Summary:\u00a0 Ever noticed the piano that materializes at Ponderosa celebrations?\u00a0 The Giggly Sisters investigate further as Ben organises a musical soiree.<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0 K+ \u00a0WC \u00a02200<\/p>\n
A Little Night Music<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben Cartwright folded his paper and beamed congenially at his three sons, who sat around the over-sized fireplace. Adam was in his favorite blue chair, Hoss had pulled up one of the red leather chairs and Joe was perched on the wood box. It wasn\u2019t particularly comfortable, but it did put him on eye-level with the rest of the family. The Giggly Sisters were thus relegated to the hideously uncomfortable sofa. It had been recovered several times and was currently sporting a dull maroon stripe. Why Ben had not instructed it to be completely reupholstered and re-stuffed at the same time was somewhat of a mystery.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we should hold a little soiree \u2013 a musical evening for our friends!\u201d Ben announced happily.<\/p>\n Predictably, Adam was thrilled at the very idea. In his dim and distant youth, he had taken singing lessons. Exactly why a small frontier town had a vocal coach has never been satisfactorily explained, nor was the teacher\u2019s reaction to Adam\u2019s unique vocal stylings ever recorded. Suffice to say, Adam only knew two songs and there was no longer a music teacher in Virginia City.<\/p>\n \u201cI could sing!\u201d the redhead quickly said, for she had a beautiful soprano voice, of some considerable strength. \u201cBut I\u2019ll need a piano, so my sister can accompany me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a perfectly good piano,\u201d Adam said, mentally planning a duet of \u201cSweet Betsy from Pike\u201d.<\/p>\n Joe looked around the room, with a certain degree of confusion. There was no piano to be seen. Just to make perfectly sure, he got up and peeked at the peculiar bit at the side of the stairs, where the balustrade didn\u2019t quite reach the wall. No, there were several spiders\u2019 webs and a veritable warren of dust bunnies (Hop Sing appeared to be slacking on the housework front) but there was definitely no piano. \u201cWhere?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be stupid, Joe,\u201d Adam said, airily, for he was fondly imagining many cozy evenings in the winter spent around the pianoforte. \u201cIt\u2019s over there.\u201d He waved vaguely in the direction of the office.<\/p>\n They all turned to look, for there didn\u2019t appear to be a piano anywhere in the great room. All that was in the office was the desk, the pot-bellied stove, the bookcase (which had swapped places with the window again) and the famous map, which for some reason wasn\u2019t drawn north\/south, but east\/west instead.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d the blonde asked. She knew what a piano looked like, for she had managed to break the workings of one when just a child.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, there was one there at one point,\u201d Adam said, pinching the bridge of his nose while he tried to remember. This was just a ploy actually. Hay fever season was in full swing, and the pollen, plus the dust bunnies in the house, was playing havoc with his sinuses.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAh, but when?\u201d Ben asked, enigmatically.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, one of those dances we\u2019ve held here,\u201d Adam proclaimed disgustedly. \u201cI clearly remember it. It sat against the wall where the bookcase is now.\u201d He got up and went over to demonstrate. Since the window was currently behind the desk, looking out into the yard, the bookcase was against the porch wall.<\/p>\n \u201cSo where did the bookcase go then?\u201d the redhead asked.<\/p>\n Rolling his eyes, Adam ignored the question, because he simply didn\u2019t know the answer. He wasn\u2019t even sure how they\u2019d managed to get the huge piece of furniture into the house in the first place.<\/p>\n The blonde shot a look at Hoss. She knew he was very gentle, but no one had ever seen him in a real temper, and she didn\u2019t want to be the first. However, he who dares and all that. \u201cWasn\u2019t it She Walks in Beauty<\/em>?\u201d she ventured, tentatively.<\/p>\n \u201cWho cares?\u201d Hoss said, in an off-hand tone of voice. He was wondering when his family would get around to asking him to play the violin. Or even the double bass. He was equally talented at both after all, as he had proved in Maestro Hoss<\/em>. And Hop Sing could accompany him on the samisen.