Summary:  Days before Adam is scheduled to leave for college, Little Joe “borrows” his older brother’s Bible and leaves it outside in the rain when his attention is drawn elsewhere. The Bible had belonged to Elizabeth and was one of the few tokens Adam had of his mother. We watch as he discovers the seeminly ruined text, and comes to grip with his loss and tries to find forgiveness. This is the first of a four part story of family love, sweet memories and the Cartwright’s way of living life to its fullest.

Rated: K  WC  1800

A Circle of Family Series:

A Circle of Family:  The Story of Joseph
A Circle of Family:  The Story of Benjamin
A Circle of Family: The Story of Hoss
A Circle of Family: The Story of Adam

Story Notes:

The Book of Joseph covers the first episode of this 4-part story. This is the story of Adam and Joseph, and what it takes to comes to grip with betraying trust and offering forgiveness when love outweighs the need to hold a grudge: even when a heart is breaking.

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The Book of Joseph

Hoss found Joe still hiding inside a hollowed out pine that had toppled some years earlier during a snowstorm. He’d discovered him there earlier and was now was back to get him into the house. “Come on in Little Joe. Pa says you gotta come to supper.”

“I ain’t goin’ near the house until Adam leaves for col…for col…for school, Hoss.”

“Aw, come on, Joe. You can’t disobey Pa, and he won’t let Adam do nothin’ to ya. B’sides, Adam don’t leave for college for another four days, so you can’t hide out here that long.”

“I think I can, Hoss. He’s gonna kill me. Ain’t no doubt ‘bout that.”

Hoss knew that Adam had been lethally mad, but he also knew that the anger had cooled a bit after Hop Sing offered to help. He couldn’t blame his older brother though. Little Joe always had a fascination for the illustrations in Adam’s Bible: the one that had been Elizabeth’s. It was one of the few tokens Adam had to remember his mother by, and now it seemed ruined. Hoss had been witness to Adam finding it on a bench by the barn early that morning, after a light rain during the night had soaked the leather cover and stuck the fragile pages together at the edges. Hoss knew with certainty that it was Little Joe who had “borrowed” the book from Adam’s room. He figured that Joe had taken it outside to look at the drawings of Moses and Baby Jesus one more time before Adam packed it to take along to school. He also knew how easily his five-year-old brother could be distracted: this time forgetting the precious book was still outside as he went on to other diversions.

Joe’s eyes were flooding as he tried to explain his transgression to Hoss. “I didn’t mean to forget it outside, Hoss. I really didn’t.” The tears began to roll as he sobbed, “I’m so sorry!”

“Maybe you should be sayin’ that to Adam, ‘stead of me, Joe. It weren’t my Bible.”

The tears continued. “I can’t face him, Hoss. He was so…”

“Mad? Joe, he has a right to be mad. But you’ve seen Adam mad before and he’ll get over it like he always does.”

“Not mad, Hoss: sad.” Joe wore an anguished expression as he tried to explain. “He was so sad. After he yelled about it, he started to cry. I ain’t hardly ever seen Adam cry and it was awful to see, Hoss. I can’t never make up for that.”

Hoss shivered as he remembered walking with Adam while he held the ruined Bible in his open palms like a bird with a broken wing. As they had neared the house, Adam yelled for Little Joe to show himself and explain. Their pa had exited the house at hearing the commotion, but on seeing what his oldest son was holding, hollered for Joseph as well. Hoss knew his father and brother had figured out that the culprit was the little brother who often bypassed the household rules when he could find a way around them. In this case, Joe would have known not to take anything that belonged to someone else without asking first, but Hoss reasoned that since Adam wasn’t around to ask at the moment Joe wanted to see the book, he took it anyway, figuring he would get permission later.

As the three older Cartwrights waited for Joseph Francis to come down, Hoss noticed a shadow of movement above and saw Joe slip deeper behind the protection of the blanket that hung over the rail at the top of the stairs. He didn’t say anything to his angry father and brother though, thinking that Joe would surely be disciplined at some point and maybe it would be best if the anger in the room settled a bit before it happened.

But then Hoss had looked back toward his older brother and watched in absolute misery as Adam—struggling to hide his sorrow—had finally turned away and doubled over in silent tears over his loss. It had shaken Hoss to his bones when his brother drew a ragged breath and released it in a quiet keening moan. Hoss had seen Adam cry when Marie died, but figured any crying from injuries to his brother’s heart was done privately, if at all. Hoss could only speculate at what was actually tearing his brother’s heart apart at that moment, but figured it was a whole lot more than just a wet Bible. Neither Adam nor he had known their mothers and the few remembrances they had left of them meant so much, yet Hoss knew that sometimes no earthly thing could fill the hollow feeling that took over his mind and heart when he thought about Inger. He figured that maybe Adam felt a little like he had lost his mother all over again when he found the ruined book.

