Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 4 *

Summary: Summary:  Pa volunteers Adam when the pastor needs someone to bring his Christmas vision to life.  The result:  two rebellious sons in need of some brotherly wisdom.

Rating: K+
Word Count:  1,660

Wrapping the Present

 

Adam heard the door to the barn open but did not turn from his observation of Sport calmly chewing oats. He merely listened to his brother’s approach. Hoss, for his part, simply walked over and settled in place next to Adam, the sleeve of his coat rubbing against that of his brother’s. They leaned against the side of the stall in silence for a minute or two.

“You know ya don’t have to do it. You being twenty-two and all.” Hoss’s voice was unruffled except for the slight stress on the words have to.

“No, I don’t have to. I could just spend the entire holiday season in Pa’s bad books.” Adam turned his eyes toward his brother’s profile. “Is that what you’d choose?”

“I ain’t you, and I wouldn’t have no choice. Truth is, though, you’ve always been more willing than me to spend time there when ya felt there was a point to be made.” Hoss turned his head, so that his eyes met his brother’s.

“There is a point to be made. Pa needs to realize that the time has passed when he can make obligations in my name. Give me business orders, of course, but this has nothing to with business.”

“He ain’t thinking on it as giving an order.”

“It sounded like one to me!” Adam turned his gaze back toward his horse.

“That’s not what’s making ya mad.”

“Being treated like a child is so what’s making me mad.” Adam’s hand slapped the wood of the stall. “He used the exact same tone with me as he used with Little Joe.”

“Maybe. You’re both his sons.” Hoss stood, turned, and then leaned back against the stall. “Ya really hate the thought so much? I truly don’t think Pa thought you would.”

Adam closed his eyes and then spit the bitterness in his mouth into the straw at his feet. “Hate…” Adam paused, shrugged, and turned to face Hoss. “Hate’s a strong word.” He sighed. “I have no desire to spend my Sunday afternoons between now and Christmas trying to corral a handful of boys from the age of six to thirteen into the pastor’s vision of a boys’ choir, most of whom will have the same view of their participation as our baby brother.”

“Some folks like to sing, even some rowdy youngins.”

“It will end badly, Hoss.” There was a profound surety in Adam’s pronouncement.

“Folks ain’t gonna expect perfection even if you do. Most there are gonna hear angels just ‘cause it’s their boys singing. Ya won’t need to be embarrassed if it don’t sound like the choirs ya heard back East.”

“I know people won’t be critical.” Adam chewed the corner of his lip.

“You’re thinking it will go bad between you and Little Joe?”

“Don’t you?”

Hoss rubbed the palm of his hand against the cloth of his pants. “Could be.” The admission came soft as a whisper. “Still.”

Adam’s teeth clenched, and he exhaled through his nose slowly. “Maybe if I explained …” Adam shook his head. “He’d just explain how he’ll handle Joe.” Adam snorted. “Truth is by now it’s a matter of pride; he won’t see any reason as good enough for me to go back on his agreement.”

“Pa is a prideful man.” Hoss gave Adam a glance that declared that Ben Cartwright was not the only man in the family with a large portion of pride. Then he dropped his eyes and kicked the straw at his feet. His pride in you and two things ya do best is what has him so eager for you to do this.”

Adam’s eyebrow rose in query.

“Your way with music. Pa’s always been mighty proud of that; maybe ‘cause it had to come from the Stoddards through your mother; the rest of the Cartwrights not being really blest in that way.” Hoss saw Adam’s eyes soften at the mention of his mother.

Adam sighed. “You said two things.”

Hoss smiled. “You’re pretty good at getting’ folks, especially youngins, to understand things, and sometimes you can get folks to do things a body would be doubtful of.”

Adam tugged his left ear. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“Nowhere?”

Adam gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “The rehearsals will be chaos. Little Joe will fight me because he can’t fight Pa. I shall inevitably lose my temper, more than once, no doubt. I shall become the bane of every boy in the church, and probably most of their mothers especially if I actually throttle one of them…” Hoss’s chuckle interrupted Adam’s tirade. “You think all that is funny?”

“No.”

“You do realize that the final result of what will surely end in catastrophe is that I’ll retire to Bedlam.” Adam pointed his finger and stabbed it into Hoss’s chest. “If I do, I shall drag you there with me.”

