A Special Day (by AC1830)

ben, young adam

Summary – Ben has a special day planned for Adam.

Rating – K, Word Count – 1087

 

A Special Day

 

“Adam? Wake up.”

Ben gently shook his son in the wee hours of the morning. Even the sun hadn’t fully risen.

“Come on sleepy head. We’ve got a lot to do today.”

Adam’s eyes fluttered open to see his Pa smiling at him. He stretched under the warm quilt before pushing it back and freeing his small feet.

Ben brushed some dark locks of hair away from his son’s eyes.  “Looks like you need your hair trimmed again. I can’t see your eyes very well.”

Adam wrinkled his nose at the idea of a haircut but said nothing. Once Ben saw that his young son was fully awake, he climbed out of the wagon to let him get dressed.

Ben smiled as the sky brightened, chasing the stars away. It had been a long and difficult five years, and he knew he had been forgetful many times of his young son’s needs, but not today. No sir. Today would be all about Adam, but the boy wouldn’t know that, at least not right away. Ben’s smile widened as he pondered how long it would take Adam to realize the specialness of the day.

Hearing Adam shift around in the wagon, Ben quickly set about fixing breakfast. They had a long way to travel that day if they were going to make the next town before his supplies got too low, but Ben had planned a few surprises for his son along the way.

As Ben set biscuits and bacon on their plates, Adam finally appeared. He took one look at the food and grinned.  “Pa. Biscuits and bacon?  I didn’t think we had any left.”

“This is it, so enjoy it son.”

“Oh I will Pa!”  And Adam took care to eat and taste every morsel until there were no crumbs left.

After cleaning up, father and son continued their journey. As the sun rose to its zenith, Ben found a shady spot by a creek so they could rest the horses and have some lunch.

“Pa, our stores are getting low. What are we gonna eat for lunch? All I could find was some of yesterday’s bread.”

“Well, son, go get us some water from that creek and while you’re there see if you see anything in the water.”

Adam frowned at the odd instructions but he did as his pa told him. Dipping the canteen into the running water he looked all around but saw nothing. Suddenly he felt something brush his hand making him drop the canteen. He quickly retrieved it, then sat to stare at the water. That’s when he saw them and ran back to Ben who was starting a fire.

“Pa, Pa, I saw them. Fish, and lots of them.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go catch some.”

Ben found a couple of good sticks and using his boot laces, fashioned a couple of fishing poles. An hour later, father and son had a veritable feast of fish and day-old bread.

“Pa, that fish was so good. Can we catch some more again tonight?”

“I wish we could but fish like to hide at night. We can eat the last ones we have, and maybe find something else to go with them. Now let’s get on our way. We’ve a long way to go before the sun sets.”

During the afternoon ride, Ben made an offer to Adam he couldn’t refuse. “Son, would you like to drive the horses?”

Adam grinned from ear to ear. “Boy would I. Thanks Pa.”

Ben shifted on the seat to show Adam how to hold the thick leather reins, then once Adam got the hang of it he let go of the boy’s arms.

“I’m doin’ it Pa, just like you. I’m driving the wagon!”

“You sure are, son.”

After a short ways, Adam was forced to relinquish his new skill, as his small arms became very tired. He took Ben’s suggestion to climb into the back and rest until they stopped for the night.

When Adam awoke, he smelled something very different in the air. Following the scent, he climbed out of the now still wagon and found his father bent over the cooking fire. He watched for a moment longer as he saw something on a stick that was balanced between two other sticks stuck in the ground.

“Pa, whatcha doin’?  What smells so good?”

Ben turned to greet his son. “I see you finally woke up. Come, it’s time to eat.”

Ben slid the big object off the stick and pulled it apart to give some to Adam.  “It’s rabbit, son.  Enjoy. After dinner I have another surprise for you.”

The smell from the cooked rabbit had helped Adam realize how hungry he was. By the time dinner was over nothing but bones were left of their meal.

“Now, close your eyes and don’t open them until I say so.”

Adam closed his eyes and listened to all the sounds his father was making but he was unable to figure out what was going on.

After a few minutes Ben finally spoke. “Okay, son. Take a look.”

When Adam opened his eyes he blinked several times at the odd thing before him. It was a very large biscuit with a stick stuck in the middle of it. And even more odd was that the other end of the stick was burning. Adam looked up to his father, his expression a big question mark.

Ben chuckled. “This is the best I could do for a cake with a candle. Happy fifth birthday, son.”

