Courtships Remembered

By Tennessee

Ben was not feeling well so he want to bed early. He had a high fever and he started to dream about his courtships with his three wives and how much he loved them. Ben was first mate on a sailing ship under Captain Abel Morgan Stoddard when he met Elizabeth Stoddard. She was so pretty. Ben could not take his eyes off her. She had a big smile on her face every time he saw her. When he was off the ship, he was always with her. When he was aboard the ship working, he could not stop thinking about her.

Ben told her father that he loved her. But Captain Stoddard thought they were too young to get married. Ben and Elizabeth knew they were ready. Ben stayed on the ship but Elizabeth’s father was forced to retire. As soon as he was able, Ben left the sea and married Elizabeth. They had a happy life together. They were so much in love and very, very happy.

One day they had a big fight and did not talk in bed that night. Elizabeth began to cry.

Ben said, "Sweetheart . . . "

She looked at him.

"I - I’m sorry." And he kissed her.

She stayed awake a long time looking at her husband. She smiled like she had some secret bit of good news. She was going to have his child. She drifted off to sleep.

The next day as he was getting dressed, Ben looked at his wife.

"Ben," she said. "I’m going to have a baby."

He jumped up and ran to her. And he kissed her.

Elizabeth was sick a lot during the pregnancy. She was weak and pale and did not eat much. Her father was worried about her. She wasn’t doing well at all. Ben was also worried. She was almost five months pregnant, but a person looking at her could barely tell. She grew weaker.

When her labor started she was by herself. By the time Ben got come she was in bed in hard labor. He went and got Elizabeth’s pa and the doctor. When the doctor saw Elizabeth, he knew she’d have a hart time having the baby. Elizabeth managed to push the baby out, but she was dangerously weak. She fell asleep right after her son was born.

Ben heard a baby cry and ran to the door.

"You have a son," the doctor told him.

Ben smiled, but something in the doctor’s eyes made Ben run into the bedroom.

"Your wife is very weak," the doctor said. "She may not make it."

Ben took Elizabeth’s hand and whispered, "I love you."

She opened her eyes and smiled. The doctor put the baby in her arms. "We have a son, Ben," she said. "His name will be Adam."

Elizabeth did not recover from having the baby. She passed away soon after. Ben’s heart broke. He didn’t do anything but cry. He could not eat or sleep.

His father-in-law finally got him out of the spell. "Your son needs you, Ben."

Ben said, "If she hadn’t had the baby, Elizabeth would still be here."

"Adam is part of Elizabeth. She left you a son. She left you a piece of her."

Ben knew he was right. The baby needed him.

For a year Ben tried to get on with his life. He wanted to leave Boston. One night he told Elizabeth’s father that he was moving to Illinois. "I have to make a life for myself and my son."

Ben packed up his wagon and left early one day. He stopped at Elizabeth’s grave. He and Adam stood there. Adam was too young to understand. He watched his pa. Ben had tears in his eyes as he said, "Goodbye, my love." He took Adam’s hand. "Let’s go, son."

It took them a long time to get to their new home. When they got to Galesburg, Illinois, Ben found a house and a job.

* * * * * * *

Ben’s fever was very high. He was talking out of his head, and he woke up the whole house. They ran into Ben’s room. Hop Sing said, "Your pa is real sick."

Adam said, "Pa." And Ben heard him, but he could not open his eyes.

Ben yelled, "Elizabeth!"

Hop Sing told the boys they needed to get Ben’s fever down. Hop Sing got some cool water and a cloth and put it on Ben’s head. Ben was still dreaming.

* * * * * * * *

When they got to their new home, Ben wrote Elizabeth’s father to let him know they were okay. Ben worked and stayed to himself. He met a young woman named Inger Borgstrom. She was the fiancee of Ben’s boss. She listed to Ben talk about his late wife. It hurt her to see the pain in his eyes.

Inger had already fallen in love with Adam. She would take Adam for walks and watch him when Ben was working. Adam looked just like his mother.

Ben and Inger were great friends, but Ben found himself having deeper feelings for her. She had called off her wedding. Inger had been in love with Ben for four months. One night she went to Ben’s house and told him she loved him.

Ben looked at her and did not say anything.

"I know you still love Elizabeth. She will always have a place in your heart."

"Yes, she will. But I know I need to move on with my life. My son needs a ma. Inger, to tell you the truth, I have feelings for you."

