The Letter

Mary is working in the newspaper office as usual, but what is unusual is the fact that she has a letter that she now has to deliver to Chris Larabee. While Mary likes to spend time talking with Chris she reminds herself that this time she would keep the conversation brief so that he could read his letter that the postman had said was very urgent. When she sees Chris walk past her office she goes up to him and says, "Chris, I have this letter that the postman said was urgent. Well, here it is."

Mary hands the letter to Chris, and beats a hasty retreat before she gets the urge to stick her nose where it doesn't belong.

As he is watching Mary beat a hasty retreat, and while he is thinking about the possible contents of the mystery letter Mary gave him, Vin comes up to him saying, "Ya goin' ta stand there decorating that pole all day?"

Chris pushes off the pole and says, "No. Hope that you enjoy your week of hunting."

Vin smiles after getting on his horse, and says, "Planned on it, and I hope that my trip hasn't put you out what with Nathan and Josiah being gone, and JD and Buck all set to handle that prisoner transfer tomorra'."

"I'll be fine. Besides, Ezra is here to watch my back," Chris assures Vin as he rides of out of town. Chris goes to sit outside of the Saloon, and enjoy the beautiful day. As Chris is sitting there contemplating things with Mary and this town he remembers the letter Mary gave him this morning. Chris takes the letter out of his pocket, and reads it.

27 July 1882

My Son,

It is with great sadness and even greater guilt that I write this to you now. Even though we have not always gotten along I am very fond of you, and understand the weight of your grief after I lost your Mother. The last ten years I have spent living at the very bottom of the bottle, and it took a very kind hearted and persistent woman to drag me back out again. Even though she is unable to marry me it has caused me to reflect on the past, and it is time for me to tell you about the biggest mistake of my life.

When you were ten years old an exceedingly beautiful woman came to town, and she had stolen my heart from the first time she smiled at me. We spent so much time together that we got to know one another quite well. Oh My Son that Southern Belle, was so beautiful that I let the fact that she is a gambler slide. I knew that she wasn't really suited to the life of a ranchers wife when I saw her parading around in them fancy silk dresses, and then I knew that the woman is from the city. It made me want to know what she was doing in such a dusty little town like ours.

Our relationship didn't last very long, and when she left she took my unborn child with her. I know this because nine months later I get a telegraph from her telling me that we have a son, and she tells me that if I don't give her $5,000 I will never get to meet my son. I refused to give her a single penny, or even tell your mother about the incident, and then when the deadline had past I got another telegraph telling me that because I have chosen to be so unreasonable I have given up knowing my son.

I have never forgiven that blonde haired devil for stealing my boy from me, but I am old now and I wish that I had gotten the chance to meet my youngest son just once. I also want you to have the chance to get to know your brother, and try to build up the relationship that you should have had for the last thirty years. I am so sorry I hope that you can one day forgive me for my infidelity.

Your father,

Micheal Larabee

Chris is angry that his father would dare to cheat on his mother, and puts the letter in his pocket slightly crumpled in his anger before walking into the Saloon to get a drink, hoping that his friends will have the good sense to leave him alone for awhile.

After drinking a couple of bottles of whisky, Chris decides that he needs some time to think and informs Ezra that he is heading to the cabin for a bit, and then they will need to have a serious talk when he gets back to town. Ezra is puzzled by these developments, but agrees to watch over things while he is gone. When Chris gets to his cabin he sits on the porch, and takes out the letter to get some kind of clue to tell him who his father's mistress is. Chris re-reads the part of the letter where his father describes his mistress, and as he is reading an image begins to form in his mind. As soon as the image settles into his mind he knows exactly who his father had an affair with, and with this knowledge comes the realization that Ezra is his half brother. Chris also realizes that the first thing he is going to talk to Ezra about is Maude having an affair with his father. With all of his thoughts sorted out Chris saddles his horse, and returns to town to have a talk with his brother.

When Chris gets to town he walks into the Saloon, and finds Ezra sitting at a table finishing up a hand of poker. As soon as the newest round of losers have left the table Chris sits down, and pours himself a drink waiting for Ezra to acknowledge him. After pouring himself a drink Ezra sits back in his chair, and says,"Mr. Larabee is it time for us to have that serious conversation you told me about before you left on your constitutional?"

