Rating: K

Word Count=4253

Marie Cartwright is sick with a chest cold. Three year old Little Joe discovers her cough syrup.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Cartwrights or Bonanza. No copyright infringement is intended. Original plot and characters are property of the author. This story is for entertainment and no money was made from it.

Reviews from the Old Library are on the last page.

A Spoonful of Medicine

Three year old Little Joe watched in fascination as his mother made cough syrup for herself.  Marie was suffering from a chest cold and had a cough that was leaving her voice scratchy sounding.  She poured whiskey into a jar until the jar was about half full.  Then she broke two peppermint sticks into small pieces and added them to the jar.  Hop Sing was watching with disapproval.  All Missy Cartlight needed was some hot tea.

Marie put a lid on the jar and then put it on a shelf.  By letting the concoction sit for about an hour, the peppermint pieces would dissolve in the whiskey, making syrup.  She noticed her son’s sharp eyes watching all of this.

“Who teached you dat?” asked Little Joe.

“Mon Grand-Pere” his mother answered before another coughing fit struck.

“Is you gonna be okay?” Little Joe asked with concern.

“I’ll be fine, mon chere” she answered with a smile.  “I should go lie down for a while.  You should take a nap, too, mon petit.”

“But me not sweepy” answered Little Joe with a yawn.

“Why don’t we go upstairs anyway?” she asked, steering Little Joe out of the kitchen.  “When you wake up, Hoss will be home from school and you can play.”

As they headed for the stairs, Ben and Adam walked in.

“Papa!” Little Joe yelled as he headed for his father.  Maybe he would say that a nap wasn’t needed.  “Mama say me hafto nap.  Me not sweepy!”

Holding his youngest aloft, Ben looked Little Joe in the eye and said “You should take that nap, Son.  Look how big and strong Adam and I are from taking our naps.”  Little Joe’s mouth formed an astonished O at that.  Marie would have laughed if another bout of coughing hadn’t struck her.

Ben carried Little Joe over to Marie and reached out to feel her forehead.  “You feel warm, darling” he said.  “Are you fevered?”  Little Joe imitated his father by placing a small hand on Marie’s forehead.

“I don’t think so, mon chere” she answered.  “I’m going to go lie down.  All of this coughing has left me exhausted.”

Ben kissed Marie’s cheek and then Little Joe’s forehead.  Putting the boy down, he said “Go on upstairs and take your naps.”  Adding a wink for his wife, he said “I’ll come up and check on you in a few minutes.”  Marie blushed as she took Little Joe’s hand and led him up the stairs.

Adam noticed that Marie’s face was pink after Pa winked at her.  He hoped that the pinkness was from her illness and not blushing.  His parents’ flirting was so embarrassing.  Why did they have to do that in front of everyone, he wondered.

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen with the coffee pot and two cups.  He told Ben “Missy Cartlight need hot tea, not whiskey, to make cough bettah.”

“She swears by that cough remedy of her grandfather’s” Ben replied.

“Hmph” was the only part of Hop Sing’s response that Ben and Adam could understand as the small cook headed back to the kitchen.

Ben and Adam poured themselves some coffee and then stood in front of the roaring fireplace.  “How many more bales of hay do you think we’ll need for the north pasture?” Ben asked his oldest son.

“Another twenty-five should get the cattle through” replied Adam.  “Do you want me to get those loaded up and out there?” he asked.

“I’ll tell Bill to get that done.  I want you to calculate the board-feet needed to build those line shacks we’ve been talking about.”  Setting down his empty cup, he said “I’m going to check on your mother and brother.”

Adam went over to his father’s desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling out some paper, a pencil, and a ruler.  He had been telling his father that line shacks would save the hands several days of travel out to the different portions of the Ponderosa.  Their most trusted hands could be set up in the shacks, putting them closer to the cattle.  Wolves and mountain lions were more of a nuisance during the winter when game was scarce.  The cattle, being tame and clumsy, were much more convenient prey.  He knew he could design some shacks that would stand up to the snow and stay warm.  His eyes were drawn to the ceiling by Marie’s coughing.

Ben hated to see Marie in such discomfort.  She had developed a severe chest cold every winter since coming out to Nevada.  He propped some more pillows behind her back to help her breathe easier.  “Are you sure you won’t try Hop Sing’s tea?”

“No, I prefer Grand-Pere’s cure.  It’s always worked.  Please have Hop Sing bring it up soon.”

“If you’re sure, darling” Ben replied with a squeeze to his wife’s hand.  He always worried when she was sick.  They had been married for four years now and Ben was counting on growing old with her by his side.  With a kiss to her forehead, Ben said “I’d better go check on that scamp of ours.”Ben went down the hall to Little Joe’s room.  He peered in to see a lump under the quilts and some curls sticking out.  Tip-toeing in, Ben couldn’t help but smile to see his youngest curled up, his little fist holding the quilt just over his nose.  The little dynamo looked so angelic in sleep.

