Summary: Adam and his wife settle into life on the Ponderosa.
Rating: T Words: 9,870
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Though the Library already contains stories from this author, this story was forwarded by Corina to be included as part of this project.
ROSE AND ADAM
CHAPTER ONE
Adam lifted his new bride down from the buggy, his smile a mile wide. Rose wrinkled her nose as she felt her husband’s hand graze her breast as her feet touched the floor of the barn.
“You’re such a pervert,” she snorted but her eyes danced.
“That’s why you married me,” came Adam’s answer with a deep chuckle. He lightly pinched her nipple through her wedding gown and then dodged away from her as she tried to give him a loving punch on the shoulder.
Adam unhitched the horse from the buggy and looked back on the whirlwind of events since he had proposed to Rose. She sat on a bale of hay, her gown flowing around her, as she watched while Adam rubbed the horse down and put him in his stall.
It was Adam who had insisted that the marriage take place so quickly. The wedding had been a huge affair, and the church had been full to capacity – Rose had insisted on being married in church even though Ben wanted to have the ceremony at the Ponderosa. The reception was just as crowded as the church had been – if not more so. Nobody went away hungry because Hop Sing and his cousins had taken over the “catering” chores with Hop Sing’s usual gusto and knowledge of what “his family” liked to eat.
“You only asked me to marry you because you were after my body,” Rose said with a droll look. She and Adam hadn’t been intimate since the day that he had proposed.
With a piece of hay clenched between his teeth, Adam answered with a droll look of his own. “I had to marry you. Your brothers would’ve shot me if I hadn’t.”
Rose raised her eyebrow. “Yep. They sure would’ve. That’ll teach you to trifle with my affections!”
Rose looked around and listened. “Damn! It’s so quiet here! Both of our families are conveniently staying in town for a few days to allow us time together. Alone.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Indeed, both families did stay in town at the International House – except for Hop Sing who had chosen to stay with Cousin #6 . Rose’s gaggle of brothers and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews took up an entire floor of the hotel. Adam and Rose had sneaked away unnoticed while Junior arm-wrestled Hoss and while Gus was drunkenly flinging women around during the dancing.
“Was Hoss winning or was Junior winning?” Adam moved the piece of hay to the other corner of his mouth as he put the horse in its stall.
“I have no idea,” Rose answered as she stood up. “I know that Junior was drunk, and I suspect that Hoss might’ve been too. Lordy, I hope Gus didn’t hurt any of those poor women! They kept trying to hide from him but he kept finding them!”
Adam laughed and then looked lovingly at Rose. Sure, she was sassy, given to the occasional usage of bad language, outspoken, and stubborn, but those were the reasons he loved her. And he loved her because she was a challenge – he never knew what she might say or do next. She kept him on his toes, and he loved her with all his heart.
Rose returned her husband’s tender glance. There wasn’t anything she didn’t love about Adam. She couldn’t run rough-shod over him like she could do with other men. Adam let her go just so far before he reined her in. He was so intelligent, so handsome, so loving, but he was also capable of putting her in her place when the need arose. She loved him with all her heart.
CHAPTER TWO
Rose stood up as Adam was putting the horse in his stall. Rose patted her own horse, Diablo, on the nose and then reached for Adam’s hand. She looked at him and pursed her mouth, dropping her hand suddenly.
“Ewww! What is that in your hair?”
Adam knew when he was being baited, but there was also a possibility that there might be something there. He spat out the piece of hay in between his teeth.
“Is this a trick question?”
Rose snorted. “It’s probably lice. It jumped from what’s-her-name’s hair when she hauled you out on the dance floor. Looked to me like you didn’t put up much of a fight either.”
Adam knew by the impish look on her face, that Rose was baiting him. “She’s a lotta woman, that what’s-her-name.” Adam tousled his hair and a few errant pieces of rice fell out.
Rose, wedding gown and all, scampered for the barn door, jumping clumsily over a bail of hay. Adam made a flying leap, grabbed her, and propelled them both into a clump of hay. He landed on top of his new wife – a position he had planned to replicate later that night.
“Ooof!” Rose wheezed and then gave a fake screech as Adam cupped her breast and squeezed gently.
“Get offa me, you pervert! I can’t breathe.” She faked trying to gulp lungfuls of air.
“I’m absolutely a pervert – and a legal one, at that!” Adam chuckled. “And I’ve waited long enough to get you into this position.”
Rose gave up the faking about not being able to breathe. She sighed. “I’m tired. I have a headache. I’m going in the house where I can lock a door and be safe.” The gleam in her eye gave her away. She wasn’t mad – she was playing.
Firmly, but not roughly, Adam took Rose’s face in one hand and held it still. He kissed her, long and hard. The flames of passion ran through their veins, and they made love in the haystack.
Afterward, Rose impishly looked at Adam. “Happy Honeymoon!”
Adam chuckled and kissed Rose’s forehead.
“Adam?”
“Hmmm?”
“The hay is stabbing me in the behind. I’ve got to get up.”
“Yeah, this isn’t the best place we could’ve picked.”
“Adam?”
“Hmm?”
“I guess this is a good time to tell you I’m preggers. We’re married now, and I hope you’re too tired to run away.”
Adam sat bolt upright. Had he heard right? He felt like the blood had drained from his brain and ears. He looked at his wife. A small smile played about her lips, but somehow Adam knew she wasn’t teasing. He couldn’t speak.
“Oh, hell! You’re not going to faint, are you?” Rose snorted slightly.
“Are you sure?” was all Adam could say.
“As sure as I can be right now. I’m waiting for more….um….’good clues’.”
Adam knew what the “good clues” were. Lack of her cycle would be the first sign. He tried to count back to when they had made love the last time – which was the day he had proposed. That was over two weeks ago. He hung his head.
Rose cradled his face and turned it so that she could look into his eyes. She saw one single tear slide down his cheek, and his lips were trembling.
“Damn! You are going to faint!”
Adam shook his head. He spoke slowly.
“This is the happiest day of my life. I married the woman I love and she’s going to have our baby. Things just don’t get any better.” Then, “Did we hurt the baby by…..you know….I wasn’t very gentle….”
