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<\/p>\nSummary:\u00a0 Can anyone stand up to expectations?<\/p>\n
Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0\u00a0 2,620 words<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bright Hopes<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He\u2019s coming!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben burst through the door, waving a telegram. Joe rose from the settee, exchanging a startled grin with Jamie. He couldn\u2019t remember the last time he\u2019d seen his pa run\u2014and in the house, even. But Ben was moving like a man half his age, and his face was alive in a way Joe hadn\u2019t seen in a very long time. That could only mean \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brother is coming!\u201d Ben tossed the telegram onto his desk, smiling widely. He crossed the great room to thump Jamie on the shoulder. \u201cYou\u2019ll finally meet face to face. Excited?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, Pa.\u201d Jamie shrugged, and grinned, and shuffled his feet. He either really was excited, or their pa\u2019s overt enthusiasm tickled him. \u201cCourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe sat back down. \u201cWhen\u2019s he getting in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s tying up loose ends, says he should be here in about a month. Maybe by Christmas.\u201d Ben started toward the kitchen, rubbing his hands together. \u201cI need to let Hop Sing know \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
They watched him go. Joe chuckled, crossing his boots on the table and opening the newspaper. Jamie chuckled and returned to his math homework, chewing the end of his pencil.<\/p>\n
A month.<\/p>\n
Adam was coming home in a month.<\/p>\n
Week One<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie\u2019s voice drifted through the barn door, slightly ajar, as Joe approached. He slowed, wondering if someone was in there with his little brother or if Jamie was talking things out with his horse. They had all been known to do it \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he\u2019s comin\u2019 whether you\u2019re ready or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Either that was Candy, or Cinnamon talked back in a way that Cochise never had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited, don\u2019t get me wrong. I just \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpit it out, kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, what if he ain\u2019t what I\u2019m expectin\u2019? What if he don\u2019t like me? What if I don\u2019t like him? What if he tries to boss me around?\u201d Despite himself, Joe snorted softly. \u201cI mean \u2026 it ain\u2019t like letters are the same as really knowin\u2019 somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe peered into the barn, eyes adjusting in time to see Candy settle on a downturned bucket and twist a wry grin at the youngest Cartwright.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you probably know each other well enough to get started, and I also think he probably ain\u2019t gonna be what you expect.\u201d Jamie looked confused. Candy\u2019s grin widened. \u201cJust seems to me like most people ain\u2019t what you expect when you finally meet \u2018em face to face\u2014there\u2019s a lot more to a body than what can fit onto paper\u2014but that don\u2019t mean what\u2019s in the letters ain\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie screwed up his face, considering. Finally, he nodded. \u201cYeah, I guess you\u2019re right.\u201d He offered a pale grin. \u201cStill don\u2019t know if I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what, kid?\u201d Candy leaned forward and thumped Jamie\u2019s knee. \u201cDon\u2019t think I am either.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was \u2026 unexpected.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come?\u201d Jamie cocked his head, looking as puzzled as Joe felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, since the Cartwrights sucked me in,\u201d (Jaime giggled softly, and Joe quirked a grin. It was, he supposed, true enough \u2026) \u201cI been almost a part of the family. Guess I just ain\u2019t quite sure where this is gonna leave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie\u2019s tone was distressed. \u201cYou ain\u2019t thinkin\u2019 about headin\u2019 out, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe blinked. His little brother could make the craziest jumps \u2026<\/p>\n
