âPlease Arthur. We planned for you to come,â Davey insisted.
âFor the hundredth time Davey; I ainât goinâ. Itâs bad business and people in town will recognize me from my last job with Javier,â Arthur replied firmly.
âYer gonna say no to all these ladies, Arthur?â Sean asked.
Mary-Beth walked beside Arthur and put a hand on his shoulder. Her other hand gesturing at the wagon as she talked.
âCâmon Arthur, donât be like that. You wouldnât want us ladies to get hurt.â
Karen nodded seeming to get on Mary-Beth line of thinking.
âYeah. Youâve seen town crawlinâ with more law all the damn time. Bad and rude men, who know what theyâd do to us ladies.â
Arthur grumbled some profanities which Tilly jokingly gasped too. But he gave in and whistled for his horse, Chestnut, to come over.
Mary-Beth clapped her hands in excitement and quickly got into the wagon. Karen and Tilly were already in the back. Davey and Sean got into the front.Â
âSo why are we bothering with the food store? Wonât it just have food and a couple bucks?â Arthur asked as he rode beside the wagon.
âWerenât you listening?,â Sean asked. âThere been rumors about an illegal exchange happening in the basement of that building. And you know the illegal things are the best.â
âWeâre doinâ this all for a rumor!?â Arthur demanded.
Arthur shook his head. This was a real bad idea. And knowing Sean and Davey they had something dumb planned.
âDonât worry so much. I already investigated and it seems solid. Besides Karen already talked the store owner and got him swindled. Just send her in and Iâm sure sheâll break him down,â Davey reasoned.
âReal easy thing too. The man couldnât withstand a bat of an eyelash,â Karen boasted.
âShe ainât wrong. Saw him go wide eye when Karen flirted with him,â Mary-Beth attested.
ââNâ what âbout Tilly and Mary-Beth?â Arthur questioned.
âTheyâll keep an eye out for any law or something suspicious,â Davey replied.
âThatâs damn right. Any one tries to get on in weâll keep âem busy,â Tilly said enthusiastically.
âWell Iâm glad you all are so excited for this robbery,â Arthur drawled sarcastically. âBut this whole plan seems like pig shit. We just hoping that we ride into town. All go into the food store without anyone givinâ us a dirty look. Have Tilly and Mary-Beth keep watch and hope no one comes to the store to buy somethinâ. While Sean, Davey, and I go down into some basement and hope there be money sittinâ on a silver platter.â
Davey and Sean glanced at each other. They could certainly tell how skeptical Arthur was feeling of this but they needed to keep him hooked. Though they knew Arthur was right, it did seem far too simple.
âLighten up. We need to do some simple robbery sometimes,â Tilly said. âWe canât always go around robbing stage coaches and banks.â
âBesides,â Karen added, âWeâll just be robbinâ rich folk who think they all high and mighty.â
Arthur adjusted the hat on his head as the wind tried blowing it away. Karen got him, he did like robbinâ rich folk. Though that seemed to always run them into problems. Then again if they had to do illegal business under a food store maybe they werenât all the dangerous to mess with.
âI wish weâd run this by Hosea first. I mean do you five even know who runs this? Or what the business even is?â Arthur pointed out.
âArthur, just relax,â Sean insisted. Something having to do miracle medicine. All worthless just makes lots of money.â
âAlright, alright,â Arthur grumbled.
He supposed they were right. They wasnât much to worry âbout. Beside this town was small the biggest threat was a rat infestation.Â
Along the way the three woman sang. Sean tried to join but Davey whacked him on the head and he quieted down. When they neared town everyone started to quiet down. No point on bringing unwanted attention.
Davey who had been driving the wagon, since Sean could not be trusted, stopped the wagon at the back of the food store. Karen, Mary-Beth, and Tilly all got out of the wagon and went to the front. Presumably to charm the store owner and keep a look out.Â
âSo whatâs our plan?â Arthur asked.
