Changes
By: Claire
"Hold on just a minute!" Ben said, his voice betraying the emotion
he felt.
Reaching out a strong arm, he took a firm hold of Adam's shirt sleeve,
effectively preventing the younger man from leaving.
"I don't want to talk about it!" Adam flung back angrily. He
tried to shrug
off Ben's restraining grasp, but to no avail.
Ben stood his ground, his grip as firm and resolute as ever and just stared
at his son. Adam shrank back slightly, his previous resolve starting to
subdue, along with his anger.
"Why?" Ben asked. "Why on earth would you do such a thing?"
Adam could feel his father's gaze bore into him: it was as if the man could
see into his soul. It gave him a singularly uncomfortable feeling and
increased the already heightened tension in the room. The fact that Joe
and
Hoss regarded him with a finely judged mixture of bemusement and fury just
compounded Adam's unease.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Hoss muttered, almost in an
undertone. He
shook his head sadly and gave a loud, exasperated sigh.
Joe nodded, still trying to make sense of things and not quite able to
trust
himself to speak. He settled for giving Adam a soulful look, tinged with
a
subtle pinch of distaste.
The triple onslaught was almost more than Adam could bear and he squirmed
inwardly, thoroughly discomfited. It had seemed like such a good idea at
the
time, he thought miserably, only too aware of how badly misjudged his
brilliant plan really was.
"Why, Adam?" Ben repeated, determined to get an answer.
Adam shrugged, feigning a nonchalance he really did not feel. "I don't
see
why things have to stay the same. Change is good - it's a part of life."
Despite his bravado, it was clear that Adam was bitterly regretting his
impulsive actions. "I didn't think it would do any harm.but then, I
suppose
I didn't really think at all," he finished, only too aware of how pathetic
an excuse that now seemed.
"And they say I'm the reckless one?" Joe asked incredulously.
"Oh Adam!" Ben moaned. "I can understand how you might feel.
And yes,
there's nothing wrong with change - but you have to consider the
consequences of your actions and how they will affect others. You can see
that, can't you?"
Adam nodded, all his anger gone, replaced by deep embarrassment. How could
he have been so stupid?
Ben continued, his voice much softer as he saw how Adam was suffering.
"Surely you remember how we all agreed that Hoss would wear those brown
trousers and Joe would have the tan shirt? You do realise that you can't
change things just because you fancy a change, don't you? You have to think
of the viewers, for goodness sake!"
"It'll be right confusing!" Hoss agreed. "Looking at you
from behind, the
audience won't know what to think, will they?"
"I just got bored with black!" Adam confessed. "But I did
see a rather nice
crimson shirt in the mercantile, and an unusual custard-coloured coat."
Ben rolled his eyes expressively as he mentally calculated how much this
was
going to cost him. That was the thing about change - it always seemed to
be
rather expensive. But at least Adam wasn't demanding conchos - even he had
the sense to realise these were Ben's sole prerogative!