{"id":2877,"date":"2011-07-05T15:26:33","date_gmt":"2011-07-05T19:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2877"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:56:12","slug":"his-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2877","title":{"rendered":"His Father (by faust)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: <\/span>He was special, even among the special men: his father. If only….<\/p>\n

1,600 words, rated T<\/p>\n

Also available in eBook format \u2014 please pm me for that.<\/p>\n

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

<\/h2>\n

His Father<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a long time, I didn\u2019t know who was my child\u2019s father. Not an uncommon occurrence for women of my profession\u2014but still, sometimes a girl would like to know if this handsome stranger or that rich dude had added his contribution to her burden.<\/p>\n

Jonathan never was a burden, though. He was a quiet child, and a good boy. He never complained when I had to leave him alone in our small room at the end of the corridor, he never woke me when another late night made me sleep long into the morning. And when I eventually woke up he would sit there, in the middle of the room, reading in his storybooks or drawing beautiful pictures he would give to the other girls.<\/p>\n

The older he grew, the more I was convinced I knew who his father was. Heck, at the age of four, there was no mistaking whom my little black prince took after.<\/p>\n

He was one of the men you remember for ever. Don\u2019t take this the wrong way, it\u2019s not that you forget all customers as soon as they\u2019ve paid their fee; but some are confusable, some are so pale their memory just fades away like morning dew, and some are of the type that you most certainly don\u2019t want to remember. Some men, though, have an impact on you. It can be their look, their money, the way they talk, or how they were friendly, or shy, or even courteous.<\/p>\n

Jonathan\u2019s father was one of them, but he was special even among the special men. He came only once; a cowboy, obviously, but a well-spoken fellow, and well-read, too. He used fancy words, recited a poem, and recommended a book to me. It was endearing: he really thought I could read! But he wasn\u2019t only gallant and kind, he was a magnificent lover, too, if I may say so. Even though he was bone tired from the cattle drive, or whatever had brought him to San Francisco, he took care of my needs as much as I took care of his. He was gentle and polite, and…yes, caring. I\u2019ve never done anything as close to making love<\/em> as I have with him. I remember, he never told me his name, but I asked him to call me not by my saloon name, but by my given one, Maryann. I still can hear him saying it, low and husky, and with a long, savoured M. Mmmaryann<\/em>. Oh yeah, I was more than happy when I realised he had fathered my child.<\/p>\n

When he was old enough, I told Jonathan that he was a child of love, not just a whoreson. I don\u2019t know why this amused him that much, but there are many things I don\u2019t understand about my son. When I sent him to school, soon it became apparent that Jonathan was smarter than any other child of his age, and that neither I nor the small institute that allowed children like him to attend could satisfy his thirst for knowledge. And so I decided to take double shifts, to not only entertain men but also serve drinks, and use all of my earnings to send Jonathan to a boarding school in the East.<\/p>\n

He did well at school. He did so well that his teachers suggested he\u2019d go to college after graduating. My son\u2014to college! It wasn\u2019t easy to meet the costs for college, but Molly, who had lost her only child to tuberculosis when he was three, slipped me money whenever she could. She said maybe Jonathan would find a medicine that helped with lung diseases once he\u2019d finished his studies. She never understood that he studied engineering and business, as often as I tried to tell her.<\/p>\n

If only I had known his father\u2019s name, and where he came from. He was a cowboy\u2014I already told you that, didn\u2019t I? But from the way he talked, and from his expensive boots, it was easy to tell he had money. I\u2019m sure he would have paid for the college, or at least part of it. Maybe he even would have attended Jonathan\u2019s graduation day. Yes, I\u2019m sure he would. He would have been so proud. He would have sat next to me and applauded just as enthusiastically as I did.<\/p>\n

I<\/em> was proud. My handsome, smart son, best of his year, spitting image of a man I\u2019d met only once, more than twenty years ago. Oh, how I wished I could tell his father, how I would have loved to see those dimples deepen in joy at the sight of his graduate son.<\/p>\n

