Colorado Springs- Day 6
Ethan's Surprise
Summary:The family has been visiting Colorado Springs for nearly a week. The trip has been exciting and adventurous for the children. Ethan has been busy entertaining the children after his business dealings were finished. They have met many people on their trip to the city including a Judge.
Colorado Springs Hotel:
Ethan and the children are having lunch in the hotel dining room. The children are trying salmon for the first time. Their lunch consists of baked salmon, soup and cake for dessert. Ben is already eating his cake when a messenger boy appears in the doorway.
"This cake is so good, George. We have to find out how to make this kind of cake so Claire can make it. What's it called again Claire?"
"German Chocolate Cake is the name of it. I like it too, Ben. I'll ask at the boarding house and see if Mrs. Carmichael knows how to make it."
Noticing her youngest brother is playing 'push the pieces of fish around the plate,' she scolds "George, you are playing not eating. You know you need to finish your meal or you can't have cake."
"I don't like this fish, Claire. It's not very good. Can I stop now? I ate half of it."
"George, finish your vegetables and drink all of your milk and I'll let you have dessert." Ethan answers before Claire can scold the boy further.
"Yes Papa. I don't like those green vegetables though. They taste yucky!"
"That is broccoli and you ate some the other night. So, eat them anyway or no cake for you today."
"I don't want it! I'm not going to eat it either! It's YUCKY and makes my tummy hurt!" George answers, lower lip stuck out.
"Very well then, you will miss this delicious cake. Ben and I love it, remember? I sure wouldn't want to miss dessert just because I couldn't quickly swallow two broccoli pieces." Claire tells her little brother hoping to keep him from being in trouble.
"Yeah George! I bet you can eat those so fast no one will even see you. Do it fast. I'll count and you take one and eat it. Ready? One, Two..." Ben says trying to help his brother.
Smiling at his niece and nephew as he watches the youngest chew the "yucky" vegetables, he thinks how lucky he is to have help with parenting. He is learning from the children how to parent better. Seeing Joseph not involved with his brother or sister he wonders if the boy is upset over the night before. Perhaps he didn't handle that the best way and should have talked more before punishing him.
"Joseph?"
"Sir?" Joseph responds jerking a little at his name being called.
"You are very quiet today. Is there something bothering you?"
"No sir, I'm just tired, I suppose." Joseph answers noticing a young man about sixteen come into the room. He's wearing some kind of uniform with a blue jacket with two long rows of gold buttons, blue pants and a cap. While Joseph is watching, the young man takes of his cap and removes an envelope.
"Mr. Cord?" The boy calls looking around the room.
"Yes?" Ethan answers standing up from the table.
"I have a message for you from Judge Henry, sir." Ethan takes the envelope, opens it and reads the message to himself.
"Well, Children it seems as if something important has come up. Judge Henry needs me to come to his office this afternoon. I should be back in a couple of hours."
"Boys?" He waits until Joseph, Ben and George are looking at him. "Remember our rules for the hotel and be on your best behavior."
"When I get back we'll all go to Mrs. Kennedy's soda shop for ice cream. Enjoy the rest of your lunch. I'll see you later." Ethan tells the children.
Walking outside of the hotel, Ethan finds a carriage is already waiting to take him to the Judge's office. When he arrives, he is told the Judge has been delayed and will see him in an hour.
The Judge's Chambers:
"Mr. Cord, thank you for coming this afternoon. I do apologize for making you wait again today. I never know what's going to come up. I do think this news will be worth waiting for." Judge Henry says smiling.
"After you came the first day, I sent some telegrams to St. Louis asking about your brother- in -law. I received word from the sheriff there. It seems Mr. Carroll was caught cheating at cards on a riverboat near St. Louis. He was shot and killed. The sheriff reported there were several witnesses. Your brother -in -law was going by the name of Adam Campbell at the time."
"How do you know it's the same man if he had a different name?" Ethan asks curiously.
