A party on the Ponderosa... February, 14th.

Couples were turning and dancing, young couples, old couples; everybody was setting in motion in a joyfully-dancing procession. Then a slow waltz had started a waltz with soothing rhythm, the sweetness of which came into all those who let themselves be wrapped by its magic. A three beat-waltz made the people's hearts beat, people who had taken time to be at this party with other friends under the Ponderosa roof. A waltz which was bewitching people, just like love, renewed itself at each turn. The waltz was a lady, she was sometimes sweet and happy and sometimes tremulous from desire. Intense, passionate and hot-headed! She was beautiful and stunning, in fact, just like pleasure. Just like Ben and Joan, at that party, they were many who had let themselves be attracted by the pleasure of dancing one waltz, they were all united in tender marriage, and they wanted to show how amorous they were, still in love and much more each day! This party was a well-deserved break, for a while they could forget work, hard work, chores from a hard life.

In the darkness there was a man and a woman. Thanks to the fire's flames and lights from the candles and oil-lamps, the women and men could share silence and delicacy in a sweet moment of tenderness. People became one when the music of violins started to fly high, seconds were lost in time the bodies intertwined with each other, until the last final note died and the world became complete rapture. Their eyes exchanged words, with traces of passion and bondage. Ben was touching Joan's warm and satin-covered hand, while Adam let himself be attracted by Francesca's sublime figure. He was pressing her against him and was hugging her slowly on the dance floor. Joe was caressing Leslie's face with the tip of his finger, he kissed her sweet skin before he took her arm to take her outside, she was dizzy because she was pregnant and her pregnancy was trying. Hoss and his wife were sharing a toast with Angela's parents during a moment of silence. Hoss left them for a while and came back with a velvet cape, he put it on the lightly-bared shoulders of his charming wife, and he slowly pushed her auburn copper-colored hair, which she had tied in a sophisticated bun. She lit up the party just like her two sisters-in-law did, they were aware of how beautiful they were, enhanced by the love of their husbands. Joan was laughing, with her charming laugh; there was a glint of malice in her eyes. In this noisy atmosphere, once the dance was over for a while, she drank his words and looked down, in a shy way then she raised her eyes again, and keen to have a kiss or a smile, so she could scrutinize his freshly-shaved cheeks. During this evening the Cartwright ladies were intent on being charming, even a little bit flirtatious. Female beauty in all its powers of seduction! Mid February was the moment for birds to start their mating season, birds were the messengers of springtime and love. That was why this party had been organized on the Ponderosa; to celebrate love, friendship and children; there were so many in the family. It was also Ben's birthday, the birthday of the Ponderosa patriarch.

" We wish you a happy birthday, Ben, may you have plenty of happiness, health and joy. May life be sweet with you and fill your heart with all you may wish for, not only today, but each day of the year! Happy Birthday, Ben".

Ben's friends had made a collection to buy him lithography, on which two horses' legs blended with the color of the ground they were galloping on. The painter had even painted the dust which was flying away and shining on the sweet, delicate coat of the animals. His sons had bought him a terrific well-glossed leather saddle, which would embellish Buck's great coat. It was a game between them, just like a joke, which reminded them of two other saddles, which had been completely lost in difficult circumstances.
Then after the cake had been brought and enjoyed, the guests were invited by the violinist to do a new dance procession, a joyful dance; a crazy rhythm for kids and adults. And when the music took over from the silence, men, woman, boys and girls started a round dance, they closed the circle by holding hands and the dance started. It was still winter, but the day light was stronger and stronger and this evening filled with songs and dances was the only thing able to warm that cold and frozen atmosphere and their hearts. Shoes resounded and slid on the floor, glistening skirts were swirling. The round dance came to life, becoming a joyful whirl while the violin was playing. Young hearts or less young hearts were beating soundly; smiling glances were exchanged amidst the guests dressed up for the Birthday party. One day for a whole year spent a wild desire to have fun, a moment of frivolity, one small glass to raise a toast to the man who had as many candles on his cake as there were Pine trees on the Ponderosa. Celebrating was a way of letting the mind escape towards a couple of happy hours to forget worries and troubles. At Ben Cartwright' ranch the party was well underway.

« We won't forget such a great party, will we? », Joan whispered while smothering a yawn when she disappeared under the sheet. Ben and Joan's bed was more than a bed; it was a cute nest, their best friend, always there to welcome them when the tiredness made their heavily-lidded eyes close. Very quickly their arms were wrapped up in the embroidered sheet and they fell into sleep, exhausted. As it was a little bit cold in the bed, Joan decided to get some warmth by putting her small frozen feet against Ben's legs. She nestled against him, in his arms; she loved to be so close to him. That was such a different story for the children, they always protested at bedtime, because they could still hear adults speaking while they had to go upstairs and go to bed.

