Summary: Little Joe’s 15th birthday is coming up, but when a puppy wanders into the boy’s life, older brother Adam keeps having memories of Joe as a little boy after his momma’s death.”
Rating:  G     Words:  2,290

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“Forever Little Joe“

It was about 2pm when I first heard the yapping. I was sitting at Pa’s desk doing book work. After a few more minutes of the disturbing yapping, I went out on the porch to see what it was about. I wasn’t surprised to see Joe sitting on the edge of the porch with a little puppy in his arms. My 14 year old brother loved dogs, but Pa had never allowed dogs around the house. Sure, we had ranch dogs, but Joe had never had one of his own. I smiled and stepped out onto the porch and sat down beside Joe. I was surprised when I looked down into his eyes and they had tears in them.

“Adam, I found this puppy by itself way out on the road to Virginny.”

I patted the animals head. “Could you not find its mother?”

“Nah, I looked everywhere for it. It was probably shot. That is what upsets me.”

He rubbed his face with his free hand to an extent where I though he was going to scratch his eyes. I reached over and grabbed his wrist. “Its ok, Joe. Just give it milk and I’m sure it will be ok.”

He got up with the wining puppy that clung furiously to him, and went into the kitchen. As he disappeared around the corner a memory popped into my mind. The way the puppy clung to him reminded me of how little Joe clung to me after Marie died. Marie was Joe’s mama, and she was killed when he was 5. After she died, Pa left for 6 months. He was mourning. And for a good reason. He has already buried my mother and Hoss’mama. For a while, I was the only strong adult figure to little boy, except for Hop Sing our cook. Hoss was only 11 at that time. I finally shook the memories off and went inside.

Joe was in the kitchen when I finally made my way in. The kid was trying to get the puppy to lap up the milk.

I smiled and then butted in. “Joe, I could find you your old bottle if you want it.”

He smiled up at me. “Thanks”

I climbed the stairs and entered my room. I don’t know why I kept Joe’s old bottle in here. Probley because he had tried to use it again after Ma Marie was killed. I remember that clearly to. Pa left and about a week later I caught Joe trying to fill it up with milk I tried to explain to him that he didn’t need it any more. I finally had to take it from him, and he screamed so loud that we all had headaches before I got him to stop. I snickered, wouldn’t Joe just love to know about that. Shaking my head I retrieved the bottle out of my desk draw and took it downstairs. Joe didn’t seem to make any connection about the bottle and just took it, filling it with warm milk. I followed him out to the porch were he sat down and cuddled the puppy. He finally managed to get the bottle in the pup’s mouth. Soon it was sucking nosily and cuddling against him. That once again reminded me of little Joe cuddling up to me after pa left. I especially remember when Joe came up to me one day and climbed up into my lap and on my book. I was irritated with him because he bent the pages, but then Hoss told me that I should be nicer to our baby brother. Because he couldn’t understand why Pa left and his mama was gone forever. I had put my arms around him and hugged him tight for a long time. Finally I look down and he was asleep against my chest. He had one foot dangling off the chair, and the other one was tucked under him. I didn’t know how he slept like that, but he did. I now smiled down at Joe and his puppy. His 15th birthday was next week, maybe Pa would allow him to keep this one.

“What are you going to call her Joe?”

Joe sighed, “You know that Pa won’t let me keep her.”

I grinned, “Don’t necessarily think that.”

Then I got up and left him in awed silence.

It was that very night that I approached Pa with the ideal of letting Joe keep the puppy. He looked up at me and then sighed. “I guess so Adam, BUT on one condition.”

I sighed and placed my hands on his desk, wondering what this condition was.

“It stays OUT of the house. Especially when it is older. For now it can stay in because it needs constant care. But very soon I want it OUT!! Understand?”

I sighed, “Yes Pa.”

Then he glanced back up at me, “And tell Joe, if he lacks from his chores for that puppy, he got it coming from me.”

I grinned down, “He won’t Pa.”

Only then did he smile up at me and gesture for me to go on. I went outside to where Joe was in the barn waiting for the news.

He ran over to me immediately, “Please Adam, he said yes didn’t he?”

I grinned, “Yes Joe, he said its ok.”

I then warned him about his limits and the consequences that would befall him if he crossed the line with Pa. After that I helped him make a little wooden box for the pup and took it up to his room.

It was in the middle of the night when I first heard it. It sounded like
crying, or maybe wining. I bolted out of bed and was half way to Joe’s room before I realized it was not him crying, but the puppy wining. I mentally kicked myself because Joe had not cried in years. Maybe I had just though that it was Joe. After his momma died and Pa left, Joe cried a lot and started having nightmares. I walked on into Joe’s bedroom. He was up and sitting by the box. I crossed the room and touched his shoulder.

The boy jumped then grinned up at me. “I guess Spancell got lonesome.”

I sat down knelt him. “He probly got hungry. If you will bring him down to the kitchen, I’ll get some milk.”

