Summary:  Ben is determined that this Founder’s Day will be a family affair, but his sons have other ideas  

Rated: K (17,400 words)

Founder’s Day

Ben

I made it very clear to the boys on the way into town that this day was going to be one that we would all share together. After all, Founder’s Day only comes around once a year and Adam hasn’t been here for the past three of them. Today was to be an event that I felt we should all share as a family. It seemed as if we never really had time together. What with myself getting those army contracts organised, Adam newly back from college and now becoming so busy with the new mill, Hoss working hard and carrying on about that blasted bull of his and Joe at school most of the time, our paths just didn’t seem to cross that often. I promised myself that today would be different.

I must admit to being rather proud of my boys as we travelled into town. Hoss was driving the wagon in front of me with Brutus behind him. He’d put months of work into getting the animal ready for today and I hoped for his sake that the bull would at least win some sort of prize. That middle son of mine needs to succeed at something and his self-esteem could do with a boost. Ever since Adam has returned from college last month I sensed that, pleased and all that he was to have him back, Hoss has listened to his brother’s many stories about his years back East and felt inadequate when he stacked himself up alongside Adam. Not that he had any reason to in my eyes, for I value each of my sons individually and Hoss has many qualities that Adam is lacking, but I suppose that Hoss doesn’t see it that way. In his eyes Adam is sophisticated in a way that he can never be.

Adam rode beside him in the wagon in front. The last month has been difficult with my eldest son, for once the initial excitement of coming home had faded I sensed that he was finding it difficult to fit back into the family and find his place again. Not that he would have ever admitted to it of course, but I knew it all the same. There were times when I actually wondered if he’d even come back and now that he has …. Well, there are times that I wonder if he’ll stay. I sense in my eldest son a restless spirit that a taste of the wide world during these past three years has only enhanced. Time will tell, I suppose.

Joe sat behind me in the buckboard. Actually he bounced behind me if the truth be known, for sitting was something that my youngest son doesn’t tend to do for too long. Not that I could blame the boy, for Founder’s Day was something he’d been looking forward to for months and he could hardly contain his excitement at the thought of the day’s events that were ahead of him. I just prayed that we’d get through the day without him getting into some sort of mischief as he usually did, for Joseph has always been a magnet for trouble. Between his excited yelling in my ear and Hop Sing’s yelling at him to get off his precious vegetables that were destined to be displayed in one of the competitions, I was quite done in by the time we reached the church.

Hop Sing sat beside me the whole way, clutching his basket of jams and jellies and showing nearly as much excitement as Joe at the thought of the day ahead. I’d seen Hoss eyeing off those jams only last night when Hop Sing had taken them out of the cellar where he’s had them for months, but Hoss knew that it was more than his life was worth to even so much as touch them. Hop Sing was determined this year to win a prize as he had most other years and he clutched the basket as if it contained precious jewels instead of jelly-jars. When I stopped the buckboard to let him out, his last words before heading down the street were to remind Hoss to meet him later to help unload his vegetables and to Joe to yell at him to stop sitting on his large pumpkin.

As we pulled up at the church I reminded the boys that today was going to be a family day … one that we’d celebrate together. I was really looking forward to it.

Adam

I was actually glad that Pa insisted on attending church this morning before going to the Founder’s Day events, because it gave me the chance to reflect on things for a while. The last few weeks have been difficult to say the least and I really haven’t got my head around things back here yet.

Of course I’ve been thrilled to be home again, but it’s been hard all the same. I remember when I first went to college in Boston three years ago how hard it was to fit in there too. I really never thought that I would adjust, but six months later I felt as if I’d lived there all my life. I hope it doesn’t take another six months to feel like I belong back here again.

I must admit that it’s been wonderful getting back to my family and The Ponderosa. I’m beginning to enjoy the open spaces again … so different to the narrow streets and all the buildings in Boston. Pa and I have had some wonderful times catching up with each other when Hoss and Joe have been in bed at night. There have been some nights when I swear we would have talked right through if it hadn’t been for the fact that we had to get up at the crack of dawn to work.

Now that has been something I’ve found hard to get used to. Sleeping in just isn’t an option here on The Ponderosa and it has taken some adjusting to again. Hoss has helped in that respect though. He usually comes in to rouse me and then and I spend some good talking time over our early morning chores. Looking forward to talking to my brother has helped to get me out of bed in the mornings.

I haven’t had much of a chance to get to know Joe again and that’s one of the things that I’ve decided to work on next. The kid was all over me at first which was a bit exhausting, but when the initial excitement of having me back had worn off he went his merry way and our paths don’t seem to cross much except at meal times. There are times when I catch him looking at me strangely and I’m not sure why. I can’t say that he’s shy with me, for Joe doesn’t have a shy bone in his body, but I think he’s a bit a wary of me still.

As we sat in church waiting for the service to begin, I couldn’t help but check out everyone around as I knew they were checking out me. Today was the first time I’d really come to a social event since coming home, as apart from a couple of trips to town I’d been busy on the ranch. To be honest, my feelings as I sat there were far from positive, for looking at everyone only made me realise more sharply just how behind the times folks are out here.

I will be totally honest and say that there is a large part of me that wanted to stay back east once I’d graduated. In fact I nearly gave into those thoughts and wrote Pa a letter to ask if he minded me taking an extra year there to soak up the culture. I had written the same letter a number of times, but in the end I decided that the pull of seeing my family again outweighed any desire I had to stay there and I ripped them up.

Funny how Virginia City had always seemed so alluring to me as a kid growing up on The Ponderosa. I had been seduced a number of times by what I thought were the bright lights of town and the fast living that I thought went on there compared to the boring work on the ranch. Yet now, seeing things from an Easterner’s perspective, it all seemed quite quaint to me.

The homemade outfits I saw on the women were years behind the fashions back east, and even though there were a few pretty girls who I sensed were admiring me, I wondered what on earth I’d have in common with them. I hadn’t really even wanted to come to Founder’s Day in the first place, but Pa had made such a fuss of our first family outing together since my return that in the end I hadn’t voiced my opinion. He seemed so keen on being together as a family today, but if the truth be told I was prepared to be totally bored.

From what I’d seen already, the day was going to be the usual collection of country events. Hoss had been so excited about getting his bull ready and Hop Sing of course was as proud as punch to show off his food products. So I feigned interest during the past few weeks and pretended to be looking forward to it. I really can’t imagine anything worst than traipsing around checking out homemade pies and watching people make fools of themselves in all the games they seem to enjoy around here.

Joe had been unbearable for the past few days in his excitement and I thought at one stage that Pa might even ban him from attending because of his bad behaviour. Even now as we sat in church he was the one person who didn’t seem to be able to sit still. I think I had forgotten what it was like to be around children, because he really was annoying me and I had to glare at him several times before we even stood up for the first hymn.

Even Pa has been talking of Founder’s Day as if it’s the event of the season, which I suppose in a way it is out here. I really can’t blame Hoss and Joe for thinking that way, for they’ve never really lived anywhere else and don’t know any better, but Pa has. Maybe he’s just been here so long now that he’s accepted that this is the best he’s going to get? Its kind of sad in a way, because coming from New England as he did all those years ago, he must have experienced quite a different society. I’m really surprised that he doesn’t seem to miss it more.

I really got a shock when I heard the minister’s sermon today. The theme was “to thine own self be true” and he couldn’t have picked a better topic to match my thoughts if he’d tried. It made me stop and wonder if I really was being true to myself by being here out west. I guess that only time will tell.

By the time we were leaving the church, I’d talked myself into a state of melancholy and was quite prepared to have a very tedious day. For Pa’s sake, however, I was prepared to put up with it and pretend to enjoy myself.

Hoss

Church was hard to put up with, what with all the excitement waiting for us outside once it was over. I really wished that Pa hadn’t made us go, but I reckon he thought we should give thanks for the day ahead first. He said that’s what Founder’s Day is all about after all …. celebrating together as a community. I’ve been giving thanks for Founder’s Day for as long as I can remember and I always have a great time, but I really felt as if this year was gonna be special which is why I was so excited and wanted to get out of church real fast.

For a start, Adam was back home and that was a great reason to give thanks. I felt more like me again now that our family was all together for the first time in years. When Adam was away it just weren’t the same and now it was better again. He’d come back different, but he was still my brother and it was great to have him here. I know that we was gonna have a great time together today, just like we used to before he left to go to college.

