Joseph, My Son

Chapter 10

The winter continued to be hard. Prudence spent more nights in the schoolhouse's apartment than she cared to think about. The time she had Clarence with her overnight seemed to be very good for him. He enjoyed being the center of attention and they spent nearly an hour studying together. The boy seemed much calmer once he had explored the two upstairs room and was able to concentrate quite well on the lessons they reviewed. He gladly helped with the cooking and cleaning up and then she tucked him in to one side of the bed in the little sleeping room. Outside, it was so quiet that Virginia City no longer seemed to exist. She read him a bedtime story and then extinguished the lamp. In the other room, she made herself a cup of tea and read her own book before readying herself for her own night's sleep. For the rest of the winter, however, Clarence's father had managed to retrieve him before the roads to their farm were unpassable, which left her feeling both relieved and wistful. She had enjoyed the boy's company, and it gave her a small taste of what it would be like as a parent. When Prudence had suggested to his family and to her husband that the boy spend a few days with her and Hoss when his mother had her next child, both parties jumped at the chance. His parents loved their son and didn't find his behavior too outlandish, but even they had to admit that it would be better for all parties if he wasn't underfoot for the birth. Hoss was eager to have the youngster stay with them "for a spell", as he said, and was pleased with the idea of having the little boy with them.

Eleanor faced her own difficulties. Unlike Hoss, who spent much of his time on his own spread, Joseph often was down at the main ranch house or out with the herds, inspecting the line shacks or checking fences. She was all alone at the top of their hill most of the day, with nothing to do but care for the cow, the chickens, and cook and clean. And Joe had been right; she often had to wait several days before she could harness her horse to the buckboard to go town after a good snowfall. Even if she merely wanted to go down to visit with Ben and Adam, the only way she could do so was to saddle up Della after putting on the hated riding skirt and bundling herself as warmly as possible. As the weeks of winter went on, she became no more settled into being a rancher's wife. If anything, she seemed to become moodier. Joseph was at a loss. She had seemed to be so willing to adjust to the big changes she was facing before their marriage, but the reality of this new life seemed to be a growing burr under her saddle blanket.

Ben counseled his youngest son to be patient. "When I brought your mother to the Ponderosa, she didn't have a clue about the life either. Granted, we had Hop Sing and some ranch hands, but I was still away the entire day and many nights as well. And let's not forget that she suddenly had two sons to win over and care for. She really didn't settle down until she was in the family way with you. By the time you were born, you never would have known that she hadn't been born into being on a ranch. Give Eleanor more time. And don't forget, she is younger than your mother was when I married her, and she's had a lot to deal with these last five months with her father's passing and the hard winter we're having."

At least their nights together were happy.

After speaking with his father, Joe noticed a week or so later that Eleanor's breasts seemed to be larger and firmer than they had been. She had been a little queasy on and off recently, but he had originally attributed that to their greater reliance on beans in their diet when the weather had delayed their weekly trip to town to pick up staples. Could she be pregnant?

"Do you think so?" he asked her, trying not to be too excited, just in case he was imagining things.

"I was beginning to wonder myself," she replied. "Of course, Mamma and Aunt Anna never really discussed any of those things with me before the wedding."

"You live on a ranch now. You've seen how the cows and mares change when they are carrying a calf or a foal. Didn't you think women's bodies changed too?" Joseph asked. He was dumbfounded about the lack of education cultured women had about such a natural process. He and his brothers had grown up amidst animals and little was left to the imagination. He wondered if it would have been different if he'd had sisters instead of brothers, but then decided that it was unlikely that their father would have tried to shield a daughter from what was happening all around them. He might have been more delicate in his explanations, but that was about it. He never would have let any child of his grow into adulthood unprepared for what they would experience in the natural course of their lives.

"Well, yes of course I know that a woman's body changes when she is with child. I just wasn't…well, I'm still not sure about the more subtle changes."

"In that case, it would be a good idea to go see Doc Martin when it's a little easier to travel, have him examine you and tell you more about what you should know about childbearing," Joseph said in a voice that told Eleanor that she was definitely going to do what he said.

xxxxx

Somehow in between all the snowstorms, Adam received a letter from Theodore (formerly "Teddy") Whitman, assenting to his generous offer of tuition for college. He had been accepted at Harvard for the next fall semester. If not for the eldest Cartwright's generosity, he wouldn't have been able to attend college for a year, if not longer. And since his sister Sally Ann would be coming out to Virginia City after her own school graduation to take over Prudence's teaching duties, their father suggested that he come out with her as soon as school was over. That way, he could pay back some of what he owed Adam by working around the ranch that summer and his sister could become acquainted with the area and with the work that her sister had been doing in the town's one-room school.

Ben thought it was a good idea. He always enjoyed having a large group of people at his table, especially young people. Adam had told him of Sally Ann's request that he make himself available to the young boy as a mentor through the latter part of his adolescence, and he knew that a summer on the ranch, working hard and being exposed to the hired hands would provide a big help through that confusing time in the young man's life as well. And a summer of hard physical exertion was always a good thing for a someone who would spend the next few years in a stuffy classroom.

Prudence and Hoss were delighted to hear of the plans. Not only would it be advantageous to have Sally Ann arrive early to prepare for her first year of teaching, having her younger brother spending the summer on the Ponderosa was an added bonus. Sally Ann would stay with them; they had plenty of space. Theodore would stay at the big house with Ben and Adam.

"The first thing I'm going to have to get straight with the boy is that he should get used to the men calling him 'Ted'. You know, they'd never let him live it down if he insists that they call him 'Theodore'" Adam immediately said to his father upon informing him of the letter's contents.