Rose laughed. “Stop worrying, my love. If I had wanted for you to be gentle, I would’ve told you about the baby already.”
“When? When would you have told me?”
Rose stood up and giggled impishly. “As soon as the preacher pronounced us man and wife.”
Adam stood and enfolded Rose in his arms. “You’re a real witch, aren’t you?”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you married me.”
Laughing like happy children, the couple walked to the waiting house. Rose’s gown was ruined and Adam’s suit wasn’t in much better shape. Neither one of them cared. Adam kept his hand on Rose’s belly the whole way to the house, his mind still reeling with wonderment.
CHAPTER THREE
Adam and Rose didn’t mention Rose’s pregnancy to anyone, preferring to keep it secret until they knew for sure that Rose was really pregnant. Rose had explained to Adam, quite openly and without embarrassment, that she had missed her “monthly” but that fact could be due to all the excitement of the wedding throwing her cycle off. But it didn’t explain the soreness she felt around her breasts and nipples, and it didn’t explain the change in the color of her aureolas from pink to brown. The veins that ran up her breasts were a darker, deeper blue which was quite unusual.
Adam kept a calendar in their room and marked off each day that Rose missed her cycle. He often gently, with one finger, traced the outline of the blue veins on Rose’s breasts. Every day he would ask the same question: “Did it come yet?” Rose, knowing “it” referred to her cycle, would shake her head. The only thing missing from the equation was the absence of morning sickness – she was never sick. This confused her because all of her sisters-in-law had been ill during their first months of pregnancies.
Living in the house with the rest of the Cartwrights plus Hop Sing was a joy. Of course, Rose missed her own family but now she had Hoss and Joe to tease and to laugh with. Ben was the perfect father-figure. And Adam was the perfect husband. There were many times that he had to pull the reins in on Rose’s attitude or stubbornness but Rose needed a man as strong-willed as herself to do just that.
The only think lacking in this Utopia was privacy. Adam and Rose made love frequently but tried to be very quiet – a difficult feat because they were so passionate for and with each other. Adam had been tentative about being physically intimate because of the baby – or what he prayed was a baby. Rose hadn’t laughed at him but had reassured him that he wasn’t doing any damage, but he did try to be more gentle. Afterwards, Adam would “spoon” around Rose, his hand on her belly, and man and wife would fall asleep blissfully.
In addition to the regular chores at the Ponderosa, Adam had his family’s immediate help in building a home of his own on the land given to him by Ben. The men worked hard and the house was taking shape more quickly than anyone would’ve thought. Ben knew the importance of Adam and Rose having a place of their own. Often, Rose would saddle Diablo (Adam had long since given up trying to keep Rose from riding Diablo, but he still worried) and take a meal – lovingly prepared by Hop Sing – out to what was now referred to as “Shenandoah Ranch.” It didn’t matter that the land wasn’t in Virginia. Adam loved the song, his land was fertile and green like the valley in Virginia, so Rose played the song often on her violin as the men worked while she sat on what would become the front porch of her home.
Many nights, after the evening meal, Ben would sit in his chair with his pipe in his mouth. Hoss and Joe would play checkers. Adam would pick up his guitar, and Rose would pick up her violin and then they would play duets together – which often resulted in a song-fest. The room was filled with love and music. And Ben, in his wisdom, intuited something else but kept his mouth shut. Rose’s face was changing – and she was glowing. Ben quietly puffed on his pipe, silently praying that he was right.
CHAPTER FOUR
Within another week, most of the work at “Shenandoah” had been completed. The house was ready to move into, the barn and corral were finished enough to keep horses and a buggy and a buckboard in. While Adam and Hoss brought in loads of hay, Joe drove Rose into town in the buckboard to get sweet feed, more pipes for the water pump for the kitchen and the small room where the tub was located (there was, of course, no hot water but it could be put on the stove to heat up), and also to get some last-minute material to make curtains from. Rose and Adam had already chosen and moved the furniture, cookware for the kitchen, comforters for the beds – there were three bedrooms to furnish – and then some knick-knacks to put around the house.
“Joe, will you get some seeds for my vegetable garden? I’d love to have fresh veggies like I did at El Crucero. And, while you’re doing that, I can spend time picking out just the right materials for my curtains. Do you mind waiting for me at the cafe? I’ll treat us to lunch if you’ll do that for me.”
“Are you gonna shoot me in the….uh….backside if I don’t get the right stuff?” Joe grinned, remembering his father’s admonition to not use vulgar language around any women.
“Of course I will,” Rose giggled. “So get seeds of every kind or I’ll be forced to doctor-up your backside like I did before.” Rose wouldn’t have used “vulgar” language in front of Ben, but she often used it around Hoss and Joe just to watch them blush. Adam sometimes, would chastise her. Other times he would just shake his head and chuckle. Rose was Rose, and he didn’t want to change her completely.
Off Joe went to the Feed and Seed store in the buckboard while Rose hummed a tune and ran errands of her own. The house didn’t really need curtains because there was nobody around to look through the windows, but pretty curtains would make her new home feel complete and beautiful.
By the time Rose arrived at the cafe, Joe had been sitting alone and had drunk three cups of coffee. As Flo got ready to pour the fourth cup, Rose arrived.
“I should know better than to take a woman to look at material,” Joe groused.
“Do shut up!” Rose countered. “I had important decisions to make. I want everything to look perfect! Some kind of brother-in-law you turned out to be! You have no patience at all! One of these days, you’ll get married and your wife will want things to be perfect too!” Then, “We’ll need to stop by the store and load up the things I bought. Have you got patience to do that?”
Joe flashed his boyish grin. He had learned to tell the difference between Rose’s “angry temper” and just her natural assertiveness.
“That depends on what you feed me,” he answered.
“And that depends on whether or not you got everything on the list. And all the seeds you could find.” Rose’s eyes were dancing with glee. Joe had learned to spar with her.
“Got the stuff that Adam wanted and got enough seeds to keep you in the garden and out of trouble for years.”
“Good job! Now pick out anything on the menu that your li’l heart desires. Let’s not allow the money Adam gave me to go to waste!”
