to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.  

A Child Was Born
~~by BettyHT

When Ben Cartwright was headed home in that snowstorm, all he wanted was to pull off his boots and put his feet up by the fire, fill his pipe with some tobacco, and relax with a nice glass of sherry to warm up inside and out. The thought of those things helped keep him warmer as he struggled through the rapidly rising drifts of snow on the road. When he saw the outline of the stable ahead, he had to admit to himself that he had been afraid he might not make it. Another relief was to have Hoss and Joe there a moment later to take care of Buck for him. Joe wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and pointed him toward the house as the two brothers quickly took care of his horse. Quite obviously they had been waiting for him, and he saw their look of concern and assumed it had to do with their worry for him. However when he entered the house, he found a guest already there seated in his nice soft red leather chair and wrapped in a blanket with her feet up warming in front of the fire. Hop Sing came out to greet him and told him he would have a warm meal and coffee in only a few minutes.

“Hop Sing, who is our guest?”

“Hop Sing not tell story. Mister Hoss and Mister Joe tell story.”

Shaking his head, the cook hurried back to the kitchen with a quick and sidelong glance at the young woman by the fireplace. She hadn’t turned to look at Ben at all. He decided to wait for his sons to explain the situation and headed to the dining table to have something to eat until they could tell him that story. When Hoss and Joe came in a few minutes later, it was clear they were nervous. Ben wasn’t in a mood to wait. The next day was Christmas, and he wondered too where Adam was. First though, he asked about the young woman before he asked about Adam. However it was the question about Adam that was answered first.

“Pa, Adam ain’t made it back yet. We was hoping the two of you was together.”

“Made it back? Where did he go?”

“He said he had to pick up somethin’ in town. He got a message from the telegraph office and he left. He ain’t been back since. Joe and me been worried ’bout the two of you all afternoon once we saw them storm clouds building up.”

“Yeah, I wanted to go look for the two of you, but Hoss said that we should wait. You might not come home if it got too bad.”

“I thought about it, but I wanted to be home for Christmas, but if Adam was behind me, he might not have made the same decision. It’s getting worse out there.”

At the mention of Adam’s name, the young woman had perked up and was watching them. Ben inclined his head toward her, and Hoss got the message.

“Pa, we don’t know much at all. She said she’s here for Adam. She said Adam wanted her to come. That’s about all we could get her to say.”

Joe couldn’t hold back though. He leaned toward his father. “It’s kind of like the Christmas story, Pa, about Mary and Joseph when she was with child. She didn’t want to come in the house when she found out Adam wasn’t here. She was looking scared. Pa, she’s with child too, and she said she’s here for Adam!”

With that, Ben’s eyes got very large and he looked at the young woman as did Hoss and Joe. She looked back at them knowing they must be whispering about her but didn’t know what they were saying. She was afraid they might turn her out if Adam didn’t get there soon. Already worried about his reaction, she now worried even more about theirs after seeing the silver haired man with the big bushy eyebrows. The giant of a man with the kind eyes and the small man with the smile hadn’t been too scary, but this older man frightened her. Snuggling down into the blanket they had given to her, she turned back to the fire hoping they would stop looking at her because she had enough fears already.

“How did she get here?”

“She said she walked and then when she got far enough, Hop Sing was coming back with the supplies and brought her the rest of the way in the buckboard. He told Hoss and me about her and we talked to her then outside and eventually got her to come inside.”

When the older man approached her, she cowered in fear for although she had endured much at the hands of men, usually they wanted something from her that involved them being nice to her at least at first. She didn’t think these men would be like that. More likely they would be like the men and women she had seen as she traveled to Virginia City who had seen her condition and realized her unmarried state turning up their noses at her as if she was so much human garbage to be avoided if at all possible. Men didn’t desire her now in her condition. She had refused all offers to eliminate the baby and now it was too late with that baby about to arrive too. She was sure of it, and her only hope was that Adam would help her. He had offered once, but she didn’t know if the offer still held. Exhausted because she had used what energy she had left in the walk out here, she didn’t know what she would do if Adam refused to help her. It had taken much of the day to get here, and she too had seen those storm clouds gathering. Memories of her mother teaching her to pray so many years before were hazy, but she had tried to remember the words hoping He would be forgiving of all that had transpired in between. If the Chinese man had not come, she thought she might have died out there. No, she amended that thought and knew she would have died.

“Young lady, can you tell us your name?”

Kneeling by her side and even seeming to smile a bit, the older man didn’t sound as fierce as he looked. In fact, to her, he even looked somewhat kindly now. She decided she might try to trust him. “Mary.”

“Mary, would you like something to eat or drink while you wait for Adam to return?”

“I wouldn’t mind a little tea, but my stomach is upset.”

As usual, as if by magic, Hop Sing was there almost as soon as the words left Mary’s mouth. He had a small tray with a cup of tea and a few small crackers too. He set them on the small table next to the chair where Mary sat.  “Tea settle stomach. Then eat crackers. Baby need food too.”

“Thank you.”

All were quiet as Mary drank her tea and then ate the crackers as instructed. Nervous as they all seemed to be staring at her and not knowing what to say, she said nothing. Some noise outside alerted them to someone arriving, but it sounded more like a sleigh or carriage than a horse so they didn’t expect Adam. However he was the one who came through the door.