He agreed and we went downstairs. After warming the milk, I watched Joe cuddle the puppy and feed it. Memories once again flowed through my mind. I especially remember one occasion 3 weeks after Pa had left. I had woken up with Joe screaming and screaming and screaming. I ran into his bed room and sat down beside him. At first I though there was something wrong with him, but there wasn’t. He was kicking and squirming but his eyes were still shut. It was then that I realized that he was having a nightmare. I grabbed him and held him close to my chest. Finally he opened one eye and, looking up at me, held on tight. I sat there calming him while wondering what started this off. After a long long time, he seemed to doze off, so I laid him down onto the bed. As I turned to leave, his little body became ridged and he started screaming, holding his arms out to me. His eyes were full sized and filled with pools of translucent tears. I finally relented and took him to my room. As I walked down the hallway, his slender body shivered. I hurried on to my room and climbed back into my bed with him. He buried his head deep into my chest and finally slept. I remember many other times this happened as the months progressed. I sang him to sleep innumerable nights. Finally when Pa came home, these nightmares slowly ceased to exist.
Now Joe was sitting there feeding the small puppy.

I grinned, “I remember when you were still drinking out of a bottle.”

He gave me a dirty look, “Adam, I was just a kid. Im going back up stairs, maybe Spancell will sleep.

After a moment, I got up to. I rested a hand on his soldier, “Do that.”

Finally the next morning came. I woke up, but didn’t open my eyes. The sun was baking across me and onto the floor. I rolled over and opened my eyes. I was surprised that it was later. Then I remembered, it was Joe’s birthday and that meant a day off for all of us. A smile played on my lips. Joe’s present from me was sitting in the corner of my room under a bunch of belongings. My room has never been chaotic, so Joe has been giving it odd looks for a while now. But I know that he won’t dare peek because I would have his hide for snooping. Hoss has a new hat for him. It is black and has rhinestones or something another on it. Pa has him a pistol and gun belt. Joe knows that much, but he doesn’t know about his brother’s gifts. I finally crawled out of the bed and dressed.

As I shaved, I heard Joe’s high-pitched scream, “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY.”

I smiled and wiped the blood off the nick and finished up. I then got the saddle and rushed it downstairs before Joe got down. Hoss, Pa, Hop Sing, and I were sitting around the big room when we heard him coming. After a second Joe appeared, charging down the stairs. About half down, he lost his balance and careened on down to a become a heap at the bottom.

Pa laughed as Joe slowly got up, “Son, how many times have I told you to not run down the stairs?”

“Yes Pa, but it’s my birthday!”

Pa laughed and pointed at Joe’s gifts. ‘I know you want into them so go ahead. Day lights burning.”

Joe grinned and was heading for the gifts when we all heard the puppy wining. Spancell was sitting at the top of the stairs, to scared to come down on his own. Hoss grinned and went to retrieve the pup. That gave me pleasant memories of when Joe was beginning to walk. He was stumbling around the house when he spotted the stairs. It seemed like his little legs turned into a spinning toy, because he ran straight to them and began trying to walk up them. Ma Marie finally had to help him up them. Oh, the memories that the staircase holds, and will hold in the centuries to come. Now that Joe had his puppy with him, he tore apart the gifts. He started with Hoss’ and squealed with delight when he saw what it was. Immediately he crammed it down onto his head and grabbed Hoss in a hug. Hoss just engulfed our little brother and swung him around. Pa was left laughing until Joe danced back over and pulled my gift’s paper off. He squealed another annoying high pitched noise when he saw that it was his dream of a saddle.

“It will go with Cochise perfectly!!! THANK you Adam.”

He grabbed me and hugged me. I was laughing but hugged him back as hard as I could. Finally he stripped the paper off of Pa’s present. He squealed the loudest and immediately buckled the gun belt on, dropping the pistol in its place. He then hugged Pa until we all though that he had chocked. It was then the Hop Sing returned from the kitchen after fetching his gift.

He grinned up at Joe “Litel Joe, I have all favorites cooking for dinna. Here your gift. It is special. My grandfather gave it to me when I was fifteen too.”

Joe gently took the gift and opened it. Inside was a comb and brush set.

Hop Sing grinned. “Use it on puppy. Soft bristles. Short haired dog
dog.”

Joe was impressed and hugged Hop Sing tightly. Finally we eat the breakfast the Hop Sing had fixed and went out to work. It wasn’t to later that Hoss arrived back at the house with a big grin on his face. He had the mother dog and her other puppies in toe with him. Joe grinned from ear to ear watching Spancell reuniting with his momma. I smiled to my self. The reuniting reminded me of him and Pa when Pa came back from moruning.After a minute or two, I realized that there were tears in my eyes, I wiped them away.

That night we have a huge celebration for Joe’s 15th birthday. People from all over town came. He got other gifts, but as us three brothers stood on the porch after it all, he told us he loved our gifts best. When Pa came out, he told Pa the same thing. A memory washed over me like the moon and the stars’ cold air was. It was Joe’s first birthday and we all gave him a toy or two. He had more fun with the paper than the gifts, but that was just when he was a baby. Now he was almost grown up. But to Pa, Hoss, Hop Sing and I, he would forever be “Little Joe.” He interrupted my thoughts by swooping up his puppy, Spancell and jabbering away to it. Maybe he wasn’t to grown up, but he was defiantly on the way. And he was defiantly “Forever Little Joe.”