CHAPTER FIVE
This night, as Adam strummed his guitar, Rose worked on finishing the curtains, her fingers flying nimbly as she wielded needle and thread. By her side was a large bag of leftover material that she intended to use for small tablecloths or napkins or God-only-knew-what. Ben was sitting in his chair watching Joe cheat Hoss at checkers. The scene was idyllic. The men were tired because Rose had them digging and turning earth behind the new house so that she could plant the various seeds that Joe had purchased a few days ago. Except for the music from Adam’s guitar, the house was quiet.
“Dammit!” Rose exclaimed loudly as she dug through her bag of material.
Ben jumped, startled. Hoss and Joe looked at each other – the tone of Rose’s voice was her “angry” voice.
“Rose?” Adam flashed a warning look at his wife.
Rose made a face at Adam. “I don’t have enough material for the last windows. My fingers are sore and I thought I was finished with all this sewing!”
“We can get more material tomorrow,” Adam said soothingly. “And watch your mouth.”
“There isn’t any more of this material,” Rose practically wailed, ignoring Adam’s reproach. She pondered the situation and had an idea. Grabbing left-over pieces out of the bag, she walked around the room and shoved several kinds of material into every man’s hand.
“Maybe I can make something out of these if I sew them together. Tell me what you think would actually look good together. My mind’s a blank.” Rose’s voice had softened somewhat under Adam’s admonishing look.
Ben chuckled. “Rose, you never ask a man about these things. Men don’t know what goes well together as far as fabrics and curtains and patterns are concerned.
“Well, all of you can start learning right now!” Rose answered with her hands on her hips.
Four grown men looked at the pieces of material in their hands. Adam sighed and chose two pieces that he liked. Ben rolled his eyes and made his decision. Joe sighed and decided that some of his samples went better with some of Hoss’s samples. Rose sat and watched this whole process until final decisions were made. She was actually quite surprised at how well the men did with this task. She collected the chosen materials and held them in her lap. The other pieces went back into the bag.
“Rose?” Ben spoke. “It would be helpful to know exactly where these pieces are going before we help you make a final decision.”
Smirking, Rose looked at Ben. “Of all people, you should know! A nursery needs an extra-special touch!”
Four faces looked at Rose in stunned silence.
“Oh, for God’s sake! All of you are hopelessly obtuse! I’m preggers. You know, as in ‘with child,’ ‘in the family way,’ ‘expecting.’”
Four men jumped to their feet and ran to hug Rose and to slap Adam on the back. Then came the questions: “Are you sure?” “When will it be?” “Do you want a boy or girl?”
Rose laughed as she stood with her arm around Adam’s waist, holding him extra-tightly. Adam and Ben looked at each other with brimming eyes but big smiles.
Rose began to answer questions. “Doc says it’s a fact. I’m due in somewhere around eight months, maybe more, maybe less. And I don’t give a diddly-damn if it’s a boy or a girl, just as long as it’s a healthy baby. Adam, what do you want?”
Adam, facing reality at last, thought for a moment. “A boy would be nice. But I’d like a little girl if you can manage it. We’ve had enough men on the Ponderosa for too long.”
Hop Sing heard all the ruckus and came dashing in. After being told the news, his reply was, “Hop Sing not surprised. Missee Rose eat much more than usual. Hop Sing not stupid! Have been waiting for this time. Have bottle of champagne for celeblation.” He pulled the bottle from behind his back and looked smug.
Ben chuckled. Hop Sing apparently had been listening from the kitchen, had grabbed the bottle, and then pretended to know the truth of the matter all along.
“Pa? Can Rose drink alcohol?” Adam was concerned.
Rose gouged her husband in the side. “Ask me! This is, as Hop Sing says, a ‘celeblation’. I won’t be left out of it! Besides, Doc Martin says a glass of wine in moderation is good for pregnant women.” Then, “Well, don’t just stand there, pour me a glass!”
It didn’t take long for the the men, Hop Sing included, to polish off the bottle and begin to settle down. Only then did Hoss’s attention turn to the matter of the choosing of curtain material.
“How come you had us go through all this stuff?”
Rose smiled as she picked up the chosen pieces of material and placed them on her lap. In fact, the fabrics actually went well together and would make a pretty patchwork pattern. She had that idea in mind the day she and Joe went into town. She chose wisely.
“I want our baby to have something special from all of you. This was the best ‘group effort’ that I could think of. Every time our child looks out the windows, he – or she – will see the most special of curtains with each piece chosen from a very loving family.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. And, while Joe wiped away his tears, Hoss moved the checkers around the board to his advantage. He beat Joe quite handily.
CHAPTER SIX
That night, as they got comfortable in bed, Adam drew Rose close to him, his arms around her tenderly.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“For our baby.”
Rose whispered back, “Even if I was pregnant before the ceremony?”
Adam kissed the top of her head. “It doesn’t change anything. I loved you then and I love you now.”
“People are going to talk, Adam. The old biddies in town will be counting on their fingers to see if we had to get married. To see if you were man enough to have me in your life whether you wanted to or not.”
Rose had her head on Adam’s hairy chest. She felt his chuckle before she actually heard it.
Adam used one of Rose’s phrases in his answer. “I don’t give a diddly-damn what people say. And neither will Pa or Hoss or Joe.”
Rose kissed Adam gently. She knew he wanted more, but she spoke to him softly.
“I’ve had enough ‘fireworks’ for tonight, my love. I’m filled emotionally – filled to the brim. Your family, my family now, have provided enough love to leave me completely satisfied.”
“We’re having a baby,” Adam whispered, almost reverently.
“Would you mind terribly if the baby turns out to be a girl?” Rose was concerned. “Most men want sons.”
“I told you downstairs that I would love for this child to be a girl. I meant it. But I won’t be disappointed if it’s a boy. I’ll be happy with whatever it is as long as you are all right and as long as the baby is all right.”
“Good. But I’ll tell you right now. This baby is gonna be a girl.”