"Yes, Ezra the time for that discussion has come. This morning I received a letter that the postman said was urgent, and when I read it I was disturbed by what I found. I ended up half crinkling the letter in my anger."

Chris takes a sip of his drink to steady his nerves. Ezra who is still confused by the conversation says, "What does this disturbing correspondence have to do with me?" Chris sighs, takes the letter from his pocket, and hands it to Ezra to read for himself. Ezra reads the letter, and says, "Oh Mother! Mr. Larabee. . . Chris, I wish I could say that I am surprised by the fact that Mother has been using me quite literally from the day I was born, but sadly I am not. When I was ten I was looking through Mothers things to see if I could find out why we always moved around so much, and I found a telegraph receipt dated the day I was born, but unfortunately there was nothing to indicate what the telegraph was about. Now that I know it answers a lot of my own questions. What are we going to do about this information Chris?"

"Well I for one would like to spend sometime getting to know my brother, and then when our friends get back, we tell them what's going on."

Chris takes another swig of his drink after answering his brothers question. Ezra smiles, and says, "Sounds like a plan. Ask me what ever you like." Chris smiles, and starts asking his brother questions.

Chris and Ezra have spent the last week bonding like they should have been doing for the last thirty years, and before they know it their friends ride back into town. When the rest of the Seven walk into the Saloon they see Chris talking and laughing with Ezra, and he actually has a happy smile on his face. Seeing this makes them wonder just what could have happened in a week to change things so much. They sit down at the table with Chris and Ezra, and Buck says "What have you boys been up to while we've been gone?"

Ezra and Chris look at each other, and Ezra says, "You better tell them, Chris."

Chris looks at his friends and his brother, puts a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder, and says, "The morning Vin, Buck, and JD left town I received a letter from my father telling me that when I was ten he had an affair with a blonde Southern belle who's description fits Maude perfectly, and that said affair produced a son, a son who is thirty years old now."

Chris stops to give his friends time to absorb what he is saying. Buck is the first to put the pieces together, and says, "Are you saying that Ezra is your brother?"

Chris takes a swig of whisky and Buck says, "Can I see that letter, Chris?" Chris nods, and hands the letter to Buck who grabs it from Chris's hand, reads it, and says, "You don't steal a man's child and get away with it. That woman deserves to be locked up for the rest of her life for what she's done."

Ezra has been listening to the conversation, and finds himself agreeing with Buck saying, "I agree with you, Mr. Wilmington. Mother does deserve to go to jail for her sordid scheme."

JD, who has finally wrapped his mind around the conversation thus far says, "Ezra you can't be thinking about throwing your own Mother in jail. Are you?"

"I most certainly am, Mr. Dunne. If it hadn't been for Mother, I could have grown up with a loving family instead of being forced on every unwilling relative on her side of the family, except when she needed me for whatever con she was running at the time." The rest of the Seven get really quiet at the realization of just how much Ezra has suffered at the hands of his mother, and not much more is said after that.

A week passes, and things have pretty much returned to normal except for the fact that Chris and Ezra are a lot closer than they were before the letter arrived. Chris and Ezra are sitting on the jailhouse porch discussing patrol rotations as well as various other work related things when they see the stage pull into town with some very familiar luggage secured on top. When the stage coach comes to a stop, Chris and Ezra walk up just as Maude is opening the door, and Ezra helps her out of the stage before Chris says, "Maude Standish, you're under arrest for the parental kidnapping of my brother Ezra. Ezra, escort Maude to the jail while I go wire the Judge."

Ezra holds his arm out for his mother who reluctantly takes it allowing Ezra to lead her to the jail. As soon as he has Maude securely locked up Ezra resumes his seat on the porch to wait for news on the arrival of the Judge. Chris walks out of the Telegraph office, and sees Ezra sitting on the jailhouse porch. Chris walks up to him, and takes a seat saying, "I sent a telegraph to the Judge telling him that we have a new prisoner, and received a reply saying that he will be here in two days."

Ezra breathes a sigh of relief, and settles back into his chair to contemplate everything that has happened. After thinking for a while Ezra says, "I need a drink. Want to come, too, Chris?"

Chris gets up and follows right behind Ezra who is already on his way to the Saloon.

