Summary: Adam\u00a0is facing another\u00a0Christmas\u00a0a very long way from home\u00a0and family.\u00a0 Can Little Joe\u00a0grant his Christmas\u00a0wish?
\nWritten for Day 2 of the 2021 Advent Calendar
\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 Words:\u00a0 2850<\/p>\n
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Bonanza Reunion \u2013 part 2<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Adam flipped the sheets of the songbook closed as the last of the tune faded away. They had a few more places to go before they were done for the night, but his heart just wasn\u2019t in it. Grandfather had suggested it would be something good for him to get involved with and at first it had been a good distraction. College had finished for the year and many of his friends had returned to family for the break.<\/p>\n The carolers were moving on up the path to the next home on their list and Adam followed on at the end. Being one of the tallest and one of the deeper voices put him at the back of the group and he was glad for it as he didn\u2019t think he could muster much of a cheery face if he tried. Instead, he pulled his muffler up around his cheeks until it was time to sing and he slipped it down just enough to get the words out.<\/p>\n As the group began the favourite carol,\u00a0Joy to the World<\/em>, Adam felt it once again kick him in the stomach as it had each time they had sung it throughout the night. He was anything but joyful and he would have turned and headed for home if he hadn\u2019t promised Grandfather he would help an old friend with his church group and bolster their numbers. The candle in his hand was growing shorter and he was thankful they only had a few more houses to visit before they could all leave.<\/p>\n Finally, the last carol was sung in front of the last house and Adam turned to slip away. As he was almost at the end of the snow-laden path, he felt a hand on his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cMerry Christmas, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam turned to see the minister who had rounded up the group of carollers in the first place.<\/p>\n \u201cMerry Christmas to you too, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill we be seeing you at the midnight service or the morning service?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam had considered skipping both, but he knew Grandfather would not allow that, so he had reluctantly agreed to attend the morning service with him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be there in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood lad. I\u2019ll see you there. Thank you again for helping me out with the carolling this year. It was very much appreciated by me, and I know the families we visited all appreciated it too. You have a magnificent voice and it should be heard more often.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam tipped the brim of his hat and turned once again for the street. It wasn\u2019t a long walk to his grandfather\u2019s home, but the snow had increased overnight, and the path home was a major effort. As he trudged through the snow, it brought up memories of his family going out to select their tree each year. It could take hours to find the right one, cut it down and trim it before lashing it to the wagon and hauling it home.<\/p>\n As he walked, Adam remembered the first year they had an actual home to even put up a tree. Hoss was only a small child and they had selected a middle-sized pine. Nothing like the huge pines that had come in later years. It was the first year that Pa had brought out his mother\u2019s Christmas angel and gently placed it atop the tree. Adam had never seen it before, and he was intrigued with it every time he stopped to look at the hand-painted porcelain face.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mother made this herself the first Christmas we were married.\u201d<\/p>\n There was no explanation needed that it was the only Christmas they had together in their marriage. Every year, that angel was the last piece to be placed on the tree and the last to be removed. It was then carefully wrapped in wool and laid back into its crate for safekeeping until the following year.<\/p>\n Adam felt himself sigh as he walked. It was just a tree. With each step, he tried to convince himself of that. It was just a tree.<\/p>\n \u2026\u2026<\/p>\n Abel sat by the fire, watching the clock above the mantel. There had been no further snowfall since the day before and he knew his grandson was perfectly capable of getting himself home, but still, it was a grandfather\u2019s prerogative to worry if he wanted to. Finally, he heard the faint squeak of the front door and felt the cold draft as the wind blew in.<\/p>\n \u201cIn here, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComing, Grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam slid his gloves off and then took a few minutes to stomp the snow from his boots before pulling them off and sliding them under the bench. He shrugged out of his coat and unwound his long muffler before hanging them on the coat stand. Lastly, he pulled off his hat and dropped it onto its peg. He stared at his grandfather\u2019s items neatly stowed as always and he felt a deep tug as he recalled the extra hats and coats that hung by another door.<\/p>\n Adam schooled his face before padding across to the fireplace in his woollen socks and began to warm his hands.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019ll warm your insides, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam slipped down into the chair nearest the fireplace as Abel handed him a glass of brandy.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Abel watched as he sipped his own glass. The lad looked tired, but it was more than that. He\u2019d seen the parcel that had arrived and been placed under the tree, ready to be opened in the morning. No matter how he tried, he knew he was no substitute for a much-loved father and brothers. It was one of the reasons he\u2019d suggested the carolling group as it would mean interacting with other families, but as he looked at his grandson\u2019s face, he was beginning to wonder if it had been a good idea or not.<\/p>\n \u201cHow did the evening go?