Rose couldn’t see Adam rolling his eyes. She felt his strong hand on her belly and fell immediately into a peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Today was moving day, and the buckboard was piled high with things not already in the new house. The patchwork curtains were carefully rolled up so they wouldn’t wrinkle. Rose had argued with Adam about whether or not she could ride Diablo to “Shenandoah” and had won the argument – but with the caveat that she wouldn’t do any trotting which might jiggle her insides.
“For God’s sake, Adam! I’m preggers, not sick!”
“Can’t you say ‘pregnant’ instead of ‘preggers’? It sounds so….so….unladylike!” Adam was upset about his wife’s demands to ride Diablo as well as her language around his family.
“No, I can’t. And won’t!” came the retort. “But, I’ll be more ‘ladylike’ when I talk to people not in the family. Does that suit you?”
Adam sighed. He wouldn’t win this battle either. “It’ll have to do, I guess.”
Diablo walked slowly by the side of the buckboard with Rose looking completely bored. All of a sudden, she nudged her horse into a lope and took off down the road, her laughter resounding on the wind.
“Dammit!” Adam swore. “I told her to keep that horse to a walk! She promised that she wouldn’t even trot!”
Ben, astride Buck, shook his head and smiled. “She didn’t trot. She went straight from a walk to a lope. Son, you have a tiger by the tail. Don’t go after her. She’s too good a rider to get hurt.”
“But, Pa!” Adam started to protest.
Ben shook his head and smiled. “Rose is Rose. She’ll allow herself to be babied when the mood hits her. But you can’t change who she is. Right now, she’s being careful. She’s not jumping over fallen trees and she’s not galloping. You know as well as I do that a lope is quite comfortable. Let her have her fun. If you want to win a battle, pick that battle and put your foot down. You will never be able to keep too tight a rein on her or you’ll lose her.”
Adam watched the cloud of dust as Rose disappeared from sight. He knew that his father was right. With a sigh, he plodded on beside the wagon. Hoss and Joe, from the high seat, both grinned. Rose would always be a challenge.
When the buckboard arrived at the new house, Diablo was in the corral and Rose was sitting on the front porch, a broad smile on her face, with a tall pitcher of lemonade on the table beside her.
“You’re a witch,” Adam whispered to her as he climbed the porch stairs.
“I know,” she answered happily.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Weeks passed quickly. Adam and Rose had quickly adjusted to married life and to living in their new home. Adam had worked nights on building a cradle for the baby and, when it was finished, he had helped Rose hang the patchwork curtains in the nursery – she wouldn’t hang them until the cradle was put in place in a sunny corner of the room.
Hoss had whittled several items to hang on a string above the cradle – the sun, moon, stars, horses and puppies – each made of a different kind of wood or a different thickness of wood so that, when clinked together (by touch or by the wind), the sounds were pleasant to the ears. Joe had painted each item with great care. Ben had come up with the idea of stringing the items together and had helped pick out each type of wood. Ben had also purchased a small stuffed bear, remembering that Adam’s favorite thing was a stuffed bear that he dragged around everywhere. Each member of the Cartwright family had a hand in providing something for the new baby.
Hop Sing, after consulting with his many cousins, had gifts of his own – a churn with everything that was needed to make ice cream, jars of every kind of pickle he could think of, a big bundle of beef jerky, a jar of cherries, and a jar of sauerkraut. With his knowing slanted eyes, he said that, at some point, Rose would have cravings for weird foods – and he had been right.
Adam watched Rose now, as she shoved a piece of beef jerky into a wad of sauerkraut and popped it into her mouth.
“How can you eat that?” Adam asked in astonishment.
“It’s really good,” Rose answered, taking another bite. “I’ll share some with you.”
Adam shivered, “Ah, no thanks. I’ll stick with a slice of roast beef instead.”
Rose shrugged and continued to eat. She stopped in mid-chew.
“Adam! Come here. Quick!”
He was at Rose’s side in an instant. She grabbed his hand and put it on her growing belly.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Adam’s brows furrowed in worry.
“Be patient, Adam! Just wait!” Rose scolded.
And then he felt a bump. Or was it his imagination?
Rose moved his hand to another place. What Adam felt was more than a bump – there was a hard knot under his hand and it was moving!
Rose had felt the “quickening” before – it felt like a butterfly in her belly. But, last night, while Adam slept after a sweaty round of love-making, she had felt strong movement. She had felt it again early this morning. The baby was big enough to feel as it stuck out an elbow or a leg or some other body part.
Adam unceremoniously ran both his hands under Rose’s skirt and cradled both sides of her belly.
“Good God Almighty, Adam!” Rose was slightly embarrassed – probably for the first time in her life.
“Quiet!” Adam growled as he pressed down on Rose’s belly. For his efforts, he received what he perceived to be a hard kick.
“That’s our baby,” he said with a reverent whisper. “He’s really real!”
Rose stood up quickly, upsetting Adam’s balance and nearly knocking him down. She refused to admit how touched she was by her husband’s reaction.
“It’s not a he, it’s a she!” Rose said in a mild flare of temper.
Adam shook his head. “With a kick like that, you’re hiding a boy in there.” Adam was beginning to re-think the idea of whether he wanted his first child to be a girl or not.
Rose thumped Adam on the head. “Girl!” she said and flounced out of the kitchen to go check on her vegetable garden. As her belly grew, so did the vegetables – strong and healthy and almost ready to produce.
Adam stood in the kitchen and pinched his eyes to keep them from “watering.” He heard a knock at the kitchen door, opened it and found Ben standing there. Ben started to speak. “I knocked on the front door but….”
“Pa!” Adam almost shouted. “The baby! I felt him move!” He uncharacteristically threw his arms around Ben and hugged him tightly.
Ben returned his eldest son’s embrace. “It’s miraculous, isn’t it?” he said as the two slowly parted. “A baby doesn’t become a reality to us until we can actually feel the life. Then we bond with what we have actually, physically felt. With a woman, it’s different. She bonds with the life that she carries immediately.” Ben looked around and saw the beef jerky and the sauerkraut on the table. He chuckled. “Craving things already? What a combination! Hop Sing apparently knew what he was doing.”
“Where’s Rose?” Ben asked as he looked around.
