Summary: A WHI for The Spitfire. When Joe brings Willow back to the Ponderosa, only one person understands what’s really happening.<\/p>\n
Rating: PG<\/p>\n
Word count: 4,380 words<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Taming the Spitfire<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n by pjb<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hop Sing heard the horses trot into the yard. Two or three, he wasn\u2019t sure, but more than just the one Cartwright who wasn\u2019t already home. Likely guests for supper, then. He made a quick assessment of his worktable where a bowl of potatoes and a pile of carrots waited to be washed. The trout Mister Hoss had caught earlier awaited their fate in a pail of water.<\/p>\n When no one called for him to make coffee for the guests, he pushed the curtain to one side, and his heart caught. His Little Joe, face streaked with dirt and soot and drawn with grief, stood with shoulders hunched as he talked with Mister Ben.<\/p>\n \u201cI killed her father,\u201d Little Joe said in a low voice.<\/p>\n The words pierced Hop Sing\u2019s heart like a dagger. He knew absolutely that however it had happened, Little Joe hadn\u2019t wanted to do it. Still, a man was dead. Not just a man, but a father. Hop Sing pushed the curtain aside a bit more. Two more horses. One with a body slung across it. The other with a dirty-faced barefoot girl astride. He peered more carefully. A rope bound her to the horse. He let the curtain drop and returned to his work.<\/p>\n Much talking in the yard. The girl screeched like an owl, but no one seemed to notice. Horses left; later, he looked out to see that the one with the body was gone. From the kitchen, he heard the struggle as the Cartwrights\u2014Mister Hoss and Little Joe, from the sounds of it\u2014brought the girl into the house and up the stairs, with her fighting every step of the way, yelling words no lady ever used.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t heard Mister Ben come into the kitchen. \u201cYes, Mister Cahtlight.\u201d His Rs had never been very good.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you heat some water? Our guest will be taking a bath.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMissy no sound like she want bath.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, she needs it.\u201d Mister Ben turned to go.<\/p>\n \u201cLi\u2019l Joe need food?\u201d It was the first thing he thought to offer.<\/p>\n Mister Ben turned back. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s hungry right now.\u201d Hop Sing waited without comment. \u201cThe girl\u2019s father\u2014he was going to burn off some land. Would have killed a lot of people living up in those hills. Little Joe stopped him. He drew on Joe, and Joe shot him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGirl have family?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe says she mentioned her kin. No idea where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing make food for girl?\u201d<\/p>\n Mister Ben smiled slightly. \u201cI\u2019m not sure she\u2019s interested in food right now. I sent one of the men to bring Missus Shaughnessy out. She\u2019ll help the girl get cleaned up. We\u2019ll see how things go after that.\u201d<\/p>\n Missus Shaughnessy lived in Virginia City. She wouldn\u2019t be here for hours. \u201cHop Sing make food for girl.\u201d<\/p>\n Mister Ben looked as if he was going to say something, but stopped himself. \u201cGo ahead,\u201d he said instead.<\/p>\n After Mister Ben left the kitchen, Hop Sing studied his worktable. A girl with a newly dead father needed something gentle on the stomach. He trundled down to the root cellar to fetch a jar of the broth he\u2019d made the last time he thinned out the flock of chickens. While the broth heated, he mixed flour and water in one bowl, and he beat two eggs in another. When the broth was ready, he drizzled the flour\/water mixture into the broth, stirring until the soup was just the right thickness. Then, he swirled the eggs into the soup to make egg flowers. He cut two slices from the loaf of bread he\u2019d made this morning and spread the last of the strawberry jam on them. He darted outside and plucked a few of the flowers in his little garden at the side of the house, and he placed them in a glass of water. He draped a tray with a cloth, and he arranged everything. Then, he carried the tray up the stairs.<\/p>\n Mister Hoss and Little Joe stood in the hall outside the guest room. They wore an expression he\u2019d seen many, many times when they were boys and had gotten themselves into something they couldn\u2019t even begin to manage. \u201cWhat you do!\u201d he snapped in his best authoritative voice.<\/p>\n \u201cSee, there\u2019s this girl, Willow, and she\u2019s meaner than a snake\u2014\u201d Mister Hoss began.