Summary: From disasters to memories, could a warm bed be the piece de’ resistance?
\nWritten for day 10 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
\nRating: G
\nWord Count: 1306<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bonanza Bottom Line<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe and Candy were late to breakfast which displeased Hop Sing. He said nothing but then he didn\u2019t have to as cold toast and congealed eggs on the table spoke louder than shouting Cantonese curses or banging pans in the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0The ultimate sign of his displeasure, of course, was the empty coffee pot which neither Joe nor Candy dared ask to be filled.<\/p>\n The duo had been late getting in the night before, which displeased Ben Cartwright but he said nothing to his son and foreman because they were grown men who made their own beds to lie in.\u00a0\u00a0He did however indulge in a sly smirk and a bit of satisfaction knowing they would spend the day chasing the clock if they hoped to get to the annual Fireman\u2019s Christmas Ball before the ladies were all taken.<\/p>\n Irritated when there was no morning coffee, Cochise stomped on Joe\u2019s boot causing him to hop backwards out of the stall and into Candy who ended up in a wheelbarrow full of mucked out straw.<\/p>\n The rest of the day proceeded in similar fashion, the men moving from one disaster to another on what should have been a normal December 10. By midafternoon, Joe had had enough and called it quits, saying that nothing was as urgent as getting to the Ball on time. \u201cLet\u2019s get cleaned up,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to make it down the mountain by 4 o\u2019clock before it gets dark.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs it is, we\u2019ll be lucky to get to Bower\u2019s Mansion before the girls are all spoken for. Unless\u2026\u201d Candy hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe take that shortcut through Franktown.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe way our luck\u2019s been running?\u201d Joe pulled out a coin and flipped it in the air catching it on the descent. \u201cYour call.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeads we take the trail; tails the shortcut.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe opened his fist. \u201cTrail.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They hadn\u2019t traveled far before their path was blocked by a fallen tree.\u00a0\u00a0With the mountain on one side of the trail and a steep ravine on the other, the only way through was to move the tree parallel with the trail.\u00a0\u00a0Both dismounted and ground tied their horses.\u00a0\u00a0Joe took the anchor position at the base of the tree while Candy moved to the other end.<\/p>\n \u201cOn three,\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n \u201cThree,\u201d Candy answered, lifting the narrow end and swinging wide to pivot the pine to the side of the road. Unfortunately, when he lost his footing on a patch of ice, the tree rolled knocking him down and trapping him on the snow packed ground.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you all right?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, nothing hurt but my pride. Fetch the hand axe from my saddle bags and chop these branches off me, will ya.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe worked quickly and soon he was able to pull Candy to his feet. When Candy turned around to pick up his hat, Joe commanded, \u201cTake off your pants.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy croaked, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou heard me,\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want to go to the dance or not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen do as I say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour pants caught on the branches and ripped.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the frigid weather, Candy felt heat creeping from his throat to his scalp and he mumbled incoherently.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s brow knitted together as he worked to decipher his friend\u2019s ramblings. When he thought he had the gist of it, he asked, \u201cWhich John? Ferguson or Stanfield?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot John\u2026long Johns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not wearing any!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot wear\u2014it\u2019s colder than a dead man\u2019s nose! You trying to freeze your cojones off?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo! That\u2019s why I\u2019m not removing my pants!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re an idiot. Why would you leave the ranch in December without long underwear on?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have a choice. We were late getting home this afternoon if you\u2019ll recall.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were both late but I managed to put my long johns on. What was your problem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI forgot it was laundry day and\u2026 all my clothes were frozen in the wash shed.\u201d Candy shrugged. \u201cI found this pair of pants in Adam\u2019s dresser and they fit\u2026 sort of… a little tight in the seat perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe stood stone faced with his arms folded across his chest and stared. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot roomier now,\u201d he said. Slowly, his shoulders began to heave, then his whole body shook. Finally, he threw his head back and let out cackling howl.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not funny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hilarious!\u201d Joe managed to say between guffaws. \u201cWait until I tell\u2014<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014you wouldn\u2019t dare!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, okay,\u201d he said, holding up one palm against the sky while the other one rested on his bent knee. As he straightened up, he handed the axe to Candy and walked back to Cochise.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you leaving me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting my saddle bags.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got spare pants in there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, but I do have a needle and thread.\u00a0\u00a0Start a fire with those branches while I mend your pants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd stand here stark naked while you do?\u201d<\/p>\n There was an edge of hysteria to the protest, Joe noted, so he untied Candy\u2019s bedroll and tossed it to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can wrap up in that while I stitch. Hurry up. We\u2019re losing the light.\u201d<\/p>\n As soon as the fire was roaring, Joe began mending the rip which traversed the seat of the pants in a straight line from the waistband to the crotch.\u00a0\u00a0He finished in no time and handed them back to Candy who held them up to the firelight.<\/p>\n \u201cHow old were you when you learned to stitch like this? I mean, I can cobble together a patch if needed, but I can\u2019t even see your stitches!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n Candy whistled. \u201cThat\u2019s young.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mama died the summer before I turned five. The week before the accident she had made me a new flannel shirt for Christmas.\u00a0\u00a0Since I didn\u2019t grow very fast, I was able to wear it for a couple of years more.\u00a0\u00a0One day Hoss and I were roughhousing in the barn and I caught the back on a nail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou break skin?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah. Pa was afraid of lockjaw and scrubbed the scratch hard with lye soap. Worse than a tanning, let me tell ya!\u00a0\u00a0I put up quite a fuss and in the ruckus someone threw the shirt away. It was the last thing she ever made me and I was inconsolable when I found it in the rag pile. Wailed louder than when I got scrubbed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOuch!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing repaired the shirt but he wouldn\u2019t give it to me until I learned how to do a ladder stitch to his satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWere you able to wear the shirt again?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded. \u201cIt was another year or two before I finally outgrew it. By then I\u2019d made a few more repairs, but that was okay because every time I put a needle into the fabric and pulled the thread through, I could feel Mama guiding my hand as if she were right there beside me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt the Army Posts I grew up on, the wives would give clothing to an orphanage when there were no more children in their own family to wear hand me downs. What happened to your shirt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI still have it. In winter I wrap the flannel around heated bricks to warm the bed.\u201d Joe gazed reflectively into the fire. \u201cThanks for helping me remember, Candy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, we\u2019re not that far past Franktown road. What do you say we backtrack and take the short cut?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAgreed. I don\u2019t know about you, but my bottom\u2019s frozen even with long johns on!\u201d<\/p>\n Candy kicked a mound of snow onto the fire to extinguish it. \u201cThe sooner we line up our dances, the sooner you can get home to that warm bed.\u201d\u00a0And your memories.<\/i><\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n Character:\u00a0\u00a0Joe Link to Day 11 of the Bonanza Brand 2021 Advent Calendar:\u00a0 Snow Angels – Pt 1 – by Sierras<\/a><\/p>\n
\n~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
\n* Day 10 *<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\nActivity: mending clothes<\/p>\n