Ben Talks About His Three Wives

By Tennessee

Adam said one day, "Pa, every time you look at me, you think about my ma, right?"

"Yes, son," Ben said, "I do. Your mother, Elizabeth, was my first love, and we were very happy. The day your ma found out she was going to have you she made a big supper and told me that night that I was going to be a father. We were very, very happy."

"Were you happy when I was born?"

"The day you were born was the happiest day of my life until the doctor told me your ma had had a hard time giving birth and was not going to make it. I went in to see her. She was holding you in her arms. You were asleep. She gave you your name and kissed you and told you she loved you. She was gone soon after that. You and I moved a couple months later. I couldn't stay there with all the memories of her.

Adam leaned closer. "Tell me more."

"Adam, the traveling was hard on both of us. You without your mother, me without my wife. But in time we got better. When you were a baby, you cried a lot and I would hold you and tell you how much I loved you. When you were one, you said 'ma' and my heart went out to you. Then you said 'pa' and I was so happy I cried.

"You walked early and were in to everything. I had to keep my eyes on you always. I loved all of my wives but your mother was my first love. The love of my life."

"Go on, Pa," prompted Adam.

"When you were three you began to ask about your ma a lot. As you grew, you thought of more questions. Adam, your ma was very pretty. She had long dark hair and she was short. She had blue eyes, as blue as the sky, and a smiled that could light up a room. She was kind, and she loved her family very much."

Adam smiled and looked at Ben. "Pa, did she want a boy or a girl?"

Ben said, "A boy. She knew she was carrying a boy, and she told me your name would be Adam before you were born."

Adam looked at the floor. "I think about my mother sometimes. I get sad that I never got to know her."

"In your heart you know her son. You make her proud."

Hoss rode up about that time and said hi to Ben and Adam.

Ben said, "Adam, if your mother was alive, she'd be so proud of you. You've turned into exactly the kind of man she'd have wanted you to be. I know it's hard for you to picture her but you look like her."

"I do?"

"Yes. That's why I think of her whenever I see you. You're a lucky young man because your ma loved you and then Inger loved you like you were her own."

"My ma?" asked Hoss.

"Yes," Ben said. "Inger was a sweet person and a good stepmother to Adam. I can still see her face when she met Adam. She ate all the time, so when she stopped eating regularly I knew she was with child. It was when we were part of that wagon train. When she was in hard labor, a woman from the train came to help. I waited outside the wagon. When I heard you cry, Eric, I ran into the wagon and saw you. You were such a big baby and your mother and Adam gave you the nickname Hoss. I had two sons and I was so happy."

"What did my ma look like?" asked Hoss.

"Your mother was real young when I first met her. She had light brown hair. She was tall. She, too, was happy to have two sons."

"Did Adam call her ma?"

"Yes."

"I remember Inger rocking me to sleep," Adam said. "And she sang to me. Hoss, you are kind to everyone like your ma. And you love animals just like she did."

Ben said, "When the Indians attacked the wagon train and your mother died, I had two sons and had lost two wives. I went through a hard time. When I met Marie I was still so sad and down about Inger's death that I didn't notice how beautiful she was. But she was so sweet and nice to you boys. We were friends first and then we fell in love."

"Marie is the only ma I knew," said Hoss. "She loved me and Adam, didn't she?"

"She did. She was a great mother to you. She helped me raise you two. When I married Marie we all became a new family, but Marie also told you boys that your real mothers loved you. When she found out she was with child Adam was worried that something would happen to her or the baby. Marie put her arms around him and told him it would be ok. She was healthy, and she wanted the baby very much. Marie gave birth to your brother on a warm night. She named him Joseph Francis after his grandfathers. She told me to get you two boys, and I took you into the room and you saw Joe for the first time. You fell in love with him instantly."

Adam said, "I remember that he didn't have any hair when he was born."

Hoss chuckled. "Yeah, he was so little."

Ben continued, "I know we were all sad when Marie died, but we've pulled together and moved on with our lives. I have three sons to remember my three wives by. Elizabeth lives in you Adam, Inger lives in you Eric, and Marie lives in Joe. I love all your mothers, and they are always in my heart and thoughts, and every time I see you boys, I see them.

They spotted Little Joe riding Paint in the field and smiled. Ben said, "Your mothers would be happy with the way all you boys have turned out." He winked. "Even though you're a handful sometimes and that brother of yours manages to find a good deal of trouble."

Hoss smiled. "Let's go eat," he said. He called to Little Joe.

When they got to the house Ben thought about his wives. "Our sons are happy and healthy," he silently told Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie. "You'll always be in my heart, my three loves. I thank you for leaving me our sons. Every time I look at them, I see all of you."

The End