The New Hand, Part Twenty

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Adam was sitting on top of his bed, reading, when David walked into the room. Once again, he didn’t bother to knock.

“Did you find everything?” Adam asked, glancing up from his book.

“I think so,” he answered. “All the theatrical make up I’ll need is in this bag. I already have the clothes.”

He set the bag down as he spoke. Then he took out his wallet and placed it on the bureau. Next he emptied his pockets of change.

Adam smiled. “I can remember watching Rebecca’s father—Aaron Kaufman—emptying his pockets before the Sabbath.”

David grinned. “I’m still mildly observant—I don’t like handling money on the Sabbath if I can help it. Who’s Rebecca?”

“A girl I courted for a short while.”

“Is that so?” David asked, raising his eyebrows. “Did your religious differences drive you apart?”

Adam shook his head. “Not really. I imagine I would have had to convert to marry her, but we both realized that we were better off as friends than as husband and wife.”

“You two must have had all the neighbors talking while you were courting.”

Adam nodded. “We did.” Then he paused and smiled as a memory came flooding back. “I can remember when my father married Marie, Joe’s mother. The neighbors were shocked just because she was a Catholic!”

David laughed. “Is Joe a Catholic?”

“In theory,” Adam answered. “Marie had him christened Catholic and he did manage to get confirmed. He attends Mass on special occasions. The rest of the time he attends Pa’s church."

He paused and gave David an intent look. "What about your mother? Why is she so hostile to observant Judaism?”

“Oh, my mother sees Judaism as all rules and regulations,” he answered with a shrug. “She doesn’t realize that embedded in all our observances is a celebration of the love between God and the people Israel.”

Adam cocked his head at him. “You’re deeply religious, aren’t you?”

“In some ways,” David agreed. “It’s amazing that I’m not a better person, isn’t it?”

“Not necessarily,” Adam answered, grinning. “Think how much worse you’d be if you weren’t religious.”

David laughed. “That’s true.”

Adam set his book aside and stood up from the bed. “There’s a chess board in the lobby. Can you play on the Sabbath?”

“Oh, I do lots of things on the Sabbath that I shouldn’t,” David assured him. “I worked Saturdays on the Ponderosa, remember? But I think chess is permitted anyway.”

He paused and gave Adam a challenging smile. “But a game of chess between the two of us—you know we’ll both be out for blood.”

Adam returned the smile. “I know. That’s what will keep it interesting.”

LINK TO PART TWENTY-ONE