The next reason why it was gonna be a great day was cause of Brutus. I’d been grooming that bull for nigh on ten months now and there was none to touch him in these parts. The minute I saw him I knew that he was gonna be special and I set out to make him the best that I could. Pa thought that I was wasting my time at first, but when Brutus began to fill out even he admitted that he was one mighty fine bull. I’d been grooming him and feeding him and looking after him so much that I even started thinking of him in my sleep lately, but I knew that it would all be worth it when he won that blue ribbon in the afternoon.It kinda made me feel as if I got something special when I looked at Brutus. Sometimes I felt like I needed something special in my life cause I ain’t got much going for me most of the time. I’d been listening to Adam talk and talk since he got back a few weeks ago, all about Boston and college and suchlike and it made me feel downright dumb when I stacked myself up against him. I knew that he’d be impressed when Brutus won that blue ribbon and that it would show him that I could do something good too.

Sometimes I feel as if my whole family are good at things and I was the one left out. Adam’s so smart and all and Little Joe … he’s cute as a button and one day he’s gonna charm the pants off the ladies. Pa …. well my Pa is just about the most perfect man there is I reckon. Everyone looks up to the Cartwrights in these parts and I felt that when Brutus won that blue ribbon they would all look up to me too.

The other good thing about Founder’s Day was the food. You’ve never seen so much food in all your life as what goes on sale at all the stalls. It always seemed that every lady in the district made a special effort and I usually made a special effort to try just about everything there is. After all, if they put in all that effort then I reckon it’s only polite to taste it all. I heard tell there was gonna be a pie-eating contest this year which was new, and I only hoped that it wasn’t not on at the same time as the judging for Brutus. It would have been mighty terrible to have to choose which one to go to!

After church was out I wanted to go straight away to the stalls area, but Pa made me wait in the churchyard so that we could all go together. I always reckoned that it was a waste of time, all that talking that folks do after church, but Pa seemed to like it and he always said how important it is to be polite to people. I’m not too good being polite to people cause I never know what to say to em. I’d rather talk to animals really. Adam’s the good one talking to people in our family, but strange thing was that this morning he didn’t seem to want to neither.

I could tell that he was being polite and saying all the right things, but there was something strange about the way he kept looking over his shoulder to see if Pa had finished talking yet, as if he couldn’t wait to get out of there like me and Joe. Joe likes talking to people too, but not after church and specially not today … cause he was itching to get going to the Founder’s Day doings too.

Joe didn’t dare whine too much to Pa this morning, cause he was in enough trouble having done his usual squirming during the service. Pa was already cranky with him before we went in, cause of Joe carrying on about having to get all gussied up for the day. I agree with him, but I wasn’t stupid enough to tell Pa what I thought. The way that boy had been carrying on he would be lucky if Pa didn’t tan him right there in front of everyone before the day was out, fer sure!

I was a bit anxious bout getting Brutus ready, but I was also needing to get down to the stalls area to help Hop Sing cause I’d promised to help him set out all his vegetables and suchlike for the competitions later on. Hop Sing had some mighty fine looking food ready for this year and it was all I could do not to do a special tasting of it myself for him. Jams and jellies and vegetables …. He had got the lot. Guess he didn’t want to let down the Cartwright name either.

What with Hop Sing’s food, my Brutus and Joe insisting that he was gonna win every competition there was … I reckon we had got the Cartwright honour just about covered. Pa was always real keen to see things and he was insisting that we stay together as a family this year. I think that’s a fine idea, but I knew that I would need to spend some time getting Brutus ready first.

I knew that Adam must be excited about the day …. it being his first one for ages …. but he was being real quiet about it. That’s what I meant about him being different since he came back. He’d been talking and talking bout back east and all the things he did there, but he hadn’t been talking much about the ranch and all the things that are going on here. I reckon he was still getting used to it.

One thing that I wanted to talk to brother Adam about was Bertha Sims. She’d been giving me funny looks lately and even winked at me in church this morning, but I’m not sure why. She sure put a fellar off his thoughts. Funny thing was, that whenever she looked at me I got a funny feeling in my legs like they’d gone all to water. I made up my mind to talk to Adam bout it when he stopped talking about back east and gave me a chance to get a word in. I figured that he’d be experienced with all them city gals and he’d be able to tell me how to get her to stop looking at me.

By the time Pa had finished talking, Adam me and Joe were well and truly sick of waiting for him. I made him let me take the wagon at the end of Main Street with all the vegetables for Hop Sing and promised to meet him, Adam and Joe after I’d checked on Brutus. This was sure gonna be one heck of a day!

Joe

Founder’s Day was gonna be the best day ever, but then Pa had to go and spoil it all by making us go to church first. My Pa is the best Pa ever, but sometimes he just don’t understand that a fellar needs to get to places quickly when there’s fun to be had. He also made me put on my Sunday best and wouldn’t listen when I tried to tell him that it would only get dirty real quick anyway, so what was the point?

I’d been looking forward to Founder’s Day for months and I’d been telling everyone every day just in case they forgot how exciting it was all gonna be. Hoss and Hop Sing and Pa were real excited like me too, but stuffy old Adam weren’t. He said he was, but I could tell that he was only just saying the words. He’d been right boring since he got back home from that fancy college and wasn’t even interested in all the fun things no more. All he talked about was things that were boring like being back east.

Soon as Pa had finished talking to all them people in the churchyard, we started out. That was the funnest part, riding past all the stalls in the Main Street. We let Hoss go at the end of the street cause he was gonna help Hop Sing with the vegetables and go check on his bull Brutus. I wanted to go with him, cause Brutus is lots of fun to look at and I knew that if I went down to where the animals were, then there’d be lots of other interesting things to see there too. Pa wouldn’t let me but! He’d been saying that this day was a family day to enjoy together, but I didn’t see how I could enjoy myself iffen he didn’t let me go where I wanted to.

So I ended up sitting between Adam and Pa in the buckboard when Hoss took the wagon with the vegetables and Brutus off down the street. Adam was being right boring as usual and he even looked a bit unhappy. I think it might have been because he wanted to go with Hoss too and help with Brutus. I tried to cheer him up by telling him and Pa all about the things that I could see, but he didn’t even appreciate it and told me to shut up before we had even got to the livery stable where we was to leave the buckboard.

I was gonna tell him to shut up too, but Pa got in first and told him to mind his manners before I could. That was good to hear stuffy old Adam getting into trouble, cause I was usually the one who did. When we left the buckboard, Pa gave me a big lecture about staying out of trouble for the day, which was a waste of our time, because he knows that I never mean to get into trouble anyway. I can’t understand how he expects me to stop getting into it in the first place cause I reckon that trouble just finds me, not the other way around. The trouble is that what I think is a good time, is most of the time called trouble by everyone else. I just plain don’t understand it.

Pa made me save up my allowance for spending, but he also gave me fifty cents to buy things with too. That was good because there was lots of things to buy on those stalls and I set about deciding what I was gonna get straight away. I kept showing em to Adam, but he didn’t want to buy anything. Funny bout that, cause I know he’s got lots of money …. ten whole dollars. I know cause I saw it in his dresser when I was checking out his room for interesting stuff. He sure had got lots of interesting stuff in there since he came back home, but he wouldn’t let me see it most of the time. I think he was becoming real mean since he came home.

Pa started to spoil things right about then, cause he kept stopping to talk to people everywhere we went. He had so much time talking outside the church that you would of thought he’d be all talked out by then, but as soon as he saw someone he knew he’d start right up again. Even Adam was looking like he was sick of it. I didn’t mind when we saw Doc Martin, cause he gave me ten cents to spend and said to have a good day, but then he talked to Pa for a long time too. I don’t know how he thought I was gonna have a good day if he kept us waiting while he talked so much!

I wanted to go and spend my ten cents, so I went to check out all the candy. I knew that then way I’d be able to tell Hoss what was there for later. Hoss loves candy and I knew that he’d want to know. Best thing happened while I was there buying some toffee, cause Mitch and Seth, who are two of my friends, were there too. We got to talking while we was chewing on our toffee and they told me about how they’d seen where all the fireworks were being kept.

One of the best things about Founder’s Day was that last thing at night there was always fireworks. They were really great too with big bangs and stuff. Me and Mitch and Seth went down to the tent at the end of the street to check em out, but we got chased away by a nosey man who told us to get. We tried to explain that we only wanted to look at them, but he weren’t listening to us.

We sat down and finished off our toffee and then went back to get some more. On the way I bought lots of cakes and stuff and we shared them out too. We had a great time, but then nosey old Adam had to come along and pulled me by the collar back to Pa. He said that I had no business going off like that and when I tried to explain that I was just spending my ten cents, he didn’t even listen.