At least, he hoped it was crazy.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Candy laughed. \u201cSlow down, kid. I ain\u2019t goin\u2019 anywhere. All I\u2019m sayin\u2019 is, me and Joe and Hoss was all close, but Hoss is gone now and here comes another Cartwright who don\u2019t know me as anything but the foreman. Just don\u2019t know how that\u2019s gonna work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seemed like a good time to jump in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows you\u2019re part of the family.\u201d Joe pushed at the heavy door, stepping into the barn. Candy grinned a welcome. Jamie looked anywhere and everywhere else, obviously afraid that his reservations about Adam\u2019s homecoming would not be taken well. \u201cAnd if it helps any, I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s gonna work with me, either.\u201d Joe cuffed the back of the boy\u2019s head, then slung an arm around Jamie\u2019s shoulders. (He wouldn\u2019t be able to do that much longer, the kid was growing like a weed.) \u201cAdam and I always spent a lot of time rubbin\u2019 each other the wrong way. I\u2019ve done a lot of growin\u2019 up since he left\u2014we\u2019ve all been through a lot\u2014and I\u2019m sure Adam\u2019s changed some too \u2026 but we are who we are.\u201d Joe shrugged. \u201cI\u2019m happy my brother\u2019s comin\u2019 home, I\u2019m lookin\u2019 forward to it, but I just hope we can manage some better than we used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a moment none of them spoke. The heavy silence wrapped them like a quilt, warm and comfortable.<\/p>\n
Finally, Jamie shrugged. \u201cPa\u2019s so happy, it\u2019s like he\u2019s floatin\u2019 instead of walkin\u2019. Wish I could be more like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s it then.\u201d Joe ruffled the fuzzy red hair. \u201cYou start gettin\u2019 jittery again, just stick close to Pa. He\u2019s excited enough it\u2019ll probably rub off\u2014you won\u2019t remember why you ever even thought to be nervous about ol\u2019 Adam comin\u2019 home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr stick to Hop Sing.\u201d Candy\u2019s teeth flashed. \u201cHe\u2019s wrote up a list of chores a mile long, prob\u2019ly keep you so busy you won\u2019t have a chance ta\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie snorted. \u201cI ain\u2019t goin\u2019 anywhere near Hop Sing \u2018til after Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Week Two<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take out of here and put somewhere else!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stared at the heavy wooden chest shoved into Adam\u2019s doorway. Joe rubbed at the back of his neck, peering over his pa\u2019s shoulder into the room. Jamie hovered cautiously behind them both, obviously still hoping to remain undetected. They had all been using the empty bedroom as a combination storage room and, well, dumping ground for years. He didn\u2019t even remember who had shoved the first trunk or bag through that door to \u2026<\/p>\n
No, he did remember. It had been Hoss. \u201cAdam ain\u2019t here, is he? Anyways, I ain\u2019t got nowhere else ta go with this.\u201d The lamp, an atrocious thing that Clementine Hawkins had insisted Hoss take as a reward for helping her moving furniture one afternoon (\u201cIt was \u2018Arry\u2019s favorite, it was, but I never could care for it myself\u201d), was visible in the rear corner over several trunks, an old saddle, and a box of \u2026 Well, that box had come with Jamie. Joe didn\u2019t know what was in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing, where else am I supposed to put this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe could have told his pa that any protest (whining) would be in vain.<\/p>\n
The little cook scowled. \u201cThat not my problem. None of this,\u201d Hop Sing waved a hand at the stacks behind him, \u201cstay here. Clutter fill up all space, no room left for number one son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, Hop Sing.\u201d Ben\u2019s eyebrows dropped into a fair imitation of his usual stern frown. \u201cThis is not clutter. This trunk has my\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot matter what in trunk. Good memory, bad memory. Half-finished wooden carvings.\u201d Hop Sing lifted an eyebrow, and Ben flushed. Huh. Joe had wondered where that nativity set his pa had pretended to work on for all those years had ended up. \u201cAll good to keep, but not in Mr. Adam room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben\u2019s jaw muscles worked, then he bent to seize the trunk without further protest.<\/p>\n
Good choice, really.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, Pa.\u201d He reached for one end. \u201cLet me\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Ben carry, not so heavy. Little Joe have his own things to move, and Mr. Hoss\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoss\u2019s?\u201d Joe yelped, turning a dismayed stare back into the jumbled depths. Big brother had, by Hoss\u2019s own admission, taken first and best advantage of the unused space \u2026<\/p>\n
