{"id":1601,"date":"2009-08-20T15:12:31","date_gmt":"2009-08-20T19:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1601"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:22:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:22:28","slug":"the-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1601","title":{"rendered":"The Party (by the Giggly Sisters)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>The Cartwrights are going to have a party for the Giggly Sisters. But who will they invite? A very light-hearted look at this subject.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span> K+ \u00a0WC 1700<\/p>\n

The Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking across at the Giggly Sisters, Joe frowned. \u201cWe should have a party,\u201d he suggested. \u201cGive you a chance to wear your new clothes.\u201d Shopping was an experience Joe had only begun to enjoy when the sisters showed him the delights.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that\u2019s a right good idea!\u201d Hoss exclaimed. \u201cWe ain\u2019t had a party in a coon\u2019s age. What d\u2019you think, Paw?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA party sounds fine,\u201d Ben said, looking up from the papers on his desk. \u201cWho will we invite?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, all our friends and relatives, of course,\u201d Adam inserted. \u201cWho else?\u201d He raised one eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d said the redhead. \u201cSo, tell us a few names.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d agreed the blonde. \u201cLet\u2019s see if we can put faces to those names.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d better ask Roy Coffee,\u201d Ben said. \u201cHe\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Oldest Sheriff In Town,\u201d the sisters sang, and they burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

Ben sighed. He found the sisters\u2019 irreverence a trial most of the time. \u201c\u2026 an old friend,\u201d Ben continued as though the sisters hadn\u2019t spoken. \u201cAnd cousin Clarissa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClarissa?\u201d the boys chorused. \u201cOh no!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHang on,\u201d said the blonde. \u201cWe only saw her in one episode, and then she vanished. Whose cousin was she? Ben\u2019s? Adam\u2019s? Hoss\u2019? Joe\u2019s? And who were all these other relations she was talking about? Do you know any of them?\u201d<\/p>\n

This burst of questioning had the men all non-plussed. Joe shrugged, making a helpless face. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he admitted. \u201cIsn\u2019t she your cousin, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess she is,\u201d Ben said. \u201cSo all those other relations must could be on her side of the family, and not related to me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you just love sorting out who\u2019s related to whom?\u201d asked the redhead mischievously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s cousin Clarissa?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s after your time, Adam,\u201d Joe said, waving him away. Adam looked offended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about your life-long friend, Mitch Devlin, Joe?\u201d Ben asked, coming round to join the family in front of the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome life-long friend he is!\u201d Joe retorted. \u201cHe appears in one episode, doesn\u2019t understand when I have a major mood, and then never comes back again! I don\u2019t call that a life-long friend!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe beat him in an arm-wrestling contest and Mitch went off in a strop\u201d the blonde confided to Hoss, who nodded in a knowing way, although he was rather confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill we have the Chinese lanterns, Pa?\u201d he asked hopefully. This was safe territory. The lanterns were brought out at each and every celebration on the Ponderosa and were as ubiquitous as cheese, pineapple and pickled onions on cocktail sticks. Adam groaned loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething wrong, son?\u201d Ben inquired lackadaisically. His eldest son was such a ham. Any minute now and he\u2019d be clutching his back and \u2026<\/p>\n

Adam assumed a pained expression and let the copy of \u201cParadise Lost\u201d he\u2019d been leafing through fall to the floor. Truth be told, the text was turgid, there were no pictures and the type was far too small. \u201cWhatever did happen to cousin Clarissa?\u201d he asked innocently. \u201cFrom what you said, one minute she was transforming the house with floral arrangements and making you all wear slippers \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The blonde looked longingly at Joe\u2019s delicious bare feet, which were lying cradled in her lap and wished that, just for once, they were alone.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 and then she was gone, never to be heard of again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben assumed an innocent expression and studied the account books with great interest.<\/p>\n

Joe decided to enter into the debate. \u201cThen there was the Countess. She certainly had a soft spot you, Pa! Why, she even said that I could have been her son!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s emerald (or were they hazel?) eyes gleamed with mischief and the redhead had to bite her lips very hard to stop herself from laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d thundered the unmistakeable tones of the Voice of Canada and the shade of an oil lamp shattered. The sisters instinctively ducked for cover, but noticed that the Cartwright siblings were unaffected.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Adam said reassuringly. \u201cWe never injure one another,\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pouted attractively. \u201cExcept for that time when you shot me,\u201d he said plaintively.<\/p>\n

Adam tried to be patient. \u201cI\u2019ve told you once and I\u2019ll tell you again \u2013 I thought you were a wolf!\u201d<\/p>\n

The blonde gave him a steely glare. \u201cI don\u2019t think Joe looks like a wolf. And then you left that strange girl to look after him while he was delirious, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was very nice,\u201d Adam said apologetically. \u201cBut now you come to mention it, I had no idea who she was and then she drove off into the distance, never to be heard of again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou left me unconscious in the care of a complete stranger?\u201d Joe could hardly believe his ears.<\/p>\n