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing take food.\u201d He reached for the door latch.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t do that,\u201d said Little Joe. \u201cShe\u2019s liable to throw it at you.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing paused. There was no sound from inside the room. \u201cGirl in here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think so,\u201d said Hoss. \u201c\u2019Less she\u2019s gone out the window.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked alarmed. \u201cYou think she has? We should check.\u201d He darted past Hop Sing and clattered down the stairs with Mister Hoss close behind.<\/p>\n Hop Sing tapped on the door. \u201cMissy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou go away! I\u2019ll kill you! I\u2019ll kill you all!\u201d came a screech from inside.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing bring food.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want food! I don\u2019t want nothing! Let me go!\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing was torn. He was accustomed to the Cartwrights\u2014especially Little Joe\u2014claiming they didn\u2019t want any food and then eating it when he pressed them, but this was a stranger. Not just any stranger\u2014a lady. A white lady. Everything in him warned him not to presume, but something in her voice sounded\u2014he couldn\u2019t put his finger on it, but she wasn\u2019t just outraged.<\/p>\n So he lifted the latch and entered the room.<\/p>\n \u201cGet out of here! Get out! I\u2019ll kill you!\u201d She looked as if she wanted to charge at him, but she was tied to a chair.<\/p>\n Tied?<\/em><\/p>\n Hop Sing stood perfectly still, holding the tray, as the girl railed at him. He knew now what he heard on top of the rage. The girl was heartbroken. Grief-stricken. And terrified.<\/p>\n Then he heard Hoss and Little Joe clumping back up the stairs. Swiftly, he turned and closed the door. \u201cStay outside!\u201d he snapped as he heard them arrive, and to his relief, they did.<\/p>\n He turned back to the girl who was still screaming. He didn\u2019t flinch as she cursed at him and called him the same awful names he\u2019d been called countless times by other white people. He\u2019d heard these words enough to know when they were truly meant to wound. This was a desperate child, an orphan using whatever feeble weapons she could muster to protect herself from these strangers\u2014one of whom had killed her father. He didn\u2019t doubt she knew Little Joe had acted in self-defense, nor did he doubt that it didn\u2019t matter a whit to her now.<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t have said how long he waited until her shrieks began to fade. The soup was likely getting cold. Finally, she was quiet.<\/p>\n \u201cMissy want food?\u201d he suggested without moving closer.<\/p>\n She considered him. \u201cHow do I know you ain\u2019t poisoning me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing no poison.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked so tired. Such a hard day she\u2019d had. Still, she wasn\u2019t letting her guard down all the way, not yet. \u201cHow do I know?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing set the tray on the dresser. He picked up the spoon, dipped it into the soup, and ate it. \u201cSee? No poison.\u201d<\/p>\n Grudgingly, the girl said, \u201cGimme that.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing considered the ropes tying her to the chair. If he untied her, she could get loose and run away. If he didn\u2019t untie her, she couldn\u2019t eat.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Hop Sing! Everything okay?\u201d Little Joe called from the other side of the door.<\/p>\n The voice of his employer reminded him of his place. To the girl he said, \u201cHop Sing sorry, no can untie.\u201d The fire in her eyes began to flare up, but he brought a stool over and sat next to her. He spooned up soup and held the spoon to her lips. For a moment, he thought she might use her head to knock it away, but then she opened her mouth like a baby bird and allowed him to feed her. Her eyes never left his face as she ate, but she finished the soup and the bread. Partway through her meal, tears began to spill down her cheeks, but she said nothing and so neither did Hop Sing. He just kept feeding her.<\/p>\n When the bowl and the plate were empty, he stacked them on the tray. The tears had left clean tracks on her dirty face. Without comment, he dipped the napkin in the pitcher of water on the washstand in the corner. Then, he wiped her tears, and she didn\u2019t try to stop him.