A/N Here you are readers. TWO chapters at once. For all of those who live in the U.S., Happy Halloween and keep the East Coast folks in your prayers as they battle the "Frankenstorm". Hurricanes are bad enough to go through but a hurricane mixed with a blizzard, is too much! 10-29-12
"Ben! You get down here right now! You don't and I'm going to go get Mr. Anderson. If I do, you're going to wind up getting a whipping tonight! NOW GET DOWN!" Joseph calls up to his little brother.
"NO! Mr. Anderson won't whip me. You will though if I come down there. I'm not moving. I think I'll sleep up here." Ben calls back as he pulls up the removable ladder.
"BEN! So help me when I get my hands on you, you are going to be one sorry and sore little kid!" Joseph yells back at his brother.
Jeff and Jason find all of this back and forth between Ben and Joseph funny. Both boys are laughing.
"This is NOT funny, guys! He's got to get down from there!"
Just as he finishes talking the boys hear "What is going on in here? Joseph, I could hear you shouting all the way up to the house! What is the problem?"
Whirling around, Joseph finds Ethan standing in the barn doorway. "Uncle Ethan! You're back! Did you find George? Is he all right? Where is he? Did you bring him here?" Joseph asks eyes sparkling with excitement!
"Calm down Joseph. First tell me what the problem is out here and then I'll answer all of your questions." Ethan says tiredly. The strain of the last few days shows on his face and in his voice.
"Ben climbed up in that loft and pulled the ladder up. I can't reach him and he won't come down. I've tried to get him down and he refuses to listen to me." Joseph replies pointing up to the loft.
Frowning now, Ethan walks over to just underneath the loft. "BENJAMIN! Are you up there? You had better answer me right now!" He calls sternly.
Having heard the whole conversation between his brother and uncle, Ben is not surprised to hear his uncle's demand. Peering down over the side of the loft he answers "I'm up here Pa. I pulled the ladder up 'cause Joseph said he was going to whip me if he got hold of me. "
Giving Joseph a reprimanding look, Ethan says "Ben, if you don't get yourself down on this floor in three minutes, I will be the one giving you a whipping! NOW MOVE! "
Standing before his uncle, Ben says "I'm sorry Pa. I just wanted to help by pitching hay. Jason said I could so I went up there. Then Joseph got all bossy and started ordering me to get down. He's not my Pa and can't tell me what to do. " Ben finishes up by sticking his tongue out at Joseph.
Ethan turns him sideways and smacks him three times on the seat of his pants. "Ben! Your behavior tonight is unacceptable. One, you know you are not allowed to be up in any loft especially with a pitchfork. Two, you ARE to do as Joseph tells you when I'm not here and three, sticking out your tongue at someone is disrespectful. You owe Joseph, Jason and Jeff an apology for causing trouble! Do it now before I add more smacks to your backside!"
Red in the face and teary eyed from being spanked in front of the twins, Ben says "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble."
"Now let's go up to the house I have some news I want to share with everyone at one time."
The Doctor's office
"George, wake up! I've got so much to tell you. Jason and Jeff are teaching me to milk a cow! I bet they'd teach you too if you want to do it. C'mon George, open your eyes. You've been asleep for three days and into the next afternoon! It's going to be suppertime again soon. Aren't you hungry? If you wake up we could go get some ice cream at the restaurant. George?"
Ben walks out of the room where George is sleeping. Going into the next room, he crawls up into Ethan's lap as Ethan sits talking to Dr. Amy.
Surprised, Ethan looks down at the boy. Ben hasn't crawled into his lap in over a year. Seeing the tears in Ben's eyes he holds him tight. "It's alright Ben. George is just sleeping. He'll be better soon."
"He won't wake up! I've talked and talked and talked to him but he won't answer me! I've tried talking to him without talking out loud and he won't answer me that way either! I think he's dying! He's going to go off and leave me just like Mama and Claire!" Ben bursts into tears, sobbing as he buries his face in Ethan's shirt.
"Shh, Ben. It's all right. You know Claire will be back. George isn't dying, son. He's just in a deep sleep." Ethan says rubbing the child's back. "Hush now, you need to calm down. I promise I'm telling the truth. George will be fine. Have I ever lied to you, Ben?"
Calming down enough to answer Ben says sniffling "No Sir. But I'm scared. Why won't he wake up? Mama slept and slept like that too and she went off and didn't come back. How do you know George isn't going to do it too?"
"Dr. Amy can explain that to you better than I can, Ben. Now turn around and listen while she does."