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, I rather thought I\u2019d prefer a solo performance of The British Grenadier<\/em>\u2019 or perhaps even Land of Hope and Glory\u2019<\/em>, in memory of all my happy years spent at Oxford and Cambridge,\u201d Hop Sing retorted, wondering why everyone seemed impervious to the fact that he spoke a pure and unadulterated upper-class English accent.<\/p>\n Ben thought this was a wonderful idea and promptly began to hum Oh Canada<\/em>. There was a marked resemblance between his voice and a cello and the crystals around the standard lamp began to thrum in sympathetic resonance. If only they could find Hoss\u2019 double bass and get the violin back, they\u2019d have three quarters of a chamber orchestra.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I just happen to have my recorders with me!\u201d the redhead crowed happily.<\/p>\n Sadly, no one asked Joe to contribute to the musical extravaganza. He was a little hurt by this, for he had a perfectly sweet voice and could whistle charmingly. However, everyone was now busily planning the songs they would play, so no one noticed him slip out of the house and go across to the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cHey Cooch,\u201d he crooned softly and then did a double take. There, nestled unobtrusively in a corner of the barn was an upright piano.<\/p>\n \u201cStrange!\u201d Joe thought. \u201cI\u2019ve never noticed that before.\u201d Although actually, when he thought about it, that made perfect sense. After all, he never turned a hair when a close relative or life-long friend turned up for 40 minutes and then promptly disappeared, never to be seen or heard of again. It was a bit like Miss Abigail Jones, who only ever appeared in The Wooing of Abigail Jones<\/em>, but then became a stalwart staple of fan fiction. And to add a smattering of increased confusion, Eileen Ryan, who so memorably played the school marm, turned up several seasons later as Emily in First Love<\/em>. Yes, it was definitely best not to question certain things on the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s Joe?\u201d Ben asked, looking wildly around the room, as if he expected Joe to be perched on top of the preposterously enormous animal horns above the fireplace.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe something\u2019s happened to him,\u201d Hoss suggested. He looked excited. Perhaps he might get to go for the doctor again.<\/p>\n Looking worried, they all began to shout, \u201cJoe!\u201d and hunt round the house. When there was no sign of him anywhere, even in his perambulating bedroom, they ventured out to the yard, and heard tinkling coming from the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like Joe\u2019s found the piano,\u201d the redhead commented.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s almost in tune, too,\u201d the blonde added. \u201cDo you suppose your piano tuner would come out here to tune this one for us?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBound to,\u201d replied the redhead, with an airy wave of her hand. \u201cI\u2019m his favorite client.\u201d<\/p>\n They went quietly into the barn, where Joe was plaintively singing Shenandoah<\/em>, which he did with great feeling. They all sniffed appreciatively when he finished. Joe jumped, for he hadn\u2019t heard them coming. \u201cI found the piano,\u201d he said, defensively, and unnecessarily. \u201cIt was out here all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood for you, son!\u201d Ben exclaimed, heartily, and gave Joe a pat on the shoulder that almost floored him. \u201cLet\u2019s get the piano inside then.\u201d He looked a trifle puzzled, but didn\u2019t ask what the piano was doing in the barn, or why he hadn\u2019t noticed it before. Hoss gave a loud sigh and then obediently started to push the piano across the yard. He knew that whenever there was any hard graft to be done, it inevitably fell to him. Not that the scriptwriters tended to stereotype the Cartwright brothers, but Adam had a bad back and Joe was simply too small to be of much use.<\/p>\n “Show-off!” Adam hissed into Joe’s sticky-out ear. “Everyone knows I’m the musical member of this family – and don’t you forget it.\u201d\u2019 He gave Joe a sharp dig with his elbow and smiled in grim satisfaction as his brother tumbled headfirst into the horse trough.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is it always me that ends up in the horse trough?\u201d Joe spluttered indignantly. \u201cPonderosa Matador<\/em>, The Scapegoat<\/em> and Ponderosa Birdman<\/em> \u2013 three times! It\u2019s not fair!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled indulgently at his youngest. \u201cNow Joseph, you do look adorable when wet! Just remember those other wonderful scenes in The Crucible<\/em> and First Born<\/em>! They live on in many hearts \u2013 and do you know why? Because you look great when wet! Even your hair looks good!