Hop Sing thrust Jamie\u2019s box around Ben, waving the boy off toward his own room. \u201cBoy help, after he take this away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Jamie\u2019s yelp was better than Joe\u2019s\u2014it had the advantage of a leftover adolescent voice break to make it more pathetic.<\/p>\n
Hop Sing was unmoved by such efforts. \u201cYou no want to help Little Joe, you help scrub dining room floor, then dust and sweep great room, and shovel out fireplace. Take pick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie gaped. Joe hid a grin.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d the boy grumbled, seizing his box and backing away. \u201cBut it ain\u2019t none of it mine, I don\u2019t know what to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou help. Family make mess, family clean. Love each other, help each other.\u201d Joe exchanged a dark pout with his little brother. \u201cChristmas almost here, and number one son come soon. No time for foolishness. Much to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam\u2019s family, too,\u201d Joe grumbled, edging into the room. \u201cWon\u2019t he want to help?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing did not deign to respond. \u201cYou come to me when done. Have much more on list\u2014silver need polish, table need polish, windows need \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben hefted his trunk and fled.<\/p>\n
Week Three<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then we realized there was a squirrel nest in the tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against all odds, the cleaning and cooking and other preparations had helped. Unanswered questions remained, of course \u2026 but with Adam\u2019s room cleared and aired, his bed made up, his furniture and closet standing ready, and Christmas itself just around the corner, a strong sense of anticipation had blotted out the bulk of Joe\u2019s uncertainty.<\/p>\n
They would figure things out, just like they always had.<\/p>\n
It was going to be good. It was right, after all.<\/p>\n
His brother was coming home.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, no!\u201d Jamie snickered around the gingerbread head he had just crammed into his mouth. \u201cInside the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben took a cookie from the tray. \u201cOh yes.\u201d He traded a grin with Joe, who sprawled bootless and uncorrected across the blue chair and the low fireside table. Joe raised his cinnamon bun in salute, and swallowed a gulp of coffee.<\/p>\n
There was nothing like a Christmas-time late night snack.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on.\u201d Candy was skeptical. \u201cYou\u2019re sayin\u2019 you got that whole tree decorated, and nobody saw a squirrel nest until the next morning and after the candles were lit?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe chuckled. \u201cThat\u2019s about how it happened, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben snorted. \u201cI\u2019m still not sure I do either. We got that tree home around noon, and as I look back on it, Adam was rather suspiciously quiet for the rest of the day\u2014through all the decorating and Christmas eve meal and Bible reading, right up to bedtime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie snorted a giggle, and flopped back against the settee.<\/p>\n
Joe stared. \u201cYou never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell.\u201d Ben shrugged. \u201cI couldn\u2019t prove anything.\u201d He shook his head, swirling his coffee in the dainty china cup. \u201cThat was the thing about raising Adam. I could never prove anything \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah. That sounded about right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Jamie demanded. \u201cHow did you get the squirrel out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a squirrel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAw.\u201d Jamie\u2019s disappointment was profound, and Joe almost spoiled the tale by laughing out loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were three.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Candy sat up at that. He looked toward Joe. \u201cReally? You had three squirrels in a lit tree?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe grinned widely, remembering the chaos and utter destruction that had overtaken the Ponderosa that Christmas morning. \u201cWe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d Jamie demanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell \u2026\u201d Ben shook his head. \u201cHoss was trying to catch them\u2014I think he wanted them for pets. Hop Sing was after them with a broom, I was trying to keep our china in one piece and the house from burning down. Joe \u2026\u201d His frown failed to impress. \u201cJoe had dragged his presents around the back of the tree and was busy opening them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Candy threw back his head and laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Adam,\u201d Ben finished, \u201cjust stayed curled up in that blue chair, reading his new book and ignoring all the rest of it.\u201d He took a long sip of coffee, and another gingerbread man. \u201cThat boy could read through the second coming if no one made him look up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s cackle joined Candy\u2019s laughter and Jamie\u2019s giggle.<\/p>\n
