Summary: This is a sequel to the Advent story about the weather vane. It is not necessary to read that one first but it might make it easier to understand some small parts if you are familiar with the first story. The healing power of that weather vane continues to work, this time on Adam.
Rating: PG  Word count: 3075

Weather Vane stories:
Weather Vane aka Looking to Heaven (by BettyHT)
The Weather Vane and Coming Home (by BettyHT)

The Weather Vane and Coming Home

There was a leak in the roof of the house on the Ponderosa ranch. At first, Hoss and Joe Cartwright had been amused that their father would be so concerned over a couple of drops of water when it rained. However, as the weather turned colder and snow accumulated on the roof, the drops were nearly constant and irritating. There was a distinct wet circle developing on the ceiling that was looking rather ominous for the integrity of the roof. Despite the inhospitable weather, Hoss and Joe had to climb up on that roof to find the problem. It didn’t take long to locate the source of the water that was dripping into their house. Over twenty-five years earlier on a Christmas Day, Ben and his oldest son, Adam, had put a weather vane on the roof. After so much time, the iron weather vane was rusting at the base rather severely and had loosened where it was fastened. Water was leaking in around that and obviously seeping down into the ceiling below and dripping into the great room. There was only one solution at that point. They had to remove the weather vane and put a patch over the spot where it had been installed. Once that was done with a good thick layer of tarpaper underneath, the leak was ended at least temporarily. Neither of them though wanted to remove that weather vane so it was with reverence they carried it to the edge of the roof and carefully lowered it down asking two of the men to help them to be sure it wasn’t damaged any further. Candy, their foreman, chuckled at their care for the old rusty weather vane.

“It looks like some amateur made it. You can get a nice one that looks a lot better than this and put it up there.”

“Nope, Candy, we’re gonna git this one fixed up and put it back up there.”

“Hoss, you’re kidding me. This piece of junk? You should melt it down and make a new one then.”

“We can’t. The man who made it ain’t here no more.”

That’s when Candy got a hint about who made it. “Your brother Adam made it and that’s why you want to keep it?”

“No, well yeah, that’s true, kinda, but there’s a whole lot more to the story. Joe, you tell stories like this better’n me. Why dontcha tell him the whole thing?”

“I suppose I could. Well, it started on a Sunday before Christmas when I was about five years old. My mother had died that year when she took a nasty fall from her horse.”

It was time to tell the story of the weather vane. It took quite a long time to tell, but Candy didn’t interrupt even once.

“So that’s the story. That weather vane means a lot to us for a bunch of different reasons.”

The men had all settled down on benches as Joe had talked. The story was engrossing, and Joe told it with some flair mimicking voices as well as he could. Trying to match his father’s deep tones and Adam’s baritone were difficult though and almost made him cough every time he tried. At least Hoss and Candy refrained from laughing considering the serious nature of the story this time. Candy was serious in his response as well.

“I get that the weather vane is important to all of you, but it seems to me if you bring it up with your father, he might shed tears for a different reason now seeing as how the family isn’t together any more.”

Candy’s opinion on that was sobering for Hoss and Joe who hadn’t considered that possibility. So when they went in the house, they told their father they had found the source of the problem and patched it without mentioning the weather vane. That evening after Ben went to bed, Hoss and Joe sat up talking. It took some time to settle the issue that Joe brought up but finally Hoss agreed to Joe’s plan. It wasn’t easy for him to accept, but he did agree that the loss was worth the reward they might get. Nothing else they had tried had made any impact on Adam. He had said before that he would visit but always there were business meetings or business trips that had come up and the trip home had to be sacrificed. This was a last-ditch effort to see if they could move their brother to action because their father wasn’t getting any younger, and every year he seemed to be sadder than the year before when there were only two sons to celebrate Christmas with him.

After borrowing a scissors from Hop Sing and carrying a candle, Joe went to the attic walking in his stocking feet so as not to disturb his father. When he returned, he and Hoss composed a letter. The next day when they went to town to get supplies and to see if they could get the old weather vane repaired, they posted the letter. They hoped for good news, because the verdict on the weather vane was that it was hopeless. The blacksmith told them it was rusting in too many places, and it needed to be recast or replaced. They had been afraid of that news so they could only hope their other effort would be more fruitful.