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing sorry for loss of father,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The mention of her father seemed to remind her why she was in this place. \u201cYou get out of here!\u201d she shrieked, her rage rekindled as she strained at the ropes binding her hands and feet. Hop Sing merely picked up the tray and left the room.<\/p>\n In the hall, Hoss and Little Joe were still waiting. \u201cYou okay?\u201d asked Hoss.<\/p>\n Hop Sing looked from one to another. The girl was still screaming. They meant well\u2014he knew them well enough not to doubt it\u2014but they didn\u2019t understand, not at all. Without answering, he carried the tray down to the kitchen to start supper.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n The potatoes were roasting when the buckboard arrived bearing Missus Shaughnessy. She was a no-nonsense white lady Hop Sing had encountered a number of times over the years. She barely noticed him when they passed on the street even though he always stopped to bow. On occasion, she came out to the Ponderosa when Hop Sing was away, and without fail, he returned to find his pots and pans and knives and bowls in the wrong places. He mumbled to himself as he reorganized his kitchen, but he never said anything about it to the Cartwrights.<\/p>\n The large kettle of bath water had spent the afternoon heating. Missus Shaughnessy had apparently ordered Mister Hoss into the barn for some purpose. Little Joe hauled the bathtub upstairs, and then he hauled up buckets and buckets of water.<\/p>\n At one point, Hop Sing padded out to Mister Ben\u2019s desk. He stood silently until Mister Ben looked up from his papers. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Mister Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cGirl sad,\u201d said Hop Sing. \u201cVery sad. Very scared.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s also very wild,\u201d said Mister Ben. \u201cShe tried to kill Little Joe after he shot her father.\u201d<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t sound like an unreasonable reaction to Hop Sing, but Mister Ben seemed to think it was, which was peculiar. Still, Mister Ben was very smart with a big heart. If he thought the girl needed to be tied up, Hop Sing would not interfere.<\/p>\n Back in the kitchen, Hop Sing heard thumping and yelling from upstairs. He peeked out the window to see Mister Hoss carrying a wooden contraption with a hole in it. Hop Sing had never seen anything like it. He waited until the front door closed, and then he scurried up the stairs behind Mister Hoss.<\/p>\n No one noticed as he stood in the doorway, mouth agape. Missus Shaughnessy was barking orders like a general as Little Joe poured buckets into the tub and Mister Hoss peered through the hole in the wooden contraption. Missus Shaughnessy told him to put it over the tub. The girl was pounding on the door to the little side room, hollering and demanding to be released.<\/p>\n Mister Hoss and Little Joe sounded as if they were worried about Missus Shaughnessy, as if she might get hurt. Missus Shaughnessy told them not to worry in a voice that made a shiver run down Hop Sing\u2019s spine. He slipped around the corner, his back pressed to the wall as Mister Hoss and Little Joe came out of the room and closed the door.<\/p>\n The shouting got louder. So did the thumping. The girl screeched, \u201cLeave me alone!\u201d Missus Shaughnessy\u2019s sharp tone wasn\u2019t as easy to decipher, but moments later, the door opened and her hand held out what looked like a small pile of rags. \u201cBurn this,\u201d she said, and slammed the door.<\/p>\n Hop Sing stared at the rags. It was the dress the girl had been wearing earlier. Still dirty, and now torn. The woman had taken away the girl\u2019s clothes. The screeching escalated to a full-blown howl as water splashed, and then he heard what sounded like a person underwater who was trying to yell for help.<\/p>\n Without thinking, Hop Sing flung open the door. \u201cYou stop!\u201d<\/p>\n Missus Shaughness was sitting on top of the wooden contraption which in turn sat atop the tub. Hop Sing could hear the splashing. The girl poked her head up through the hole, and Missus Shaughnessy pushed it back down.<\/p>\n The evil man pushed Yu Yan beneath the water. . . .<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cStop! Stop!\u201d Hop Sing shouted, his voice shrill with frantic.<\/p>\n Missus Shaughnessy barely looked at him. \u201cGet out,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re fine here!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot fine! Not fine!\u201d Never in his life had Hop Sing spoken this way to a white person\u2014especially a white lady\u2014but all he could think of was the tears running down the girl\u2019s face as he fed her soup, and Yu Yan. \u201cYou go! Leave!