100 Tales: Orange
Another Kye and the Kid tale, from their early youth --
Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid were on holiday. Or, to be more truthful, Kye Devon and his partner Jess Knight were. We'd finally made it to the west coast, and had taken a few weeks away from our busy schedule with the railroads and the banks to enjoy the new locale. San Francisco was quite a bit larger than I'd anticipated. We'd gotten lost four times in as many hours, but after three days, I felt I had the basic lay of the land.
The first thing I'd done was to hit the local newspaper office and read through as many of the back issues as they'd let me. A professional man -- and Jess Knight was a professional -- needed to know as much as possible before making any moves. We'd amassed enough money to pass as a couple of well-to-do young men off on an adventure. But I wanted to do more than just pass.
Kye had rolled his eyes as I'd headed out for a second morning of reading. He'd been spending his time down at the wharfs, watching the ships come in from all over the world, talking to people from places we'd never been. Kye liked people. Me, I liked people I could predict, people who'd react the way I needed them to. I knew pretty much what most of them would do in a situation -- but my partner was the one who actually understood how they felt at any given time. Makes for a good partnership.
The newspapers not only gave me a handle on the latest styles, so Kye and I could outfit ourselves as befitted men of our social status, but it also explained in quite a bit of detail how the upper crust of San Francisco spent their free time. We'd be ostentatiously present in most of those locations over the next few weeks. A couple of young, wealthy newcomers spotted at the local watering holes were sure to net a goodly catch of invitations to the best events in town.
Of course, I'd have to keep an eye out for marriageable young women. A man with as many female relatives as I had knew all too well the machinations a mother would undertake to land a beau for her daughter! And the latest Jess Knight Plan was going to set both of us front and center in the Eligible Bachelor Parade. I'd make sure neither of us blundered into any nets, of course, but I'd have to keep a close eye on my partner until he caught on to the routine. Avoiding romantic entanglement was a complicated dance -- and Kye was a straightforward young man.
Today's outing was to be an afternoon at the coast. We'd ridden out there our first day, of course, just to see what an ocean looked like. But everyone who was anyone in San Francisco took Sunday brunch at Cliff House, and I planned to make sure Kye and I were included in that definition. We'd rented a carriage for the drive, donned our new stylish outfits, and headed for the edge of the country.
Now, after a fine meal, a couple of upstanding young men on holiday paraded along the shore with the best of the city. Kye did tend to spoil his image by running a finger behind his shirt collar, but all in all, he cut a fine figure. I did have to lay down the law on one point, however -- the man wanted to take off his shoes and socks and wade around in the surf, picking up rocks and shells!
"We can come back sometime and swim," I assured him. "We'll be here nearly a month, after all."
He gave me that big-eyed look he gets -- the one he thinks is as good as my Puppy Dog Face! -- but I remained unmoved. There was not one figure sloshing about in the waves, and Kye Devon was not going to be the odd man out. Not before we made names for ourselves, that is. Once we got settled in with the big bugs, he could be as eccentric as he wanted to!
If truth be told, my own eyes cut away from the parade of passing dandies more than they should have. I'd never seen that much water in my life. The ceaseless pounding of the waves had made me a bit nervous, that first afternoon, but now it seemed a peaceful backdrop to our stroll. I'd welcome another afternoon here, to sit on the rocks and watch the waves beat against the shore.
It certainly wasn't a quiet stroll. In addition to the thunder of the water, there were all sorts of screeches and cries from the animals living on the coast. There was one big rock offshore -- the newspapers had named it Seal Rock -- that was black with seals. I could hear the weird, deep bellow of the things from here, even over the surf, and the cry of the gulls made an eerie counterpoint. I noticed some of the other dandies pointing at the big animals, and felt comfortable taking a few minutes to ogle the wildlife. Seals were the oddest creatures I'd ever seen. They looked like giant sausages with teeth -- and they rumbled like a steam locomotive full of water.
I looked past the rock, along the orange pathway leading to the setting sun. The waves rolled in from the horizon and broke into white spray. All that water -- and more land on the other side of it. I wondered if we'd ever sail across that expanse to set foot on some other man's homeland. That'd be a holiday to remember.
Kye's elbow collided with my ribs. "You about ready to head back, kid? I'm starting to get hungry."
"You're always hungry, old man." I looked around. The crowd had thinned out along the promenade as the sun sank toward the horizon. We hadn't attracted enough attention yet to have been invited to any After-Stroll Parties -- but give it time.