"Oh, you're absolutely right about that," Ben agreed with a laugh. "But I think he'll agree to it easily enough. There is a big difference between 'Ted' and 'Teddy', so I imagine by the time he leaves us, he'll be happy enough with the short name. I foresee that 'Theodore' will be left for much more formal needs." That's the way it had generally been with Little Joe. Only his brothers called him "Little Joe" anymore. The ranch hands didn't even know about the old family diminutive name. "Joseph" was generally reserved for more serious situations, and so, it all worked out just fine. And everyone except Prudence had called his middle son "Hoss" for almost the entirety of his life. Being the big man that he was, no one thought of the name as any sort of joke.

Ben continued, "You should ask Pru how well he rides and what he might know about ranch work. He would be pretty much confined to the barn and the corrals if he doesn't ride well enough."

"That's a good point, Pa," Adam agreed. "The whole idea is to have him be useful and gain some experience with good, hard physical work. Next time I see her, I'll ask. And speaking of being useful, Sally Ann doesn't need the whole summer to get ready to teach. I wonder what she'll be doing with her time?"

"Helping out with the chores at their house, I would imagine," said Ben. "And just spending time with her sister. Have you forgotten how much catching up you and your brothers had when you came home from Europe?"

"That was different. Hoss would write, but his letters almost never were very long. Joe would write only when he met a new girl. Although that happened often enough, I suppose. In general, only you wrote letters that really told me anything about what was going on here, and now I know that you didn't tell me everything that was happening."

Ben laughingly shook Adam's shoulder. "Sometimes it's more important to hold some things back. After all, you didn't need to be alarmed about such mundane things as a broken bone or two or a bullet graze."

XXXXX

Eventually the snow became less frequent and less heavy, and Joe and Eleanor were able to see Dr. Martin. He poked and prodded and asked a few questions, made a few quick computations and then sat down with the young couple.

"Well, congratulations! You are going to have a child."

"When?" the two young people asked in unison.

"By my calculations, it should be sometime between September and October. We'll know more as time goes on. In the meantime, Eleanor is perfectly healthy. Just take the usual precautions; eat good, healthy food, drink lots of water and milk, avoid stimulants and rest when you feel tired. There's no need to limit your usual activities," he looked meaningfully at Joseph, "and most of all, enjoy yourselves. Once the baby arrives, you won't have as much time to be alone anymore, so use this time wisely," he said with a grin.

They left his office hand-in-hand, walking on air. "We should have a big dinner for everyone to tell them the news," said Joe.

"I don't know. I mean about doing it right now. The weather is still changeable and that would make it hard for my side of the family to come up to the house. Besides, it's really early yet. I think we should wait a month," Eleanor just couldn't quite see herself pulling off a nice dinner for nine people very soon. With a month of preparation, she might be able to cook a simple, if respectable meal. "And we don't have a table big enough, much less enough chairs for everyone. And no," she held out her hand to stop her husband before he could make the inevitable suggestion, "I don't think we should do it in your father's house. It's our announcement, not his."

Joe was shocked, but happy nevertheless to see Elly being so assertive. "Okay, if that's what you think is best. I can make some additional furniture and you can plan and gather what you will need for the meal. Now, how about celebrating, just you and me?"

"What did you have in mind, Mr. Cartwright?"

"How about we start with a special lunch at the Palace Hotel. After that, perhaps a stop in at Cramer's Jewelry for something pretty to commemorate this special moment, and then a long, leisurely evening at home?"

Eleanor's lovely handwriting graced the envelopes that were delivered a few weeks later to their families. Her mother, the Williams's and Ben thought the invitation was nothing more than a ritual first dinner the newlyweds were hosting in their home, but Adam and Hoss had noted how Joe seemed to be holding a secret deep inside and Prudence had been quick to notice small changes in the young bride when they all met for Sunday suppers at the big house.

There were barely any remnants of snow the afternoon they all gathered at the house on the mountain. While Eleanor still suffered bouts of morning sickness, she usually found herself energetic enough toward the beginning of the afternoon. She pushed herself to do her early chores, and if she didn't enjoy them, then at least she had settled in to doing them without complaint, which made Joe happy. They agreed that with a growing pregnancy it didn't make any sense to adapt to work jeans, so she wore work boots and hitched her skirts up out of the way of the muck around the yard and the barn. She had spent some time practicing her cooking out on her compliant husband, even going so far as to spend some afternoons with Hop Sing perfecting her techniques. By the time the family dinner was upon them, she was feeling more confident as a housewife.

The guests complimented the young couple on the decoration of the house and how well it was kept. The smells from the kitchen were appreciated and the meal was one that everyone was looking forward to. Once everyone had settled into chairs and onto benches in the large parlor, Joe stood up and asked for everyone's attention.

"Elly and I are both so happy that you could join us this afternoon. We wish it could have been sooner, but Mother Nature seems to have wanted us to take our time before being hosts. In any event, I think in a moment you'll agree that it was worth the wait. First, I want to again thank brother Adam and everyone else who helped build this lovely home for us." There were voices raised in approval for Adam's design and work and he acknowledged the complement with a smile and a small bow of the head.

"Now, we haven't been married very long yet, so you'll understand I hope, if we are not the most polished of hosts. If there is anything that we've forgotten, please let us know and we'll put it right." There were murmurs and hands waving away the idea of the youngest Cartwright's being less than perfect hosts. "Now, Elly and I are ready to share our news with all of you; we are going to have our first baby early this fall."

There was a great crescendo of congratulations, some tears were shed by the older women in the room and there were lots and lots of hugs and kisses.

When Ben got over to Joe's side he pulled him into an enormous bear hug. "Congratulations, son!" he said with tears forming in his eyes. "You are going to be an amazing father."

"If I do, it's only because you taught me how," he replied, tears rising in his own eyes.