Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 7*

Summary: When Hoss needs a romantic poem, he and Joe search Adam’s room where they find something wondrous that truly brings magic to Christmas.
Rating:  G
Words: 4,806

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The Magic of Christmas

 

Sitting on the bed in his room, Hoss Cartwright held a pad of paper and a pencil and was still as a statue. When his brother Joe passed by Hoss’ room, the younger brother had to pause and walk back.

“You practicing posing for a painting?”

“Nah, on Christmas day, I want to ask Mary Ellen to marry up with me, and I want to do it romantic like and all. I want to ask her with a poem. You know she likes that poetry stuff.”

“Why don’t you just copy one out of a book?”

“Didn’t I just tell you she likes that stuff? She would know it if I copied it. I have to have something special and you know, one I done myself. But I ain’t so good at writing.”

“What have you got so far?”

“Paper and a pencil.”

With his hand on his chin, lips twisted to one side, and eyebrows furrowed down, Joe did some thinking. He was good at thinking. Sadly, the results of his thinking weren’t always so good.

“Adam wrote poems. I bet there’s some in his room. Let’s go check.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do that.”

“Look, he’s been gone for over six years. If he was worried about the stuff in his room or needed any of it, don’t you think he would have sent for it by now?”

Without a counterargument, Hoss gave in. It was difficult to outthink Joe. He knew he should have tried. Adam always did, and he never got into trouble with their little brother. Hoss guessed that might be the main reason Joe always liked him more than Adam.

Unlike the first years when Adam left, no one visited his room anymore. The room was musty and dusty. After a thorough search, the two brothers found no poetry.

“Most of the time, Adam liked his privacy, and he hid things from us.”

“From you mostly cause you was always poking in his stuff.”

“Maybe he hid some things away and forgot about them when he left. Where would you hide things if you ever wanted to keep them away from me?”

“Well, I put them, oh, or, I would put them high enough that you couldn’t reach them or where you wouldn’t be strong enough to get at them.”

Ignoring the references to his height and build, Joe told Hoss to check those types of areas in the room. The survey of the ceiling found nothing, but Hoss found a floorboard that seemed a bit loose and sounded like it was hollow underneath. With a mighty heave, he pulled it up.

“Ah ha, there it is.”

A small strong box was wedged between the floor joists. After pulling it out, Hoss dropped it on the bed. It was locked, but Joe got to work on that. After a half-hour of diligence, the lock popped open.

“Seems like we ought not open that. After all, Adam went to a lot of trouble to keep it private.”

Ignoring that advice, Joe opened the metal box to find a leather-wrapped bundle containing a leather-bound book with gold symbols on the cover. He opened it to find Adam’s writing on the inside pages.

“This is it, Hoss. Pages and pages of poetry.”

Reading through the book, Joe frowned not finding the kind of poetry he had expected or hoped to read.

“What does stuff this mean anyway? I found one that must be special because it’s written in gold, but it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Gold?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty fancy stuff, but you know how Adam could like the fancy stuff just like Pa does sometimes.”

Settling on the bed and resting on a pillow, Joe read one part of a poem to Hoss.

springtime’s scent was growing,
the summer’s day was shortening, in the exit of the light,
the fall’s color was fading,
the winter’s day was ending, in the entry of the night.

“Huh? I don’t know what it means, but it sure sounds pretty. I like that last line a lot. the winter’s day was ending, in the entry of the night. the winter’s day was ending, in the entry of the night. Hmm, the winter’s day was ending, in the entry of the night.”

“Hoss, did you get a funny tingly feeling when you said all that?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

“Say it again in the hallway and see what happens.”

“You can say it. I don’t want to.”

In the hallway, Joe said the line. Nothing happened.

“Maybe you got to say it three times like I did.”

He did.

“Now I felt it again even with you being the one saying it.”

“Yeah, I felt it too, but I heard something too. When you said it, I thought I heard something, but then I thought maybe I imagined it. But now I heard something again, and it sounded like it was in Adam’s room this time too.”

“Was it in his room the first time?”

“Yeah, in his closet.”

Both warily returned to Adam’s room, and Joe opened the door to the closet.

“Uh, Hoss, come here. You have to see this. It isn’t just a closet anymore. It’s a water closet.”

Staring out the window, Hoss ignored his brother’s request.

“Joe, look at this.”

Walking next to Hoss, Joe’s mouth dropped open.