Pa was right angry too, even though I’d already told him that I was gonna spend it, so I didn’t tell him that I’d spent the fifty cents he’d given me too and only had my allowance left. He said that we were going to have lunch as soon as Hoss turned up, but I wasn’t hungry cause I’d eaten all that toffee and cakes. I told him that I’d best skip lunch, but he didn’t take too kindly to that neither. Sometimes my Pa don’t understand a fellar too well, that’s for sure!

Ben

Anyone would have thought that my suggestion to stay together as a family today was too much to ask, for pity’s sake! I expected Joe to want to run off and get into his usual mischief, which he did as soon as I let him out of my sight for an instant, but Hoss and Adam were also trying my patience from the moment we got out of church.

Hoss was fidgeting almost as bad as Joe was all during the service and when it was over he barged his way out of there before anyone else. I let Joe sit with him while I talked to people in the yard, thinking that they could fidget together. I know that Hoss was anxious to get to that darned bull of his and I know that he promised to help Hop Sing, but the way he was carrying on made it very difficult to keep my patience with him and that was not like me to lose patience with my middle son.

Adam was the one who had me stumped though. I expected him to be very eager to catch up with everyone and while he was being scrupulously polite to everyone who spoke to him, I sensed that there were other things he’d rather be doing. I just couldn’t understand it, for there were several young ladies who were obviously waiting to talk to him and gave him admiring looks, but he didn’t seem the least bit interested in striking up a conversation with them. He simply trailed along after me looking morose.

Finally I’d had enough and excused myself, thinking that if I got the boys busy at the stalls they’d be much happier. I let Hoss take the wagon down to Hop Sing to help with his vegetables and gave him strict instructions to make his way back to us once he’d checked on Brutus. Joe made a fuss about going with him, but one thing for sure was that I wasn’t going to let that young man out of my sight until I had to. I gave him a lecture about staying out of trouble and he seemed to understand, but blow me down if he didn’t disappear on me the moment my back was turned.

I was busy talking to Paul Martin when the imp said something about spending his money and took off down the street before I could stop him. When he didn’t come back for a good half hour I sent Adam after him, because I didn’t want to spend the day cleaning up whatever mess my youngest son had caused around town. When Joseph is let loose there’s no telling what the result might be. Thank goodness Adam brought him back none the worse for wear except for the fact that, from the look of his mouth, he’d obviously eaten copious amounts of sticky toffee while he’d been gone.

It was also a good excuse to get Adam to circulate around the crowd while he searched for his brother. I thought that it might get him talking to a few folks on the way and break the ice for him, so to speak, but my hopes were dashed when he returned quickly with his brother firmly grasped in one hand and the same bored expression on his face as before.

I was beginning to wonder if Founder’s Day seemed somewhat trite and countrified to my sophisticated son and I certainly hoped that wasn’t the case. If Adam was going to have a hard time fitting back here, then it would be hard on all of us, especially him. After all, these were the people that he’d have to live with for a long time to come and he would have to make the best of it. I knew that Nevada isn’t Massachusetts or New York with the culture and society that abounded there, and a niggling thought kept popping up in the back of my mind that he was missing back east so much that he might regret coming home again.

I was beginning to wonder where on earth Hoss had got to, for it shouldn’t have taken so long to check on one single bull. With Joe firmly held by one hand and Adam trailing along behind me with a face as long as a canyon, I resolved to find the boy and get lunch organised, but it wasn’t to be. No sooner had we started off down the street than I was stopped by Widow Hawkins. Now there is a woman to make my blood run cold at the best of times, but in the middle of the Founder’s Day celebrations she was a force to be reckoned with.

Widow Hawkins had made no secret of the fact that she’d had her eye for some time and meeting her in the middle of the street was difficult to say the least. She made some rather pointed remarks about myself accompanying her to the needlework displays and no amount of protesting on my behalf would persuade her that I didn’t feel the need to check out such things.

I felt myself, and Joe by default, dragged off before I could stop myself. Looking over my shoulder I noticed Adam had blended into the crowd and was thankful at least that he had escaped, but I must admit to wishing that it had been me and not him who had managed to flee the scene. Joe was by this time whining about having to look at boring things and I couldn’t say that I blamed him.

It was a full twenty minutes before I managed to extradite us from the woman and when I did so, both Joe and I breathed a sigh of relief. I had thought that he was about to kick her at one stage when she insisted on pinching his cheek and heaven only knows what the outcome of that would have been. I knew when my youngest son got that particular look on his face that trouble was brewing, so I made my excuses and got him out of there before he could do something that both of us would regret.

I managed to drag a protesting Joe down to where Hop Sing was proudly displaying his jams, jellies and vegetables. I must say that he had reason to be proud, for they looked mighty fine placed alongside the other entrants. He assured me that Hoss had in fact helped with the unloading but had then taken off to see his bull, so with a promise to return later when the judging was to take place Joe and I went down to the animal enclosure.

I felt sure that we would find Hoss there, but there was no sign of him. Everyone assured me that he’d been there for a quite a long time with Brutus, but had taken off up the street to put his name down for the pie-eating contest some time ago. I should have thought of that, for apart from his bull he’d talked of nothing else all week. Put that middle son of mine together with food and you’ve got one happy young man!

Joe wanted to stay and watch the animals, so with a dire warning that he was to stay just where I put him, he happily climbed onto the fence and began talking everyone’s ears off about Hoss’ bull. I walked quickly up the street towards Hoss, also keeping an eye open for Adam on the way. It seemed that it would be a miracle if I could those three boys of mine together in the one spot at all today!

Adam

I’d been so right about the day so far. After church Pa had insisted on re-introducing me to everyone in sight and I must admit it was good to see some familiar faces. But after the usual pleasantries, I found that I had nothing to talk to any of these people about. After all, what did we have in common?

Mind you, there were a few nice-looking girls to check out, but their fashion sense left a lot to be desired and didn’t make me that interested in them. I suppose that I’d been spoilt when it came to female companionship back east and I was sure that none of these young ladies would have had the least idea how to hold a decent conversation. After all, what would they have known of the latest theatre show or books?

There was one particular woman that I tried to avoid, for she had the worst fashion sense I’d ever seen and was quite plain as well. She hung around so much though, that Pa eventually was forced to introduce her as Joe’s new teacher Abigail Jones. I felt quite sorry for the kid having to put up with her all day.

Hoss and Joe were as anxious to get out of there as I was, so finally Pa took the hint and we left. Hoss went straight down to help Hop Sing out with his vegetables and then on to check out his bull. He seemed to think that I might have wanted to go with him, but to be honest I’d just about as much of that bull as I could take. I wouldn’t have hurt my brother’s feelings for the world, but it was plain to me that he really needed to learn that there was so much more about life than animals. I’d been trying to help broaden his mind a little in the hopes that he might show an interest in things beyond his small world here, but to no avail. I feared that Hoss was destined to become a bit of a country bumpkin.

Joe had really been annoying me all morning. First there was his non-stop talking and whining and then he disappeared at the first chance he got and I, of course, ended up being the one to have to go and find him. I’d forgotten how annoying that kid could be and how many hours I used to spent in past years looking out for him. He was a nice kid when he put his mind to it, but was used to getting his own way far too much which Pa just couldn’t see.

By the time I eventually found him and dragged him back to Pa, I was well and truly sick of the whole Founder’s Day. It seemed that everyone for miles around had come to town for the day and each one of them felt it important to make themselves known to me. I could have hit the kid for making me walk through the crowd to look for him and had definitely had enough of him and everyone else by the time we got back to Pa.

No sooner had I deposited Joe back in the arms of his father, than Pa was suddenly accosted by this truly horrible woman with a cockney accent and garish appearance. As far as I was concerned, that was the last straw and luckily I managed to disappear into the crowd when she whisked him away to look at some trite craft displays. Poor Joe got dragged along with them of course, but from the look of my little brother he wasn’t about to take that without a fight. I preferred not to be around to see what happened, so I made my get-away while I could.

My intention was to get as far away from all these festivities as I could and perhaps find a quiet place to spend the afternoon in peace and quiet until it was time for dinner. I stopped at a food stall on the way and bought some lunch, before forcing my way through the crowd and down towards the river. There were a few families having picnic lunches there, but at least I was able to find a spot well away from as many as I could.