Afraid of waking Little Joe, Ben crept out of the room and checked again on Marie.  She had fallen asleep and Ben couldn’t help but think Little Joe resembled her so much more than him.  Adam was the only son who bore a resemblance to him—the same dark hair, only curlier, and dark eyes.  However, Adam’s eyes were more like Elizabeth’s than his.  The flecks of green in his irises made them look hazel sometimes.  Hoss, with his fair hair and blue eyes, looked very Scandinavian, like Inger.  As he came down the stairs, Ben wondered if a daughter would resemble him.

He was brought out of his daydreaming by Adam.  “How’s Marie doing?”

“She’s sleeping now.  So’s your brother, thank goodness.  Hopefully, he’ll sleep for at least an hour.”  Adam just grinned at that.  One would think that Little Joe would nap for hours at a time given all the energy he expended in talking, playing, and running.  Surely the boy defied Newton’s laws of physics.

Ben went into the kitchen to get the cough syrup and a spoon.  He was going to leave it on the nightstand by Marie so she could use it in case of another coughing fit.  This would save her a trip downstairs and Hop Sing a trip up.  Hop Sing just shot him a glare as he reached for the cough syrup.

Going back into the big room, Ben said “I’m taking this up to your mother and then I’m going to talk to Bill about those bales of hay.”  When Ben came back down, he bundled up and headed outside.

Adam reveled in the silence.  It wasn’t very often that the house was so quiet during the day.  He was happy working on his plans for the shacks.  Pa’s faith in his ability to design things and draw plans made him feel like more of a business partner sometimes.  Of course, he had chores to do and helped out with the livestock—branding cattle and breaking horses.  No matter what, Pa never made him feel less than a son.  Adam hoped to go to college soon, to study either architecture or engineering.  Maybe he could study both.  The sound of coughing drew his attention away from the sketches and to the ceiling.

Marie woke up as a coughing spasm wracked her body.  She looked over to see the jar of syrup and a spoon.  A smile came to her face at her husband’s thoughtfulness.  Taking the lid off the jar, she poured some of the syrup into the spoon.  The whiskey made her feel warm and the peppermint soothed some of the irritation to her throat from the coughing.  Putting the spoon in the jar, she relaxed against the pillows and fell back asleep.

Little Joe awoke at the sound of his mother’s coughing.  He stretched as big as he could and then got up.  Deciding he should check on Mama, he went to his parents’ room.  As he went into the room, he saw that Mama was sleeping again.  But now, the jar with the peppermints in it was by the bed.  And a spoon was in the jar.  He crept over to the nightstand and took a sniff of the jar’s contents.  It smelled of peppermints and something else he couldn’t identify.  He pulled the spoon up and saw stuff dripping off of it.  Putting the spoon to his mouth, he tasted peppermint and something bitter.  He made a face as he swallowed, but wanted some more.  Tilting the jar, he got more of the syrup on the spoon and took that in, too.  The little boy smacked his lips after pulling out the spoon.  He was feeling quite toasty now and his chest felt like a little flame was burning there to keep him warm.

The little boy was about to take in a second spoonful when his mother was wracked by a coughing fit.  She sat up as she coughed and slapped at her chest.  Finally able to take a breath, she looked over to see Little Joe standing by the bed, holding a spoonful of cough syrup.  “What are you doing, mon angel?” she asked.

“Ya needs med’cine” he said, holding out the spoon.

She took the spoon from him and put it in her mouth.  Little Joe watched closely as she closed her eyes and savored the taste of the syrup.  Pulling the spoon from her mouth, Marie gave it a lick before putting it back in the jar.  She hadn’t noticed her son’s keen eyes following the progress of the spoon from his hand, to her mouth, and back to the jar.

Settling back against the pillows, Marie patted the bed and asked “Do you want to stay with Mama?”

“Me wanna go pway” he answered.

“Alright” she answered.  “Play quietly in case Papa is working downstairs.”

“Okay” he said before going to his room.  Little Joe played with some wooden blocks for a few minutes.  Then he decided that he should go check on Mama in case she needed more syrup.  Creeping back to his parents’ room, he saw that Mama was again asleep.  He went over to the nightstand, titled the jar, pulled out a spoonful of syrup, put the spoon in his mouth, licked the spoon when he pulled it from his mouth, and then put the spoon back in the jar.  Before he could get another spoonful, he heard footsteps on the stairs.  Deciding he should go to his room, Little Joe went out into the hallway and bumped into Adam.

“Whatcha doin’, buddy?” Adam asked.

“Checkin’ on Mama” the little boy answered.  This was followed by a loud hiccup.