“But that’s impossible.”

The brothers were quiet for a minute as they stared out the window.

“Hoss, how about ‘springtime’s scent was growing’ as a line?”

“Joe, ain’t enough happened already?”

“Nothing bad happened. Let’s try it. Say that line about spring.”

Hoss reluctantly said the line and nothing happened.

“Maybe you have to say it three times like we did the other one.”

“I heard some noise down the hall. Let’s go look.”

The excitement over the results made them continue. It was the most fun they had had in a long time.

*****

Ben was sitting at his desk when the noise downstairs began. The dining room got bigger! The walls spread wider, the shutters grew wider and taller, and the windows stretched out wider and longer. The table expanded to twice the length and nearly fifty percent the width that it had been. The buffet at the side bulged taller and wider too with candles growing larger to suit the expanded tableau.

Although Ben should have been shocked by the changes, he knew what was happening. He had seen it all before and often. When Adam left, he had told him to take all those books and journals with him, but Adam had said he might need one especially if he needed to summon his son home on short notice. Rushing up the stairs, Ben hoped he could stop the two younger sons before they did irreparable harm. He didn’t have to worry. Another force was at work but not fast enough to stop everything.

The two brothers had not stopped even as they heard noises in the house and went down the hall to investigate. They returned to Adam’s room to read more. However, when the last ‘in the exit of the light’ left his mouth’, Joe felt a hand lock on his left shoulder from behind. He was gripped so tightly and painfully that he almost dropped the book. That didn’t matter because as the fingers dug deeper into the muscles of his shoulder, the book was pulled from his grasp by another hand while he was distracted by pain. It wasn’t only that but the menacing voice in his ear that made him freeze.

“Sorry about the rough treatment, but I had to stop you from reading any more of my work. Years ago, I worried you would get in trouble nosing about in my room someday. Some things never change.”

“Adam!”

“Adam! You’re home!”

Once Hoss and Joe got over the shock somewhat, closed their mouths, and were able to speak again, they had many questions. Some of them were to cover their embarrassment at being caught snooping in his room and holding his book.

“Dadburnit, Adam, what are you? I mean, it’s damn good to see you, but you look like a magician or something.”

“You’re wearing a cape!”

“I am, and I am as I have always been, the ‘or something’ you mentioned. Called home as I was, there was no time to dress in appropriate clothing for this situation. As a result, you see me as honestly as you ever have. I am a wizard. I have been studying to learn more about myself and what I can do. Unfortunately, you discovered and used some of my earlier work.”

“You came home. I thought you wouldn’t keep that promise.”

“I didn’t just come home, Joe, you summoned me home. Merry Christmas! Not the way I expected to return one day, but this works.” Looking at his bed, Adam frowned again.

“I don’t suppose I have to guess who’s been sitting on my bed with his boots on.”

Ben had heard the end of the phrase Joe was repeating as he ran up the first few steps. Even in his rush, he feared he wouldn’t be on time because he knew what the purpose of ‘in the exit of the light’ was if it was repeated three times.

When he reached Adam’s bedroom, Ben shoved the door open and confronted Joe.

“You hand over that book this instant!”

“Ah, Pa, I don’t have it anymore. Adam took it.”

Joe looked sheepish if not sickly as he admitted he no longer had the book.

It was then that Ben realized his eldest son was already home. Whirling around, he saw Adam standing behind the door with the book held securely against his chest.

“I know, Pa. You told me to take all the books and journals. I never thought they would find that one I left for you. It was in a locked box hidden under a floorboard under the bed. Who would have thought they would look there?”

“I am actually more surprised they would read any of it. It is good to have you home, son.”

With a hug, Ben welcomed his son home after his long absence. But Hoss and Joe had questions or perhaps comments would best describe their responses.

“Pa, you knew Adam was a wizard? How long have you known?”

“Pa, we never knew Adam had a water closet in his room.”

“And his window looks out on the front yard.”

“I don’t remember it ever did that before.”

“Yeah, my window looks out on the front yard too and so does Joe’s. Never did figure out how that works with the way the ceiling is downstairs. There’s no room for a bedroom with a window to look out the front.”

“There were never so many guest rooms up here either except sometimes there seemed like there were a lot when people were visiting way back when. Now there’s a bunch of them again.”

“Stop! Let’s go downstairs. Don’t repeat a word of what you read in that book either. Ever! You need to understand what you have done.”