"His personal belongings were returned to the sheriff's office in St. Louis when the boat docked the next day. There was a wallet with the name Robert Carroll inside it and a pocket watch. The watch has an inscription inside. The Inscription reads "To my husband Robert on our wedding day. Love, your wife, Lucille Cord Carroll. We can arrange to have the watch sent to you if you would like to have it."
Ethan asks "When was he killed?"
"It happened in February year before last. Apparently no one tried to find his wife. My assumption would be the authorities didn't know if he was from St. Louis or elsewhere. The belongings were handed over to the closest authorities and that happened to be St. Louis. It seems your sister never contacted anyone about her husband having left and not returned. Most likely because she didn't want anyone to know."
Ethan says "Lucy died in August of last year. The theater troupe Lucy traveled with just kept the children with them as they worked. The children came home with me at the end of October. It took some time to arrange transportation of their belongings after I finally received word and found them. We arrived back in Paradise at the end of November."
"It's fortunate for you the troupe was so kind. The children could have been placed in an orphanage or sent on an orphan train to who knows where! Now, in case you haven't realized, this clears the way for you to legally adopt the children. We can sign the papers tomorrow. I'd like all of the children to sign also. It makes it special for them. If you will bring them by around 9:00 in the morning, I will have everything ready."
"If you are sure you want the children here then they will be here on time. Is there any way to have this done earlier? I don't want a repeat of the behavior the boys pulled the last time they had to wait. I'm learning that children under ten are not able to stay quiet very long." Ethan replies.
"I don't schedule appointments until 10:00 each morning so we will not have any interruptions. You are doing a wonderful job with the children. They are polite, well spoken, inquisitive as most children should be and they already think of you as their parent."
"Thank you Judge Henry, for the reassurance and for going to so much trouble to help me adopt the children." Ethan says as he shakes the Judge's hand before leaving to go back to the hotel.
Colorado Springs Hotel
Just after Ethan left, George became sick to his stomach. Joseph and Claire have been busy taking care of him. Ben takes this opportunity to sneak out. He has a plan for more adventure.
Ben is at the top of the staircase watching the lobby. He has figured out Mr. Jackson goes to lunch at the same time every day. Mr. Jackson has lunch from twelve to one o'clock. Looking at the tall grandfather clock in the lobby, Ben sees the big hand on six and the little hand a little past twelve. Remembering Claire's lessons with the pocket watch, he realizes it is twelve thirty. Ben decides this is his chance to slide down the banister without getting caught. Especially since Joseph and Claire are busy with George.
"Good!" Ben says to himself after checking below once more. "All clear."
He climbs up on the banister, sitting backwards, places his hands on it, pushes off and slides quickly down to the bottom. Giggling to himself, he jumps down and runs back up to do that again.
"Wow, that's fun! I whooshed down so fast! I think that is what it feels like to fly! It's too bad George is sick or he could do it too." Ben thinks. He makes sure no one is watching and climbs on again.
This time about half way down he almost slips off but manages to hold on. "Whew! That was close. Can't lean to the side like that again. If I fall off someone will hear and I'll get caught!" he thinks as he's sliding down.
Ben doesn't notice Joseph watching at the top of the stairs or Mr. Jackson watching from the doorway of the dining room. Just as he jumps down off the banister he hears Joseph call "Ben!"
He walks back up the stairs to his older brother with his best innocent look on his face.
"Yes, Joseph? Did you want me for something?"
Joseph looks at his brother sternly. "What were you doing on those stairs?"
"Nothing, just walking." says Ben
"What have you been up to, Ben? You've been gone so long that Claire is getting worried." When Ben doesn't answer him, Joseph says in a stern tone "BEN!"
"What?" Ben asks trying to think up an answer.
"I asked you what you've been doing. Were you sliding down the stairs again? You know Uncle Ethan said not to play on the stairs. Were you playing on that banister?"
"No Joseph, don't be silly. I didn't play on the stairs. You know we're not allowed to slide down on the banisters!" Ben answers walking past his irritable brother to go into their room before Joseph can ask him anything else.
Feeling slightly guilty about lying to Joseph, he thinks. "I didn't really mean to lie, it just came out. I didn't plan to almost get caught on that banister either. I sure hope Joseph didn't see me or I'll be in big trouble!" As he goes to talk to George in their room, he thinks "I sure hope Joseph doesn't ask me any more questions."
