by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13
LINK TO PART ONE
The stage coach jolted and bounced as the driver reined in the horses and slowed down. David opened one eye and glanced at Adam, who was sitting opposite him.
“I don’t suppose we’re in San Francisco yet?” he asked.
Adam shook his head. He didn’t even bother to adjust his hat, which was now tilted down over his eyes. “No—this is just another way station. We’ll probably spend the night here.”
David sighed. “Does it have a proper inn?”
Adam just gave a short laugh at that.
David grinned at his reaction but cringed all the same. The best rooms would go to the female travelers—the rest of them would either cram themselves in two or three to a bed or sleep on cots. In either case they were likely to encounter bed bugs or lice.
Well, at least they’d be staying in a good hotel once they reached San Francisco.
The stage rolled to a halt. After assisting some of the women travelers off the stage, David and Adam made their way inside.
The way station was already crowded with people. Apparently a stage coming from the opposite direction had stopped for the night as well. David had the general impression of laughter and fancy clothes and rose perfume wafting in the air before he realized that someone was calling his name.
That someone was a woman with an enchanting contralto that carried throughout the room. David took a deep breath, recognizing that God sometimes had a cruel sense of humor.
He had a smile pasted on his face, however, when he turned to face his mother. He paused only to tap Adam on the shoulder.
“Come with me,” he whispered. “There’s someone here you really should meet.”
~
Josephine Levine was every bit as captivating in person as she was on stage, Adam reflected. And she was still a beautiful woman, even though she was no longer a sparkling young Juliet—the role which had made her famous.
She had procured a small table for the three of them and a decent bottle of merlot which, Adam presumed, came from her own luggage. It was a blessing—the way station was not known for its culinary pleasures, so the wine helped disguise the blandness of the grub.
She was not traveling alone. Adam ended up meeting quite a few theatre folk that night, but he couldn’t help but focus on David’s mother.
She and her son had an affectionate but quarrelsome relationship. She seemed genuinely fond of David—and he of her—but that didn’t stop them from trading shots.
“You’re engaged?” she gasped when David conveyed the news.
“Yes,” he answered evenly. “Her name is Avigail and she’s staying with Adam’s father on the Ponderosa.”
Josephine—as she insisted that Adam call her—rolled her eyes. “Avigail? She’s not frighteningly observant, is she? I don’t think I can stand you going through another religious phase.”
David smiled at Adam. “Please excuse my mother. She thinks it’s the height of bad form for anyone to take their religion seriously.”
Josephine put her hand on Adam’s arm. “He’s right. I set a dreadful example as far as that goes. I can remember one Saturday morning in particular. David was about seventeen at the time. He told me that he was going to synagogue. I looked at him blankly and said, ‘Whatever for? Is it some sort of holiday?’ He sighed and said, ‘Yes, mother. It’s called the Sabbath.’”
Adam laughed appreciatively. There was something about Josephine that put him in mind of Marie—she had the same vivacity and playfulness.
“But my dear,” she continued, “you should have seen my son when he got married. He grew a beard for that girl and observed the Sabbath and followed the kosher laws—and all for what? It ended in divorce anyway.”
Adam raised his eyebrows at that. He hadn’t realized that David had once been married.
“Well, it was my fault that the marriage ended in disaster,” David said generously. “Not hers.”
“That’s probably true,” Josephine agreed, “but you should never have married her to begin with. I hope this new girl understands you better.”
“She does,” he assured her. “I think you’ll like Avigail, mother, if you give her a chance.”
“I’ll tolerate her as long as you don’t grow a beard again,” she promised. “Our religion is eighty percent ethics—why get involved with all those dreadful observances?”
Adam smothered a grin as he watched David take a deep breath. He could tell that David was debating whether to explain why some Jews considered the observances so important.
He must have decided not to waste his breath. Undoubtedly the two of them had covered that ground before.
“I suppose I’ll have to call on this Abby when I reach Virginia City,” Josephine continued. “Adam, I hope your father won’t think me shockingly forward if I arrive uninvited at the Ponderosa.”
Adam smiled. “Not at all, Ma’am. He’ll be delighted.”
Privately, he wished that he could be there for that meeting. He was curious to know how his Pa, Hoss and Joe would react to Josephine.
They spent the rest of the evening listening to Josephine regale them with theatre stories. They polished off the bottle of merlot and broke into a bottle of port as she kept them laughing with her accounts of all the mishaps that occur during any given production.
Adam glanced at David. He must have heard all these stories before, but he was enjoying them regardless. Adam wasn’t surprised—it was impossible to be unaffected by his mother’s charm.
But there was another point to these stories. Josephine clearly wanted her son to follow in her footsteps as far as the stage was concerned. David deflected her hints deftly enough, but Adam could tell that it was a sore point between them.
“Why don’t you want to be in the theatre yourself?” he asked later as both men settled into their cots.
David yawned. “The theatre’s not for me. I’m a decent actor, Adam, but that’s not good enough.”
Adam rolled over on his side so that he was facing him. “Your mother seems to think you’re good enough.”
“She doesn’t understand,” David said wryly. “To be only decent when you’re the son of Josephine Levine would be torture.”
He rolled over with that, putting his back to Adam. Adam settled down again, sorry that he had brought the whole subject up.
Well, maybe not so sorry. He understood David a bit better now. Josephine was enchanting, but it couldn’t be easy to have a mother who cast such a long shadow.
LINK TO PART FIFTEEN
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