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe made it to each home as promised. The snow was pretty deep, but we got there in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t exactly the ringing endorsement that Abel had hoped for, but he knew better than to push the lad.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you get yourself warmed up there and then head on up to bed. Maisy put the bricks in already to warm for you before she went to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded in thanks as he knew their housekeeper would have made sure his fireplace was well tended too.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t forget we are going to service at nine.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam took another sip of his brandy.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. I\u2019ll be ready on time.\u201d<\/p>\n Abel pulled himself up from his chair and reached over to pat his grandson on the shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cGoodnight laddie. Sleep well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou too, Grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n Abel headed for the stairs and paused at the top landing. He glanced back in time to see Adam bow his head as his shoulders slumped. He fervently wished there was something he could do for the lad he loved so much, but the one thing he needed was impossible.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n Adam waited until his grandfather\u2019s footsteps faded away before propping his feet up on the hearth in front of the fire. They ached after hours of standing and walking through heavy snow but that wasn\u2019t the ache that he felt the most. As he stared into the flames of the fireplace, he felt himself drawing back into so many memories of so many evenings spent in front of another fireplace. He smiled to himself as he could hear his father\u2019s voice telling him to get his feet off the hearth.<\/p>\n \u201cPa would never let you do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam jumped at the sound from behind him and he spun around to see who was there.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe! What on earth are you \u2026\u201d The words froze on his lips as his little brother hurtled out of the darkness towards him.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam! Nick said we was comin\u2019 to see you, but I didn\u2019t really know if we could until we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe wrapped his arms around his brother\u2019s waist and clung on as tightly as he could. Adam reached down and grasped Joe\u2019s cheeks between his hands and raised his face upwards.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe? H ..how can you be here?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe grinned up at his brother\u2019s bewildered face and thumbed behind him. \u201cNick. He brought me here to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam found himself staring across the room at an enormous man dressed in a huge red coat trimmed with the whitest ermine fur he\u2019d ever seen. The man\u2019s grin matched Joe\u2019s as he nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cThis youngster wrote to me and asked me to bring him here. So I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head at the man\u2019s matter-of-fact explanation. They wanted him to believe that just like that, he\u2019d somehow brought his brother almost 3000 miles.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m dreaming! That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Adam. I\u2019m really here. You have to come and see Nick\u2019s sleigh!\u201d Joe began to tug at his brother\u2019s hand and Nick chuckled as he watched the array of conflicting emotions on the young man\u2019s face. Adam reluctantly allowed Joe to pull him into the foyer and he tugged his boots back on again. He was about to reach for his coat when Nick tapped him on the shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cNot that one. You need this one where we are going.\u201d He held out a red coat that matched the one his brother was wearing. It had a fur trimmed hood just like Joe\u2019s and he felt his fingers running across the ermine. It was the best he had ever come across and he\u2019d seen plenty of pelts in his life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s real good, Adam. You\u2019ll see. You need it. I even got new boots.\u201d Joe poked the toe of his boot out from under his coat and Nick laughed again. \u201cBut I guess yours are just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, those slippers of yours weren\u2019t much good, now were they?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSlippers?\u201d Adam still looked confused, and Joe took the coat from Nick\u2019s outstretched hand and pushed it towards his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I was in my nightshirt, but you ain\u2019t ready for bed yet so you just need a coat.\u00a0\u00a0Come on Adam. Hurry up! Nick\u2019s busy and he ain\u2019t got all night.\u201d<\/p>\n As Adam slipped the coat around his shoulders, it felt as though it had been tailored for him. Before he could ask another question, Joe had pulled the door open and headed outside into the snow, followed by Nick.<\/p>\n \u201cIn for a penny, in for a pound,\u201d he mumbled to himself as he stepped outside, not really knowing what to expect next. The sound of sleigh bells wasn\u2019t unusual across the city, so he didn\u2019t think too much of it at first until he looked around and realised there was no sleigh in sight.<\/p>\n Joe giggled from across the yard and pointed up towards the roof. As Adam turned to see what he was pointing at, he caught a glimpse of the first few reindeer, and he fell backwards into the snow.<\/p>\n Joe came running over through the snow and tugged at his arm.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, Adam. Don\u2019t be scared. They don\u2019t bite!\u201d<\/p>\n Before he could respond, Nick gave a whistle and suddenly the whole team floated down in front of him, and he found himself next to the most incredible sleigh he had ever seen. Joe was still tugging at his arm and Adam tried to stand in the deep snow. Nick had already climbed into the driver\u2019s seat and Joe was scrambling up beside him.