"Ben? I promise George isn't dying. The people who took him gave him some medicine that made him sleep. They gave it to him so often he can't wake up until it gets out of his body. I can see him moving around now when he's asleep. That's a good sign. Early this morning before you came, he even knocked my hand away when I was holding him up to put some water in his mouth. He knocked the cup out of my hand and shook his head, No. These are signs he's coming back to us. I really don't think it will be long before he's awake. We'll just keep watching and be patient. You can do that right?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Good Boy! Ben, your Mama didn't want to leave, you know that right? Your Papa has told me she had a disease. We just don't have medicine for that disease yet. I know she didn't choose to 'go off and leave you'. She couldn't help it. If she could be here now she would be. Do you believe me, Ben?"
After a few minutes of looking into her eyes, Ben answers "Yes Ma'am, I believe you. I do know Mama didn't want to go away. I just got scared and I miss her sometimes."
Hugging him close, Ethan says softly "I miss her too, son. I wish she had come to live here with all of you. Remember, we will be seeing her again in heaven. Try to think about that when you get sad. It might help."
Nodding, Ben stands up. "I'm going to go back in to stay with George some more."
"Thank you Amy. What you just told Ben was wonderful . I've never known quite what to say to him when he gets this way. I've tried telling him his Mama didn't leave him but he just keeps saying she did. Maybe he understands more about it now. Ben was only six when she died. George was just five. He doesn't remember a time before his Mama was sick."
Ben reaches out and takes George by the hand. "George, you can hear me I know you can. You need to stop being a big baby and wake up! Did you know they put you in a diaper? You've been wetting yourself! It's a good thing you're asleep. If you were wetting your pants when you were awake, Papa would spank you!"
Looking behind him to make sure they were still alone he leans over closer to whisper "You know what George, the other day when everybody went off to look for you, I snuck away from the Andersons. Nobody else knows this so you can't tell. I went off into the woods behind their house because I wanted to be by myself. I walked and walked for a long time and almost got lost! I found my way back though. Remember now, you can't tell. Papa would spank me if he knew. He told me to stay at the Anderson's and stay out of trouble."
Watching his brother's face he sees George frown and hears him mumble something. Leaning in closer he says "George? What did you say? I couldn't hear you."
"You're bad!' George says softly without opening his eyes.
Wide eyed Ben whispers "George! Remember! You can't tell on me! Promise me!"
When George doesn't answer, Ben reaches over and pinches him hard on the arm. "You'd better answer me or I'll pinch you again!" Not getting an answer that time either, Ben pinches George again. This time George cries out "STOP BEN! YOU HURT ME!"
Rushing into the room, Ethan says "BEN!" Then realizing George is awake he says "George? Are you all right?"
"Ben pinched me! He hurt me! Ben's bad!" George answers, starting to cry.
Turning to look at Ben, Ethan says "Sit right there in that chair and don't you move, Ben. I'll be talking to you about this in a few minutes!"
"George? Are you feeling all right? Do you hurt anywhere? How about your stomach, do you feel sick?" Dr. Amy asks having come into the room behind Ethan.
"I don't feel sick, just thirsty and maybe hungry too. I only hurt on my arm where Ben pinched me. Ben, that was mean! Just 'cause I wasn't talking when you asked me too, you didn't have to pinch me!" George complains after answering the Doctor's questions.
"Ben! Come Here!" Ethan says sternly, pointing to the floor beside George's bed.
"I'll just run over to the restaurant and get some soup for George. I'll be back in a few minutes. George needs to stay in bed until I get back." Dr. Amy announces, quickly leaving the room.
"Ben! EXPLAIN! Why did you pinch your brother?"
"He wouldn't answer when I asked him something. He talked a minute before but then when I asked him too he wouldn't! I got mad."
George adds "I wouldn't promise not to tell on him. He's been bad. When I didn't say anything he pinched me two times! "
"I see. Okay George, tell me what Ben said he did." Ethan says wanting the boy to talk more and stay awake.
"First he told me about how he is learning to milk the cow then he talked about running off while you were looking for me. He said he went off by himself into the woods and almost got lost. Ben, you know we're not allowed in the woods by ourselves. We have to have Joseph or Papa with us." George says seeing Ben glaring at him.
"Ben, you and I will be having a talk about this when we get home. Right now, I want you to go over to the Anderson's and stay with Joseph. I will be by in a little while to pick you both up. You'd both better be there when I do." Ethan says giving Ben a stern look.
"Yes Sir." Ben says. With one final glare at George he leaves the room.