I must admit that the food was very good, in spite of it being quite plain compared to what I was used to. Hop Sing had been making quite a bit of effort since I’d been home to cook some fancy dishes and privately I had wondered how long that would last, for both Pa and Hoss preferred plain country cooking. Joe, of course, didn’t prefer anything. I swore that the kid could have lived on fresh air if he had his way. Things hadn’t changed in that respect since I’d been gone, for he and Pa were still fighting by how much … or rather how little … he ate.

After I’d eaten I settled down to read a book of poetry which I’d managed to hide in my jacket pocket just in case and I was just getting into it when I was interrupted by a sharp knock on the head. I’m afraid that I uttered an expletive under my breath which isn’t like me, for I generally consider myself to be someone who had more self-control than that, but the stick that had hit me really hard. I picked it up and was about to give whoever had thrown it a piece of my mind, when my eyes met a pair of the clearest and bluest eyes I’d ever seen.

She was so lovely standing there in front of me looking contrite, with blonde hair, blue eyes, a dimple right in the middle of her left cheek and the most kissable lips ever. She was dressed in a simple red gingham dress, yet somehow that didn’t even seem to matter. She told me her name was Deirdre and apologised so profusely that I couldn’t help but tell her that it didn’t matter, in spite of my scalp still smarting.

Apparently she’d thrown the stick for her puppy to chase … a cute little ball of fluff that she now held in her arms. I gathered that she was a bit of a tomboy which I normally abhor, but for some reason that didn’t seem to bother me where she was concerned. I surprised myself then by inviting her to join me on the grass and we were soon laughing and talking like old friends.

Appearances can sometimes be deceiving and even though she obviously wasn’t like the sophisticated ladies I’d been used to associating with, she was wonderful company. I even read her a few poems and she was most impressed by my knowledge of Shakespeare and music.

Things were going really well until she suggested a stroll around the stalls back on Main Street. I didn’t have the heart to refuse her, for she really was most enchanting and before I quite knew what was happening I found myself advising her on colours at the ribbon stall.

I was beginning to think that I might not be bored for the entire day, when we heard a yell from the crowd up the street and noticed that everyone seemed to be making their way in that direction. We followed and I soon found myself witness to one of the most embarrassing sights I’d ever seen.

There at a long table were several men stuffing pies into their mouths with great gusto. Their table manners were non-existent as they attempted to force as many of the delicacies as possibly into their mouths and the sight of it was quite revolting. To make matters worse, third from the end was my very own brother Hoss, who by the look of him was having the time of his life. He was stuffing one large pie into his mouth while reaching for a second one at the same time and the crowd was cheering him on. I had always known that my brother had a huge appetite, but to see it displayed in public like this was mortifying.

I gave Deirdre a sympathetic look, as if to apologise for bringing her to see this disgusting sight, but to my surprise she was urging the competitors on with great glee. I looked around, not quite believing that I was caught up in this madness and had just decided to quietly slip away from it when someone slapped me on the back and congratulated me on my brother’s exploits in such a loud voice that everyone standing nearby could have heard.

I could have sunk through the ground with the embarrassment of it all! Not only was I being forced to stand and watch such gluttony, but now I had been publicly linked to one of the contestants. I glanced at Deirdre, expecting her to share my disgust, but she merely gave me a lovely smile and commented that I must be so proud of my brother.

I tried to smile in return and shrugged my shoulders, thinking that if I didn’t have a choice then I should at least pretend to be proud of him. After all, there was no getting away from the fact that he was my brother, and he was winning the competition which I knew he had his heart set on.

I reluctantly opened my mouth to cheer my brother on with the rest of the crowd ….

Hoss

I had been right when I thought that Founder’s Day would be the best ever. Hop Sing was real anxious when I finally arrived with his vegetables and I felt obliged to stop and help him arrange em on the table. He kept yelling at me in Chinese, so I don’t have a clue what he was talking about. All I know is that wherever I put them darned old vegetables he changed the places until I figured out that I weren’t helping him too much. When he started to wave at me with both arms at once I figured it was time to get outta there and so I went down to the animal pen with Brutus.

There were a lot of folks looking at that fine bull of mine when we stopped. I was right proud of the way folks just naturally commented about how fine he was and I took quite a bit of time talking to em about him and making sure that he was well-watered and fed. Then he needed a fair bit of grooming of course, because he was sorta dirty from the trip into town.

While I was working, I got to talking to lots of folks about the doings of the day too. It seemed like most people in these parts were in town and I reckoned it must have been the most crowded Founder’s Day yet. I was happy about that, cause it meant that more people would be there to see me and Brutus get our blue ribbon later on.

I left Brutus in a pen and told Jimmy, who was in charge of overseeing the animals, not to let anyone touch him. Next to Brutus, all them other animals looked right puny and I sure was proud of him when I saw how he stacked up against them. I didn’t really want to leave him, but Pa had said that I had to meet him and Adam and Joe and I reckoned that I was already late. Sides, I had to put my name down first at the pie-eating contest.

When I was signing up, I found out that the contest was gonna start real soon, so I figured to just hang around until it did. Pa would know where to find me, cause he knew that I was gonna enter myself in it. I was eyeing off all the pies and figuring that the day couldn’t get any better, when suddenly Bertha Sims was standing there with a cherry pie in her hand.

She starting grinning at me and I didn’t know what to say. Finally she said that she and her ma had been baking all week for the contest. That impressed me, cause a girl who can cook is all right by me. One thing led to another and soon we were busy talking bout all the things she liked to cook and all the things I liked to eat, and before I knew it the time for the contest had come.

My eyes nearly bulged outta my head when I saw just how many different kinds of pies there was to choose from and I hardly knew where to start, so I just dove right in and started with apple, then cherry, then blueberry. I noticed Adam in the crowd and knew that he’d come to cheer me on, and I hoped that Pa and Joe was there to see me getting stuck into those pies as well.

Well  before I knew it, I was on my eighth pie and no one else seemed to still be eating. It sure beats me why they stopped, cause I could have kept eating for a while longer, those pies was so good. Anyways, they told me that I was the winner and you should have heard the crowd cheer for me! Bertha gave me a nice smile too and for the first time I thought that maybe girls weren’t so bad.

I went over to show my blue ribbon to Adam, but he seemed a bit distracted by this girl that he had made friends with. Pa came up right then and slapped me on the back to congratulate me and I was right proud to think that I was so good at something.

Pa said something about lunch, but I explained to him that I needed to get back to Brutus, even though I could have gone for some of those fine pastries that I could see for sale. Pa said that we would have to go and see Hop Sing win his prizes first and that he’d meet us there after he picked up Joe who he’d left down near the animals. I told him to check out Brutus while he was there to see if he was OK without me, cause he gets a bit lonely when I’m not around. Pa gave me a funny look when I said that, but he went all the same.

Adam didn’t look too keen on leaving the girl, so he suggested that she come with us to see Hop Sing, which was real annoying because … well … she was a girl and they always kinda spoil things.

So me and Adam and Deirdre (that was her name) all headed back to see Hop Sing. Adam was acting all different, being happier and all, but he was laughing funny and looking at Deirdre all soppy-like. I decided that if that was the way a fellar had to act around girls, then I didn’t think much of them after all, even if they could cook.

We were standing around waiting for the judging to start judging when Pa came back looking all flustered. Seems like Joe wasn’t down with the animals where he’d left him after all. Pa said he shoulda known better than to leave him and was about to tell us all to go and look for him, when the judging started.

I must say that I have an eye for food and can usually tell the best samples, and I knew for sure that Hop Sing’s vegetables were the best there, so it was no surprise when he got two blue ribbons …. one for his big pumpkin and the other for his carrots which were the longest Doc Martin (who was the judge) said he’d ever seen. We clapped and clapped for Hop Sing and he looked right proud standing there holding his ribbons. He didn’t do so well with his jams and jellies cause old Mrs Baker was there with hers and everyone knows that you can’t beat her for jams and jellies, even though they try every year. Still, Hop Sing got one second ribbon and one third and he was mighty pleased with them too.

Even Adam clapped and cheered for Hop Sing and it done me real good to see him looking happier. I had been thinking that he might have been a bit jealous of me and my pie-eating and now Hop Sing getting all them ribbons, but he didn’t seem to be.

Soon as the contest was over, sheriff Coffee came over to Pa. He had Joe with him and didn’t look too pleased neither. Seems that little brother had got himself into a whole mess of trouble near the refreshments tent and Pa went so red when he heard it that I thought he was gonna tan him right there on the spot in front of everyone. Adam and me managed to calm him down somewhat, but I figured that Joe was in for a right boring afternoon after that because Pa said he wasn’t to go out of his sight for the rest of the day.