“What we done? All we did was find a book, and Joe and me read a little bit of it.”

There was no response from Ben as he spun on his heel. Marching down the hall, he waited to hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Since Adam left, he had been more cognizant of his inappropriate tone and commands to sons who were grown men. However, at that moment, he didn’t care even if he had seen the smirk on his eldest son’s face. At the top of the stairs, he paused, because, despite the nature of the homecoming, his heart had warmed at the sight of his eldest son. Now waiting by the fireplace was the woman who was Adam’s wife and the son who resembled his father so much. It gave Ben joy to know he was a grandfather but even more joy to know his son must be happy.

It was another shock for Hoss and Joe though. At the top of the stairs, Hoss and Joe stopped so suddenly that they almost fell. Surprised earlier to see Adam dressed in a black satin cape trimmed in ermine with a red satin shirt and black pants and a silver vest that shimmered and long hair, they still could not mistake him for anyone except their brother. He had a beard too, but he was their brother with the grin they knew so well. Now down below, they saw a beautiful brown-haired woman and a young dark-haired boy. They had to be Adam’s family. Adam put his hands on their shoulders to encourage them to continue down the stairs. Reaching the ground floor, he made introductions.

“Yes, this is my wife, Kerstin, and this is our son, AC. Kerstin is a healing wizard, and AC is a wizard in training. Kerstin and AC, these are my brothers, Hoss and Joe. I’ve told you many stories about my brothers. Now you can find out for yourself what they are like.”

Kerstin bowed her head to them as did AC following her lead. Both of them were dressed in satin too. Kerstin wore a light green cape over a dark green dress trimmed in white. AC wore a navy blue cape trimmed like his father’s, but he wore a white shirt and navy blue striped pants. All three wore black leather boots.

“You’re all wizards?”

Adam nodded and smiled.

“Uh, Adam, what’s the difference between a magician and a wizard?”

“Magicians use tricks and perceptions and perhaps a little real magic to enrich themselves and gain things for themselves. I was born with the ability to use some magic. I have had to study and learn how to use more of it and to control it. Magic can be used for good or evil. You know how I choose to use any gift I have. I placed some of my magic in that book I left in my room for Pa if he needed it.”

The reprimand was there even if not explicitly stated as was the admonition never to do what they had done again. The tone and the quiet menace in Adam’s voice left no doubt of any of that. The brothers had the grace to look remorseful.

“This house is a result of my gifts, but I had to stop using my magic because people began to notice things. No matter what kind of trouble we got in, there was always a rescue, a recovery, or a resolution in our favor, and it was always fairly soon after the trouble began. They noticed how we managed so many acres, cows, and horses with so few hired hands on the Ponderosa. Often people wondered how Pa and I got to town and back so quickly. I had to stop using my gifts here. It was frustrating to learn and not be able to use what I learned.”

“Damn, then why didn’t you stop us from getting shot so often?”

“That was beyond my gifts, Joe, and I cannot use my magic to kill or harm others, but you and Hoss should be dead many times over the years. You should have scars all over your body. Haven’t you ever wondered about those miracle recoveries you had and so quickly from such serious injuries so many times? I’m not all powerful. I have to work at it so you did suffer as I did. Bit by bit, I would do what I could to heal each of us every time. It wasn’t perfect, because I still had so much to learn. Kerstin is more of a healer than I am. In the end, though, despite my limitations, we’re all still here.”

“But you left! Anything could have happened.”

“I taught Pa a few things before I left, and he had that stanza to summon me home in dire straits. You repeated it three times today which was the summoning. He had others to use as he thought necessary.”

Looking around the room, Adam had to grin.

“Of course, it appears you repeated a few of those other phrases three times as well. The dining room is much larger. It hasn’t been that big since Adah was here. That will be nice with Kerstin and AC here. And you did put the water closet in my room and added extra rooms upstairs. Moving my window to the front was a surprise though.”

With an arched eyebrow, Adam waited for his brothers to respond. Joe and Hoss both looked a bit caught out at that point. They knew they were doing something they shouldn’t do when they had been reading from Adam’s book and probably should have stopped, but they kept doing it like little children with a new toy.

“Yeah, we did, but Adam, we’re going to have a party here tomorrow to celebrate Christmas. Are you going to be dressed like that?”