\u201d He grabbed her plump arm and flung her away from the tub, from the girl, barely noticing as she slammed into the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the\u2014don\u2019t you you tell me what to do, you little servant!\u201d Missus Shaughnessy was on her feet. \u201cYou get down there!\u201d she added to the girl, who had poked her head up again, and Missus Shaughnessy planted her ample bottom on the contraption.<\/p>\n \u201cNo! No!\u201d Hop Sing flung himself at her again, but she was bigger than he and she stayed put.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Mister Ben demanded as he ran up the stairs, Mister Hoss and Little Joe on his heels.<\/p>\n \u201cYour little Chinese boy\u2019s trying to interfere with my work!\u201d Missus Shaughnessy said while the girl wailed and Missus Shaughnessy kept pushing her head down and Hop Sing tried to wrestle her off the contraption.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Ben, no! No let lady do this! Girl so scared!\u201d Hop Sing struggled to find the English words to explain. \u201cNo drown girl! Girl scared!\u201d He knocked the evil white lady off the contraption and this time he flung himself on her to keep her from climbing back up.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, Miz Shaughnessy said\u2014\u201d Mister Hoss began.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, all right, everybody hush!\u201d thundered Mister Ben. \u201cWhat in tarnation is that girl doing in there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiz Shaughnessy needed to give her a bath,\u201d said Little Joe.<\/p>\n Mister Ben looked incredulous. Hop Sing could see him struggling for words. Before he could speak, Missus Shaughnessy said, \u201cYour boys said you want me to clean her up. Now do you or don\u2019t you? Because if you don\u2019t, I can leave.\u201d She shoved Hop Sing aside and moved as if to get back on top of the contraption.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, wait.\u201d Mister Ben held out his hand, and Missus Shaughnessy stayed in place.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Ben.\u201d Hop Sing could hardly make his voice heard.<\/p>\n Mister Ben turned to him. \u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d he said. \u201cThe girl is fine. Missus Shaughnessy won\u2019t hurt her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. No. Mister Ben\u2014no.\u201d But he had lost, he knew he had. The girl was in the dark water, frightened and grieving, and he could do nothing to help. Yu Yan would die, and it would be his fault.<\/p>\n Then, something exploded inside him. Hop Sing slammed into Missus Shaughnessy with all his might, knocking her to the floor again. \u201cBad lady! Bad, bad lady!\u201d he shouted. As Missus Shaughnessy yelled and the Cartwrights lunged into the room, Hop Sing pivoted and pulled the contraption off the tub.<\/p>\n The eyes of the naked girl in the tub grew large and round. \u201cAaaaaaack!\u201d she screamed. As one, the Cartwright men turned around, their instinctive chivalry asserting itself. As Missus Shaughnessy got to her feet, Hop Sing moved in front of the girl, blocking everyone\u2019s view. Trembling, but without looking at her, he held out a towel. He felt the girl take it from his hand. Thus assured, and with a fury he hadn\u2019t known since that awful day so long ago, he yelled, \u201cOut! Everybody out!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cListen to me, you little\u2014\u201d Missus Shaughnessy began.<\/p>\n \u201cOUT! OUT! EVERYBODY OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!\u201d Hop Sing bellowed, the shrill note in his voice betraying everything.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on,\u201d said Mister Ben, holding out his hand to Missus Shaughnessy without turning enough to see the girl. Sputtering, the lady allowed Mister Ben to help her to her feet. Hop Sing heard her muttering decidedly unladylike things as everyone left. He closed the door after them. Then, when the room was quiet, he said, \u201cHop Sing turn around?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I\u2019m decent.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing turned. The towel barely covered the parts a lady would want covered. He took all the other towels stacked on the wash stand and set them next to the tub. \u201cMissy finish bath. Hop Sing make sure nobody else come in.\u201d Just as he lifted the latch, he heard the quietest words.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, mister.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing not mister. Hop Sing just Hop Sing.\u201d He opened the door and went out into the hall, closing it firmly behind him and crossing his arms as he stood in front of it as if daring anyone to come near.