A Nick & Carter Holiday #17
Thursday, October 12, 1939
It's Columbus Day and it seems like everyone is heading to the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay!
There are only a few days left before the thrilling exhibitions, pavilions, restaurants, and rides close down and they may not open up again in 1940.
Nick Williams and Mike Robertson are heading over to Treasure Island to tour all the pavilions of the different states and the foreign lands.
Both have been before.
Mike worked a detail there earlier in the year as a patrol officer. He never got to see anything other than the crazy crowds.
Nick snuck in with his buddies during the early days of the Exposition. He even took off with a few trinkets without paying.
Carter Jones and Henry Winters arrived in San Francisco from Georgia a couple of months ago and, only now, are finally able to make their way over to Treasure Island.
Carter, who's training to be a fireman, has been looking forward to this magical moment for a long time.
Henry is meeting him there after classes at Cal over in Berkeley.
Both couples will find their expeditions delayed by some unfortunate and coincidental encounters among the thousands of visitors who are crowding the island in celebration of Columbus Day.
But, in the end, everything sorts itself out and they all have a wonderful time.
And, who knows, maybe their paths will cross 8 years before that wonderful enchanted beginning...
Welcome to a year of holidays with Nick Williams and Carter Jones!
This is the seventeenth in a series of short stories and novellas all centered around specific holidays.
Each story is a vignette that stands on its own and takes place from the 1920s to 2008.
Not going to say too much as I don't want to spoil this for anyone who, like me, is new-ish to the Nick & Carter universe. As I've said with each of these holiday shorts, the author's main Nick & Carter series continues to creep ever higher on my TBR list. Unfortunately, as the time between now and the middle of January tends to be my busiest reading and blogging time(as well as life in general with all the holidays) it's most likely I won't get to their main journey until 2024 but I will definitely explore their full adventures.
As for Columbus Day, 1939 . . . well if you are even a little familiar with the pair you'll know that they didn't actually know each other in 1939 so we get to see a little glimpse of their individual lives at the time but we also see that their paths are growing ever closer. I was quite intrigued to see where both men were prior to meeting, Carter with then boyfriend Henry Winters and Nick with Mike Robertson. We've seen snippets of their pre-meeting pairings before but to see them so close to intertwining was quite fun.
Not sure what interested me more: their lives before meeting or wondering if they would spot each other "across a crowded room"(or in this case a crowded World's Fair). Either way it was another great glimpse into their life journeys.
Golden Gate International Exposition
Treasure Island
San Francisco Bay
Thursday, October 12, 1939
Quarter past 5 in the afternoon
Nick Williams leaned against the railing of the ferry as it plowed through the bay. He took in a deep breath and got a big whiff of nothing very pleasant. The smokestacks of the other boats crossing the bay filled the air with a dark kind of haze which made it really stink.
He turned around and looked back at the City. The Ferry Building lights were on even though the sun hadn't set quite yet. He shifted his stance a little, trying to get comfortable. His feet hurt just a little since he'd been at work and standing all day. His boss had him in by 5 that morning, tacking on an hour ahead and two hours on the backend of his usual shift. That would give him some extra money in his pay packet the next day, something which would come in handy, like it always did.
"Listen to this!"
Nick glanced at the tall blond man in grey wool trousers with a dull green sports coat over a brown tie and sporting a brown hat. He was leaning against either his wife or his girl. She was wearing a red dress and a tan coat over that with a red hat pinned to her brown hair. She was chewing gum.
They were leaning against the rail with their backs to the water. He was about five feet away from Nick and she was on his other side.
"They even got the house of the future!" said the man.
"Oh, yeah?" replied the woman. She obviously didn't care. As if to prove the point, she looked at her painted red fingernails and sighed.
"And I wanna go see the Redwood Empire pavilion. It looks really keen."
She rolled her eyes.
"Did you get a chance to look at the guide like I suggested when I called?"
"Uh, uh. No." She blew a small bubble and popped it with a crack.
"Eileen!" whined the man. "Aren't you at all interested in the Exposition?"
"Look, Howard—"
"Howie. All my friends call me Howie."
She nodded impatiently. "Fine. Look, Howie, I came out with you tonight as a favor to your sister. I don't wanna go see no exhibits. I seen 'em all already."
"Then what do you want to do, Eileen?"
"Like I told you on Saturday when you called. I wanna go dancin' at the Musical Hall."
"I dunno, Eileen." He closed his copy of the guide. "Seems like there won't be much of a party on a Tuesday night."