I told Pa that I couldn’t join him for lunch because I had to go and get Brutus ready, so I bought some pastries and candy on the way down the street. All that cheering had sharpened up my appetite and it seemed like a long time since those pies. I was looking forward to a good afternoon but and Pa and Adam promised to be in the crowd when me and Brutus were ready to win our ribbon.

Joe

My Pa was making the day real difficult for me! First of all he done all that talking and wasted time when I could have been having fun and then he made me follow him with that old widow lady who pinched my cheek. Well, I needed to let her know that I don’t put up with anyone pinching my cheek and was ready to tell her so, but Pa interrupted before I could say anything. Adam was lucky and got away just in time, but I got dragged around to look at some boring old lady things.

I could tell that Pa weren’t too happy about it neither, cause he had that angry look on his face like he does when I’m in trouble, only he weren’t looking at me with it … but at the old widow lady. She talked real strange too and kept calling him ducky, but when I asked him why she did, he just went all red and told me to be quiet.

Soon as we got away from her, we headed down to find Hoss where the animals were. That was when I thought things were going to start getting better, cause I love being with the animals. The man there said that Hoss had been there for a long time looking after Brutus and when I looked him over he looked real fine. Hoss sure had done a great job with that bull and I hoped that he would win first prize with him.

Pa said I could stay and watch the animals for a while and gave me this big talk about how I wasn’t to move away until he came back as if I was a little kid and needed to be told every little thing. He said it in front of everyone too, which was real embarrassing for me. Soon as he’d gone, I started talking to the man who was looking after the animals and I offered to help him with em. I told him how good I was with animals like my brother Hoss, but he didn’t seem to want to listen and just walked away, so I decided to show him.

First of all I looked over the horses and decided that a couple of them could do with some brushing down. Well how was I to know that they had already been brushed down and didn’t take kindly to having it done again? They were right sassy animals and I was just getting em under control when the man yelled at me and told me to get out of the corral before I got my head busted in. He was downright rude about it, to tell the truth.

I started to explain to him that I was good with horses but he told me to scat, just like he was talking to a dog. I didn’t like that, so I stuck my tongue out at him and told him that I wasn’t going to help him anymore if he was going to be rude about it. I decided that Pa wouldn’t want me to be with rude people, so I went up the street to look for him and Hoss. That way he wouldn’t have to come back and get me and that would save him some time. I thought he’d be right pleased about that.

There was a big crowd up the street and lots of cheering going on, so I was headed for that when I saw Seth Pruitt again. He was by himself cause Mitch had been made to go with his Ma and his sisters to some boring old stall and Seth was looking for something to do.

I decided that we might as well look for something to do together and then we got a great idea. That was when the day really started to go well cause we saw a big barrel across the street that looked real interesting. When we went to check it out we found out that it was a raffle and were going to buy some tickets with my allowance money, but then we found out that the prize was a stupid blanket to put on your bed, so we decided to spend my money on something more interesting and went off to find what that might be.

We found it soon enough at a big tent that had been set up around the corner. There were some men lined up to go inside so we joined the line, thinking that whatever was in there would be real good. Maybe it was a magic show or something? When we got to the top of the line they wouldn’t let us in though. The men laughed and then they said we was too short. I don’t know what being tall has got to do with it though, cause we went round the back of then tent and looked underneath the canvas and there was some real short men in there.

All the men inside that tent were having drinks and Seth and me straight away started to get real thirsty. We didn’t think that it was fair that they wouldn’t let us have a drink, so we waited until one man near the edge of the tent walked away and then we slid underneath and got his drink which he hadn’t finished. We were just sharing it when nosey old sheriff Coffee came round the back of the tent and made us stop though. Mind you, the drink tasted real bitter anyway, so we didn’t mind too much.

We did mind though when he took us back to our folks. Seth’s father gave him a tanning right there on the street and I thought my Pa was gonna do the same to me, but Hoss and Adam stopped him. Instead I got this big lecture about how I wasn’t to leave his side for the rest of the day and that’s when I realised that he was gonna make my day all spoilt.

Pa said that we needed to have lunch cause it was well into the afternoon, but Hoss left to go and see Brutus and Adam said that he’d already eaten. I was real disappointed because while I’d been having that drink Hoss had won a pie-eating contest and I sure would have liked to have seen that! My brother Hoss is the best when it comes to eating.

Adam had this soppy girl with him and was looking at her real strange-like. I copied his face and he gave me a bad look, but I was happy cause I knew that he couldn’t hit me with Pa and the girl there. Thank goodness he soon took her away because she was a real whiny sort. Adam said he’d come back to see Hoss and Brutus in their competition, but the girl wanted to see the horses that were going in the race first.

Every Founder’s Day they had a big horse race in the afternoon and when I had decided that when I got bigger I was gonna to ride in it and win. It was a real exciting race and I reckon that I’d have the best horse and be the best rider there was in these parts when I’m a bit older. I figure that Pa might let me go in it when I’m twelve, but Adam said that would be in my dreams though I’m not sure why he thinks I’ll be dreaming about it. Maybe that girl wasn’t so bad iffen she wanted to look at horses?

I wanted to go with them to see the horses that would be racing, but Pa wouldn’t let me. He bought some sandwiches for our lunch and made me eat them, even though I told him that I was still full from all that toffee and cakes I’d already et. That reminded me that I still had my allowance money to spend and I started to think again about what to spend it on.

I was also getting excited about all the games that would be on in the afternoon and was telling Pa about how he and me should go in them all, but he just said I’d be lucky to be doing anything at all after the trouble I’d caused already that day. I don’t understand why he thought I’d caused trouble and I started to tell him about just being thirsty, but he wouldn’t listen. Sometimes my Pa can get real unreasonable!

Ben

There are times when I wonder why I bother. It seemed that no matter what I did, my boys were bound and determined to go their separate ways that day and it was all I could do to keep up with them. First of all Hoss proved to be elusive and I didn’t even get to see him until lunchtime when he won the pie-eating contest.

I arrived at the pie-eating contest just in time to see him finish off his last pie and be congratulated by the crowd. People around me were saying how amazing it was that he had managed to eat eight in all, but I wasn’t the least bit surprised as I live with him. I’d never seen such a prodigious appetite as that which my middle son possesses and was forever grateful that by the time he was grown I had enough money to feed him.

I caught a glimpse of Adam on the other side of the crowd and made my way over to him. At first glance I thought he looked quite embarrassed at the sight of his brother in the contest, but to his credit he never let it show once Hoss came up to us with his blue ribbon and a smile as big as all outdoors on his face. Both Adam and I did a lot of backslapping and congratulating him and it warmed my heart to see Hoss so happy. He told me that he always knew he was the best at something.

Adam had been watching the pie-eating contest with a young lady, which I was most surprised to see. It was Matthew Perkins’ daughter Deirdre and of course I approved of his choice, for Matthew was a well-respected man in these parts. He’d only been around for about a year, but already he had made quite a name for himself with his cattle. My surprise wasn’t his choice of girl, because she was very pretty and sure to have caught his eye, but it was more the speed at which he seemed to have fallen for her.

One minute he was trailing after me with a long face and the next he was smiling as if he’d found a goldmine. And I thought that Joe was the moody one in the family! He seemed quite happy to traipse around after me showing his displeasure at having to talk to everyone earlier on this morning and now he was a changed young man. Strange how a girl can have such an effect on a youngster. I, for one, was very grateful to Deirdre for helping to improve our day, by making Adam more bearable to live with.

No sooner had I congratulated Hoss than he was telling me that he needed to go again, but I insisted that he at least watch Hop Sing’s vegetables being judged. We were all so thrilled, for Hop Sing won several ribbons and it seemed as if the Cartwrights were doing well so far at Founder’s Day.

Just when I thought that everything was running smoothly again though, Roy Coffee appeared with my miscreant youngest son in tow. It appears that Little Joe had been found over at the refreshments tent sharing an illicit glass of beer with Seth Pruitt. Luckily Roy had stopped them before they’d more than a few swallows though, or my youngest would have been the worse for wear.

I was very angry with him and I was about to turn his backside a dark shade of red right there in the middle of the street, but Hoss and Adam made me see reason before I had the chance. Joe himself looked appropriately contrite for a full two minutes while I lectured him on the evils of alcohol at his age and then bounced back and asked me if he could get on down to where the games were being held. Adam had to put a restraining hand on my arm to stop me from smacking the boy at that point.