Adam’s face was frozen somewhere between shock and sheer pleasure. A couple of tears escaped down his cheek as he threw his arms around his pa’s neck. “Thank you Pa. It’s the best birthday cake ever.”

Trying to prevent his own tears, Ben extricated himself from Adam’s hug and told him about making a wish before blowing out the candle. The air was quite still so Adam took in a breath, made his wish, but before he could blow out the flame, a light breeze tickled his cheek and made the flame dance.  Still holding his breath he glanced at Ben who only nodded, so Adam turned back to the flame and blew it out.

Father and son shared the biscuit as they rested on the ground looking up at the millions of diamonds in the sky.

“Pa?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for my birthday. I love you.”

“I love you too, son.”

———-

Happy Birthday, Pernell!

 

Tags: Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Birthday

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Author: AC1830

Like many, I grew up with Bonanza. I'm an Adam gal from the beginning but I love all the Cartwrights, Candy and Jamie. In 2015 I reconnected with Bonanza through forums and also found my love of reading and writing fan fiction.

24 thoughts on “A Special Day (by AC1830)

  1. Aww, this story is so sweet and heart-warming! I love it!
    And I’m sure that Pernell would love it too! 🙂

  2. Une bien merveilleuse histoire de “Petit Adam”. Je partage le merveilleux en regardant le ciel . . . ou se cache l’étoile Pernell, la seule étoile en forme de cœur 💖

    1. Monika, Merci pour votre belle critique. Le petit Adam gagne mon cœur autant que le grand Adam. Moi aussi j’aime regarder les étoiles. Pernell s’est montré brillant sur terre et le fait toujours.

      Thank you for your lovely review. Little Adam wins my heart as much as big Adam does. I too love to look at the stars. Pernell shown brightly on earth and still does.

      1. Bonsoir AC1830,
        Un grand merci pour votre sympathique réponse. Oui, Adam, petit ou grand, c’est toujours du bonheur.
        Je suis française et ne connait pas beaucoup la vie de Pernell. Une chose est certaine c’est qu’il était aimé. Qu’a t’il fait de si brillant sur terre ?
        A travers les photos, il émane de cet homme une grande force, son regard est lumineux. Dommage que sa vie est été bouleversée par la mort de son fils.

        1. Salutations, monika,

          C’était un acteur talentueux, surtout sur scène, et dans certains rôles à la télévision et au cinéma, il a même éclipsé ses co-stars. C’était un humanitaire. Il s’est battu pour un logement équitable pour les pauvres et a défilé pour les droits civils des Afro-Américains dans les années 1960.

          He was a talented actor, especially on stage, and in some TV/movie roles he even outshone his co stars. He was a humanitarian. He fought for fair housing for the poor and marched for Civil rights for African Americans in the 1960’s.

    1. Wow, thanks Elayne. It’s always encouraging to hear that a story moved the reader deeply. May I offer you a tissue or two? Thanks for reading and letting me know you enjoyed this little snippet of Adam’s life.

  3. Ah, just the perfect story for Pernell’s birthday, and I read it on his birthday too – just forgot to comment! I love that all his presents revolved around food, but then I guess it would if you don’t get too much special grub on the trail!

    1. Aw, thanks SG for saying it felt like a ‘perfect’ gift. I thought they both deserved something a little special. Ben can be pretty resourceful, especially when it counts the most. Thanks for reading, and remembering to comment. 🙂

    1. I enjoy writing about them too, Katie Rose. Thanks for taking time to read and to share your thoughts. Glad you enjoyed this little tale.

  4. Such a lovely story, so glad that Ben a special birthday for Adam. Love how Ben got around having no cake, reckon it would be the cake Adam would always remember.

    1. I think you’re right Chris about Adam remembering his special ‘cake’. Thanks for reading and letting me know you enjoyed it.

  5. Sweet father and son moments. Those fish and that rabbit turned up just at the right time! I’m sure Adam would never forget this special birthday.

    1. Those little critters did their part didn’t they? Lol. Thanks for reading JC. Glad you enjoyed Adam’s special day.

  6. What a sweet father/son moment. Glad Ben had the chance and the courage to celebrate the birth of his special boy.

    1. Thanks Lisa. Glad you enjoyed it. Ben was heading in the right direction to shift his focus to Adam.

  7. Such a cute story! I had a smile on my face the whole time! A great remembrance story for Pernell’s birthday.

    1. Thanks wx4rmk. Wow, a smile the whole way, that’s awesome. Yeah, just a little something for PR’s birthday too.

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