Summary: Written for Chaps & Spurs September Challenge

Little Joe has to face his greatest challenge since losing his mother  

Rated: K+ (1,670 words)

First Day Nerves

Little Joe had only been awake a few minutes, but already he’d decided that today was going to be a bad day. The six year old was not a morning person and his father had just entered his room to wake him up. As far as Joe was concerned, it was still the middle of the night.

“Come on, Little Joe, rise and shine. It’s a fair way into Virginia City, and you’ve got to get washed, dressed and have your breakfast, before we leave,” said Ben, smiling at his youngest son.

As Ben was speaking, he was pulling back the covers from the little boy. Joe grabbed hold of the blanket and was equally determined to keep them over him.

“Brr, Papa, it’s too cold. Don’t pull off my covers, I’ll catch my death. And I can’t go outside, cos it must be even colder out there.”

“Little Joe Cartwright, don’t start playing up, young man. It’s not that cold; it’s a lovely September morning and it’s the beginning of the new school year. You don’t want to be late for your first day of school, do you?”

“No, Papa, I don’t wanna be late; I wanna be absent. I’m not well, so I can’t go,” and Joe pulled the covers back up the bed, and over his head.

Up until the night before, whenever the subject of school had been discussed, Joe had sounded quite keen to go, but now the day had actually arrived, he wasn’t so sure about it.

“There’s nothing the matter with you, little boy, and we don’t have time to play silly games, so up you get,” said Ben, with a slightly, sterner edge, creeping into his voice.

“How do you know nuffing is the matter with me?” said a rather indignant Joe. “It’s my tummy that’s hurting, not yours.”

“I know, because I have already gone through this day, with your big brothers, and the tummy ache is just because you fear the unknown. You have never been to school, before, and you don’t know what to expect, and that is what is making your tummy hurt. It’s just first day nerves and once you get to school and find out what fun it is, your tummy ache will go away. Trust me, I know about these things.”

“Humph,” said Joe, sitting up in bed, and crossing his arms. “My tummy ache won’t go away when I get to school. It’s real bad and I havta stay here and rest,” and he lay down again.

“Mmm, well in that case, I will go and ask Hop Sing to bring you up some of his special medicine for poorly tummies, and then I will ride into town with Hoss, and fetch Doc Martin here to check you over.”

Joe knew that Hop Sing’s medicine tasted awful, and he was never happy about having to see the doctor, as he, too, had a lot of nasty tasting medicines in his bag, so he had a change of heart.

“W—e—l—l, I guess it might just be one of them nervous tummies you was talking about, Papa, so I don’t fink I havta have medsin, or see Doc Martin, after all.”

“That’s good to know, Little Joe,” said Ben, smiling at his little son. “Up you get, then, and wash up. I’ve brought you some warm water.”

With Ben’s help, Joe was soon washed and dressed.

“My, don’t you look smart?” said Ben, forcing down the lump that had appeared in his throat, when looking at his baby, all ready for school. The thought that kept filling his head was how much he wished Marie was there, to witness this special day, with him.

The two made their way down the stairs, where both Adam and Hoss were already sat at the breakfast table.

“You look real grown up, little brother,” said Hoss, who was also fighting back tears at the thought of his baby brother going to school.

“All ready to go and learn lots of new things, eh, little buddy?” said Adam, in a rather forced, cheerful tone. Adam always maintained that he was far more practical, and not as emotional, as his father and younger brothers, but when it came to Little Joe, Adam was just as much of a softy as the other two were.

Hop Sing, who was just about to enter the dining room with a bowl of scrambled eggs for Little Joe, could tell that emotions were beginning to get out of control, and so walked in, to try and diffuse the highly charged moment.

“Here we go, Little Joe. Hop Sing make your favourite. Eat before it go cold.”

Joe sat down and Ben tucked a napkin under his chin, as he wanted to avoid Joe getting egg down his shirt.