\u201d<\/p>\n This, of course, was the crux. Although both Adam and Hoss had ended up in the horse trough in The Tin Soldier<\/em>, the hairdresser was not keen on having his toupees subjected to such escapades and had insisted the experiment was not repeated.<\/p>\n \u201cHe looks even better wet and<\/strong> shirtless!\u201d the blonde avowed fervently. \u201cStill, I\u2019m still puzzled about the piano. It certainly wasn\u2019t in the barn earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably in the bunkhouse but got fed up. All that disappearing and reappearing must be quite tedious,\u201d suggested the redhead.<\/p>\n The bunkhouse had indeed reappeared and was currently situated to the right of the house. However, it was entirely possible that it might relocate to the side of the kitchen at any moment, so they were careful to give it a wide berth. Two rather dazed looking ranch hands staggered out.<\/p>\n \u201cYou boys will be coming to our musical evening, won\u2019t you?\u201d Ben said, and both men nodded vehemently, wearing terrified expressions the whole time. They had been subjected to Hoss\u2019 playing before, and only one of them had been sensible enough to bring some cotton wool to plug his ears. They looked round hopefully at the bunkhouse, but it seemed to be resolutely staying put this time.<\/p>\n Inside, Adam and Hoss were bickering as to where the best place was to put the piano. Hoss thought it should go in the space where they usually set up the table with punch and nibbles on. Adam thought Hoss should move the bookcase, so it could slot into that space, nicely out of the way. Hoss was telling Adam, with some heat, that if he wanted the bookcase moved, he should do it himself.<\/p>\n The redhead rolled her eyes. \u201cThis reminds me of home,\u201d she muttered. \u201cAnd I thought girls were bad!\u201d She grinned suddenly. \u201cWhat do you bet he calls for Betty next?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cGoes without saying,\u201d the blonde returned.<\/p>\n Sure enough, Adam then bellowed, \u201cBetty!\u201d There was a long pause while they all looked expectantly at the stairs, but there was no sign of Betty. Someone in the corner cleared their throat, and they saw that the inept script girl was holding up a bit of paper, which read \u2018Betty\u2019s day off.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I think we should have the piano against the side of the stairs,\u201d suggested the blonde. \u201cAnd since I\u2019m playing it, my vote should win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll hide all those dust bunnies, too,\u201d Joe agreed. \u201cAnd shall I move the Indian blanket?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a rug,\u201d the redhead said, in long suffering tones. \u201cBut, please do move it and be careful. We don\u2019t want it tripping you up, now do we?\u201d She gave Joe a sunlit smile, which he returned full wattage.<\/p>\n The blonde sat down at the piano and flexed her fingers in a professional way. Ben patted her on the knee solicitously and then beamed as a tall figure strode across the room.<\/p>\n \u201cClem! How lovely of you to join us. Is Roy Coffee coming along too?\u201d<\/p>\n The Deputy Sheriff of Virginia City cleared his throat, inadvertently hitting G below C and the redhead almost swooned. She\u2019d always thought he had a lovely voice.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019Fraid not, Ben. He had a nasty accident with his low-slung watch chain.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shrugged his shoulders in resignation. He\u2019d always wondered why the good people of Virginia City saw fit to re-elect an octogenarian as Sheriff, but at least Clem was able to walk at speeds above 2 miles an hour. In the background, the Giggly Sisters began to play one of their duets. A cacophony immediately assailed his ears as Adam produced his guitar, Hoss whipped out the double bass and Joe pulled his whistle out from his pocket. The only saving grace was the fact that Hop Sing was still whipping up devils on horseback in the kitchen. Life on the range might be tough, but it was important to be regular.<\/p>\n Ben was heartily grateful that he had built his house in the middle of nowhere. It might be inconvenient when they ran out of milk at tea time, or when an urgent medical attention from Doctor Paul Martin was required, but the advantage of being outside the Virginia City limits, with their pesky noise ordinances, simply could not be overestimated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****End****<\/p>\n