"What is it, Joseph?" Claire asks him as he comes in to the room looking upset. "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, and I'm not sure what to do." Joseph says
"Claire, I just saw Ben sliding down the banister. When I confronted him about it, he lied to me. I asked him if he had been playing on the banister or the stairs and he told me "No".
"Oh, Joseph, Uncle Ethan's going to be just furious when he hears about this." He's told the boys to stay off that banister so many times since we came here."
"Yes, I know. It seems like he's told Ben not to play on that banister every day since we've been here." Joseph says glumly. "Claire, I am afraid Uncle Ethan's going to whip Ben for this. Especially, since he lied about being on it. I really don't want to tell Uncle Ethan about it."
"Joseph, you have to tell him. Ben did something he was told not to do and it was very dangerous. If he isn't stopped, he'll probably try it again. He might hurt himself badly the next time! Joseph, Ben was just so lucky he didn't fall off!" Claire tells him.
"You're right, I guess. Uncle Ethan is going to be upset and I just hope it isn't with me for not watching him."
"I don't think he'll be upset with you. You were taking care of George. So, when are you going to tell Uncle Ethan? " Claire asks
"I'm going to wait until AFTER we go to the ice cream shop to tell him. That way he won't cancel our trip." Joseph answers grinning a little.
"Okay, I guess it won't hurt to wait. It might even be good for Ben to let his conscience bother him for a little while. We can come back and get ready for bed before Uncle Ethan explodes." Claire says
"Yeah I know what you mean. I'm really glad I'm not the one who is in trouble this time! Two whippings in one week is all I can take!" Joseph says grinning.
The Ice Cream Shop
George, Joseph and Claire are all enjoying their ice cream sodas. Ben is sitting looking at his and not drinking much. George asks "Claire, will you go ask Mrs. Kennedy how to make ice cream sodas? I want to be able to have some when we get back home."
"Wouldn't that be fun, Ben?" He asks. Ben doesn't answer he seems to be busy thinking.
Ethan answers George "We can't make ice cream sodas on the ranch, son. We don't have any way to keep ice cream frozen even if we knew how to make it."
Ethan looks over at Ben. He has noticed how quiet the boy has been since they left the hotel. "Ben?" he asks seeing Ben jump at the sound of his name.
"Sir?"
"You're so quiet this afternoon, what is it that's bothering you? Did you feel sick from the fish the way George did?"
Ben says quickly "Oh, I'm not bothered or sick, I was thinking about going home. When are we leaving?"
Ethan answers "We have tomorrow and then we'll leave the following morning. We are going to meet with Judge Henry again at 9:00 in the morning, and then I have a few things I need to do. After that we will see what we want to do for our last day in the big city. You can all think about it and tell me tomorrow what you might want to do."
"I want to see that carnival we walked past the other day!" George answers quickly.
"I'll keep that in mind, George. Now that we're all finished with our ice cream, I think you should go thank Mrs. Kennedy for giving us these free sodas. We won't be able to come back before we leave."
The children all go to thank Mrs. Kennedy. George tells her as he gives her a hug "If I had a Grandma, I'd want her to be just like you, Mrs. Kennedy." Mrs. Kennedy has to wipe away tears at this statement.
"I hope you all have a safe trip home and you must come back to see me. Mr. Cord, you must bring these children back to see me again next summer."
"I'll do the best I can. Thank you for being so kind to the children." Ethan tells her.
That Night Back At The Hotel
Claire takes Ben and George into their room to read to them for a while before getting ready for bed. She knows Joseph wants to talk to their Uncle alone. Joseph goes to talk to Ethan.
Joseph knocks on his Uncle's bedroom door. "Can I talk to you a minute, Uncle Ethan?" he asks when Ethan opens the door. "Yes, Joseph. Come in and tell me what's been bothering you all afternoon."
Joseph looks at him in surprise. "How did you know there was something bothering me?"
