My Brother, My Enemy
Chapter Two
DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine, and I am 99.9 percent sure that they never will be (hey, you never know). ;)
By the next morning, Joe still didn't feel very hungry. He dutifully avoided meeting Adam's eyes and managed to choke down a few mouthfuls of food, but this was not enough to satisfy Hoss.
"Dadburnit, Joe, ya gotta eat more than that. Ya ain't had a bite ta eat since night afore last," Hoss complained.
"Leave me alone," Joe answered testily. He continued to push his food around his plate, never lifting the fork to his mouth. Not long afterwards, Joe began to feel a little guilty about snapping at Hoss the way he had.
"Look, Hoss, I'm sorry," Joe apologized. "I didn't mean to yell at you. Guess I'm not in a very good mood today. Maybe I'll get started on my chores."
Before anyone could protest, Joe had left the table and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Sure is upset," said Hoss as he returned to his meal.
"And it's my fault. Is that what you're saying?" Adam snapped.
Hoss threw his fork down and cried, "Dadburnit, what is it with you all today? I say two words and y'all jump down my throat!"
"Sorry, Hoss," muttered Adam. He, like Joe, had suddenly lost his appetite. "But Joe just isn't taking this very well."
"Did ya actually expect 'im to?" Hoss asked.
Adam sighed. "Well, no. But I thought he might have at least given me the chance to explain. I guess I don't know our brother as well as I thought."
"Aw, Adam, ya thought you was doin' the right thing," protested Hoss.
Adam sighed again. "That's the problem," he said quietly. "The whole time, I knew I was doing the wrong thing."
For the second time that morning, Hoss watched one of his brothers leave the table and march out the door.
At the end of the week, just as scheduled, Ben and Hop Sing came home. And Ben took Little Joe fishing, just like he had promised. Life seemed to be returning to normal for the patriarch of the Ponderosa. But to his sons, things were worse than ever: Joe and Adam were barely even speaking to each other, Joe's appetite was beginning to suffer as a consequence and Ben didn't know what to do about it. All of Hoss' attempts to reunite the feuding family members failed miserably, so all he could do was stand back and hope his brothers settled their differences on their own.
The rest of the summer went by quickly—much too quickly, as far as the youngest Cartwright was concerned. Before he knew it, it was early September.
Ben and Hoss had had a long talk the week before school was scheduled to start again, and Ben had agreed to let Hoss drop out, now that he was sixteen. This meant that, not only would Joe have to go to school all alone from now on, he was also the only person in his family to have to write that "What I Did during My Summer Vacation" report. Joe wondered how he could have done so many things yet have so little to write about.
Joe spent the entire evening up in his room, trying to figure out how to write the report. He even refused to come down for dinner, going so far as to lock the door when Hoss threatened to break it down and carry him downstairs physically.
Hoss finally went to dinner without his little brother.
"He won't come down, Pa," Hoss told Ben needlessly.
"I can see that," replied Ben, trying to hide the impatience and annoyance he was feeling. "What I want to know is why he won't come down."
There was silence all around the table. Ben was instantly suspicious.
"Adam? Hoss? Did anything happen while I was in San Francisco that I should know about?"
More silence.
"Boys? I expect an answer," Ben said.
Hoss was the first to crack. "Well, Pa, I think Joe's mad at us."
"Why should your brother be mad at you?" asked Ben.
"Because we did… something," replied Adam evasively.
"Did WHAT!" Ben asked loudly. It seemed as if the more questions he asked, the fewer answers he got.
Adam was shooting some warning glances in Hoss' direction to tell him to be very careful in how he answered. But Hoss couldn't bear to do anything except come perfectly clean with his father, even though it would cost them all a few days of comfortable sitting.
So Hoss came clean, watching Ben's growing rage for the first few sentences, and when he couldn't stand to see Pa's face, he looked at Adam and continued. But Adam was looking just as furious as Ben for having the entire story ratted out before his very ears, so Hoss finally directed his comments to the table.
After he had finished speaking, there was a long, uncomfortable silence. Hoss squirmed in his seat. Adam was examining his fingernails, as if hoping to find something interesting there. Ben, meanwhile, didn't quite know what to do. He should probably tan the hides off all three of his sons, but instead, he opted to go up and see if he could persuade Joe to eat something. So it was with great relief to Adam and Hoss as they watched Ben leave the table and storm upstairs to Joe's room.
Joe had just finished crumpling up his fifth piece of paper and rewriting the title and his name on another one when someone knocked on the door.
"If that's you again, Hoss, so help me I'll…" Joe yelled.
"Joseph, it's me. Open this door!" commanded Ben. Joe gulped, stood up and unlocked his bedroom door. Ben stepped in and looked down at his son. Joe knew that look. It meant that he was about to receive a long lecture, and possibly even a spanking. Joe hated spankings.
"What'd I do now?" Joe asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"Don't you know?" asked Ben. "Even if you don't, I do and so do Adam and Hoss."
Joe gulped again.
"Oh. That," Joe said. He sat down on the bed in a feeble attempt to protect his bottom. Ben sat down next to him. He cupped Joe's chin in his hand and said, "I think you'd better start from the beginning."
Joe told the exact same story that Hoss had just told. Ben listened quietly, all the while trying to remain patient. It wasn't easy after hearing what he had.
When Joe finished, he looked down at his feet and said, "I guess you're real mad at me now, aren't you?"
"Did you expect me not to be?"
"Not really, but I was kinda hopin' that you wouldn't find out either," said Joe with a questioning glance in his eyes.
"After I pressured your brothers a little, Hoss came clean. But Adam didn't look too happy about it," Ben explained.
"I guess you're gonna tan me good now, huh?" Joe's voice was barely above a whisper. He knew he had done something wrong, but he still didn't like getting tanned for anything. Besides, he was just trying to help some orphaned pups. Wasn't trying to raise them better than leaving them to starve to death in the middle of nowhere?
"I should, shouldn't I?" replied Ben. He sighed and stood up. Joe thought he knew what was coming, but instead Ben said, "Joseph, I just don't understand how you and your brothers could possibly think you would be able to raise six wild animals in your bedroom. What on earth possessed you to bring those pups home without telling me?"
"Well, there was this voice inside my head that told me to tell you, but I kinda ignored it," admitted Joe.
Ben sighed again and waited for some more explanation.
"I found their ma and she was dead. Then I found those pups and figured I could just raise them on my own. I didn't want them to starve to death, Pa! Besides, I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn't let me keep them. As it was, I thought I was finished when Adam found out," Joe said quietly. "So tan me if ya have to, Pa, but I did the best I knew how."
Joe looked up at Ben with that sad, puppy-dog expression on his face. It was very hard to stay angry at Little Joe with such a helpless, innocent look, no matter how guilty he was.
"I think I'd better have a talk with all three of you downstairs," Ben said finally. He stood by the door, waiting for Joe to lead the way out. Joe got up from his bed, knowing that this was probably the last time he would be sitting there or anywhere else for a long time, and marched solemnly to the living room.
"Adam! Hoss! I want you to hear this, too," Ben called. Adam and Hoss looked at each other uncertainly and sat down on the settee. Joe settled in the middle of them. If they were going to get tanned, he didn't want to be first or last.
Me: So there ya have it folks. An update.
Dick: Joy to the world.
Me: Oh, who asked you?
Dick: Well, what else am I here for?
Me: Guess.
Dick: (sigh)
Reviewer Replies
Claire-Thank you-she's glad to hear it doesn't stink. Good point, though. Panamint never has been the greatest of math students (and now she's going to kill me for saying that...)
jamie-Good, glad you liked it! 8)