âKarenâs doinâ her magic and sheâll steal the key. Then us three go down to that basement and do a good oleâ fashion robbery,â Davey answered.Â
âCause nothinâ could ever go wrong with that,â Arthur drawled. âWhat about guards? Any gunfire and the entire town will be alerted.â
âDonât worry, we wonât shoot. And they wonât shoot neither since they are running somethinâ illegal. They donât wanna be caught,â Sean spoke up.
Davey and Arthur stared at him in surprise. Sean raised an eyebrow at them confused like.Â
âWhat!?â Sean demanded.
Arthur set a hand on Seanâs shoulder and said, âCanât believe Iâm saying thisâreally. But that may have been smart. For the first time I think i heard somethinâ useful out of the mouth.â
Davey snickered, âI agree. I mean that was smart of you. You sure you really are Sean?â
Davey gave a playful poke to Seanâs stomach. Sean exclaimed something but he was laughing so much it sounded like gibberish. This made Arthur laugh and ruffle Seanâs already messy hair.
âHey, no fair! People love this hair,â Sean whined.
Noticing two men giving them dirty looks Arthur stopped. They should get a move on anyways.
âAlright we should finish this up. In and out fast,â Arthur grunted.
Davey who had been tickling Sean stopped. He quickly smoothed down Seanâs clothes and hair and nodded.
âYeah we should get this done,â Davey agreed.
Sean just nodded and followed Arthur and Davey to the front. Tilly and Mary-Beth smiled at Arthur and let the three in.Â
The food store was simple; a spot for fruit, vegetables, and candy. Shelves with canned goods. In the corner was a desk where the store owner was. Karen was there as well and it looked like she had doing the job.
âCan we take this somewhere else?â Karen asked suggestively.
The man, not noticing the three men, nodded and started to lead her into the back room. Arthur grimaced, this felt to easy. He put his finger to his mouth signaling for them to stay quiet. He crouched down pulling up his bandana to hide his face and start towards the back. Davey and Sean did the same.
The back room had some shelves, a table, and nightstands. The most important thing there was the open hatch that led to the basement. Hand resting on his knife Arthur made his way slowly down the stairs. They creak a little but Karen was saying something to the man so he didnât hear.
A few more steps down Arthur realized that the room was entirely dark and that there was a door off to the side with light coming from it where they must be.
Quietly Arthur made it all the way down. Superstitious this was a trap but he also figured that the store owner wasnât that smart.Â
The moment both of his feet were off the stairs light from lamps and candles illuminated the room. Arthur could see several people both in his eye line and in his peripheral vision but everything happened so fast he couldnât make any defining characteristics of any of them.
Someone to Arthurâs right was closest so thatâs who he went after first. Moving his body closer and swiftly pulling out his knife into a way to stab the person in the stomach.
There were multiple yells from the other people, shouting different things that blended together. The person near him stumbled back and landed on his butt narrowly avoiding Arthurâs knife.Â
Someone put a calm hand on Arthurâs should from behind and grabbed the hand holding the knife.
âWhoa Arthur! Itâs alright.â
âCharles!?â Arthur asked looking back.Â
He glanced back at the person he nearly stabbed and realized it was Javier. Arthur looked around the room. Everyone from camp was staring at him. Dutch was holding cake with a now uncertain face. Hosea had put his head in his hand and was shaking his head. John had been beside Javier paled in slight terror probably wondering if he was next. Jack hide behind Abigail, Abigail herself seemed surprised. Pearson was at a table full of food he had probably made, he looked startled. Mac, Bill, Susan, Molly, Lenny, and Jenny were at recently light lamps, appearing concerned, alarmed, or confused. At the stairs was Tilly, Sean, Davey, and Mary-Beth looking shocked or amused.
They were all wearing coned shaped hats. Also wearing shirts that had different letters on them. This was not normal at all.
âWha-what is going on here?!â Arthur demanded.Â
Before anyone could reply Karen came busting through the door with a newly acquired cone hat.Â
âWoo! Happy birthday Arâ whyâs Javier on the ground?âÂ
âBirthday? Itâs not myâŚâ Arthur trailed off because, well, it was.
John started helping Javier to his feet. Javier was still in mild shock. He was more surprised Arthur had attacked him than anything else. Realizing Charles still had a hold on him Arthur looked back at him.Â
âHowâd you all know it was my birthday?â Arthur asked, it was meant for anybody to answer but everyone just stared at Charles for the answer.