I was hoping that we could all have lunch together, for my stomach told me that it was needing something to fill it. Adam, however, said that he’d already eaten and wandered off with Deirdre to view the horses being prepared for the big horse race later. Hoss said that he needed to get back to Brutus as the time was drawing near for their big event, so that left Joseph and myself to obtain our sustenance the best way we could.

As we sat and ate our sandwiches …. or rather I ate and he fussed about eating … I tried to explain to the boy how things had gone that morning from my point of view and how he had to learn to consider the consequences of his actions before doing things. It was a conversation that Joe and I have had many times before and I’m sure we’ll have many times again. He listened thoughtfully and when I asked him if there was anything he wanted to say, he asked once more if we could go down to the games.

I could see that Main Street in the middle of Founder’s Day wasn’t really the right place or time to try and get through to the boy, so I agreed to take him down there while we waited for Hoss’ event.

The grass slope near the river had been set up with all kinds of activities for everyone and Joe immediately set about winning every running race that was going for boys of his age. He certainly is a good runner, which I’ve attested to many times when trying to catch him at home. Even Adam and Hoss can’t catch him now.

Joe wanted me to go in a few activities as well and was quite disappointed when I bowed out. I tried to explain to him that I’m not as young as I once was and had no intention of injuring myself competing against men half my age, but I could see that he was crestfallen none the less. In the end I compromised and had some good luck in the less-than-strenuous horseshoe throwing competition and that seemed to satisfy him.

I spied Adam and his girl wandering around the various games and she was holding a large stuffed animal, which one of them had obviously won. Paul Martin stopped to say hello and unfortunately while I was speaking to him Joe left my side and ended up causing chaos with some frogs, scattering the little girls all over the field as they waited for their races to begin.

This time I had no hesitation in giving him a few well-placed swats on the backside as I felt obligated to do something with so many irate mothers standing around me. Joe of course protested loudly at what he felt what an unjust punishment and so I was forced to drag him away before the situation got out of control.

Paul Martin and I took a still-protesting Joe up to the animal enclosure just in time to see a very proud Hoss lead Brutus out on display. Joe quietened down real quick and cheered his brother on, as did Adam when he came to stand beside me. I really was so proud of Hoss, though a bit worried at the same time. He had his heart set on winning so much and I knew that there was some stiff competition from some other ranchers, so I didn’t hold out much hope for him.

How pleased I was that I could finally breathe a sigh of relief when he was handed the blue ribbon. I thought that boy’s chest would just about burst with the pride of it all and I must say that I’ve never seen him happier. Two blue ribbons in one day was more than he’d ever earned in his whole life and I suddenly realised that my young boy who had a big hunk of low self esteem was fast becoming a man in his own right.

Adam was genuinely happy for his brother and Hoss felt the pride shine through as he and I congratulated him. Joe, of course, was bouncing all over the place in his excitement and nearly sent the nearby cattle into a stampede, so I had to hold him still until he calmed down.

The best thing was that I saw young Bertha Sims come up to Hoss and congratulate him, and saw how he dealt with it. Talking to girls had never been something the youngster had found easy and so it was wonderful to see them talking about his win so easily. I winked at Adam and he returned to look, something that would never have been possible even a day ago.

Paul Martin suggested a drink to celebrate, but of course I couldn’t as I had Joe with me. To my surprise, Hoss offered to keep the youngster with him and I left them with strict instructions not to eat too much candy, as I knew that was where they were headed. Joe had been whining for the past hour that his allowance was burning a hole in his pocket and I knew that he wouldn’t be happy until it was all gone.

I think if it hadn’t been for Deirdre, Adam would have joined us in the refreshment tent and I could see the struggle on his face as he considered which one to choose. Finally the girl won and he went off with her to save us a good position from which to watch the horse race.

A couple of drinks and some sensible adult conversation was just what I needed after having Joe with me for the past hour, and Paul and I spent a very pleasant time in the refreshment tent downing some cold beers. The day finally seemed to be taking a turn for the better.

Adam

I was beginning to be really proud of my brother Hoss. First he won a blue ribbon in the pie-eating competition and then he won first prize with his bull. The pie-eating was a bit embarrassing at first, but everyone else seemed to think he’d done a really fine thing and he was so pleased with himself that I couldn’t help but feel proud for him.

I thought he was going to burst apart when he won with that bull. Mind you, Pa told me that he’d put enough effort into grooming it for the past months, but we could both see that the competition was stiff and it wasn’t an easy win. It really made me stop and think as I looked at my proud brother standing there being slapped on the back by so many people. Folks around here were turning out to be nicer than I remembered and Hoss sure seemed happy, so what did it matter if he was a country bumpkin or not? He fitted in really well here amongst people who obviously cared about him and that was all that mattered.

Pa had to literally hold Joe down in his excitement at Hoss’ win. I’d never seen a kid with so much energy and wondered if he ever actually kept still at any time. Thank goodness that Hoss volunteered to mind him while Pa went for a few beers with Paul Martin, because I would have ended up strangling him if I’d had to take him with me.

Deirdre had suggested that we go and look at the horses before the race, which was a bit surprising. No young ladies back east would have been interested in horses enough to want to go and view them, let alone discuss them, and I was pleasantly surprised that she wanted to do both.

While we were there I met up with a few old friends I hadn’t seen for some years. Ross Marquette, the Bonner boys and a few others were getting ready for the race and I must be honest that I was a bit envious of them. Not that it would have occurred to me to have entered of course, for I knew that my riding skills were by no means up to competing with them after only having been back for a month. Still, it made me a bit nostalgic for past years when I also had entered along with them. I hadn’t done too badly either, even if I do say so myself. The first year I’d come eighth and the year before I left for college I came third. People had said that I could maybe have taken it out the next year, but of course I was by then in college in Boston.

There was a cash prize for the winner of course, but more importantly than that the winner was generally known as the best rider in the district for the next year until someone else perhaps takes the title at the subsequent Founder’s Day. It was a title that everyone around here coverts and the reputation that came with it was highly regarded.

Everyone was interested in what I’d been up to back east, but for once I wasn’t too keen on talking too much about it. I actually preferred to listen to the news of all that had been going on around here and was surprised to hear that several of my old friends had married and one was even a father. We laughed about how old we were getting and then they had to go and saddle up.

I was left with Deirdre and several other girls, some of whom I’d already seen at church that morning. It was the strangest thing, but somehow they all looked better to me now, even with their homemade dresses and hairdos. Several of them looked me up and down and I sensed that Deirdre was getting a bit anxious because of what she perceived as competition for her, so I suggested that we go and stroll around down near the river again.

There were a lot of games going on down there and I saw Joe winning a foot race. Gee that kid could run! I suppose he had to put all that energy to some use and it was better for him to run around than use it to cause trouble.

The way that Hoss and Joe had been talking for the past few days, I had the impression that these games were going to be a bit embarrassing. The sort of thing where everyone gets involved at making fools of themselves by competing at things they have no hope of winning. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I even managed to win a stuffed animal for Deirdre at the arm-wrestling competition and she was very pleased with it. I hadn’t done any arm-wrestling since leaving for Boston all those years ago, so it a bit of a shock that I won it. I must admit to feeling quite pleased about it myself, although I would never have been caught arm-wrestling in polite society back east.

Before long it was time to get ready to watch the race and it sure was a great sight indeed. I got there a bit early and managed to save Pa and Doc Martin a spot next to us right at the finish line and than yelled myself nearly hoarse when good old Ross came streaking across the line to win first prize. I congratulated him and told him that next year he would have to win it from me! I didn’t see Hoss or Joe around, but I’m sure they were in the crowd somewhere, for just about everyone watches the race and they couldn’t have missed it. Joe wouldn’t have let Hoss miss it anyway, because the kid was a bit obsessed with it. He though that he was going to be a future winner which he could well be, given the way how well he could sit a horse … even at his age. But he won’t be the first Cartwright to win it because I was determined that that particular honour would go to me in a year’s time.

Pa got all fidgety after the race and went off to look for Hoss and Joe. He had good cause to be worried as far as I was concerned, because Joe had a habit of getting into trouble and dragging Hoss with him, even though he’s a lot younger. The fact that we hadn’t spied them in the crowd seemed to bother Pa and he said his goodbyes to Paul, Deirdre and myself and took off in search of them.

Deirdre and I headed back down to the river where a lot of people were by now sitting after the day’s activities to grab a bit of quiet time before the fireworks. We managed to find a secluded spot under a tree overlooking the water and get to know each other a bit better. The more I talked to her, the more I was convinced that she was someone that I could really like and was very pleased when she agreed to go to the box social with me next month.