Even if the bedrooms were filled with tenderness they didn't see it and they didn't like to stay here because they were sure, there were monsters hidden under the bed. Each evening they had the same ritual, something which reassured them. Very carefully they kept looking at each thing in each corner and wondered how it could turn into something terrifying. Were they afraid of being smothered by a monster in a horrible nightmare? They would have given everything to go downstairs and have the right to be hugged in their father's strong arms. But when Ben had hugged them several times, he was firm at bedtime and he tried to tell Joan to be firm too, so they could have the moments of calm they deserved, when the children were in bed and the candles were out.

********A few days later.

-Ho! What's that? A paper? In your book? », Ben asked and planted himself in front of the little girl. He had seen a blue sheet of paper which he knew all too well.

Two people were silent in the room: the little girl was silent because she felt she had something in her throat, stopping her from speaking, and her daddy was silent because he was waiting for an answer.

« Rozenee, give me that paper.

-Dad, hem, well, no, this is not what you think. OK, not exactly, Rozenee answered, nervously.

- Rozenee. BE CAREFUL », he said in a serious tone. That tone and that dark black look which made people want to disappear under the floorboards.

Rozenee started to look at her feet. Ben took a deep breath to try to hold back a growing feeling of exasperation.

« Rozenee, I'm gonna give you to the count of three.

« I did, well, we did…".

«Go on », Ben added in a neutral tone, keeping his hands on his hips.

« We did something wrong... »

Ben interrupted her once again, just to ask, if his granddaughter could possibly be included in that « we ». Rozenee replied, there were more kids involved but she had decided to assume her part of the blame.

« The girl, who I've already told you about, went to school with her pony ». And Rozenee explained that they had given a tap to the pony as the little girl had mounted and the pony had started a little bit too fast. And the little girl had almost lost her balance.

« But I barely touched the pony, I..."

«What? Are you crazy?

« I'm sorry, pa ».

«GO TO YOUR ROOM, NOW ».

Ben knew instinctively that it was the best thing to do. That would give him some time to get his calm back or maybe to keep his calm.

« I won't deal with you right now, I'm too angry ».

Rozenee had gone up the stairs to her room, just when somebody opened the door. Joan came in with Jason. Their short walk was over and she said that she wanted to have a cup of tea and a few minutes of calm. She caught sight of the teapot which Hop Sing had just brought in and she thanked him for that. She was about to enjoy a nice warm cup of tea and some minutes of calm and silence. She immediately noticed the silence in the room but she quickly realized it was a tense silence. She saw her husband taking a seat on the settee and putting his head against a pillow and breathing intensely.

Jason, three years old, opened the door of the cupboard near his father's desk; he wanted to take his toys.

« Little one, first you take away your boots and put on your slipper», Ben and Joan said at the same time.

« Ja'on, not want » he replied in a rebellious tone, a tone which wasn't appreciated either by Ben nor by his wife, who was realizing, she wouldn't have any calm nor any tea.

Joan quickly lost her temper, and Ben lost his, much faster, given that he hadn't recovered yet from his previous outburst with his daughter. Joan repeated her request once again, with more firmness in her voice, she really wanted her tea.

« Jason, slippers. »

« Ja'on don't want no slipper », he protested loudly, still searching for his toys in the wooden box. He was looking for a small wooden horse.

Joan chose to negotiate with her son.

« At this moment you have two choices. Either you can put on your slippers with daddy or you can put them on with me. But if you keep doing that nonsense, you'll have no choice. You'll have your slippers and a tap on your bottom!»

Ben looked at her approvingly, he absolutely supported her, he had the feeling that she would win this battle, she really wanted to have her cup of tea. But the little boy didn't want to give up, he wasn't able to recognize that it wasn't a good idea to keep insisting like that. It would be worse, especially on days when mommy wanted to drink tea and when daddy had already started to lose his calm.

« Daddy help Ja'on! », the little boy replied.

Ben was relieved that his son was about to give in, so he bent down to take away the boy's boots. Jason had already his slippers in his hands and started to slide his feet into them.

« Wait, son. You're getting it wrong. This is your right foot and this is the left one".

«Right ? You say, Jason has a right to do this and you help ».

« You're a clumsy elephantine, that's all », Ben replied, without thinking, without seeing that his little boy's face was now shocked.