âWe talked âbout it a while back. Thought a party might do you good,â Charles answered calmly.Â
Arthur grimaced trying to think of when. But they did so many hunting or general food trips that Arthur didnât remember when. Charles let go of Arthur which made Arthur realize he had been enjoying the contact.
âIf ya say so. But a surprise party werenât necessary,â Arthur replied.
âActually the surprise part was what Sean and I cooked up,â Davey said, putting his forearm on Seanâs shoulder and leaned against him.Â
âJust so you know I was not onboard. I thought we should surprise attack you,â John spoke up.
âJavier will you smack him for me?â Abigail asked.
âMy pleasure,â Javier replied and quickly whacked John on the head.Â
âOw! Javier!â John whined.
Dutch cleared his throat loudly and announced, âLetâs celebrate Arthurâs birthday now. Heâs done so much for this gang.â
Hosea nodded in agreement, âyou make Dutch and I very proud.âÂ
Arthur raised his eyes in surprise. Sure they occasionally said they were proud of him or thought highly of him but itâd always been a one to one conversation. But Hosea and Dutch had gone and announced to the entire gang. Worried that others would be unhappy with the praise he was receiving Arthur looked around at the people but they were either smiling or nodding.
His eyes landed on Charles last. He couldnât believe Charles had done all of this. Really, it just left him stunned. But he tried to act normal.
âI can see you smilinââ Lenny teased.
âAww, Arthur youâre so adorable,â Tilly joshed.
Just like that everyone was talking and laughing. People such as John, Javier, and Bill were going to the table and grabbing food. Others like Sean, Davey, and Karen stayed standing up chatting with people near. Dutch set the cake down on a different smaller table than the one with food and chairs around it.
âSo that whole thing about going to rob this place was part of the plan?â Arthur asked Charles.
âYeah. It was Karenâs idea,â Charles answered.
âAnd about this place? Howâd you guys manage to stage it here?â Arthur questioned.
Charles shrugged, âIâm not suppose to say.â
Arthur elbowed Charles playfully, âplayinâ that game are we?â
Charles chuckled slightly, âDutch and Hosea rented the place out. The basement anyways. Hosea managed to get a low price since we wouldnât be disturbing any of his business.â
âThatâs a waste of money,â Arthur commented.
This time it was Charles who elbowed Arthur, âAnd thatâs exactly why we werenât suppose to tell you.â
Arthur took another look at the gang milling about. He saw Dutch and Hosea talking, Dutchâs hand on Hoseaâs shoulder. John and Javier sat next to each other, though it wad John doing most of the talking. Lenny was trying to be romantic with Jenny but Jenny ended up kissing him so he quieted down. Molly and Karen had sat down next to each other they tried to eat but ended up playing. Sean and Davey were at the base of the staircase laughing about something.Â
Before he could see what the others were up to Charles put his hand on the side of Arthurâs face turning so heâd look at him. Arthur blinked in surprise. What in the world was going on. He tried to find words but found he was too flustered.Â
âDo you like it?â Charles asked.
Arthur swallowed he did like what he saw but he wasnât sure if thatâs what he was talking about.Â
âIt?â
âThe party.â
âEr, yes. I like it a lot. Umm, thanks. I donât think I could have ever thought of something like this,â Arthur thanked, slightly embarrassed.Â
âLetâs all sit down and eat!â Dutch called.
Seems like everything Arthur was being cut short one way or another. Charles let go of Arthur and went to sit at the table. Arthur tried to sit beside Charles but Pearson sat there so Arthur settled for sitting next to Hosea. Which he didnât mind all that much. Only took a few moments for everybody else to sit down.
Everybody filled their plates with food, it was like a whole feast. This was much better than any robbery Arthur couldâve done. He had Charles to owe for that but heâd just have to thank him later.
âSo the surprise only resulted in an almost stabbing. Which in my book isnât so bad,â Hosea joked to Arthur.
âHas there been a surprise party thatâs ended worse?â Arthur asked.