"I know you well. I can always tell when you're upset about something. You were very quiet at lunch and also at the Soda Shop. Now, let's hear it. Have you done something to get yourself in trouble?" Ethan asks
"No, Sir! I'm not the one who messed up this time! It's Ben. He lied to me today. I saw him playing on the banister on the stairs. Claire and I were helping George and when I missed Ben I went looking. He was about halfway down by the time I saw him. He doesn't know I caught him. When I asked him if he'd been playing on the banister, he told me "No". Ethan's eyes are dark and snapping by this time.
"Are you mad because I didn't watch him good enough? I try too, sir. Claire needed me to help with George. I can get him to sleep if I read to him. He says it was the fish that hurt his stomach but Claire says he wasn't feeling good before that. She just knows these things and I don't know how."
"No son, you do a good job. Ben is the one who caused this trouble. Claire does seem to understand the boys better than I do, that's true. That must be why he was irritable at lunch today."
Just then Claire came to the door. "Uncle Ethan, Mr. Jackson is in the hallway. He wants to see you."
When Ethan entered the hall Mr. Jackson said "Mr. Cord, I came to inform you I will not be paying any doctor bills for your badly behaved child. I saw him slide down my banister today and he almost slipped off. You need to keep him off those banisters." He turns and stalks down the hall.
Ethan goes back into the room and immediately calls Ben to come to him. "Ben, I'm going to ask this one time and I want the truth! Did you slide down the banister today?"
Ben swallows nervously and then answers quietly, looking at the floor "Yes, sir."
"Ben, Look At Me!" Ethan tells him. "I have told you every day this week to STAY OFF THAT BANISTER! You deliberately did what I told you not to do! You planned it out so that you wouldn't get caught. You could have fallen off and been badly hurt!"
Looking at the child in front of him, he can see Ben is looking at the floor again. "I make these rules to keep you safe. If you obey me you will not put yourself in danger. Are you listening to me?" Ethan asks sternly.
"Yes, sir." Ben says beginning to cry. He's never seen his Uncle look this mad before.
"Ben, when Joseph asked you about this did you tell him you had not been on the banister?" Ethan asked
"Yess, sssir" Ben says having trouble answering through the lump in his throat.
"Were you telling him the truth, young man?"
"Nooo ssssir."
"What do we call it when you do not tell someone the truth? When you deliberately tell someone you were not on the banister when actually you were?"
"Lying." Answers Ben watching his Uncle's face. He can tell Ethan is still very angry with him. Ben can hear it in his Uncle's voice when he asks,
"Do you remember what I told you boys would happen if you ever lied?"
Ben nods wiping tears off his face as he whispers "You said you would take us to the barn and whip us."
"Ben, you deliberately disobeyed me, lied to your brother and put yourself in danger. Come with me, young man." Ethan tells him.
Taking Ben by the arm, Ethan walks him into his bedroom.
"Ben, you put yourself in danger and that is something I will not allow. On top of that, you deliberately tried to cover up for what you were doing. Son, if you had fallen, you could have been killed or broken something."
"Yes sir, I know I could have broken one of those vases. I'm sorry I was bad."
"I accept your apology but it isn't the vases I was talking about. I meant you could have broken YOU. If you fell from this high up, it would have probably broken your arm or leg. Ben, I tell you things for a reason. In this case, I know much more about being safe than you do. From now on, you obey what I tell you and you will not have a problem. Come here and bend over my lap."
With the boy lying over his knees, Ethan says "Ben, for putting yourself in danger and lying you are going to get three licks with my belt then I'm going to bare your bottom and give you a spanking! You remember what I tell you. NO putting yourself in danger and NO lying! If you lie your punishment will always be worse!"
Through the closed door, Joseph recognizes the sounds of Ben getting what he believes might be his first whipping. He feels slightly bad for Ben, but is glad it's not him getting it this time. Hearing a sob near him, Joseph looks over to see George crying.
"Come here, George. It's alright. Ben's going to sting for an hour or so but he'll be alright. He really did something bad today. Uncle Ethan's trying to show him this. Okay?"
"It stings Joseph. I can feel the sting some too. I don't want to ever get a whipping if it stings more than this!" George whispers snuggling into his brother's chest.