<\/p>\n He could hear Missus Shaughnessy downstairs, haranguing Mister Ben about Hop Sing, her nasal voice making his ears hurt. How rude he was, she said. How awful. How that little Chinese man not know his place. Hop Sing know his place,<\/em> he wanted to say. His place was to protect the ones who needed him. No, this girl wasn\u2019t a Cartwright, but she still needed him. She was an orphan, all alone. She had nobody. She needed Hop Sing.<\/p>\n When he had waited long enough, he tapped on the door. \u201cHop Sing come in?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n He opened the door. The girl perched on the very edge of the bed, as covered with towels as she could manage. His eyes downcast, he approached her. When he could see her bare feet, he held out the brown robe he had retrieved from Little Joe’s room. \u201cMissy wear this until Hop Sing find better.\u201d He was careful not to look up as she stood. When the towels had fallen to the floor and he saw the hem of the brown robe in place, he picked up the wet towels and nodded his head, still not looking up.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, mister?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled. No one had ever called him that. \u201cYes, Missy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy name\u2019s Willow.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded, still facing away from her. \u201cMissy Willow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Hop Sing\u2014thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMister Ben, Mister Hoss, Little Joe\u2014they mean well.\u201d He wasn\u2019t going to say a word for Missus Shaughnessy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat boy killed my pa.\u201d Her voice broke.<\/p>\n Hop Sing turned then. Tears streaked the girl\u2019s now-clean cheeks. She looked so tiny, so alone. Hop Sing knew how she felt. Something in him wanted to hold her, to let her cry on his shoulder, but he could not. He was a servant, she was a guest. She was white, he was Chinese. So he gave her what he could: \u201cHe not want to. He have no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d Her voice was barely a whisper. \u201cBut Pa\u2019s still dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing nodded to show he knew, he understood. He moved past her to turn down the covers. \u201cMissy take nap? Hard, hard day. Missy need rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn this?\u201d Her mouth dropped open.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Missy bed while she on Ponderosa. Missy sleep here.\u201d<\/p>\n She laid her hand on the coverlet. \u201cI never slept in a bed like this.\u201d Her eyes darted side to side, an animal frightened of dropping its guard.<\/p>\n \u201cMissy safe,\u201d Hop Sing said. \u201cHop Sing make sure.\u201d He moved to the windows and drew the drapes.<\/p>\n The tears welled up in her eyes again. \u201cThanks, Mister Hop Sing,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n When Hop Sing reached the bottom of the stairs, there was no sign of Missus Shaughnessy. Mister Ben was at his desk, watching him come down. His heart began to pound, but then he caught a whiff and bolted for the kitchen.<\/p>\n The potatoes were almost burned, but not quite. Right on the edge of too much, but he could serve them and not be ashamed. He moved them to a bowl and covered it. Luckily, the carrots were still simmering. Mushier than he liked, but also good enough. He drained them and placed them in another bowl. Then he set to work cleaning the trout, and he pretended that he did not hear Mister Ben come into the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cMissus Shaughnessy left,\u201d said Mister Ben when Hop Sing didn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n Good<\/em>, Hop Sing thought, but did not say.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to tell me what that was all about?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing gave Mister Ben his most innocent look. It should work. He\u2019d learned from watching his Little Joe. It almost always worked for Little Joe. He would never have admitted, but sometimes Little Joe could even make it work on Hop Sing.<\/p>\n He knew Mister Ben wasn\u2019t here to scold or lecture. They\u2019d had plenty of arguments in their time, he and Mister Ben. Enough that Hop Sing knew the difference. Number Four Cousin said Mister Ben and Hop Sing were more like an old married couple than master and servant. Hop Sing scolded Number Four Cousin for being disrespectful, but Hop Sing also knew no other white man would allow him to speak his mind so freely.<\/p>\n Mister Ben stood quietly, waiting. He did this with Little Joe, too. It meant the innocent look hadn\u2019t worked. Without looking up, Hop Sing said, \u201cGirl so scared. So sad. Orphan need kind, not Shaughnessy.