Ben kissed Elizabeth. "Will you be my wife?"

She said yes.

Ben told Adam he and Inger were getting married. He was happy. He asked, "Pa, what about my ma?"

"I will always love her, son. She gave me you. But I love Inger now, and I want her to be a part of the family."

Inger and Ben got married. They were happy and in love. Inger loved Adam like he was her own son, but she always told him his real ma also loved him very much.

When Inger found out she was pregnant she was so happy. When she told Ben he wasn’t sure what to think. "Inger, I love you, but--"

She said, "Ben, I will be okay. I am strong."

He kissed her.

Her pregnancy was easy. She was healthy and happy. She sang all the time. By her fifth month, she looked like she was nine months pregnant. The last four months went by quickly. She gave birth to a son. The baby was so much bigger than baby Adam had been.

"We will call him Eric," she said.

Ben woke Adam. When Adam saw the baby, he kissed him. Inger was so happy with her family.

Only a few months later, Inger was killed in an Indian attack. Ben ran to her when she was hit. "I will always love you," she said. She died in Ben’s arms. Adam looked at Ben, holding baby Eric. Ben took them both in his arms. "It’s just the three of us now," Ben said. He knew it would be hard to take care of the boys by himself, but he knew he could do it. His friend Rose helped him through it.

* * * * * * * *

The boys sat by Ben’s bedside, and Hop Sing was still trying to get his fever down.

"Inger," Ben said.

Hoss looked at Adam.

"Pa’s dreaming," Adam said.

"His fever is real bad," Hop Sing said.

Hoss said, "Pa." And Ben could hear him but he could not open his eyes.

* * * * * * * *

Ben and the boys moved to New Orleans to start a new life. Ben thought he would never fall in love again, and for a long time it was just the three of them. Ben started dreaming about Marie and their courtship. How she grew to love the boys. And how he fell in love with her.

She always made cookies for the boys, and one day Hoss asked if she would be their new ma. She had tears in her eyes and Ben saw that.

Marie said, "Your pa still loves your ma, Hoss."

When the boys went to bed Ben walked her home and she thanked him. Ben said, "Marie, I heard what you told the boys. I will always love Elizabeth. She gave me Adam and we were always very happy together. And I will always love Inger. She gave me Eric and was a great ma to Adam and wife to me. But I’m ready to move on."

Marie asked, "What are you trying to say, Ben?"

"I love you, Marie. I never thought I’d fall in love again."

She said, "When I lost my husband and child I never thought I would fall in love again either. But I have."

Ben kissed her. They got married. At first, Adam was said, but Marie told him she would never take Elizabeth’s or Inger’s place.

The family was happy when they found out Marie was going to have a baby. She gave birth to a son, and she named him Joseph Francis Cartwright. Ben and Marie had three sons, and they were so happy.

The family moved to Eagle Station with the boys. They saved their money, planning buy a ranch of their own. Marie was going to have another baby, but she lost it.

The boys were big enough to go to the town school, and Marie was the teacher.

They began to call Eric "Hoss." Joseph’s brothers named him Little Joe because he was such a small child. Little Joe had his ma’s eyes. They were all so happy with their life together.

But one day Marie was working in the Eagle Station store when it blew up. She was killed in the explosion. Ben was holding her in his arms when she died. Ben had lost Marie now, too. With tears, he told the boys Marie had died. Little Joe tried to run into the store, but Hoss stopped him.

* * * * * * * *

"Don’t leave me, Marie!" Ben called in a state of fever.

Little Joe ran out of the room.

"Pa’s just dreaming, that’s all," Adam said. He brought Little Joe back to Pa’s room.

Hop Sing felt Ben’s forehead. The fever was still high, but it was lessening. By night, Ben’s fever was all gone. He opened his eyes and saw his three sons. "Hello."

"You been real sick, Pa," Little Joe said. "You called out all our ma’s names."

"I was dreaming about my courtships with your mothers. I was thinking about how much I loved all of them."

He looked at his sons. "You all look so much like your mothers. I see them when I look at you."

The boys smiled, and Hop Sing said, "Your pa needs to sleep now."

"All right," they agreed. "Bye, Pa."

Ben was all better after three days of rest. He got out of bed and dressed. He went outside and saw his sons and again thought about their ma’s. He called to his boys, and they all went fishing.

The End