Hop Sing\u2019s door crashed open.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou be quiet!\u201d An irate cook glared out at them. \u201cHow Hop Sing pretend in morning to not notice half his baking gone if family be so loud about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie clapped his hand over his mouth, to little effect. Joe and Candy didn\u2019t even try. Ben offered an apologetic grin. \u201cSorry, Hop Sing. I was just telling Jamie and Candy about the squirrels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSquirrels.\u201d Hop Sing\u2019s eyes narrowed. \u201cMr. Adam bad boy for not telling about squirrels sooner.\u201d His door slammed shut again, against the fresh howls of laughter.<\/p>\n
It was no little thing, Joe mused as he fell into bed later, that after all they had been through, his family could still know such moments of joy.<\/p>\n
Week Four<\/p>\n
The house was cleaned within an inch of its life, and smelled daily of pine and baking and spices. The tree was up and decorated. (In the years since the squirrel incident, they had stopped waiting until Christmas eve to put up the tree\u2014though the two had nothing to do with each other. Nothing.) Adam\u2019s door stood open, revealing a fresh, neatly organized room. The stockings were hung from the mantelpiece. Presents were slowly beginning to appear beneath the tree.<\/p>\n
They were ready for Christmas. They were ready for Adam\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
All that was left was the waiting.<\/p>\n
Christmas, of course, would not be rushed. The calendar was set, and did not change for wishing. No one had heard from Adam since that first telegram, and so the exact time he might show up was a mystery. Still, both were very near\u2014the coming of a beloved family member long missed, and that day which celebrated the ultimate Coming and awaited it again.<\/p>\n
Any moment. Any moment \u2026<\/p>\n
Filled with these bright hopes, the dark winter days pressed on toward Christmas.<\/p>\n
Christmas day<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pounding on his bedroom door jerked Joe from a sound sleep. He blinked muzzily toward the dark window, wondering what time it was and why anyone was awake. Christmas wasn\u2019t a day for sleeping late, but this was a little ridiculous \u2026<\/p>\n
Voices began to filter in\u2014Ben\u2019s booming bass and Hop Sing\u2019s excited chatter\u2014and then his door cracked open. Light streamed in.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe!\u201d Jamie\u2019s head appeared beside the lamp. \u201cAdam\u2019s here!\u201d<\/p>\n
What? Joe blinked again at the dark window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly,\u201d Jamie snorted, then disappeared back into the hall. Joe heard thudding footsteps on the stairs, and then a voice he hadn\u2019t heard in \u2026 well, in years.<\/p>\n
Adam was home.<\/p>\n
What had big brother done? Ridden through the night?<\/p>\n
Joe rolled out from under the covers and sat shivering for a minute, rubbing his face and getting his bearings. His pa\u2019s voice drifted up again, and Adam\u2019s, and then Jamie\u2019s giggle\u2014the goofy one Joe was so fond of, that one meant the boy felt content and safe and especially happy.<\/p>\n
He was missing it.<\/p>\n
Joe stumbled across the room and to the stairs. He stopped on the landing to peer down at the scene. Hop Sing had lit nearly every lamp in the great room and was busy stirring up the fire. In the entryway stood Ben and Jamie and his big brother\u2014familiar and well-loved, yet \u2026 not exactly what Joe had been expecting.<\/p>\n
It had been a long time.<\/p>\n
Adam looked up and caught sight of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re grey!\u201d<\/p>\n
Seemed like it went both ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cMakes me look distinguished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam snorted. For a moment the two brothers stood silent, grinning widely at each other as the years fell away from between them. Finally, Adam jerked his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet down here, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe grinned, then laughed, and hurried down the stairs to join the celebration.<\/p>\n
Click here for the 2018 Advent Calendar – Day 21 – Aunt Dinah aka The Christmas Visitors<\/span><\/a> by Bluewindfarm<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n