I hadn’t even been going to attend it because I thought it might have been a bit boring, but seeing all my friends today and meeting Deirdre had changed my mind and I felt myself quite looking forward to it.

We shared a couple of kisses and then Deirdre excused herself to go and catch up with her family, whom she said would be wondering where she was. I left her near the food stalls and went off in search of Ross who I knew would be in the refreshment tent being toasted for his win, but not before promising to meet Deirdre in that very spot to view the fireworks later. Pa had asked me to meet up with him for dinner after he’d found Hoss and Joe, because he wanted us to have a family celebration dinner in the International House dining room before the fireworks started and I wanted to get in a drink or two before it was time.

Ross was right where I expected to find him, being toasted lavishly as the latest best rider in these parts. His large silver cup was taking pride of place on the bar, engraved with the words Virginia City Founder’s Day Race Winner. Several drinks later I must admit to having completely forgotten about Pa and dinner, but in any case I was having so much fun that it didn’t even seem to matter.

Hoss

Winning that blue ribbon was just about the best thing that had happened to me in my whole life. It was even better than winning the pie-eating competition in the morning. I knew fer sure that Brutus was the best bull in the world, but I wasn’t too sure if the judges would see it that way. Just as well they did, cause it sure made me feel proud. I reckon Brutus was proud too, cause I swear he puffed out his chest just like I did when they handed me the blue ribbon.

Pa and Adam and Joe were there to see it and I was never prouder to have my family with me. Everyone was slapping me on the back and such-like and even Bertha came up and congratulated me. She really was a fine looking girl, that Bertha. We talked for a bit and she said that Brutus was just about the best-looking bull she’d ever seen, so I know for a fact that she was a girl with good taste too.

Pa and Joe had been down winning some of the games so I thought that all the Cartwrights now except Adam had won something, but then he told me that he’d won an arm-wrestling competition and so that made all of us then. It surprised me a bit that he’d gone in the competition because he hadn’t wanted to practise anything like that since he’d come home. I thought to myself that I woulda won it, except that I had to be with Brutus and couldn’t enter. I didn’t tell Adam that though, cause I didn’t want to take away the fact that he’d won.

Doc Martin asked Pa to go and have a drink with him in the refreshment tent, so I said that Joe could come with me for a bit. Pa seemed right pleased with that, although he only let him come after giving him a big talk about not eating too much candy and behaving himself. Joe put his hands behind his back and stared at Pa while he was talking, so Pa thought he’d been listening to him. I know my little brother though and all he was thinking about when Pa was talking, was how he was gonna spend the rest of his money. I didn’t mind though, cause I still had money to spend myself and hadn’t sampled all the candy there was on sale yet.

After we’d put Brutus back in his pen and given him a good rubdown, Joe and me headed back up the street to spend our money. We bought most kinds of candy we could find and then et it all up so that we could go back and buy some more. There were so many kinds that it was hard to decide which ones to buy first. Joe et so much that he soon had to stop and have a good vomit in one of the alleyways and then he felt better and said he could fit more in again. Joe’s funny like that. He don’t like eating regular meals, but he can fit in as much candy and cakes as I can when he’s a mind too. The only thing is that he sometimes needs to vomit it up so as to empty his stomach to fit more in. I don’t have that problem. I reckon my stomach is big enough to fit in anything I want without having to empty it first.

We took most of the candy up the street and found a real good spot where we could see the horse race taking place. Joe and me love watching the horse race every year, cause it’s real exciting to see who comes in first. I wish I could go in it, but I’m too darned heavy to go too fast, so I’ll have to be happy with being the best at bull-raising and such-like instead.

Adam rode in the race a couple of times before he went away to college and he went pretty good. This year Adam’s friend Ross came first and it was a mighty fine race. Me and Joe yelled a lot when the riders came past, but we didn’t get to see the finish because there were too many people up that end.

After the race we headed back down to the candy stalls again, but Joe soon ran out of money and so we spent some of mine instead. Joe liked to spend all his money whenever he had any, cause he said that it burned a hole in his pocket iffen he didn’t. Adam weren’t like that at all and he liked to keep his money safe. He said it was for a rainy day, but I reckon sometimes he was just plain stingy. Me, well I was right in the middle when it came to money. I didn’t mind spending it, but if I had some left, then I didn’t mind that neither.

We noticed that some of the candy stalls were closing up, cause it started to get dark and they said they was nearly out of things to sell, so we had to hurry up and buy as much as we could. We sat down on the sidewalk and watched the people walking past us as we et it all. Pa came past then and weren’t too happy with us for eating all that, especially when Joe felt the need to vomit it all up again and most of his vomit landed on Pa’s boots.

Pa had told Adam to meet us so that we could go and have dinner in the International House dining room before the fireworks started, but older brother weren’t nowhere to be seen. Me and Joe was really looking forward to the fireworks cause we only got to see em once a year and this year Hop Sing told us that there were gonna be some beauties to see. Hop Sing knew about the fireworks cause one of his cousins was in charge of buying em from San Francisco every year. Hop Sing says that Chinese people knew lots about fireworks cause they invented them a long time ago. He was real proud of that and I reckon he’d got cause to be, cause they were always real fine fireworks.

Pa told us to wait right where we were and went off to look for Adam. While he was gone, me and Joe managed to find the last cake stall that was still open and used the last bit of my money to buy their leftovers. Joe was feeling fine now that his stomach was empty again, so we et em all before Pa could come back and see what we had.

When he came back he weren’t too happy and said that Adam weren’t in any fit state to have dinner in the International House. He said that he had left him getting some fresh air, but I’m not sure why.

Pa then looked at Joe and me and said that Joe was too dirty to go into the International House dining room anyway and that we’d best save our family celebration dinner for another time. I was a bit disappointed about that, cause the food in the International House dining room was real fine and I’d sharpened up my appetite with all that candy and cake. Pa went off and bought us some pastries to eat for our dinner and they were real fine, so it worked out all right in the end, except that Joe didn’t want nothing to eat nothing, and him and Pa got into an argument about it.

Once we’d finished eating, I excused myself while Joe and Pa was still arguing and went to check on Brutus before the fireworks started. I wanted to explain to him what was gonna happen, cause I didn’t want him to be scared or nothing when they started.

It sure had turned out to be one fine day and I knew that it was only gonna get better when the fireworks started.

Joe 

The afternoon had turned out pretty good, even if Pa had been a bit angry about a few things. He gave me a bit of talk when we was eating our sandwiches at lunchtime, about I had to think before I did things and all the things he usually says to me. I thought he was a bit upset cause he was getting old.

I was wanting to go in the games and so Pa and me went down near the river after having our lunch and I got two ribbons in the running races. I like to run and I’m a good runner, even when I’m not in a race. Pa said I’ve had plenty of practice running away from all the trouble I get into and I reckoned he might be right cause I’m sure good at it.

Pa wouldn’t go in any running races cause of being so old. I reckoned he was feeling a bit tired, cause he told me how he used to be a young Pa when Adam was my age and things had been a bit easier for him then. He said that now he’s an old Pa and he don’t do all the things he used to. Things like running and suchlike. I told him that it didn’t matter, but I sure was pleased when he won that horseshoe throwing competition. He was real good at that, so I reckon it didn’t matter too much if he wasn’t a good runner.

Adam was walking round with that soppy girl and she was holding a toy animal like a baby. I found out later that Adam won it for her in an arm-wrestling competition and I wished I’d seen that, but I was too busy having too much fun down near the river.

Pa had got to talking to Doc Martin again and I just knew they would be a while, so I thought I’d best go on down to the river and see what was around there to look at. I had the best luck down there, cause there were heaps of bullfrogs just waiting to be picked up and looked at. I had a great idea right about then to make the girls race much faster and entertain everyone with their running like the boys had done in their races, but it turned out to be a mistake to put those bullfrogs behind em at the starting line cause they all ran fast enough, but in the wrong directions.

The man who was starting the races grabbed me by the arm and yelled at me, and even though I tried to explain to him that I was just trying to help make the race faster he took me over to Pa anyway and told him that I’d been causing trouble. All the girls’ mamas didn’t like what I’d done neither, so Pa got real mad and swatted me right then and there. It sure hurt too!

I tried to explain things to Pa, but he wouldn’t listen and just pulled me back to town to watch Hoss and Brutus get their blue ribbon. I didn’t mind though, cause I was real proud of my brother Hoss. He’s just about the smartest person with animals that there is and he and Brutus deserved to win that blue ribbon for sure.