With the new transcontinental railroad, it was only a few days later that Adam Cartwright opened that thick letter from his brothers. A swatch of cloth and a small note were inside. He paid close attention to both before pouring himself a glass of brandy and sitting at his desk looking around. The room had rich leather furniture, fine art on the walls, rich woven Persian rugs on the floor, and expensive books on the shelves that lined the walls. That was only the office. The rest of the house was as well appointed. He had spent every hour of every day since leaving the Ponderosa doggedly pursuing his dreams except he no longer was sure what those dreams were. He had money and influence and the respect of others but found it wasn’t enough to satisfy his soul. He was as restless and as unhappy as he had been on the Ponderosa, and perhaps even more so. He had so much, but he wondered about his wealth and why none of what he had satisfied his needs.

Just that day he had grown frustrated while shopping and looking for the perfect gifts to send to his family members for Christmas. Coming home empty-handed, he didn’t know why he couldn’t think of anything to get them. The whole process frustrated him more and more each year as he was getting fed up with the whole idea of Christmas. He had so much more than they had and yet could think of nothing to give to them. He looked again at that swatch of cloth and the note and realization hit. It was a shock that it was so simple yet so profound. They had something he did not. They had each other. He had an empty bed upstairs. Oh, occasionally someone was in it, but it was never for love. He didn’t have time for love. He didn’t even have an inclination to seek love and knew he had given up on it after so many failures. There was one person for whom he cared at all. It was his assistant at his office whom he found attractive, not only physically but personally too. He fought that attraction and did everything he could to keep her at arm’s length because her social station and his were so different. He had never even considered a romance. At that point, he wondered when he had changed so much. He downed the last of his drink and pulled out some paper to begin writing. He had a lot to do and a short time in which to do it.

Two days later, at his architectural and engineering business, Adam called his assistant into his office and asked her to close the door. He had never done that before so she was worried. She knew he had been having meetings with lawyers and all sorts of other businessmen so she knew something big was up but had no idea what it was. He was about to do something so out of character for him that he wondered if he was losing his grasp on reality. Surely his lawyers had questioned him in the last couple of days as to whether he wanted to wait to possibly reconsider. He told them he did not. He hoped that this decision would work out too. It was rash and impulsive, and yet it felt like the best thing to do. It seemed as if he was being guided by some unseen benevolent force so he plunged ahead.

“Gina, no doubt you can tell that I’m making some big changes. They will affect you. I need to tell you what I’m doing. I hope it’s not too much of a shock to you. I’m selling the business. I will give you severance pay of two years salary after all your years of working here and your loyalty to me. I hope you consider that fair. Or if that is not acceptable, I do have another offer for you. You might find it unacceptable though.”

“Where are you going?” Gina had loved him almost since she had met him. The thought that she couldn’t even love him from afar was painful to accept. Fighting to keep the tears at bay, she waited for his answer.

“I’m going home, to Nevada.”

At that point, she remembered what he had said. “You mentioned another offer?”

“Yes, it may seem outlandish to you, and you can laugh and tell me I’m a foolish old man, but would you go with me?”

“Go with you? As your assistant? To do what?”

“No, go with me as my wife.”

Later, Gina was sure her mouth must have dropped open at that point. She knew she did stammer sounds as no words would come out. She looked at Adam wondering if there could possibly be a joke there or if there was any chance he was being serious. The look he had was difficult to determine. When he spoke, it was with sadness and hope.

“I haven’t accepted any kind of relationship even friendship from you, yet I do care for you. You’re the only woman I’ve met here who I consider genuine. I respect and trust you. I like you. I care what happens to you. I can’t say that I love you, not because I don’t, but because I don’t know. I have to admit that I no longer am sure what love is. All I can say is that I will be a true and faithful husband if you will have me.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I will marry you.”

“I did that so badly I didn’t think there was a chance you would agree.”

“You’re not trying to back out of the proposal now, are you? There have probably been far more romantic proposals than that one, but not likely has there ever been one that was more honest. I love you. I can honestly say that. We have a good starting point then.”

“This is all very business like. I think we should at least kiss.” As he was talking, Adam moved closer and gently took Gina in his arms. They kissed, and as they did so, Adam found that his feelings for her were far stronger than he had let himself believe. When they separated, Gina smiled up at him.

“I think you do love me.”

Adam nodded thinking she might be right. “You could be right about that. Are you still willing to marry me without knowing for sure?”

Her answer was a question. “When will we get married?”

“Do you want to get married here or in Nevada?”

“I want to get married here.”

“Then it has to be soon because I would like to be home for Christmas.”