“Hi, Pa, Joe, Hoss. Oh, Mary, I’m so glad you’re here. I thought you would be in town, and then all I could find out from anyone was that it appeared that you had walked out of town. I could only assume you walked this way, and I was afraid of what might have happened to you. You should have known I would come for you.”

“I didn’t know how far it was until I started walking. By the time I knew, I was so far from town that it didn’t matter. Turning back or continuing on: either one was going to be a lot. Then Hop Sing picked me up and gave me a ride here.”

“I only got the message today. The lines were down over the mountains otherwise I would have been in town to pick you up at the stage station.”

“Yes, the weather was bad for the trip. Oh, Adam, does that mean you’ll keep your promise.”

“Yes, I told you that if this happened, I would take care of you.”

Joe snickered a little and punched Hoss in the arm, but a fierce glare from their father ended any more of that. Both stood back and adopted a serious look.

“Adam, I am shocked.”

“Pa, what?” Adam stared at his father, and then his grin grew wider and broader when he looked over at Mary and and winked. She had looked scared at Ben’s roar but relaxed when Adam didn’t seem bothered by it. Adam adopted a more serious look and turned back toward his father, but he couldn’t entirely remove the smile. “Yes, Pa, is there a problem?”

“A problem? There’s a young woman, a very young woman, about to deliver a baby, and she said you made a promise to her, and you have confirmed it. Of course, there’s a problem. How you could be smiling at a time like this, I don’t understand. This is a serious matter, a very serious matter.”

“Yes, Pa, it is. Oh, I forgot. Hoss and Joe, we have guests outside. Could you go escort them in? I wanted to make sure that everything was all right in here first.”

“Guests? You brought guests?”

“Yes, Pa, but don’t worry. They’ll only be here long enough to meet Mary and pack her up. She’s going with them.”

“Going with them? But why would she go with them?”

Knowing he had probably pushed his father as far as he should, and with Joe and Hoss escorting Annie and the Swede into the house, Adam explained. “I met Mary about a year ago. She was working in an occupation for which she was ill suited and much too young. She was much too young. She told me she had to do it to survive. I told her she was wrong and said I would help her get into a better situation whenever she wanted my help. I told her if she kept going the way she was going that she would be with child soon enough and asked her what she would do then. She said she didn’t know. I said if it happened, she should come to me, and I would find her a place. Shortly after getting back here, I contacted people because I was sure Mary would be with child soon enough, and I tried to find a couple or a family who would be willing to take her in. Annie and the Swede said they would be happy to do that after I explained it all to them. When I got the telegram that she was with child and being sent here to me at her request and would arrive this morning, I went to see them. We hooked up the sleigh, and we went to town to pick her up but couldn’t find her. So here we are now.”

As soon as Adam stopped, Annie spoke up. “We’ve never been blessed with children, and we have that big old house. We will take her in to be part of our family if she’ll have us, and she has a home with us as long as she wants it. I can teach her to cook, and we can have a grand time as a family. Just think, three generations under one roof? Wouldn’t Himself be proud?”

“I’m hoping it’s a boy, though. I don’t think three women under one roof with me is gonna be a good situation.”  Swede’s comment got a laugh even from Mary who thought how wonderful it was to hear him talk as if he was the grandfather. He saw Mary looking at him.  “I’ve never had a daughter, but I have to tell you I am looking forward to having one.”

He smiled then, and no one had ever been able to resist the Swede’s smile. Mary smiled back. She stood with Adam’s assistance and hugged him.

“Thank you, Adam. You kept your promise.”

“I always keep my promises.”

Then Mary doubled over in pain gasping for air. Adam moved to help her sit again, but Ben interrupted him.

“Take her to the guest bedroom, son. I don’t think anyone is leaving here anytime soon.”

The way Ben was smiling despite Mary being in pain meant they all figured it out quickly. Christmas morning was extra special on the Ponderosa that year with a newborn babe wrapped in swaddling blankets. A few days later, with the sun shining and warmer temperatures, Adam and the Swede got the sleigh ready again. Ben and his sons were a bit sad to see the baby carried out to the sleigh for a ride to Annie and the Swede’s house. Wrapped in a mound of quilts with warming bricks and Annie bundled in beside them, Mary and the baby were very comfortable. The Swede looked every bit the proud grandfather as he snapped the reins to take his family home. The Cartwrights waved goodbye as the Swede laughed and wished them another Merry Christmas. As the sleigh pulled away, the four men moved back into the house. Once the door was closed tight, Ben turned to Adam.

“Son, now that all the commotion is over, I have one question for you.” Grinning, Joe and Hoss, who had been anticipating this, took a seat on the stairs as Adam got a sickly look. “I know you said Mary was in a profession she shouldn’t have been, and I think we all know what that was. But son, you never explained how you met her. Perhaps you could tell me where you were when you met Mary?”

When I signed up for the calendar, I had no idea I would be following Faust with the incomparable Juliet.  I’ve done my best and hope you have a Happy St. Nick’s and that you all get treats in your stocking tonight.  It’s my family carrying on Dutch traditions that keeps that going.