Thinking that the hiccup was caused by worry about Marie’s health, Adam said “Mama’s going to be okay, buddy.  Why don’t you go play in your room?”

Little Joe turned to go to his room and Adam noticed that the boy was weaving his way down the hall.  At first, Adam was worried that his youngest brother was coming down with a fever, but then Little Joe let out another hiccup.  They boy stumbled a bit and was then leaning against the wall and trying to walk.  With another hiccup, Little Joe’s legs sagged and he slid down the wall onto his bottom.

Adam realized that Little Joe seemed drunk.  He and Ross and gotten drunk once and he remembered how the two of them had stumbled around.  Going over to Little Joe, Adam knelt down and gave his brother a sniff.  The little boy smelled of whiskey and peppermints.

Giving Little Joe’s shoulder a shake, Adam asked “Have you been into Mama’s cough syrup?”

“Uh-uh” replied Little Joe with a shake of his head.

“Are you sure?” Adam asked, hoping the boy would tell the truth.

“Uh-huh” he replied with a nod of his head and a hiccup.

Picking up the drunken toddler, Adam took him downstairs.  He hoped Hop Sing could pour some tea into the kid and sober him up.

The door opened and Hoss walked in.  He saw that Adam was holding Little Joe, who almost looked cross-eyed.  Fearing that his little brother was sick, Hoss asked “What’s the matter with him?”

“He’s drunk on Marie’s cough syrup.”

“How’d he get into that?”

“Pa set the jar on the nightstand so she could get to it easier.  That made it easy for Little Joe to get into, though.”

“You’re not gonna spank him, are ya?” Hoss asked worriedly.

“Of course not.  I’m just hoping Hop Sing can sober him up.”

Before Adam could get Little Joe to the kitchen, Ben walked in.  Noticing that Adam was holding Little Joe and Hoss was standing close by, he went over to see what was going on.  He hoped that Little Joe wasn’t sick, too.  Little Joe greeted his father with a big smile and a hiccup.  Ben could smell the whiskey and peppermint on his youngest.

“What’s going on?” Ben asked Adam.

“He must have woke up from his nap and gone into your room.  Marie’s cough medicine was sitting on the nightstand and he got into it.”

“Joseph, have you taken any of Mama’s medicine” Ben asked.

“No” answered Little Joe, adding a hiccup for emphasis.

Deciding to change the question, Ben asked “Joseph, have you tasted Mama’s peppermint syrup?”

“Yup” answered the little boy with a big smile.

“How many times?”

Holding up four fingers, Little Joe answered “Free.”

“You tasted it three times?”

The little boy only nodded and hiccupped.

“Do you think Hop Sing can sober him up?” Adam asked.

“He should probably just sleep it off” said Ben, taking his youngest from his eldest.  “Let’s take you upstairs and out you in bed” Ben said to Little Joe.

“But me not sweepy” replied Little Joe with a yawn while rubbing an eye.

“I know you’re not, Joseph, but why don’t you lie down anyway for Papa?”

“Okay” said Little Joe as he snuggled his head against his father’s neck.  Another hiccup came from the little boy.

Ben took Little Joe upstairs and into his own room.  He put the boy down next to his mother.  Marie stirred as Little Joe snuggled against her.

“Mon chere” she said drowsily to Ben.

“How are you feeling, darling?” Ben asked, placing his hand against her cheek.

“A bit better” she replied with a smile.  “Is our petit feeling okay?”

“Our little scamp is drunk on your cough syrup” answered Ben.

“How?” was all she asked, astonished.

“He must have gotten into it while you were sleeping.”

Marie remembered Little Joe standing by the bed and giving her a spoonful of medicine.  “You’d better take the syrup back downstairs” she told her husband.

“I’ll have Hop Sing bring you some tea” he said before kissing her forehead.  Ben then went over to the nightstand to get the cough syrup.

Taking it downstairs, he was surprised to see a scowling Hop Sing heading for the stairs with a tray bearing a cup and a teapot.  Ben often wondered if the cook had a sixth sense.

“Numbah One Son say Numbah Thwee Son dwunk on Missy Cartlight’s medicine.  I made tea that cure cough.”  With that, Hop Sing continued on up the stairs.

Ben just shook his head.  Maybe Marie should have tried Hop Sing’s remedy instead of her grandfather’s.  He just hoped Little Joe suffered no ill after effects from the cough syrup.  With a rueful grin, Ben though teen-aged Adam would be the first drunk son he’d have to deal with, not three year old Joseph.  Ben then went over to the desk to see what Adam had sketched.  The sound of coughing drew his attention to the ceiling.  He hoped Marie would be able to fight off her chest cold soon.  Little Joe needed as many pairs of eyes on him as possible to keep him out of trouble.

The End