The little boy didn’t feel much like eating, as the tummy ache had reared its ugly head, again, but he didn’t want to upset Hop Sing, or the family, and so managed a few mouthfuls. He also drank about half a glass of milk, and then declared he was full.

While Joe was eating, Hoss went outside, with Adam, to saddle up the horses. Ben was going to accompany the two boys to school, so Joe was going to ride on Buck, with his father. Hoss placed Joe’s lunch and his slate in his father’s saddlebags and then looked over at his brother.

“Do ya reckon Joe will be okay when we git to school, Adam?” asked Hoss.

“I expect so, Hoss,” said Adam. “It’s like Pa always says, the anticipation is usually worse than the event itself. Once he gets there and sees Mitch and the other children he knows, he will be fine.”

“I hope so, cos iffen he gits upset, I won’t know what ta do, and Mr Lawson’s bound ta tell me ta sort him out.”

Adam didn’t dispute this, as he knew that Hoss was right. When he and Hoss had been the two Cartwright brothers attending school, the teacher always expected Adam to deal with Hoss, if ever the boy was upset.

“Don’t worry, Hoss, I’m sure he will be fine,” and Adam patted his brother on the back.

“I sure wish you were still goin’ ta school, Adam,” said Hoss. “You’d know jest what ta do.”

“And you will, too, if the need arises. You’re a pretty terrific big brother, you know.”

Hoss smiled his lovely gap toothed smile.

“Thanks, Adam, and so are you.”

The ride to school passed by, uneventfully and by the time they arrived, Joe was feeling much happier.

Ben helped him down off Buck, and Joe took off across the yard, as he saw his best friend Mitch standing with his older brother and sister.

Hoss went to the stable, to take care of his horse, and Ben set off after Joe, in order to give the boy his slate and his lunch.

“Here you go, Little Joe,” said Ben. “Adam will be here to pick you up, this afternoon, so you can ride home on Sport.”

“Okay, Papa,” said Joe. “Look, Mitch is here and Sara’s over there, and that’s Johnny just coming in the gate wiv his Mama. All my friends are here, so’s I’ll have lots of people ta play wiv.”

“Yes, you will, Joseph, but don’t forget, you are also here to do lessons, so remember to listen to the teacher, okay?”

“I will, Papa.”

Just then, Mr Lawson appeared on the steps of the school house and rang the bell.

“Come on children,” he said. “Time to come inside.”

Hoss was now back from the stable and he went and stood next to his little brother.

“Let’s go in, Little Joe,” said Hoss, placing an arm across Joe’s shoulders, and steering him towards the schoolhouse.

Joe looked up at his father, and Ben could tell that the little boy was fighting hard to hold back the tears, now that the moment had arrived to leave his father

“Off you go, now, boys, enjoy your day,” said Ben, determined to keep the parting as light as possible.

“Bye, Pa,” said Hoss, and Joe just waved, as he walked away with his brother.

Ben, too, had to hold back the tears, as he returned to his horse, leaving his little boy at school, for the first time.

He rode into town and decided to stop off and have a cup of coffee and a chat with his old friend, Roy Coffee, as he had some time to kill before attending his appointment with his lawyer.

As he walked along the boardwalk, towards Roy’s office, Ben found the need to blow his nose, as he couldn’t get Little Joe’s face out of his mind. The boy had walked across the schoolyard, looking like he was about to face his executioner.

He walked into the office, still using the handkerchief to wipe his eyes.

“Hello there, Ben,” said Roy.

When he saw what Ben was doing, he said,  “Are you okay, old friend? Have you caught a cold?”

Ben looked puzzled for a couple of seconds and then realised why Roy had asked him such a question.

“Oh, no, I haven’t got a cold,” said Ben. “I have the constitution of an ox.”

“Well, what’s the matter, then?” said Roy. “Wait a minute, I know what it is. You’ve just left Little Joe at school, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have, but that has nothing to do with me wiping my eyes,” said Ben.

“No, of course it doesn’t, Ben,” said Roy, and the two men laughed.

THE END

Little Joe forever

Lynne

September 14th 2010

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.