It had been a huge relief for Hoss when Pa had moved to comfort his older brother, holding Adam’s shoulders as he spoke too quietly for Hoss to hear. Then the two had gone into the kitchen to speak with Hop Sing about doing something.

When Hoss looked to the steps again, his little brother was gone and he wasn’t sure whether Joe had seen Adam’s grief. Now he knew that he had, and he felt sorrow for both of his brothers, fearing this wound might never heal.

Hoss knew that Pa had eventually found Little Joe and talked to him, but then the child had disappeared until Hoss spotted him inside the tree trunk by the barn a little earlier.

Hoss was still thinking about the day’s events as a shadow fell across both younger boys.

“It’s time for supper and Pa wants you both inside…now.”

As Hoss rose, Adam gave him a gentle push toward the house so he could be alone with his youngest brother. “Why are you hiding out here, Joe?” He reached to lift the little boy’s chin, inspecting the tear stained, and dirty face. “Looks like maybe we need to stop and wash up quick before heading inside.”

“I’m not goin’ in,” Little Joe steeled himself and pulled back from Adam’s hand.

“It’s over, Joe. I’m not mad anymore. I just want us to have a nice supper together tonight. We don’t have many left before I leave, you know.”

Little Joe tried to make amends. “I’m sorry Adam. I didn’t know the Bible was irsurapable.”

Adam’s brows knit together as he tried to make sense of what Little Joe was saying. “Oh,” he chuckled. “You must have heard me say it was irreplaceable. Do you know what that means?”

“I asked Hoss. He said it means it can’t be replaced. But the store has lots of Bibles, Adam, so that ain’t even true. You could replace it for maybe fifty cents.”

Adam sat on the tree stump and pulled the child onto his lap. “Irreplaceable means that there isn’t anything else like it, Joe. There are lots of other Bibles, but none of them belonged to my mother. That’s what makes it irreplaceable for me. Do you understand?”

Joe’s head nodded up and down. “I’m sorry Adam. I forgot I had it outside, and I shouldn’t ‘a taken it without asking.” Wiggling around to see Adam’s face, Joe reached up to touch his cheeks with his small, dirty hands and looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry you were so sad, and I’m sorry your Bible got broken.”

A smile played at the corner of Adam’s lips. “It’s okay, Joe. Hop Sing has a cousin who knows a lot about paper and he thinks he can do something to fix it.”

The young boy’s body relaxed as he leaned back against his brother, and they sat together in silence.

“Adam, Joe. Time for supper…” Ben stood at the door calling to his sons. He could just barely see the two sitting together in the gathering dusk, and stepped back into the house, unwilling to interrupt whatever moment was occurring between them.

“Sounds like Pa wants us in, Joe.” But Adam made no move to rise and Joe stayed put, resting his back against Adam’s chest. “You know Joe, there’s something else that’s irreplaceable.”

“What?”

“You.”

“Nah.” The little boy said incredulously as he turned to see his brother’s face. “I’m not irsurapable. I’m a kid.”

Adam shook his head while rolling his eyes. “Okay, maybe you’re not, but I know something you are.”

“What?”

“Ticklish!” Adam found Little Joe’s most vulnerable spot just below his left armpit and began to tickle him until Joe was giggling so hard he could barely breathe. Adam knew he wasn’t tickling his little brother enough to account for the hysterics, but then realized that he was giggling just as hard as Joe. It felt so good to release the tensions of the day and offer forgiveness that Adam just held onto his brother as they continued giggling together. Joe finally squirmed away and ran toward the house, hollering back for Adam to “catch him” if he wasn’t too old and slow to do it. Watching him go, Adam sighed. “Brothers! What will I ever do without them?” A lopsided grin took residence on his face as he thought toward his upcoming trip East. “But then again, I’m sure looking forward to finding out!”

The end

Next Story in the A Circle of Family Series:

A Circle of Family:  The Story of Benjamin
A Circle of Family: The Story of Hoss
A Circle of Family: The Story of Adam

End Notes:

The next story will be the Book of Ben. It is a time of reflection for the father of three boys as he relives an interesting memory.

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.