« Ja'on not elephant, you dumb! », the boy said and threw his slipper at his daddy's face. Ben didn't accept that gesture. He flipped the boy, face down over his knee and landed two swats on his backside and flipped him up just as quickly. Then he let him go, the little boy went away, while protesting loudly against the appalling lot he had to face.

« Jason, you know the rule, no tantrums here. So, if you want to scream, go further away." The little boy went to the kitchen. Joan poured herself tea but made a face when she tasted it:

« It's too bad, it's now cold ».

Ben smiled at her, he sympathized with her and kissed her forehead before telling her that he had to deal with their daughter. Very quickly he informed her about what had happened and then he went up the stairs to go to Rozenee's bedroom.

"This young lady will have to learn that she can't do what she wants without facing the consequences ». His sons had never been allowed to act that way without having to deal with him and his hand. There had always been limits to his patience.

********Later

Rozenee had had time to explain before having been punished. She had told him what she had heard at school. The little girl had said mean things about Indian people. Ben had listened to his daughter, indeed, he had listened but just after that, he had told her that he was going to punish her. He had insisted on the fact that she wasn't going to get away with that kind of behavior, he had told her how wrong it was and that it was his duty to teach her right from wrong and that she had earned herself a spanking. That was the price, what he had always called "consequences". He had sat on the bed, he had bent her on his knee and had given her six firm swats on her bottom. There had been simple consequences. The eyes of the little girl had been filled with tears. Then he had hugged her and he had caught with his thumb another tear that had been rolling down her cheek, he had reminded her that she had been warned about consequences. She had acknowledged, she had deliberately ignored her daddy's threats. If she had behaved properly, she wouldn't have had that unpleasant moment and she wouldn't have felt the hand of her daddy landing on the back of her dress.

The day after he had gone with Rozenee to school, he had spoken with the teacher. Rozenee had had to apologize to her school-friend and the teacher had taken the note Ben had signed. Ben has nodded as he had stroked his chin. He had told the teacher that he was trying to instill a sense of discipline in his children, and from the looks of his daughter's behavior on the previous day, he had the feeling he was failing miserably. Before leaving the classroom, he had given a look at his granddaughter, letting her notice that he had known about the whole story and that she had better tell her daddy what she had done. The rest would be Adam's and his wife's responsibility and Ben hadn't intended to say more.

During the school recess Amelia and Rozenee had sat in the tall grass absentmindedly looking at the clouds in the sky. Amelia had noticed the look of doubt cross Rozenee's face. Thoughts of the school day had been running through their mind over and over. Amelia had been trying to figure out if she would talk to her parents about what had happened. The little girl knew she had done wrong. How was she ever going to explain this to her parents. She had known she would have no chance of becoming invisible before going home…

"Mélia, I think we've really done it this time. You should have seen Daddy's face."

Amelia hadn't needed any more, she had got the picture perfectly.

"I don't know how to handle the mess we got ourselves into. Now I envy you, now it's over for you."

Rozenee had smiled, oh yeah, it had been over but how long the morning had been on the hard wooden bench. She had been honest and she was sure it had saved part of her hide. That was the only advice she could have given to Amelia.

"You envy me? OK, you know what? You have to tell them, as I did yesterday and everything will be over".

That had been the first time Rozenee had seemed to sound so "grown up". At that moment both of them had smiled and had started to laugh, because they had never had the impression that one was the aunt and the other the niece… There was only that special bond between them.

It had taken all the nerve in her seven-year-old body to speak. Amelia had bitten her lip and had taken a deep breath before speaking. "Well, Pa, I have something to tell you"; she had said softly. And his daughter, who seemed to have a special taste for mischief, had told him about what had happened at school. Even if she hadn't got any note from the teacher, she had been part of the plan.

Discipline was one aspect of a father's duty that Adam had never liked to carry out, but his daughter had got what she had deserved. Adam had taken a deep breath to strengthen his resolve. It had been hard for him to discipline his daughter, but he hadn't ever been the kind of man to let bad behavior go unpunished. However he had appreciated the confession, a honest confession and he had made his point clear that he had decided to punish the action, not the confession. Amelia had given Rozenee the idea and Rozenee had done it with other friends.

**********The day after, Adam was on the Ponderosa, alone with his father.

Adam grabbed an apple from the large bowl in the center.

"Our daughters sure have a talent for trouble, haven't they?" he could see the laughter hidden in his father's eyes. He couldn't contain a smirk.

"You know it never ceases to amaze me that you are so surprised when one of the girls doesn't listen to our instructions".

"Alright, alright. I never said that my daughter hadn't inherited at least part of her mischievous nature from me."

"Part?"

"Come on Pa, Joe was much more mischievous than I was. You have to admit that," Adam said, not liking how this conversation was going.