“Out in the garden. It seems that every seed that we planted is coming up all at the same time.” Then, “Pa? How did you feel when Ma was carrying me? Did you feel me moving around?”
Ben’s memory returned to a time long ago. “I was astonished. Amazed. Awe-struck. Emotional. Overwhelmed. Excited. And a little afraid because I worried if I would be responsible enough to be a good father.”
Father and son looked at each other wordlessly. Talking was not necessary.
The door flew open and Rose rushed into the room holding something in her hand. “Look!” she said in excitement. She opened her hand to show a tiny-but-complete ear of corn.
“It’s a miracle!” she said laughing.
Two male voices chimed in together. “It certainly is!”
CHAPTER NINE
“Adam, you’re as slow as Christmas!” Rose scolded as Adam turned the crank on the ice-cream churn. “I’m starving for ice cream and you’re taking your sweet time! I’ve been working in the kitchen and I’m hot and tired and am ready for something cold!” Rose popped the last of Hop Sing’s pickles into her mouth and crunched on it.
Adam looked at Ben, who gently shook his head. Hoss and Joe gaped at Rose. Hop Sing scurried into the pantry for another jar of pickles because Rose had just polished off the last one in the jar she was holding.
Adam’s arm was tired. Lately, even in the middle of the night, Rose had wanted ice cream. And she ate with it the most incredible things – onions or tomatoes or cucumbers or whatever was ready in the garden. Today, she had added to the ice cream two jars of the cherries given to her by Hop Sing. This was the only decent idea she had had for dessert after feeding Adam and his family (always including Hop Sing as “family.”)
Joe grinned and took his brother’s hand from the crank. “Let a younger man do this, older brother. The way you’re sweating, by the time this is ready to eat, you’ll have gone to bed!”
Adam thumped Joe on the head but moved away to sit by Rose. She was now over seven months’ pregnant and was going through a demanding phase and a contrite phase. Adam never knew what personality his wife would be having – every day was an adventure, maybe good or maybe not-so-good. Rose didn’t bother to tell him that she was afraid – afraid of childbirth with its attendant pain, afraid that the child might not be “perfect,” afraid that she might not be a good mother. She wanted to give Adam the impression that she was in complete control of her emotions. She, of course, was not. She didn’t stop to think that Adam might be worried about her safety during the birth, didn’t stop to think that Adam’s own mother had died after delivering Adam, didn’t stop to think that Adam might be concerned about his abilities to be a good father. Besides that, she had grown so large that her legs and feet were swollen – Adam had to help her put her shoes on every day because she couldn’t see her own feet. Her weight gain had made her very self-conscious about her appearance. And, to top it all off, she couldn’t even hoist herself onto Diablo’s back to have a leisurely ride any more.
“Stop that!” she scolded.
Joe stopped cranking – the ice cream was not quite done yet.
“Not you!” she almost snarled. “Keep cranking. It’s this baby kicking my ribs and it hurts!”
Ben, who had the most experience with babies, smiled and went to Rose’s side.
“I can help with that,” he said gently. “But I’ll have to push on your tummy. Is that okay?”
Rose trusted Ben implicitly. “Be my guest.”
With incredibly gentle hands, Ben put his big hands on Rose’s belly and felt around. “Here’s his head, here’s his backside, and….wait….here’re his feet.”
Rose looked into Ben’s face. “I keep telling you that this is a girl. All of you keep insisting that it’s a boy!
Hoss, who had had some experiences of his own with predicting the sex of a baby – the last one being Suzy Courtenay – spoke up. “Boy babies and girl babies seem to position theirseffs different. Yer carryin’ this one just like a boy positions hisself.”
Rose was adamant. “Hoss, I’ve heard stories about how you predict what sex a child will be just by looking at how a woman’s belly pokes out. But you’re wrong this time.”
“Yes’m,” Hoss answered with a grin. But he knew he was right.
While Hoss and Rose had been talking, Ben had been pushing and pressing on Rose’s belly and had made the baby move around so that his legs no longer were underneath Rose’s ribs.
“Oh, Ben! You did it!” Rose sighed happily, taking a deep and comfortable breath.
Rose’s demeanor changed immediately. She segued into her “contrite” mode and thanked everybody for coming to supper and for putting up with her inappropriate behavior. The cherry ice cream was ready by now, and the rest of the evening was spent in peace.
Later, as Hop Sing graciously tended to cleaning the kitchen, and while Hoss and Joe were at the corral admiring some newly-purchased horses, Adam drew Ben aside.
“Pa?”
Ben knew what was coming. He had been through it himself – three times.
“Pa, I don’t know what to do about Rose. I’m trying hard to be patient with her but….”
Ben finished the thought for his eldest son. “But she’s driving you crazy. She laughs then cries. She’s angry then happy. She’s up then down. What you did right one day is completely wrong the next day. You feel like you don’t know her. You love her but she’s almost a stranger sometimes.”
Adam nodded. He knew Ben would understand
“Expectant mothers all seem to be that way. Doctors don’t explain it very well – maybe they’re not sure themselves – but it has something to do with a woman’s body and the changes it is going through. One day some smart person will give this phenomenon a name.”
“But, Pa. What do I do in the meantime? I can’t let her run right over me whenever she pleases, but I don’t want to upset her any more than necessary either.”
Ben put his arm around Adam’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you a secret, son. And if you repeat it, even to Rose, I’ll swear you’re a liar.”
Adam swore secrecy.
“Your mother, while she was carrying you, was absolutely hell on wheels! I didn’t think she had such a mean streak. Nothing I did was right. And then everything I did was right. She’d swear at me in the morning and then be tender and loving at night. There were times that I wanted to shake some sense into her. There were moments that I just wanted to escape for a day or two just to get some peace and quiet. There was even a time that I wondered if having a baby was a good idea or not.”
“My mother was like that?” Adam was taken completely by surprise.
Ben chuckled. “And so was Hoss’s mother and Joe’s mother. All you can do is stand up for yourself when you need to, even if Rose sulks and pouts. When her body is changing so quickly, she needs a sense of normalcy. I told you once to pick your battles and let everything else slide off your shoulders. You don’t have to wait much longer – the baby will be born and Rose will be back to normal.”