Hoss smiled. “If you have to run off back East, I might not mind going to see some of them places you visited.”

Adam’s eyes rolled. “I have only visited Bedlam on this side of the Mississippi.”

“Bedlam’s in the territory?”

“No, actually it’s in London.”

“England? You ain’t never been to England.” Confusion was clear on Hoss’s face.

“Bedlam is… oh, never mind!” Adam took two steps toward the door of the barn and then stopped.

“You’re gonna do it then.” It was a statement not a question.

“You knew I would when you came out here. You’re not so bad at getting certain folks to do what they don’t want yourself.”

“You would have done it even if I never said a word.”

“I suppose.” Adam turned to face his brother and raised his eyebrow.

“You would have done it, but… You know Old Ned told me something once.”

“Old Ned told all of us many things.”

“Yea, he did. Sometimes we even listened. This one time, though, he told me about giving folks presents that can’t be bought or made even. Your doing this for Pa will be a gift. You’ve never been stingy with gifts, Big Brother, ‘specially not that kind.”

Adam’s eyes dropped, and the toe of his boot stirred the bits of straw on the dirt floor. “Then why did you come out here?”

“Old Ned said those presents were best when wrapped up in smiles and good feelings. You’ve helped me wrap lots of Christmas presents up pretty. I thought it was time I helped you wrap up one.”

Adam gazed at his brother as a smile spread across his face. The smile slowly changed into a smirk. “That is not the only way you’re going to help me. You are going to be at every rehearsal.”

“Doing what?”

“Guarding the back door.   I can’t afford for any of them to escape; I’ll need every voice that I can commandeer. Besides, Little Joe shall surely need your protection at some point.” Adam’s eyes travelled from the top of his sixteen-year-old brother’s head to the tip of his boots. It was a long gaze as the boy had grown quite tall while Adam was at college. “It would seem that you’ve grown up enough to provide him some.”

Hoss straightened to his full height. “Glad ya noticed.” His grin widened. “And I still got a ways more to grow.”

Adam grinned back. “I’ll always be the oldest, Little Brother!”

 

*** On Christmas Eve…

Hoss slipped through the crowd to wait at the back of the church knowing it would be sometime before Adam could detach himself from the admiring congratulations of the congregation. Pa would be awhile too as he was in the midst of agreeing with each and every other parent in the building as to the glory that was the boys’ choir.

“Hoss!” Little Joe slid into the open spot next to his brother. “How did we do?”

Hoss reached out and tousled his little brother’s curls. “Mighty fine, Punkin, just plain glorious. That’s what Pa called it: glorious.

Little Joe ducked his head away from his brother’s hand but smiled broadly. “I guess we did do alright.”

“More than alright. Don’t see why you or Adam wasted any worry.”

Little Joe gave him a slantwise glance. “You didn’t worry none?”

“Onliest worry I had was that with Pa’s chest swelling so with pride, one of his buttons would pop off and fly right into somebody’s eye.”

“Hoss!” The boy slapped his brother’s forearm; Hoss gave no discernible reaction. “Pa liked it then?”

Hoss’s chin guided Little Joe’s eyes to their father. “It’s plain enough for a blind man to see.”

Little Joe grinned and then rubbed the plank floor with his toe. “We could probably be even better next year.”

“Next year? You thinking about next year with all…”

Joe gave Hoss a shove which moved the older boy not at all. “It weren’t so bad, I guess. Adam wasn’t … well, he was bossy some but not as bossy as he can be, and he didn’t let the pastor’s wife make us wear them sissy bib collars, so…” Little Joe recognized the hand that had come to rest on his shoulder and stopped for breath.

“So you’d be willing?” Adam’s voice was gently teasing.

Little Joe leaned his head back against Adam’s chest. “Well, I guess we could do it … for Pa, you know.”

Adam squeezed Joe’s shoulder as he caught Hoss’s eyes with his own. “Yea, we could do it for Pa.”

Little Joe found himself the meat in the sandwich as Hoss threw his arm around Adam’s shoulders. With one mind, the brothers turned to walk over and retrieve their pa. After all, the church ladies had hot cider, cookies, and cakes waiting in the vestibule.

 

 

Merry Christmas to you all!

 

Link to the 2019 Advent Calendar – December 5th:

The Christmas Poem by PSW

 

Tags: Old Ned