Summary: When little Joe and Marie are home alone for the day, little Joe helps her realize one very important fact.
Rated: K (1,930 words)
Story Notes:
I’m not really sure what the goal of this story was, but I hope you all like it. It’s sort of a test out story for this new series I was thinking of doing called ” A Year With Marie.” It would be based on the years events before she passed away right when little Joe was about four. If you all like it then maybe I’ll go from there.I must give a small warning that this story ends a little bitter-sweet. Oh, and I’m trying this new software for downloading, so if any words seem out of place or spelled wrong please let me know so I can fix the typos.
Just the Two of Them…
It was a beautiful spring after noon and four year old Joseph loved spring flowers, especially his mother’s prized roses. Although he had been told many times not to play so close to the flowers, that still didn’t stop him from taking advantage of the big mud puddle that had formed right in the garden area. He ran and slid, jumped and splashed, until his attention span caught hold of something else. All this playing had made him hungry, and judging by the high and bright sun it must be time for lunch.
On this particular day Marie and Little Joe were the only two in the house. Ben went into town to pick up a bank draft and Hop Sing went along with him to get supplies. As for Adam and Hoss, they were both busy helping Mrs. Briggs put up a fence, which was pleasurable work for both of them just preparing a simple wooden fence around her small front yard. Mrs. Briggs would reward Hoss with homemade cookies and Adam with a promised book she had come across recently on Roman literature.
While they were finishing up their work and eagerly anticipating their reward, Marie had her hands full trying to get Little Joe into a warm bath.
He had come in the house after playing in Marie’s garden and was now perfectly coated in mud. Marie picked him up and looked at her young messy son, while also noting the trail of muddy footsteps he had made on her freshly swept floor. She tried to speak in a calm voice despite her nerves and said; “mon petit Joseph look at yourself, you are covered in mud, you must take a bath.”
“I don’t want bath.” Replied little Joe with a pout.
He suddenly escaped his mother’s grasp and hid in his favorite hiding spot under his father’s desk while leaving a new muddy trail. He didn’t really mind a bath, only this time he would have his hair washed which he certainly hated.
An exhausted sigh burst through Marie’s lips and her nerves suddenly tensed to its finale limit. She was low on sleep and not in the mood to deal with a stubborn Joe; but now, she had one last idea to get her stubborn son into a bath, something that always worked.
“Joseph I’m going to count to three and if you don’t come from under there, I will inform ton père of your behavior this afternoon.”
“One… two.” Another exhausted sigh, then she said two and a half.
Joe tried to stand his grown, but when she counted to two and a half he gave in. If there was one thing he didn’t want, it was a bad report to his pa.
She had him sit on the floor of the bathhouse while she heated the water and filled the tub. The entire time little Joe kept his arms folded and pouted; continuously pouting as she removed his dirty cloths and lifted him into the bath.
“I’m hungry mama.” Said little Joe.
“Yes, and we will eat after your bath.”
Since the water was nice and warm and the sloshing sound the water would make every time Marie filled the cup and poured it onto Joe was somewhat like the sound of a waterfall, it worked perfectly in soothing the four year olds energy, which is something Marie was truly grateful for.
As the day persisted on, her and little Joe ate lunch together and then after a couple of small chores here and there, they settled in for a little nap in Ben and Marie’s bedroom; or reading time as it was to be said on little Joes behalf since he insisted that he was too big for naps. Together they sat on the bed and read nearly the entire sixth chapter of Matthew. Somewhere in the middle of verse eight though, little Joe stopped his mother from reading and asked; “Mama, does God weally know what we need befwore we ask him?”
“Yes mon chou, he certainly does.” She continued to read and when she got to verse thirty two Joe stopped her again, this time he asked her a question that involved something that had taken place this morning.
Little Joe had awoken early and came to his parents room; when he heard them talking he stopped and waited for his presence to be noticed, but they kept talking for another minute or so.
“Marie, you know it was just a dream and none of it was real. You need not worry about the past, look to the future darling, our beautiful future with our three beautiful sons.” Ben grabbed a cotton handkerchief and dried her tears away.
She was upset because of a nightmare involving her past, and somehow in the dream Ben had been killed. This wasn’t the first nightmare, and because they kept happening frequently she slept very little at night and was restless during the day. “You are right Ben, what would I do without you?” She asked.