Joe was as good as Adam had ever been at changing the subject. Looking around the room at the Christmas tree decorated for the holiday, greenery festooning almost every available space, and mistletoe hung in advantageous positions, Adam could see that the house was ready for a party. Taking off his cape, Adam rolled it into a ball.

“Acceptable?”

Without the cape, Adam looked like he was dressed for a party. Hearing no objections, Adam took the cape, whispered into it, and sent it to his room as a black and white owl making Hoss duck down as it flew by him. Kerstin leaned toward Ben.

“Has he always been such a show-off?”

“Whenever he could.”

For Adam, she had a more serious comment delivered quietly so the others couldn’t hear.

“You should reconsider doing magic here. AC may think he can try it too, and when guests arrive tomorrow, that could lead to disaster.”

Responding quietly to her, Adam agreed and then communicated silently with AC.

“AC, you may only try your magic efforts with the people who are in this room and nothing when there is anyone else near us. Is that clear?”

AC replied in the same manner.

“Yes, Papa.”

Joe and Hoss did not seem to know the three were conversing although Ben suspected they were based on their reactions. Kerstin said more to her husband.

“Adam, your brothers are as you described them. This visit will be interesting. Instead of your stories which were quite fascinating, we will get to know them in person.”

“I think you’ve learned quite a lot already.”

Meanwhile, AC explored the house and was intrigued by everything he saw.

“Papa, is that your mother’s magic afghan on the blue chair by the fireplace? And is that the magic horse sculpture you said can move on its own?”

“Dadburnit, Joe, I told you that horse statue moves around the house by itself.”

“Yeah, well I told you that afghan comes back to us no matter how many times we give it away.”

The day passed well with talk about what Adam had been doing for over six years and his brothers centered all their attention on him being a wizard. They learned that he had been studying using his talents for construction while Kerstin was studying to use hers for healing. Because neither of them would do any tricks and refused to let AC try, the brothers gradually lost interest in the topic. Adam had a question though.

“By the way, did the bunkhouse ever settle down in one place?”

Hoss and Joe frowned as Ben smiled.

“The magic you used on their memories seems to have held. We did have the two of them as well as some of the hands rather spooked a few times.”

Kerstin was intrigued.

“What happened?”

“I tried to use magic to expand the bunkhouse as well as the kitchen. I didn’t know enough to try to do so much at once. It wasn’t too bad with the kitchen, but the bunkhouse kept moving. It would be on the north side of the house or the south side of the house or once out by the corral. It was taxing to make all the men forget where it had been and accept it where it was. Then it would move again.”

“It settled down when you left. I guess there was too much magic in the air when you were still here.”

“I put everything I had into that last stay spell.”

“Well, it worked.”

“Thank goodness. I thought I could do more than I could then. I am a better trained and more disciplined wizard now. The magic at Christmas this year will not require that I wipe any memories away. This time, we can make good memories and keep them.”

“I got a memory I want to make this Christmas. Maybe you can help.”

“No magic, Hoss.”

“No magic, Adam, but I want to ask Mary Ellen to marry up with me, and I want to ask her with a poem. Do you think you could help with that?”

It didn’t take long for Adam to help Hoss compose a short poem. Then it was time for the younger brothers to play checkers as they had promised AC they would. Checkers with AC was fun as the boy at five was already a good match for Hoss and more than a match for Joe. Everyone except Joe enjoyed the games between Joe and AC. Adam and Ben grinned when Joe wasn’t looking and after a time even Hoss caught on. Earlier, AC had seen Joe cheating with Hoss and asked his father about it getting a quick history lesson about the long checkers rivalry between the two brothers. Adam had given AC permission to use a little of his power to even the odds when he played games with Joe. When Joe moved a piece illegally, AC moved another piece to his advantage when Joe wasn’t looking. When Joe hid a piece in his sleeve, AC made it fall out and land on the board to AC’s advantage. AC won the first game with Joe and later a second one, but then it was his bedtime. So it fell to Hoss to play with Joe again. Joe was frustrated and not at all unhappy to see the boy go to bed.

“Finally, you’re back. I think that boy might have been cheating.”

