I was intrigued, as well as amused, when my four-year-old son insisted
that I dressed in my best clothes and came and sat on this bench, in
the centre of the town.
Adam was not prepared to tell me why, but it was obvious that it was
extremely important to him, and as he asked very little of me, I was
prepared to go along with his demands.
"You havta look your best, Pa, it's most `portant, you know?"
"Well, I don't know, because you won't tell me, but if you say it's
important then I'll take your word for it," I said.
Adam nodded his head, and said, "That's real smart of you, Pa, taking
my word for it, `cos I'm telling the truff. I don't tell no lies and
you've gotta be there by twelve noon, `kay?"
"Are you coming with me?" I said, as I took off my work clothes,
and
began to wash in the warm water, which our landlady had been asked to
provide, by Adam.
"Nope, I'm gonna stay wiv Mrs Collins," said Adam. "I've
bin helping
her do some baking and she's gonna give me some of it for lunch. So,
don't fret Pa, I'll be fine," and the little boy gave me a reassuring
smile, very reminiscent of his dear, departed mother, my sweet Elizabeth.
Seeing that smile, made me feel sad and happy, all at the same time. I
was sad, because Elizabeth, having died on the day Adam was born,
never lived to see our son growing up, but I was happy that I had him,
to remind me of her. She was my first love and although we only had a
very short time together, it was one of the happiest periods of my life.
Since losing Elizabeth, Adam and I had spent a lot of time travelling
and so when we did stay in one place, for a while, he relished the
chance to make friends and to do the normal things that a young child
enjoyed. We only had a small room in the boarding house, but Adam had
made it very homely by finding places for all his treasured possessions.
He sat on the bed that we shared, and watched me as I shaved. Once I
was finished, he slid off the bed, and, standing on tiptoe, reached up
for my bottle of bay rum. With the tip of his tongue sticking out
between his teeth, a sure sign that he was concentrating hard, Adam
poured a little of the fragrant liquid into his hand, and then
returned the bottle to the dresser. I bent down and he patted my face
with his little hands, spreading the bay rum over my freshly shaved
chin and cheeks.
"There you go, Pa, now you smell real nice," he said, once he
was
satisfied that he'd done a thorough job.
"Thank you, son," I said, and kissed his upturned face.
He'd laid my clothes out on the bed, before I arrived back at the
room, and he handed me each item of clothing, as I required it.
"Mrs Collins sewed a button on your shirt, for you, cos I told her
one
was missing, and she made a real good job of ironing it, didn't she?"
he said, as he gave it to me.
"That was very kind of Mrs Collins," I said. "I will have to thank her."
"She was real happy to do it, when I told her you was gonna wear it
for somefing `portant."
"Right, I'm ready; will I do?"
Adam took a little while to answer me and I began to feel like a piece
of livestock, being assessed, before an auction, as he checked me
over, from head to toe.
Finally, I got my answer.
"Yes," he said. "You'll do, very well, Pa. You look real smart."
I walked down the stairs, with my little boy, and made sure he was
happily ensconced in Mrs Collins' cosy kitchen, before I headed for
the bench, on which Adam told me I was to wait.
"Have a nice time, Pa," he said, as I left the room.
"I'm sure I will," I said. "See you later, be good for Mrs Collins."
I was a little early and as I waited, I looked around the town and
watched the people, as they walked past me, wondering which of them
was the one I was supposed to be meeting.
When Miss Inger Borgstrom, from the general store, came towards me, I
wasn't really that surprised. Adam and I only knew a handful of people
and so there weren't that many to choose from. Of all the ones we did
know, I was pleased to find that it was her, who wanted to meet me.
She had been so kind to us, when we'd first arrived in the town, and
had given me some medicine for Adam, who was quite poorly, at the time.
As she arrived at the bench, I stood up and we said, in unison, "You
wanted to see me?"
We both laughed, rather nervously, and then discovered that Adam, our
little matchmaker, had told the pair of us that someone was going to
be waiting to meet us, at the bench, at twelve o'clock.
"I'm really sorry about this," I said. "I will be having
a very
necessary talk to Adam and I can assure you that nothing like this,
will happen, again."
"Mr Cartwright, before you go to have that talk, may I suggest that
we
have some lunch? After all, we both need to eat, and I can only be
away from the store, for an hour, and I'd prefer to have some company,
rather than eat, alone."
"Miss Borgstrom, that is an excellent idea," I said, and I couldn't
help but notice how her blue eyes sparkled, when she smiled at me.
I never did have that necessary talk with Adam, as, quite frankly, it
ceased to be necessary, by the time Inger and I had finished lunch.
You see, pretty soon, we realised what Adam already knew; Inger and I
were meant to be together.
And when we moved on from that town, we left as man and wife, and, for
the first time in his life, my son knew what it was like to have a
mother to care for him.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
November 5th 2005