing . . .\u00a0absolutely nothing<\/em>\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0to the imagination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The matching blue jacket was encrusted with flower motifs laden with silver and gold threads and on top of Joe\u2019s head was the traditional montera\u2014a hat shaped like a bull\u2019s head\u2014in bright, matching peacock blue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh my,\u201d was all Ben could say again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHey, Adam. What does \u2018fruta prohibida\u2019 mean?\u201d Joe asked at breakfast on the first morning back on the Ponderosa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cForbidden fruit,\u201d responded Adam. \u201cWhere did you hear that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, something the older ladies kept saying while we were dancing at the wedding.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam looked over his coffee cup first at Hoss and then at his father who was suddenly very busy with his French toast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomething you\u2019re not telling us, Pa?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot a thing, boys. Not a thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0***The end***<\/span><\/p>\n

End Notes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The prompts for this story were:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Pa, I want new designer jeans that have silver bling studs.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • You shouldn’t start what you can’t finish.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A blue hat.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Forbidden fruit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

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

    Summary: \u00a0\u00a0Joe makes a commitment without fully understanding what’s involved. \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Rated: \u00a0T — WC \u00a01200<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,1008,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-family","category-humor","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1008-id","wpcat-4-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bonanza.jpg?fit=295%2C295&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}