Pa then went to get a drink with Doc Martin cause he was thirsty and Adam went to check out the horses with that soppy girl. Me and Hoss took Brutus back to his pen and then we had the best time buying lots of candy and eating it before Pa could tell us to stop. He had told us not to buy too much before he went to have a drink, but he didn’t understand that Founder’s Day candy was just about the best there was so we just hadta buy all we could.

We went to find a spot to watch the horse race, but it was hard to get to the front of the crowd to see anything. I’m lucky that Hoss is my brother because he was real good when there was lots of people to get through. He’s so big that people just naturally stood aside when he came through a crowd and if I stuck close behind him and held onto his leg I always got through too.

The race was real exciting and a man that Adam knew won it. He got a big cup and some money, but best of all he got to be called the best rider ever. I knew that I was gonna win that race when Pa let me go in it, cause I’m a great rider and I’d be even better when I got older.

I got sick with eating all the candy a couple of times, but that was OK cause it made room for more candy in my stomach. Except some of it got on Pa’s boots when he came to find us and he weren’t too happy about that. He said I looked real dirty and couldn’t go to the International House for dinner, but I didn’t care cause I wasn’t too hungry after all that candy. Anyway, I had already told him that I was gonna get dirty that day, so it had been a waste of time getting all dressed up in my Sunday best. I didn’t say it again but, cause Pa looked real tired right about then and I thought he mightn’t like to hear how he’d been wrong about that.

Adam didn’t come for dinner anyway cause he was doing some breathing of fresh air, Pa said. I’m not sure why he couldn’t eat and breathe at the same time cause I’ve seen him do it lots of times before, but when I asked Pa about it he just said to be quiet and that I’d understand when I was older.

I told Pa that I weren’t hungry, but he didn’t take any notice and said that I had to eat one of the pastries that he’d got for dinner for us. Hoss et his all up quick smart and I was gonna give him mine, but he left to go and see Brutus before I could sneak it to him.

Pa said that we’d have some quiet time before the fireworks started …. just the two of us …. but I don’t like quiet times so I told him all about how exciting the day had been while we sat there. Pa didn’t talk too much and just nodded, but that was OK cause I could talk enough for two people he always said.

Adam came past on his way to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. Pa asked him if the fresh air had done him good and he said that it had. I told him that he coulda had my dinner instead of the fresh air and he gave me one of those funny looks like he sometimes did. I’m not sure what they mean, but I don’t think those looks were good.

Pa asked him to come and watch the fireworks with us, but he said he had already promised to watch the fireworks with that soppy girl, so Pa said me and him would go and find a good spot, and then maybe Hoss would come and find us when they had started.

That didn’t work out though, cause we saw Hoss coming up the street to find us but then some girl came and talked to him. By the time they’d stopped talking the fireworks had started, so he just stayed there and watched them with her. So we all ended up with someone to watch them with. Adam and Hoss had their girls and I had Pa which was good, cause I got him all to myself while we watched.

Pa picked me up and sat me on the hitching rail outside the jail and then held me on by putting his arms round me to keep me there. I was glad to sit up there cause I got a really good look at all the fireworks and they were really great. They whizzed across the sky and were all kinds of different colours and some of em made loud bangs so that I had to put my hands over my ears when they did. I didn’t mind too much though.

Once when there was a big firework going off, the street got all lit up and I saw Adam kissing that soppy girl’s neck where they was across the street. I’ll bet he picked up a million germs from doing that!

One good thing about sitting up there on that hitching rail was that me and Pa could have a hug while we were watching the fireworks and no one could tell. I always hug my Pa lots of times when we’re by ourselves at home and he’s glad that I do cause he says that I’m all he’s got to hug now that Adam and Hoss are too big. I’d never hug him in town though cause some people might see and think I was all soppy, so it was nice that it was real dark so that no one could see us. I leaned back and put my head on Pa’s shoulder and we just stayed there for a long time looking until all the fireworks had finished and Pa said that it was time to go home.

I told Pa that it had been the best Founder’s Day ever and I should know cause I’ve been to ten now and even if I only remember six of em, I still know that this was the best one. Pa was smiled at me when I said that, so I think he agreed with me.

Ben

The trip home would have been a lot quicker, except for Brutus. I wanted to leave the bull in town and have Hoss pick him up the next day, but the boy wouldn’t hear of it. Hop Sing was staying overnight with one of his myriad of cousins, so in the end we left him to bring his vegetables home in the wagon the next morning and we all climbed up on the buckboard with Brutus tied to the back. It made for a slow trip, but it was a beautiful night under the stars and I actually enjoyed the quiet after the hustle and bustle of the day.

Adam and I sat up front, while Joe and Hoss rode backwards while sitting on some of the vegetable sacks that Hop Sing had left there. I let Adam take the reins and sat back to listen to my sons’ impressions of the day as they chattered on about everything they had experienced.

Adam was a changed young man to the one he’d been on the trip going in that morning and it warmed my heart to see him so animated. That girl had certainly changed his mind about a lot of things and to hear him talk about his friends and what they’d been up to with such excitement was wonderful. The final thing that made me sure his heart had finally come to rest here on The Ponderosa was the way he talked with Hoss about getting ready for the horse race next year. He seemed bound and determined to be a serious contender for winning it and that meant that he was putting down roots here again.

He had gone away from us a boy, but come home a man and I was so proud of him. It had really become obvious to me that very afternoon when I’d found him celebrating a bit too hard with his friends in the refreshments tent. In times gone by I would have hauled him out of there to sober up quick smart and given him a good lecture about it as well, but I stopped myself in time today and remembered that he was a man grown. He was certainly old enough to have a drink with his friends and even get drunk if he wanted to. I simply said that a breath of fresh air might do him good and walked away leaving him to make his own decisions. I know he appreciated it, because I caught the look in his eye when I was leaving.

All the way home Hoss was staring at that bull of his like a love-struck cow, when he wasn’t looking at his ribbons that he had securely clutched in his hand. He had had the greatest shot of self-esteem that anyone could have given him today and looked like he was fit to burst at the thought of it all. I also noticed that he had stood talking to Bertha Sims before the fireworks started which made three times to my knowledge in one day that he’s actually talked to the same female. That was probably a record for Hoss and a sign that he was also maturing. I hoped it would continue.

I suddenly noticed that it seemed a lot quieter and looked over my shoulder to see Joe curled up on a pile of the vegetable sacks in the corner, fast asleep. When I mentioned that it was the quietest he’d been all day both his brothers grinned at me, for we all knew it to be the truth. When I considered the trail of destruction he’d left in his wake during the past few hours I should have been angry with him, but looking down at him there on the buckboard …. filthy dirty, with sticky hands and face, and hair that looked as if it had never seen a comb, I couldn’t help but smile at the innocence of him and once again forgave him all his transgressions.

That boy always had the ability to make me so angry, yet to feel so loving towards him at the same time. Just when I think that I’m about to throttle him about something he’s done, he goes and does something that makes my heart lurch with the pure love of him. Right at this moment he looked as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, yet I knew without a doubt that all his mischief would start anew in the morning and I’d be ready to throttle him yet again.

Even though the day hadn’t turned out to be the family bonding time I’d been hoping for, I had to admit that it had been a most successful event. I realised as I sat there with my three boys that night, that this was as good as it would get from now on. Adam was a man with his own interests and Hoss was fast becoming one. They would both be off on their own a lot from now on and I had to remember that it was a good thing that they were.

I still had Joe of course, but he was always reminding me that he was growing up fast and he wasn’t my baby any longer. I knew that I had to make the best of him being young while I could and the thought saddened me in some ways. Still, we were all entering a new phase in our lives together and all I could hope for was that we would all be the richer for it.

As we turned the last corner towards the house, I let my mind wander happily ahead. There would be no lamp to light our way as we rode into the deserted front yard in a few moments, but the moon would be shining down and lighting up the buildings for us as we pulled to a stop. Adam and Hoss would take care of the animals quickly and expertly, making sure that they were all settled for the night before returning to the house. While they did that, I would carry Joe up to bed and try to wash some of the grime off before tucking him between the sheets.

Hoss had mentioned having a bit of supper, although I don’t know how on earth he would be able to fit anything else in, considering the amount of rubbish that he and Joe had consumed earlier that afternoon. Adam would most likely take a book to bed and drift off to sleep while reading it, whereas I looked forward to some quiet time to myself and a brandy in front of the fireplace before turning in.

Another Founder’s Day was about to end.

The End

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