It was only weeks after I returned to San Francisco, when it finally happened that I met him again.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what made me look into the window of that bookshop; usually I\u2019m not interested, for obvious reasons. There were some brightly coloured children\u2019s books on display, if I remember rightly, maybe the memory of seeing Jonathan with those made me stop and look. The books didn\u2019t hold my interest long, though, when I saw him<\/em> through the window, standing in the middle of the shop and flipping through the pages of a book. My heart jumped; and before I could really think about it, my feet moved of their own accord and my body had no chance except to follow them into the shop.<\/p>\n

He looked pretty much the same as I remembered him from twenty odd years ago. Some tiny wrinkles at the edges of his eyes, and a little grey at his temples were the only traces time had left. And his clothes were different: he didn\u2019t look like a cowboy, but like a respectable businessman.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong time no see,\u201d I managed to say; and immediately I realised how stupid that must have sounded.<\/p>\n

He looked up from his book, clearly puzzled. But he smiled his polite smile, and his voice was just as pleasantly kind as it had been that<\/em> night, when he answered, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t seem to remember…. Do we know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been quite some time,\u201d I said. I fumbled at the collar of my coat, like a little girl. Really, I\u2019m sure I bore no resemblance to the forward professional I use to be. \u201cMore than twenty years.\u201d More than twenty years! Time had been kind to him; but being in the job I am, time hadn\u2019t been kind to me. Of course he didn\u2019t remember me. He\u2019d need more than my face to get an idea who I was.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name\u2019s Maryann Benton; we met\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a questioning voice, a clearly bewildered voice. The woman belonging to that voice turned up from the left side. She was younger than he, Adam<\/em>, about ten years or so. She had a toddler on her arm, a dark haired child with chubby cheeks and a wet, dimpled grin. Two older children were accompanying her, a boy who looked scarily like Jonathan at the age of twelve and a tall, blonde girl who was only a little younger and looked at me with the same curious observance her mother bestowed on me.<\/p>\n

She was a lady. And as every lady she sensed immediately that I wasn\u2019t one. She adjusted the toddler on her arm, closed the distance between her and her husband with two quick steps, and put a hand on his arm, her eyes wandering from him to me and back.<\/p>\n

The two youngsters had kept up with her and eyed me suspiciously now. The boy frowned, and with that looked even more like Jonathan, and then he asked. \u201cPa, do you know this lady?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lady lifted an eyebrow and curled her lips into an amused smile. \u201cDo you, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam<\/em>\u2014Jesus, what a lovely name\u2014Adam displayed his polite dimples and shook his head. \u201cI really don\u2019t know, but apparently…\u201d<\/p>\n

The lady looked surprised. Not displeased, don\u2019t get me wrong. Just…astonished. She smiled at me, invitingly, obviously waiting for further explanation. Jona\u2014no, the boy, his boy, his and her boy, he gazed at me with this odd silent consideration Jonathan often displayed; and the girl, who looked so much like her mother, gaped at me with big round eyes as if I was about to tell her the most amazing fairy tale. The toddler on his mother\u2019s arm suddenly turned around, flashed me a toothless grin and then held his hands out to his father.<\/p>\n

Adam took the child from his wife and chuckled silently when the little black prince leaned forward and planted a wet kiss on his father\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n

To this day I don\u2019t know what made me do it, but I took a step back and said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I thought I knew you, but hearing your name is Adam, it can\u2019t be. I apologise for causing confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t even wait for an answer but left the shop hurriedly, though not before seeing the lady\u2019s small smile as she mouthed, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I said he was one of the men you remember for ever. And I will. He\u2019s Jonathan\u2019s father, after all. I won\u2019t forget her<\/em> either. I can\u2019t. I\u2019m reminded of her every time I look into my mirror.<\/p>\n

They looked like a happy couple, a happy family.<\/p>\n

I bet he\u2019s a good father.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d be so proud of Jonathan\u2014don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

With many thanks to Sklamb and Joaniepaiute for their terrific beta-service.<\/p>\n

 <\/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. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/em><\/p>\n

My Story Index<\/a><\/p>\n

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

He was special, even among the special men: his father. If only…. <\/p>\n

1,600 words, rated T<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":60424,"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":[1005,7,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-cartwright","category-a-u","category-drama","wpcat-1005-id","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-23-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\/2025\/10\/clock.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2877","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\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}