Hoss clapped his younger brother affectionately round the shoulders. \u201cDon\u2019t fret none, Joe! She was a broad minded woman and didn\u2019t mind seeing you \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Any further words were muffled by Adam\u2019s hand clamping firmly over Hoss\u2019s mouth. \u201cI had some important philosophical concepts to wrestle with,\u201d he explained, realising that this sounded rather feeble.<\/p>\n

Joe buried his head in his hands, rumpling up his curls, so that one fell forward over his forehead.<\/p>\n

Hoss decided to get back to the party planning. \u201cHow about Connie McKee? YOU liked her, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe went back east.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJulia Bulette \u2013 she were a real nice lady and generous too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe died,\u201d Joe said shortly. He didn\u2019t often bemoan his lack of stature, but things were getting on top of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ve got some chums you\u2019d like to invite, Adam,\u201d Ben said jovially, trying to change the subject. \u201cSome old acquaintances from college, perhaps?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really keep up with them, Pa,\u201d Adam said, reluctant, as always to discuss his schooling back east. Was there something strange about the college he attended, since he never wanted to talk about it?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had a friend called Ross,\u201d Ben persisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was mad,\u201d Adam said, flatly, and this time the redhead was unable to hold in her merriment. She snorted loudly, which in turn set Joe and the blonde off. \u201cWhat about Miss Netta, who owns the horse farm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh,\u201d said Ben, and returned to his books.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh?\u201d repeated Adam. \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, she and the farm both disappeared,\u201d Joe piped up. He wriggled his toes, and the blonde almost passed out. \u201cFunny, our neighbours never seem to stay long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd have you noticed how many neighbours you have, given that the Ponderosa stretches for 1000 square miles?\u201d the blonde added, gathering her straying wits. \u201cI\u2019m sure half of them are trespassing, you know,\u201d she said, earnestly to Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at Josh Tatum,\u201d the redhead agreed. \u201cHe disappeared, and turned up a few years later on a ranch in Arizona, with a different name, and a different family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMargie Owens,\u201d Hoss said, out of the blue.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe died,\u201d Joe commented, softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but didn\u2019t you notice that Laura Dayton has the same head as Margie?\u201d asked the redhead. \u201cDidn\u2019t you find that a bit creepy? And I suppose its out of the question for she and Will Cartwright to come?\u201d she held her hands up as Adam began to advance on her. \u201cSorry!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, leave her alone!\u201d Joe said, standing up to old sulky. \u201cIt was a valid question.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Adam continued to advance forward, until he was eye to eye with Ben. \u201cPa,\u201d he said softly, but with a certain steely tone in his voice. \u201cJust what is happening around here? Why do all of our friends and relatives appear once, or twice and then disappear? Even Joe\u2019s half-brother, Clay, never writes or anything.\u201d Adam had a strange feeling of deja vue, almost as if one day he would leave the Ponderosa and would never be mentioned again. Disappearing into the ether so to speak.<\/p>\n

Ben cleared his throat and looked at his three sons, so different and so dearly loved. \u201cWell boys, I suppose it all started with your mothers. First of all, there was the tragic death of Elizabeth \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Love,\u201d his sons chorused. They had heard this story before and knew what was expected of them. The sisters looked rather startled.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 shortly after giving birth to you, Adam.\u201d He stopped and wiped a manly tear from one eye. \u201cThen, off course, dear Inger \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Love!\u201d The girls had got the hang of things now and joined in.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 another untimely and unfortunate death. And of course,\u201c Ben stopped and shot a look that clearly said, \u201cdon\u2019t chance your luck\u201d. After a moment, during which everyone squirmed uncomfortably, he continued. \u201cFinally there was Joe\u2019s dear Mama, Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a poignant silence for a moment and then the blonde spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cKind of set a precedent then? No-one outstaying their welcome? Short but sweet?\u201d<\/p>\n

The redhead snorted in disbelief. \u201cInger was a big girl, as far as I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a snigger from Joe and Adam, but Hoss didn\u2019t appear to notice. He was gazing towards the fire, obviously thinking of the mother he couldn\u2019t remember. He gave a gigantic sniff, at which everyone looked revolted.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlow your nose, and don\u2019t sniff,\u201d Ben said, jolted out of the melancholy mood he\u2019d been working himself into. He turned to the girls. \u201cSo I expect that\u2019s why people don\u2019t stay round here too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause, while everyone thought this through. It wasn\u2019t going to be much of a party without guests. What were they going to do? Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, the signal that he was deep in thought. Hoss frowned, and Joe grinned at everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI know how to get guests!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, spit it out, boy!\u201d Ben demanded. \u201cWe want to know. Who are we going to invite?\u201d<\/p>\n

Beaming broadly, Joe said \u201cWe\u2019ll invite the extras, like we always do!\u201d<\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0The Cartwrights are going to have a party for the Giggly Sisters. But who will they invite? A very light-hearted look at this subject.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC 1700<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,4,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-humor","category-mystery","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-32-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":470,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1552,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1552","url_meta":{"origin":1601,"position":0},"title":"Kidnapping the Brothers (by the Giggly Sisters)","author":"The Giggly Sisters","date":"August 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0In their 50th outing, the Giggly Sisters join forces with their friends from the BonanzainAussie board. 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