“Joe, he’s only five. What would he know about cheating?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

No logic stopped Joe from giving AC a squinty-eyed look as the boy headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, laying on his belly, AC helped Hoss like he had helped himself. After a couple of those maneuvers, Adam looked back and up to see his son peeking through the lower part of the railing at the game. He shook his head and waited to see what would happen and saw the moves his son was making for Hoss’ benefit. Realizing that he might be blamed, he leaned on Kerstin’s shoulder and whispered to her that she should close her eyes and snuggle with him. Seeing that the couple seemed to be in quiet conspiratorial conversation, Ben watched until he too saw what was happening. That made him bury his nose in his newspaper. When a piece from Joe’s sleeve dropped out and landed on the board exactly where Hoss needed it in order to win, Joe jumped up ready to accuse Adam but saw he was all snuggled up with his wife and not even watching the match. Turning to his father who also wasn’t paying attention to the game, Joe looked back at Hoss and sighed in frustration.

“You win!”

“Hot diggity, this is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

“Maybe for you.”

“Well, it could be for all of us. Hey, Adam, it sure is cold heading out to the necessary on a winter night. Can we use that winter line of yours and put water closets in all the bedrooms?”

“No!”

The word exploded out of his mouth. Kerstin put her hand on his arm to calm him. She was good at using her powers that way because she was mostly a healing wizard.

“I’m sorry. But the house has too much magic in it already. It’s probably glowing after what you two did today. That could lead to enough comments and questions that have no good answers.”

“But, son, I would appreciate a water closet in the house too. It doesn’t have to be one in every bedroom.”

“All right. How about one in the room behind the fireplace underneath the back stairs to the kitchen?”

Joe and Hoss frowned before both had questions.

“What room behind the fireplace?”

“There’s a back stairs to the kitchen?”

“Yes, Hoss, it will make those snacks during the night a bit easier to sneak.”

Moving quickly, Joe walked behind the imposing Christmas tree to discover that in fact there was a room behind the fireplace, and it had a water closet. It was nice and warm in there too because one whole wall was the back of the fireplace. There was a separate small fireplace that connected to the chimney too so that a fire could be made there to warm the room even more. On his return, he announced his discovery to the others. Ben only smiled.

“Son, there had to be something under those extra bedrooms, now didn’t there?”

A giggle from the top of the stairs gave away AC’s secret, and his parents sent him off to bed this time without any leeway for him to try anything else. It did make Joe suspicious again about the checkers game, but then, he couldn’t be sure his nephew would cheat considering who his father was.

Sitting quietly, Adam was having some similar thoughts and the talk he was going to have with his son about following rules and maintaining ethical standards. AC had more magic than Adam because he had inherited from both parents. Adam had gotten his power through his mother and grandmother, and Kerstin had the same background. Inheriting from both parents, AC was going to have to learn far earlier than either of them how to harness his magic and keep it under wraps.

Another issue that would have to be addressed was riding horses and horses in general. Adam had played with things like adding or subtracting white socks from horses like his Sport or changing the spots on Joe’s Pinto. AC could likely make his own horse. Adam wondered too how the horses would react to his son. Sport had always thrown his head quite a bit when Adam rode him because he was uncomfortable with magic around him. When Sport behaved better with other riders, men made some fun of his riding ability. He could hardly explain to them why he needed that martingale. Sport and some other horses would likely sense the magic in AC so he might have problems around horses with the level of magic within him.

“There are going to be a lot of questions as they think about the past and wonder.”

“Yes, my love, I’m sure there will be. By breakfast, Joe and Hoss will likely have a number of questions about things that were unexplained and now they will want an explanation for each.”

“The story could have many chapters. How long are we staying?”

“I don’t know. We left without any warning. We might be needed. They’ll let us know.”

“However, I look forward to the magic of Christmas here. It is so beautiful, and although your family is a bit quirky.”

“Only quirky?”

“All right, they are definitely as unusual as you described them, but they are adorable too. I love them already. I love it here.”

“I wish we had visited sooner because I think there is a future here for us and for AC. It will be a good place for him to learn how to be with people who do not use magic and to embrace his future.”

So continued the wonder of the magical Ponderosa.

 

My phrase:  “The winter’s day was ending, in the entry of the night” from Christmas at Sea by Robert Louis Stevenson.
My Character:  Adam

Author’s Notes:  Apologies to the esteemed writer for turning it into an incantation.

I had a difficult time coming up with a story idea, and then when I did have a story, I got stuck in the middle trying to make it interesting (and I hope you did find it to be). My solution was to ask a friend, AC1830, to beta-read and give me some suggestions. She did, and the advice was invaluable. Thank you, AC.

 

Link to Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar – Day 8 – White Christmas by Sibylle