<\/p>\n \u201cHurry up! Nick\u2019s still gotta get to Canada and I have to go home first.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam would have laughed at the absurdity of that comment if he hadn\u2019t been trying so hard to wake himself up and failing miserably. Finally, he pulled himself up into the seat with Joe sandwiched in between them. He felt the team run forward and suddenly lift up into the air. It wasn\u2019t possible and his logical brain was battling to explain it, but he was flying up into the skies over Boston!<\/p>\n He dared not lean too far over the edge to see the view below him when Joe laughed at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t fall out. Nick said ain\u2019t nobody ever fallen off his sleigh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood to know.\u201d<\/p>\n While he was still looking around in stunned amazement, Joe handed him a silver mug with steam swirling off the top of it. He could smell the chocolate before he got to tasting it and it smelled divine.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t tell him, but it\u2019s better than Hop Sing\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing. Suddenly Adam felt a wave of homesickness wash over him as he recalled how many mugs of hot cocoa, and later coffee, Hop Sing had brought him as he studied into the night.<\/p>\n \u201cHow is this possible?\u201d<\/p>\n Nick had said very little since they left the ground and he leaned over to look Adam in the face before winking at him.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing more powerful in the universe than love.\u201d<\/p>\n Nick leaned back in the seat and looked back to see how his team were doing. Not that they ever needed his help for this part.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s it? That\u2019s your answer for \u2026 for all this!\u201d Adam\u2019s arm swept out in a wide arc over the side of the sleigh.<\/p>\n Joe leaned up against Adam\u2019s arm and smiled. \u201cYep! I missed ya too much and I wrote to Saint Nicholas asking if I could come to Boston and see you for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam wrapped his arm across his brother\u2019s skinny shoulders and squeezed him.<\/p>\n \u201cI missed you too, little buddy. More than you could ever know.\u201d<\/p>\n As the reindeer swung in a wide loop around the city\u2019s outskirts, Joe suddenly sat upright and turned to Nick.<\/p>\n \u201cHey! I just remembered! You didn\u2019t come down our chimney or Adam\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n Nick laughed as he patted at his belly. \u201cDo you know how hard it is to hold this in and squeeze down every chimney in the world? Besides, I don\u2019t want to spoil this nice white fur, now do I?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s face scrunched as he thought on that. \u201cSo, you don\u2019t go down chimneys?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I do \u2026 and sometimes \u2026 well \u2026 there are lots of ways to get where I need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2026\u2026…………….<\/span><\/p>\n Adam awoke with a start, and he sat bolt upright in bed. He fumbled for the small timepiece he left on the bedside table and was relieved to see he hadn\u2019t slept in after all. It wouldn\u2019t do to make Grandfather be late to church on Christmas morning. He scrubbed a hand across his face and chuckled to himself as he recalled the dream he had just woken from. It was so vivid he could taste the residue of hot cocoa in his mouth. He smiled as he climbed out of bed and pushed his feet into his slippers before they hit the cold floor. In his dream, Joe was a little taller but otherwise was just as he remembered him. He still talked a good story and Adam found himself laughing outright at the ridiculous story he had spun about Saint Nicholas picking him up in a sleigh and bringing him across the entire continent before taking them both for a flight around Boston while drinking hot cocoa that came out of an impossible box! He would have to write it all down some time and send it back to his family. They would get a good laugh out of it for sure.<\/p>\n A momentary twinge of sadness crept over him as he wished it could have been true. As much as Grandfather had tried to provide a happy Christmas celebration for him the year before and no doubt, would do the same again this day, there was still an empty hole. He sighed to himself as he walked over to the washstand and reached for his razor. Suddenly, he pulled up short and stared at the top of the dresser.<\/p>\n It couldn\u2019t be! Could it?<\/p>\n Slowly, Adam reached out a hand and picked up the piece of greenery before lifting it to his nose and inhaling deeply. The piece of Ponderosa pine was as fresh as if it had been plucked from a tree just hours ago.<\/p>\n As he held it out to inspect it again, Adam remembered in the dream that Nick had pulled it out of his pocket as they flew back towards Grandfather\u2019s house. Adam looked into the mirror and smiled at his own reflection as he lifted the pine towards his nose again.<\/p>\n \u201cMerry Christmas, little buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2026\u2026…………….<\/p>\n Joe awoke with the smell of flapjacks wafting up the stairs. It didn\u2019t matter how early he woke up on Christmas morning, somehow Hop Sing was always ahead of him. He grinned as he recalled the dream from the night before and he threw back the covers to clamber out of bed. His feet hit the floor where his slippers usually sat, and he was surprised to find they weren\u2019t there. Instead, there was a pair of beautifully crafted black leather boots, lined with fur.<\/p>\n \u201cPA!!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Character: Adam<\/strong><\/p>\n Prompt:\u00a0<\/strong>drinking a hot beverage<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Link to Day 3 of the Bonanza Brand 2021 Advent Calendar:\u00a0 The Letter by Annie K Cowgirl<\/a><\/p>\n
\n~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
\n* Dsy 2 *<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n