"Are you kiddin' me, you dingdong? Look at the ferry!" She made a big sweep of her arm. "It's Columbus Day! And this boat's full of w*ps and d*goes and they're the best dancers, if you don't count the n***ers." She caught Nick staring and raised an eyebrow. "Why doncha take a picture, mister? It'll last longer."
Nick felt himself blush hard. He turned to his right and found his buddy, Mike, staring down at him. He had on what Nick liked to call his "monster face." Mike looked a lot like Boris Karloff when he was mad. Otherwise, he was real handsome with his wavy black hair and icy blue eyes and being as tall as he was.
"Don't eavesdrop, Nick," said Mike with a disappointed tone in his voice.
Nick shrugged. "I wasn't really eavesdroppin'. They were talkin' loud."
Mike pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and seemed to relax. He smiled a little. "Are you excited to see everything?"
Nick nodded. He'd already been to the Expo, but he didn't want Mike to know because he'd been over with some of his buddies back in the spring and they'd walked in backwards, meaning they hadn't paid to get in. And they'd pocketed a few things, too. Nothing big, of course. But tellin' a big cop that you were a thief was never a good idea as far as Nick was concerned.
*****
Carter Jones was standing on the upper deck of the ferry as it pulled up to the dock. As far as he was concerned, the air might be a little hazy what with all the boats belching black smoke, but it was still full of magic.
He was finally getting a chance to see the Exposition before it closed down for the winter. Ever since he'd arrived from Georgia with his best friend, Henry Winters, he'd wanted to take the ride over. At first, he hadn't had enough money to spare. Then, when he had the money, he didn't have the time. He was becoming a fireman and, when he wasn't working, he was doing his side jobs to keep body and soul together.
Feeling a rise of excitement in his stomach, he scanned the wharf area to see if Henry was waiting for him. They were supposed to meet right by where the ferries docked at half past 5. Although they lived together and shared a bed together (and all that implied), Henry was going to school at Cal across the bay in Berkeley. So, he'd taken a Key System train across the bridge like he always did but had taken one of the special ones that brought folks out to Treasure Island. Or that was the plan.
As the ferry bumped up against the sides of the dock and the engine went into reverse, Carter suddenly saw Henry wearing his blue beanie with a big gold C on the front. Carter waved and Henry waved back.
Feeling his heart sink, Carter noticed Henry was standing next to Catherine "Cat" James, a girl in one of his classes. Cat went to Cal and lived at home with her parents in the Oakland hills.
And next to her was Mary Margaret Maxwell, Cat's second cousin who was originally from Chicago and had come out west during the summer to attend Cal but then dropped out a week after classes started. Last Carter heard, she was attending a secretarial school in downtown Oakland.
The four of them had been on a double date a couple of weeks earlier and Carter was still sore with Henry for forcing him into something he had no interest in ever doing. Cat was fun to be around, that was for sure, and Mary Margaret was nice enough. But then she'd talked about necking when they took a walk up on Nob Hill and Carter had to pretend he was coming down with a cold. He hated to lie.
Nick Williams Mystery Series
In 1953, the richest homosexual in San Francisco is a private investigator.
Nick Williams lives in a modest bungalow with his fireman husband, a sweet fellow from Georgia by the name of Carter Jones.
Nick's gem of a secretary, Marnie Wilson, is worried that Nick isn't working enough. She knits a lot.
Jeffrey Klein, Esquire, is Nick's friend and lawyer. He represents the guys and gals who get caught in police raids in the Tenderloin.
Lt. Mike Robertson is Nick's first love and best friend. He's a good guy who's one hell of a cop.
The Unexpected Heiress is where their stories begin. Read along and fall in love with the City where cable cars climb halfway to the stars.
Long before the Summer of Love, pride parades down Market Street, and the fight for marriage equality, San Francisco was all about the Red Scare, F.B.I. investigations, yellow journalism run amok, and the ladies who play mahjong over tea.
Nick & Carter Holiday Series
Welcome to a year of holidays with Nick Williams and Carter Jones!
This is a series of short stories with each centered around a specific holiday.
From New Year's Day to Boxing Day, each story stands on its own and might occur in any year from the early 1920s to the first decade of the 21st Century.
Saturday Series Spotlights
Author Bio:
Frank W. Butterfield is the Amazon best-selling author of 89 (and counting) self-published novels, novellas, and short stories. Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, he has traveled all over the US and Canada and now makes his home in Daytona Beach, Florida. His first attempt at writing at the age of nine with a ball-point pen and a notepad was a failure. Forty years later, he tried again and hasn't stopped since.
Columbus Day, 1939 #17