Adam grinned. “Well, normal for Rose, anyway.”
CHAPTER TEN
That night, as she snuggled against Adam, Rose smiled to herself. She ran her fingers over Adam’s face, tracing the outline of his features – his eyes, his nose, his lips. Then she trailed her fingers down his neck and then to his hairy chest. Adam tried hard to ignore what she was doing, but his passion overrode his good sense. They ended up making love like two schoolkids.
At some point, Adam felt deep remorse. He might’ve injured Rose or the baby or both. Rose was now lying quietly – unusually quietly.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I know I got too rough. I’m sorry.” Adam felt fearful now that his pent-up passion had been spent.
Rose whispered something that Adam couldn’t hear. He brought his head up to look into her face.
“I said that I’m glad that you still find me desirable, even with my huge belly.”
Rose, of course, knew had a plan. She had been having twinges of pain all day and decided to hurry things along. After all, Doc Martin had told her a few days ago that ‘vigorous intimacy’ might bring on active labor. The baby was ready, in the perfect head-down position, and it would be safe to deliver it any time now.
Rose smiled triumphantly to herself. And waited to see if Doc Martin was right.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The doctor had been right. In the wee hours of the morning, Rose went into labor. She nudged Adam – in fact, so deep was his sleep, that she had to nudge him several times before he awoke.
“Please, I just can’t make any more ice cream,” he said groggily.
“Don’t want ice cream,” Rose said. “Get one of the hands to fetch Paul.”
Adam sat up immediately. “It’s time?”
Rose moaned as a contraction hit her. “Uh-huh. Do it now!” She was seriously afraid that she had waited too long.
Adam jumped into his jeans, ran out of the room, out of the house, and burst into the bunkhouse. Grabbing the first man he came to, Adam snatched him into an upright position.
“Go get Doc Martin now! The baby’s coming!”
Tim, half-awake, put on his britches and reached for his socks.
“There’s no time to dawdle! Forget your socks and boots. Don’t bother with a saddle. Ride bareback and hurry!”
Adam was scared. There had been a frightening urgency in Rose’s voice, and she was never afraid of anything. Adam propelled a barefoot, half-dressed Tim out the door and toward the barn and then ran back to the house.
When he reached the bedroom, he found Rose standing in a puddle of water.
“My water broke,” she said with a rueful look. “Get lots of towels, Adam. I’m getting back in bed. Oh, and put some water on to boil. We’ll need scissors and twine and….”
Another contraction hit her. Had Adam not caught her, she would’ve fallen on the floor. Adam half-carried and half-hauled her into bed.
The contraction had passed. Rose looked at a stupefied Adam and almost laughed.
“You don’t follow instructions very well, my love. I told you what to do – now do it!”
Adam was galvanized into action. He grabbed every towel and blanket he could find and gathered up scissors and twine. Halfway back to the bedroom, he realized that he hadn’t put the water on to boil, so he turned around and headed for the kitchen. He did have enough sense to put the scissors in the water, and he headed once again to the bedroom.
Rose’s hands clenched at the bedsheets. The contractions were stronger and harder and getting closer together. Adam sat by her side and held one hand.
“Tim is on the way to town to get the doctor. I’m here and won’t leave you.”
Rose panted. “I hope that Paul hurries. I don’t know how much longer this child will wait. You may have to deliver your own child.”
Adam’s face blanched. He had never delivered a human baby before.
“Adam! Do not tell me that you’re gonna faint. If you do, I’m gonna slap you into the middle of next week!”
“Can’t you wait until the doctor gets here?” Adam was hopeful.
Grabbing Adam around the neck, Rose put her face to Adam’s and growled, “No! Now put some of those towels under my ass and put pillows under my knees so I can prop them up! And don’t forget to wash your hands!”
Adam did as he was told. He was afraid not to! He knew that Rose was experienced in delivering some of her nieces and nephews – a fact that gave him a modicum of comfort – but he had experience only in delivering a few puppies and some foals and some calves. He reported this observation to Rose, who rolled her eyes.
“It’s basically the same thing,” she said between contractions. “The baby comes out, you cut the cord with the scissors, tie off the cord, and wipe the baby off. Then we wait for the placenta to come out.” She spoke with a bravado that she didn’t feel. She was truly afraid, and she hurt like hell.
“What if I do something wrong?” Adam asked, his face turning pale.
Through clenched teeth, Rose answered. “Of course you’ll do something wrong. Everybody does when they deliver a baby for the first time. Just make sure to keep both of us centered in the middle of the bed. I told you to use scissors instead of a knife so you won’t cut your fool fingers off!”
Adam wiped the sweat from Rose’s forehead and prayed that somehow his hands would be guided correctly, that he would do no harm to his wife and son, that he would somehow be able to take control of the situation. Rose held his hand so tightly that he was afraid his fingers would break.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rose looked at him and then looked past him and smiled. Adam turned and saw a woman standing there behind him.
“Where’s Paul?” Adam asked.
“He’s not in town. He’s away setting Mike Albert’s broken leg. I’m here to help you. My name is Elaine Smith.”
Rose cried out in pain. Elaine touched her forehead and instructed her to take deep breaths. “It’s time, Adam. I’m going to get the water and the scissors. Now you make yourself comfortable and sit where you can see the baby’s head as it comes out. I won’t be gone long.”
Adam positioned himself between Rose’s legs, feeling almost voyeuristic as he looked at the areas that had given both him and Rose so much pleasure.
“Alex,” he said aloud, suddenly feeling stronger and in control, “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
Adam and Rose had settled on names for the baby – both boy’s and girl’s names. But, because Hoss had been so certain about the child being a boy, his name would be “Benjamin Alex.” Rose still insisted on having a girl’s name – so it was settled that her name would be “Alexis Rose.”
Elaine re-entered the room and sat in the rocking chair, completely composed. Adam looked at her.
“Change places?” he asked.
“No,” Elaine smiled. “This is something that you should be doing. It will be a time that you’ll never forget. But I’ll talk you through everything.”
Adam cursed silently to himself. When this was all over, he’d be sure to have a long, serious talk with Doc Martin.