\u201d<\/p>\n Mister Ben was silent for a long minute. \u201cWe thought we were doing what was best for her,\u201d he said finally.<\/p>\n Hop Sing looked up then. \u201cHop Sing know. But this time, Mister Ben wrong.\u201d He said it with the utmost respect, but they both knew he was right.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGirl sleep. Very tired. Hard day.\u201d<\/p>\n Mister Ben nodded. \u201cWhat did you do with her dress?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing almost let himself smile. Mister Ben was so practical. \u201cDress need wash, mend. Maybe better for new one.\u201d He didn\u2019t want to ask, but he had to: \u201cLady bring dress?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe did.\u201d Mister Ben smiled. \u201cDo you want to take it up to her? She may want to get dressed for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMissy Willow likely sleep through supper. Hop Sing take dress up later, leave in room for morning.\u201d He could see the question in Mister Ben\u2019s eyes, and he answered it. \u201cHop Sing give her Little Joe robe to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure that\u2019ll be fine with him,\u201d said Mister Ben. A daring response darted through Hop Sing\u2019s mind, but he did not say it. He and Mister Ben might be like an old married couple, but Hop Sing knew where the lines were drawn.<\/p>\n Mister Ben left the kitchen, and Hop Sing focused on cleaning the trout. He blinked hard as he maneuvered the knife. It wouldn\u2019t do to think about that day. About Yu Yan, with her beautiful smile, her delicate hands, her exquisite spirit. How Hop Sing, who loved her so, tried so hard to protect her from the evil men. How the evil men seized Hop Sing and beat him and held him back, forcing him to see as they did such horrible things to her. How Hop Sing struggled, helpless, wailing in despair, as they held her under the water until she never came up. How Hop Sing\u2019s heart was forever broken.<\/p>\n Never would Hop Sing stand by and let anyone\u2014not even the Cartwrights\u2014treat a poor girl with anything other than kindness. It did not matter that they meant well, that they would never do to anyone what the evil men did that day. This girl had no one. She needed help. She needed kindness. She needed someone to hold her, someone who could tell her that tomorrow, the sun would come up and the world would go on, and one day, she would be happy again.<\/p>\n Hop Sing could not hold her; he knew that. He could not tell her the sun would come up and the world would go on, because her father was still dead. He could not tell her she would be happy someday, because she had no reason to believe him. He barely believed it himself.<\/p>\n But he could give her food and a robe. He could show her kindness. He could make sure Mister Ben and his boys did the same. He could keep the likes of Missus Shaughnessy away. He could keep her safe.<\/p>\n He put the skillet on the stove. From the living room, Mister Hoss grumbled about supper being late. Let him grumble. Hop Sing had important things to tend to.<\/p>\n \u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing nodded, his focus still on the trout.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you\u2014can you just tell her I\u2019m sorry, and I didn\u2019t want to do it?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing looked up then. His Little Joe stood in the doorway. No tears in his eyes, but tears in his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe Li\u2019l Joe tell.\u201d His voice was gentle. \u201cMean more.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe stood in the doorway for a long minute. \u201cI guess you\u2019re right,\u201d he said at last.<\/p>\n Hop Sing set down the cleaver he used to chop the trout into pieces. He held out his hands. In the sacred privacy of Hop Sing\u2019s kitchen, his Little Joe did what he would never, ever have done anywhere else: he moved into Hop Sing\u2019s arms and clung to his friend for a long minute, the boy’s lean body shuddering. Then they released each other, and Little Joe whispered, \u201cThanks,\u201d and he slipped out of the kitchen as silent as a shadow.<\/p>\n Hop Sing flung a chunk of butter onto the skillet. He nodded appreciatively as it sizzled. \u201cSupper almost ready!\u201d he shouted. He placed the trout pieces in the skillet, and as his family splashed in the bathhouse, he watched the trout carefully to make sure it didn\u2019t burn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ****************<\/p>\n Disclaimer: The characters aren’t mine (other than Yu Yan), but the story is. Not making a dime off any of it.<\/p>\n