I elbowed my partner back and headed for the carriage. "Your turn to buy."
Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid were on holiday. Or, to be more truthful, Kye Devon and his partner Jess Knight were. We'd finally made it to the west coast, and had taken a few weeks away from our busy schedule with the railroads and the banks to enjoy the new locale. San Francisco was quite a bit larger than I'd anticipated. We'd gotten lost four times in as many hours, but after three days, I felt I had the basic lay of the land.
The first thing I'd done was to hit the local newspaper office and read through as many of the back issues as they'd let me. A professional man -- and Jess Knight was a professional -- needed to know as much as possible before making any moves. We'd amassed enough money to pass as a couple of well-to-do young men off on an adventure. But I wanted to do more than just pass.
Kye had rolled his eyes as I'd headed out for a second morning of reading. He'd been spending his time down at the wharfs, watching the ships come in from all over the world, talking to people from places we'd never been. Kye liked people. Me, I liked people I could predict, people who'd react the way I needed them to. I knew pretty much what most of them would do in a situation -- but my partner was the one who actually understood how they felt at any given time. Makes for a good partnership.
The newspapers not only gave me a handle on the latest styles, so Kye and I could outfit ourselves as befitted men of our social status, but it also explained in quite a bit of detail how the upper crust of San Francisco spent their free time. We'd be ostentatiously present in most of those locations over the next few weeks. A couple of young, wealthy newcomers spotted at the local watering holes were sure to net a goodly catch of invitations to the best events in town.
Of course, I'd have to keep an eye out for marriageable young women. A man with as many female relatives as I had knew all too well the machinations a mother would undertake to land a beau for her daughter! And the latest Jess Knight Plan was going to set both of us front and center in the Eligible Bachelor Parade. I'd make sure neither of us blundered into any nets, of course, but I'd have to keep a close eye on my partner until he caught on to the routine. Avoiding romantic entanglement was a complicated dance -- and Kye was a straightforward young man.
Today's outing was to be an afternoon at the coast. We'd ridden out there our first day, of course, just to see what an ocean looked like. But everyone who was anyone in San Francisco took Sunday brunch at Cliff House, and I planned to make sure Kye and I were included in that definition. We'd rented a carriage for the drive, donned our new stylish outfits, and headed for the edge of the country.
Now, after a fine meal, a couple of upstanding young men on holiday paraded along the shore with the best of the city. Kye did tend to spoil his image by running a finger behind his shirt collar, but all in all, he cut a fine figure. I did have to lay down the law on one point, however -- the man wanted to take off his shoes and socks and wade around in the surf, picking up rocks and shells!
"We can come back sometime and swim," I assured him. "We'll be here nearly a month, after all."
He gave me that big-eyed look he gets -- the one he thinks is as good as my Puppy Dog Face! -- but I remained unmoved. There was not one figure sloshing about in the waves, and Kye Devon was not going to be the odd man out. Not before we made names for ourselves, that is. Once we got settled in with the big bugs, he could be as eccentric as he wanted to!
If truth be told, my own eyes cut away from the parade of passing dandies more than they should have. I'd never seen that much water in my life. The ceaseless pounding of the waves had made me a bit nervous, that first afternoon, but now it seemed a peaceful backdrop to our stroll. I'd welcome another afternoon here, to sit on the rocks and watch the waves beat against the shore.
It certainly wasn't a quiet stroll. In addition to the thunder of the water, there were all sorts of screeches and cries from the animals living on the coast. There was one big rock offshore -- the newspapers had named it Seal Rock -- that was black with seals. I could hear the weird, deep bellow of the things from here, even over the surf, and the cry of the gulls made an eerie counterpoint. I noticed some of the other dandies pointing at the big animals, and felt comfortable taking a few minutes to ogle the wildlife. Seals were the oddest creatures I'd ever seen. They looked like giant sausages with teeth -- and they rumbled like a steam locomotive full of water.
I looked past the rock, along the orange pathway leading to the setting sun. The waves rolled in from the horizon and broke into white spray. All that water -- and more land on the other side of it. I wondered if we'd ever sail across that expanse to set foot on some other man's homeland. That'd be a holiday to remember.
Kye's elbow collided with my ribs. "You about ready to head back, kid? I'm starting to get hungry."
"You're always hungry, old man." I looked around. The crowd had thinned out along the promenade as the sun sank toward the horizon. We hadn't attracted enough attention yet to have been invited to any After-Stroll Parties -- but give it time.
I elbowed my partner back and headed for the carriage. "Your turn to buy."