Ben held her chin in a way that she saw directly into his eyes. “You’ve got it all wrong Marie; it is I that would be lost without you. Remember dear, you don’t have to worry about anything as long as I’m still alive, and because I love my family so much, there simply aren’t enough bullets in the world to keep me away from you.” He smiled and kissed her lovingly, and when he opened his eyes he saw that they were not alone and cleared his throat. “Good morning Joseph, we didn’t know you were already awake.”
Marie got up and went to help Joe get dressed and began the new day, as she walked out the door she stopped and caught a warm smile from Ben. He always knew how to make her feel better.
She blinked hard and came out of the flashback of this morning. “What did you say Joseph?”
“I said, if God even knows that we need cloths and food, then that’s how he musta known bout you and papa need’n each other.”
She turned her head to the side and thought. “Yes Joseph, that must be how.” She smiled favorably at him, amazed at how children could view things so simple.
“Mama, do ya think he knows I’m kinda sleepy?” He rubbed his eyes with his little fist and yawned.
“Of course mon petit, close your eyes and go to sleep.” Marie laid there in bed holding on to a sleeping Joe, just watching as his chest would rise and fall in perfect rhythm. She was facing the window and noticed how the sun was beginning to set and create an orange glow around the room. With contentment sinking in, she fell asleep with thoughts of her sweet Benjamin.
Hours later Marie awoke to the smiling face of Ben, whose grin matched that of a bobcat. He then informed her that both she and Joseph slept through dinner, that Adam and Hoss had already gone to bed, Joe was still asleep and in his bedroom, and now he would like for her to join him for a piece of leftover pie in front of the fire place.
It was only when they got down stairs and sat on the settee did they speak. “How was your day, was Joe any trouble?” Ben asked as he took a bite of pie.
“My day was fine, and Joseph was no more trouble than usual.” She smiled brightly as Ben chuckled in knowing Marie had had a full day.
“Marie, I was watching you sleep earlier and you hadn’t tossed or turned the entire time.” He smiled warmly.
“You can thank petit Joseph for that. Did you know that our son is already just like you even at his young age now?”
“No I didn’t, but I hope that’s a good thing.” He smiled with raised eyebrows.
“It is a very good thing.” She assured him with a kiss; and so they sat in front of the fire, just the two of them. Perfectly content in each other’s company, until a sleepy little Joe came down stairs clutching his teddy bear. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and plopped down sitting right in between them.
“Are you alright son?” Ben had asked.
“I woke up and nobody was there and I got scared.” He yawned.
“Well how about we get you a glass of milk and tuck you in?” Marie had asked.
“Will ya stay with me till I’m asleep?” Asked little Joe.
“Of course we will, son.” Ben answered.
And so Ben and Marie went up stairs with little Joe and waited for him to fall asleep as promised, which made little Joe feel safe and warm with the two of his parents watching over him. And just before he fell into a blissful slumber, he concluded to himself that God must have known he needed them in his life too.
Epilogue: Even though a few months later little Joe’s mother passed away from a horse riding accident, and his father was gone to recollect his emotions, our young little Joe stayed strong and in high spirits having the support of his two brothers. Of course they weren’t his pa or his mama; but Adam was there to be his rock and his refuge. And Hoss was there to be his more than life sized teddy bear, holding him before he fell asleep, and listening every time he had a secret to tell. Even as half brothers, you couldn’t find three siblings more close and in tune with one another. And so, when there pa eventually came back; they built a strong unbreakable family circle of love, trust, integrity, pride, and commitment, just the four of them…
End Notes:
Sometimes writing something new will give me enough writing energy to finish other stories, so don’t worry about my other series because the next chapter should be up soon. Lately I’ve been needing a lot of writing energy because recently my oldest brother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and guess who’s been taking care of him? But he is doing much better. So now I’ve got more time to finish my other stories. However, if I do the new series I would really need some help and support. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. 🙂 Thanks for just reading my story, I appreciate it a lot!
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.
This was an adorable story! I love getting a peek at the Cartwrights life before the show started. Little Joe definitely has wisdom well beyond his age.
I have listed some helpful advice below. A beta will be able to proofread your stories. Please be aware of run-on sentences and the placement of commas vs. colons or semi-colons and the usage of the nominative case vs. the objective case.
Case in point: “As the day persisted on, her and Little Joe… for naps.” It should read: “she and Little Joe.” Keep writing. I enjoyed the short story.
Excellent. I love stories about Joe. The stories about a very young Joe are precious and priceless. Please keep writing. I enjoyed this very much!
Thank you so much for a wonderful story. I enjoyed it very much.
This is a very nice story. Liked it very much. Continue your good writing. You did well.