“What do you see now?” Elaine asked.
Adam peered between Rose’s legs.
“I think I see a bunch of curly black hair.”
“Okay, Rose. It’s time to push. It will hurt, but once the head comes out, the rest will be easier.” Elaine was standing close to Adam and reached out to stroke Rose’s hand. “Push, Rose. Push with all your might!”
More black, curly hair appeared, and Rose was instructed softly to push again – harder this time. And out popped Alex’s head, followed shortly thereafter by his shoulders and then by the rest of his body.
“Now tie the cord about five or six inches away from the baby’s body. Leave several inches and tie off the cord at the other end. Then cut in the middle.”
Adam, with steady hands, followed the instructions. Alex was screaming his little head off, and Rose reached down to touch him. His screaming slowed as Rose spoke softly to him.
“Now wrap your child in that soft blanket and put him gently into Rose’s arms,” Elaine said as a tear rolled down her cheek. The whole thing had been a very emotional experience.
“I have a son,” Adam said, much in awe as he began to wrap the baby in the soft blue blanket that had appeared by his side.
Elaine laughed. “Look again. You’re not paying attention.”
Adam looked again and, to his surprise, realized that the baby was a girl!
“Well, I’ll be damned. I have a daughter!”
Rose snorted. “Told ya so!” And, after Adam had placed the baby in her arms, Alexis Rose stopped screaming and yawned as though bored with this whole affair.
The placenta slithered out and Elaine pronounced that everything was done. She wrapped up the vestiges of the birth and headed for the bedroom door. She turned, looked at Adam, and said, very distinctly, “I’m proud of you, Adam.” Then she left the room.
“Are you terribly disappointed?” Rose asked. “I mean, everybody thought that you would have a son. Now you have a daughter instead.”
Tears streamed down Adam’s face. “I told you a long time ago that I wanted a girl. I believed Hoss, and I believed everybody else when they kept saying it would be a boy. And now our daughter is wrapped in a blue blanket. Don’t we have a pink one?”
Rose gave a tired smile, but it was impish. “Uh-huh. But we can re-wrap her later. Let’s let her sleep. She’s tired and so am I. And so are you, I’ll bet. Why don’t you hold her and rock with her for a while?”
Gently, tenderly, Adam picked up the small bundle and sat down in the rocking chair. He counted her fingers and toes, checked that there was no bleeding from the cord, and sang to the new arrival in a quiet voice.
The sounds of hoofbeats distracted Adam. He looked out the window and saw his family along with Doc Martin. He carried the tiny bundle to the front door and almost bumped into Ben who stopped so abruptly that Hoss and Joe crashed into each other.
“Told ya it was gonna be a boy,” Hoss chortled as he touched the blue blanket.
Adam shook his head and grinned. “Well, you were wrong. Meet my daughter.”
Paul took the baby from Adam’s arms. “Is Rose doing all right?”
“She’s fine. She fell asleep.”
“Well, let me have a look at your new arrival. Then I’ll check on Rose.”
The doctor placed the baby on the sofa, listened to her heart, checked her reflexes, and listened to her as she screamed in protest. “She’s fine, Adam. And there sure isn’t anything wrong with her lungs! I’m going to check on Rose now. Here, hold her and try to calm her down.”
But Joe edged in first, picking up the small bundle and peering at the tiny, angry face. She screamed more. Joe passed the bundle to Hoss who stroked her cheek. “A little gal,” he said quietly. The screaming increased. Ben finally got his chance to hold his granddaughter and hummed to her as he rocked her in his arms.
“Adam, you left your mark on this child,” Ben said with a grin. “She has your hair, your nose, your mouth. She looks just like you did when you were born.” The screaming and crying stopped completely, and Alexis Rose blew a bubble as she seemed to look directly into Ben’s eyes..
The last person to arrive was Hop Sing who refused to hold the baby but did speak to her in Chinese.
“Hop Sing give blessing to little girl,” he said and then scurried off to make a large pot of coffee and to start on breakfast.
Reluctantly, Ben returned the bundle to Adam, and then everybody sat down, speaking in hushed tones.
Alexis Rose stared into Adam’s eyes and passed gas loudly. Then she flailed her arms and punched Adam’s bent head square in the nose.
“She may look like me, but it appears that she has her mother’s disposition,” Adam quipped.
Hop Sing was now pouring cups of coffee for everyone. Doc Martin appeared and gratefully took the cup that was handed to him. “Adam, you are to be commended on delivering your daughter all by yourself. I couldn’t have done it any better. You even put the diaper on right.”
“Elaine must’ve done that,” Adam mused. “I don’t remember doing it myself.”
“Elaine? Elaine who?”
“Elaine Smith,” Adam answered, just now wondering where she had gone to. “She came and told me that you were setting Mike Albert’s broken leg. She talked me through the whole thing.”
“I’ve been in this town for more years than I can count. I’ve never heard of any ‘Elaine Smith’.”
Surely this could be explained. Couldn’t it?
EPILOGUE
“You don’t have somebody working for you by the name of ‘Elaine Smith’?” Adam asked.
“No. I don’t now and never did.”
Adam scratched his head, handed his sleeping daughter to Ben, and went outside to wake up Tim. He’d have a good answer.
Tim had just enough time to fall asleep when Adam shook him into wakefulness.
“Tim, who was the woman you brought back from town?”
Blearily, Tim looked at Adam and shook his head.
“I didn’t bring anybody back from town. There was a note on Doc’s door saying he’d be back as soon as he could, so I left him a note and told him about Rose and to come straight here.”
“What about Mike Albert’s broken leg?”
“Mike has a broken leg? I guess he won’t be rounding up cattle for a while.” Tim looked at Adam strangely. “How’s Rose? Is everything okay?”
“Rose is fine. We have a beautiful baby girl. Now go back to sleep.”
“Congratulations. Are you gonna wake me up again tonight? If you are, I ain’t going back to sleep.”
Adam’s mind was whirling. “Nah. Take the day off tomorrow. Get some sleep now.”
Tim was asleep before Adam got out the door of the bunkhouse.