Hosea nodded without hesitation, âOh yes. I met some people before traveling with Dutch. We threw one of them a surprise party and he shot his brother in the leg.â
Hosea started to wheeze with laughter. Arthur just shook his head.
âHow? Did he just whip out his gun and shoot?â Arthur asked.
âYep. One hell of a surprise. But Iâll explain in detail some other time. This is about you! You enjoyinâ this all? I was worried this would be too chaotic for you to enjoy,â Hosea said.
âIt actually isnât so bad. Iâm still a little shocked about this all. But thanks Hosea,â Arthur replied.
âReally should thank Charles. He cares about you, you know that?â Hosea replied.Â
Arthur swallowed down his food before replying, âI suppose so. Why do you think?â
âOh, Arthur,â Hosea sighed.
Hosea didnât answer his question just started to eat. Arthur waited for a reply but when none came he found himself staring at Charles. Charles was talking to Mary-Beth.
Mary-Beth pointed towards Arthur, or at least he thought she did. Then said something while smiling all love stricken. Charles moved hair out of his face and shook his head had Mary-Beth. She gently pushed his shoulder like she was trying to convince him of something.Â
Then Charles looked at Arthur. They locked eyes and then Arthur quickly looked away.
âSo HoseaâŚâ he paused not sure what to say, âDid Pearson make all this food?â
Hosea thought for a moment, âNot sure who else wouldâve.â
Arthur stared at his food. He wanted to look at Charles again but what if he was staring. He felt like he was being stared at. This was stupid. Especially on his birthday. Why did he have to be so ridiculous? Â
Not able to stop himself Arthur looked at Charles who was looking at him. This time Arthur didnât look away.Â
Arthur raised a slight eyebrow like âwhat is it?â
Charles nodded his head to the staircase. Seemingly wanting to leave.
Arthur gestured with his hand ânow?â
Charles nodded.
âWho wants cake!?â Dutch asked loudly.Â
Dutch had already precut the cake onto plates and started handing them out to everyone. Arthur started to get up but John reached past Javier and pushed him back into his seat.
âJust relax Arthur. Enjoy this while it lasts,â John told him.
Arthur sighed deeply but sat back down. He looked at Charles with a shrug. There wasnât much either of them could do.
But then Arthur saw his chance. People were chatting loudly and getting up to grab a piece of food they wanted or another slice of cake. So Arthur slipped out of his seat and to the stairs. Charles was right behind him.
Arthur and Charles went outside in the street. Arthur opened his mouth to ask what they were doing but Charles put his hand over his mouth and led him out of the small town. Their horses followed since Arthur didnât like hitching his horse and neither did Charles.
Charles led Arthur into the forest past big boulders and then stopped in front of a little pond. The soft sunset light hit the pond so it shined.Â
âWhatâre we doinâ?â Arthur asked, tearing his eyes away from the pond and to Charles.
âThis is the time the pond looks best. So I wanted to show you,â Charles answered.
âItâs pretty,â Arthur commented.
âThought you might like it.â
Arthur smiled, âI do like. Canât believe you keep doinâ this all for me. A party, pretty views, all Birthdayâs âpose to be like this?â
Charles smiled back at Arthur, âIâm not really sure. I read this little thing about how some rich person had a fancy birthday. Iâm confident I can top it.â
âOh yeah? And what did this rich feller have for a birthday?â Arthur replied jokingly.
âOh some big meal, lots of people, gifts, things like that. Speaking of which we do need to get back soon, everyone had got gifts for you,â Charles said.
âJeez. Since when was I the rich person in the newspaper?â Arthur asked.
âWell thereâs one more thing I can do to top it,â Charles said.
Arthur raised an eyebrow in surprise, âYou ainât gotta compete with folk like that. I ainât real interested in bigs fancy jewelâs or big oleâ mansions.â
Charles stepped closer to Arthur till they were breathing the same air. Charles leaned in and so did Arthur. Just like that they kissed.Â
iâll try to make some drawings abt this. If there are typos mb. Uh tell me what else i should write abt iâm cool with that. Or draw.
