"Then do as you are told and mind the rules, George." Claire tells him firmly.
After Ben calms and stops crying, Ethan brings him back to face his brother out in the sitting area.
"Joseph? Ben has something to say to you. Please listen."
"I'm sorry I lied to you and snuck off from you, Joseph. I am sorry I made you worried too. Uncle Ethan spanked me with his belt and his hand. I won't be mean to you anymore Joseph."
"Thank you Ben. We don't want you to do things that are forbidden because you can get hurt. Who would follow me around and ask a billion questions at home if you got so hurt you couldn't? Who would I teach roping and riding to? George doesn't want to do those things so I need you to help me."
"I will. I promise to help and I won't put myself where my bottom gets hurt anymore!" Ben answers, hugging Joseph around his waist and completely missing the eye roll Joseph sends to their uncle.
"Well, now that this is behind us, I have some news for everyone." Ethan begins. "I met with Judge Henry again this afternoon and he had some news about your Father. Children, your Pa is dead. He was killed last February. Since you are no longer in his care, I can legally adopt you. Tomorrow morning, we are going back to visit Judge Henry and he will make sure all the legal papers are filled out. We will be officially parent and children."
"Papa is gone? For good?" Joseph asks not quiet believing what he heard.
"He is son. He won't be able to come back. Are you alright? Claire? How about you?"
"I'm fine with the news, Uncle Ethan. He left Mama and all of us and never sent money or came back. Mama said he was better off not being around. We pretended he was dead anyway." Claire answers.
"I'm just happy to know the ba..." Joseph begins before being cut off by Ethan's warning of "Joseph, your mouth!"
"I was just going to say 'the bad' Uncle Ethan, I promise! I wasn't going to say the bas word! I wasn't!"
"Continue with what you were saying then. You are happy to know...?'
"I'm happy to know the bad horrible evil man is gone and won't be coming back! I hated him! I still do too and hope he rots in hell!" Joseph finishes before running from the room.
"Papa, why is Joseph so mad? Isn't hell a bad word? Is Joseph going to get whipped again?" George asks looking puzzled.
"Joseph is not in trouble, son. He's just upset. I'll go talk to him and he'll be feeling better."
Knocking once and then entering the children's bedroom, Ethan finds Joseph face down on the bed, shoulders shaking.
"Joseph, can you sit up? Let's have a talk. You aren't in trouble so I'm not here to punish you." Ethan says as he sees the boy stiffen at the sound of his voice.
"I'm sorry I said a bad word again. I let it slip out. Maybe you should spank me for it as I said it in front of Claire and the boys again." Joseph whispers into the pillow.
"I don't consider the opposite of Heaven to be a bad word, son. A bad PLACE, yes, but word, no. Now, sit up and talk to me for just a minute." Ethan replies, lifting the boy to sit up on the bed and sitting beside him.
"Son, are you hiding your feelings from me? Are you hurt because your Pa is gone? Is this what the problem is?"
"No sir, I am really glad he won't be back. I'm upset because I thought he died a long time ago. Instead he was around and didn't care to help us! Mama was so sick and me and Claire had to try to keep the boys out of trouble and take care of Mama and hide how sick she was. If the manager knew she was really sick, we wouldn't have had a place to stay or money either. It was hard and Papa could have helped but didn't! It made me mad and it hurts my stomach too."
"I understand Joseph. He was not a good husband or father but he's gone and we can start new. We'll make a new life together on the ranch and you can be a boy not a little man. You and Claire can go back to being children now. I'm here to take care of the problems. Alright?"
"That sounds good. I'd like to be a boy not a small Pa. I'm not sad now, can we get some pie?"
"You had ice cream not more than two hours ago!"
"Yes but pie would be good too."
"No pie. It's time for baths and then bed. We want to be clean and feeling good in the morning. So, do you want to get first dibs on the bath?"
"Nope, send Ben. I'll be having pie." Joseph teases.
"The only pie you get is this!" Ethan answers beginning to tickle the boy until he is giggling and wiggling too much to talk.