“That’s why there have been so many meetings with lawyers.”

“That’s why.”

There were a few more meetings and one with a minister, packing, and then the last trip to the train station. They were west of St. Louis before they even had a chance to sleep together. Adam wrapped an arm around his nervous bride.

“I think we should sleep. This is not the way to begin our marriage. When we get home to Nevada, we can have our first night together as husband and wife. We can take our time to make it a memorable night. How does that sound?”

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

In Nevada, decorations were going up for Christmas. Ben was dismayed to find that the precious weather vane quilt was missing a square, which inexplicably had been cut from it. No one seemed to know why. The decorations were put up and the quilt which was used to cushion the most delicate of them was packed away without the question being answered. Ben was sure there was going to be an answer, but couldn’t imagine what it would be. However, he had seen the looks from Joe to Hoss and back again. Something had gone on, but they weren’t ready to tell him anything.

On Christmas Eve, everything was in place for a quiet family dinner including Candy. As they moved to the table where Hop Sing was setting out dishes of food, Ben noted that there were six places set though and asked Hoss and Joe why. They told him that there were going to be a couple of guests.

“I thought we had agreed on a quiet family gathering.”

The brothers looked at each other as if hoping the other one was going to come up with an answer for their father. Any further complaints were stopped by the sound of horses and a carriage in the yard.

“Well, they finally got here. C’mon Joe, let’s go bring ’em inside for dinner.”

Ben looked at Candy who shrugged. He didn’t know who the guests were either. Hoss and Joe answered the door. When a young woman came around the corner, Ben was still mystified as to the identity of their guests, but then he heard a voice he hadn’t heard in years.

“Pa, I’m sorry we’re late for dinner. The weather outside is frightful.”

“Oh, Adam, but this dinner looks so delightful. I’m sorry too, but we haven’t eaten all day.”

“It has been a challenge to get here. We were delayed in Reno, but I promised my brothers I’d be here by Christmas Eve so I had to do it. I always keep my promises.” He paused for a moment as he gazed at the tree off to the other end of the room. “And I’m beginning to like Christmas again too.”

Hoss and Joe saw Gina blushing deeply when Adam said they were delayed in Reno and guessed that there was more to that part of the story. She would never tell though that they got a hotel room and consummated their marriage there because neither of them could wait any longer. Once they got off the train, they had some time before the stage left so they got a room. However they took so much time, they missed that stage and had to catch the next one, which is what made them almost late in arriving. To her, it had been worth all the rushing and the worry about being late. To lie in bed with Adam’s arms around her and hear him say he did love her and that his heart was growing bigger by being married to her had made her love for him even greater. She knew too that his heart would be even stronger now with his family all around him. They had given each other the best Christmas gift they could, and now they had this wonderful family too. It could not have been better, and their warm welcoming smiles told her more than words ever could that Adam had made the right decision in coming home.

Seeing tears on his father’s cheeks, Adam almost cried too. Instead, he introduced his wife to her father-in-law. Hugs and a welcome allowed Ben to regain his composure as did his son who had been keeping his emotions under wraps for years.

“Sit down then. You said you’re hungry. We can talk while we eat.”

There was nonstop talking while they ate with someone having a tale to tell during every moment of the meal. In the end, Ben finally got to ask a question.

“Adam, we’ve tried to get you to come home for a visit for years. What made you come home this time?”

Reaching into his pocket, Adam pulled out a square from the weather vane quilt. “This did it. I had forgotten what was most important in life. This helped me remember and my heart grew back and opened again. I asked Gina to marry me, sold the business, and sold my house and most of the things in it.”

“Wait a minute. You sold your business and your house? You asked Gina to marry you?”

“Yes, Pa, I did. This isn’t only a visit. I came back home. I hope I’m welcome to stay. I may not be suited to much ranch work any more, but I know Hoss and Joe have at least one job they want me to do. I brought some things with me to get that done. If the weather is nice tomorrow, I may work on it then. All of that happened because my brothers sent me that quilt square. It made me open my eyes and my heart to something more, much more than I had. Yes, Gina is my Christmas gift. She consented to be my wife.”

Adam stared down his brothers daring them to say anything to ruin that moment. They didn’t. They could wait a day or two to do their teasing. However, their attention shifted to their father anyway.

“Pa, are you crying?”

“These are tears of joy, Joe. These are tears of joy. You boys know how to get me the best gifts.”