Adam went into the house and reported what Tim had said. Doc shook his head, confused. Hop Sing poured more coffee, his face inscrutable.
Gently, Paul said to Adam, “You were busy. You were excited and maybe a little scared. Are you sure that there was a woman here?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Adam answered testily. “Rose saw her too. And whoever that woman was took charge of everything and calmed me down! And how else would I know that you were at Mike’s, setting his broken leg. That woman told me! I swear it!”
Hoss and Joe were silent. Ben spoke as he rocked his newborn granddaughter.
“Calm down, son. Nobody thinks you’ve lost your mind. Tell me, what did this woman look like?”
“Well, I….uh…. She was wearing a red dress. Medium height. Long brownish hair over her shoulder. There was a very pleasant scent about her – kinda like cherry blossoms. That smell reminded me of being back East in college. She told me that she was proud of me.”
Ben looked at Doc. “Can we go talk to Rose? If she’s asleep, can we wake her?”
“It’s time that she had something to eat. And this baby needs to be fed. Don’t wear Rose out.”
Magically, Hop Sing appeared with a bowl of chicken broth. “Missee Rose be hungry by now. Broth be good for her. Give her strength.”
Ben smiled at Hop Sing, gave the baby to Adam, and took the bowl of soup. Father and son headed to the bedroom.
Rose was sitting up, wide awake. “Did I hear the baby crying? She must be starving!”
“You can feed her in a minute,” Adam said as he sat on the side of the bed. “Sip on some of this broth first. Pa and I have something to ask you.” Ben pulled up a chair and held the bowl close to Rose.
“You’d starve your own child? Shame on you, Adam!” Rose discovered that the aroma from the soup made her ravenous, so her words didn’t come out angrily.
Adam peered into his daughter’s pink face. She was asleep with a tiny hand holding onto Adam’s finger.
“Tell me about this ‘Elaine Smith’,” Ben began, trying to look nonchalant. Rose spooned soup into her mouth from the bowl that Ben held.
“Well, she was very nice. And she knew all about delivering babies. I knew that Adam could handle things, but she gave me an extra feeling of reassurance. She smelled good, too. And she reminded me of somebody…. Gee, now I can’t remember her face. I was quite busy, you know. Having a baby is not for the faint of heart.”
Ben chuckled. “No, it’s not. You did well, Rose. You gave me a beautiful granddaughter. Doc says she’s healthy, and we’ve all counted her fingers and toes. She has the correct amount.”
“Oh, Paul did get here? Yeah, I remember. He came in to examine me. But I’d like to say ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ to Elaine. She has been a Godsend.”
“Uh, she already left,” Adam muttered.
Rose made a face. “Well, I can tell her when I see her in town sometime. I really liked that dress she had on. I want to make one like it. The lace across the shoulders and at the neck was the perfect touch.”
Adam heard his father’s sudden intake of breath. Thankfully, the bowl of broth was now empty and there was nothing left to spill which was a good thing because Ben’s hand shook noticeably. He got up and looked out the window. Adam put the sleeping baby in Rose’s arms and went to his father’s side.
“Pa? What’s wrong?”
“Adam, do you remember anything about the woman’s face?”
Adam thought for a moment. “No. But, Pa, I was really busy. I just knew that help had arrived at just the right time. But I agree that Elaine’s face looked kinda familiar. I felt….comforted.”
All of a sudden, the room smelled slightly of cherry blossoms. Ben looked at Adam, tears in his eyes.
“Do you smell that, son?”
Adam nodded.
“Adam, your mother loved her cherry-blossom scented soap. Her favorite dress was red with white lace at the throat and shoulders. In fact, she wore it when we told her father that we wanted to get married. And she told you that she was proud of you….” Ben’s voice trailed off.
“Pa?”
Ben wiped his eyes. “Think hard, son. Did Elaine look anything like the picture of your mother?”
Adam gaped. But it was Rose who answered.
“As a matter of fact, there was a distinct resemblance! But her hair was down tonight – long, across one shoulder.”
“Pa? Are you saying that Ma was here with Rose and me?”
The smell of cherry blossoms filled the room and then disappeared as quickly as it had come.
“Adam, I don’t know. I….just….don’t….know.”
Rose spoke up, the baby now nursing happily at her breast. “Well, of course it was Adam’s mother! Where else would she be except at Adam’s side during the birth of his first child – her first grandchild? It makes complete sense.”
“Her name was Elaine Smith. That would make her initials ‘E. S’. ‘Elizabeth Stoddard’.” Ben was thinking aloud. He returned to the window to look out at the stars and there, on the window sill, was a cherry blossom. Adam watched as Ben held it gently, sniffed its fragrance, and put it in his pocket.
“How can it be, Pa?” Adam, the intellectual one, was stymied.
“We don’t question miracles, son. We just accept them and cherish them.”
Rose spoke quietly.
“Ben, we had planned to name our baby ‘Alexis Rose’ but I’d like to change her name. I’d like your permission to call her ‘Elizabeth Rose’.”
Ben’s heart was touched. “You don’t need my permission. You can name your child whatever you’d like. But I’d be mighty proud….” His voice broke and he turned to look out the window, taking a few moments to gain his composure.
Adam moved quietly to Rose’s side and listened to Elizabeth Rose as she nursed.
“What do we tell Hoss and Joe? Hop Sing? Doc?”
With a big smile, Ben faced his son. “We’ll think of something.”
Rose’s eyes grew heavy. “Try telling them the truth. Hop Sing will believe it, and probably Hoss and Joe will too. Doc already thinks that tonight Adam was as crazy as a loon anyway, so who cares what he thinks.”
With that, Rose went promptly to sleep. Adam went over to the bed and picked up his first-born child. Then he put the child in Ben’s arms.
“Elizabeth Rose Cartwright, meet your grandfather. You already met your grandmother.” Elizabeth Rose burped loudly and then gave what appeared to be a smile of satisfaction.
Adam sighed. “She really does have her mother’s personality.”
Ben chuckled and then touched the pocket that contained the cherry blossom. One day he would give the flower to his granddaughter, but right now he wanted to keep it close to him, close to his heart.
FINIS