Chris and Ezra spend the next two days gathering as much evidence of Maude's crime as possible so that they will get a conviction when the Judge arrives for the trial. The morning of the third day the stage coach pulls to a stop in town, and Judge Travis gets off the stage with his luggage. Judge Travis walks over to the jailhouse, and inquires about the prisoner saying, "Your telegram said that you have a prisoner in need of immediate trial, and I came as quickly as I could. So tell me about this prisoner."

Chris and Ezra look at each other, and Chris says, "Maude Standish has been arrested for the parental kidnapping of my brother, Ezra."

Chris points to Ezra as he is saying this, and Judge Travis responds to the accusation saying, "I hope you have proof to back up those charges."

"Yes I do, Judge. Here's the letter from my father for starters, and the rest of the evidence will be presented at the trial."

Chris hands the letter to the Judge while he says this. Judge Travis reads the letter, and Chris watches as the anger floods the Judge's face. The Judge schedules the trial for exactly one hour from now, and leaves to spend some time with his grandson and Mary.

An hour later the trial begins, and over the course of the trial all of the gathered evidence is presented to the Judge. As the Judge looks over the evidence he finds that it is quite damning, and at the end of the trial Judge Travis sentences Maude Standish to thirty years in Yuma prison for her crime. When court is adjourned Ezra and Chris escort Maude to jail to await transfer to Yuma prison the next day. Mary comes up to the jail house door, and asks to see Maude. Ezra intercepts her saying, "Where do you think that you're going?"

"I'm going to talk to her, and see if there is anything I can do to make her more comfortable here."

"Oh I think the prisoner will be fine in the cell just as it is until she is taken to Yuma prison to pay for her crimes against me, Chris, and the father I never got the chance to meet. Good day."

Mary leaves in a huff disappointed that she can't do anything to make Maude's last day of freedom more comfortable. The next morning Chris, Ezra, and JD are getting ready to for the impending prisoner transfer, and as they are finishing getting everything ready Buck brings Maude out hand-cuffed. Buck helps her onto the spare horse, and watches as his friends leave with the prisoner.

After having arrived at Yuma prison, Chris and Ezra watch the guards take Maude away after transferring her into their custody to serve out her sentence. Chris can tell that despite what happened Ezra is sad to see his Mother in prison, and he puts a comforting hand on his shoulder before turning in the direction they came from. After one last look, Ezra turns away, unable to stand the sight of his Mother in prison any longer, and follows after Chris down the road home. When they get back to Four Corners, Ezra goes to the Saloon, and Chris goes to take his shift at the jail. As soon as he is relieved of jail duty Chris goes to find Ezra because he knows how hard it is on him to have been the one to put his mother in prison. After a while Chris leaves the Saloon, and goes to the telegraph office to notify his father of recent events. Micheal Larabee sends a reply telling him that he will be there in two weeks, and that he is looking forward to spending time with his sons. Chris goes back to the Saloon to tell Ezra the good news.

Ezra is taking the news that he will get the chance to meet his father in two weeks time relatively well with very little visible nerves. Ezra deals with them by immersing himself in work so he has little time to internally fret about the fact that he is finally going to be meeting the father he was robbed of as a child. Ezra contents himself with patrol rotations and poker games to fill his time until their father is scheduled to arrive. With all he has been doing to pass the time the two weeks have passed by quickly. Ezra and Chris are present when the stagecoach pulls into town Monday of the third week, and they watch as their father gets off the stage before removing his luggage from the top. When Micheal Larabee turns around and sees his son standing comfortably next to a young man who is the right age he puts the pieces together, and comes to the conclusion that this young man is his son that was stolen from him. Micheal walks up to Chris, and says, "My son, I got your telegram, and I have come to meet my youngest son as well as reconcile with you Chris."

"Well, father, I'd like to introduce you to my brother, Ezra Standish. Ezra this is our father, Micheal Larabee."

"No need for such formality son, but I couldn't be happier to finally meet you after all this time."

"Yes, well why don't we continue this heat-warming family reunion in the Saloon?" And with that said, Ezra turns making his way to the Saloon with his family following behind him.

The rest of the Seven are sitting at their usual table in the back watching the family reunion from a safe distance so as not to interfere with the proceedings. They notice how Ezra is keeping his distance from his father, but is emotionally clinging to Chris for support. This makes them worried that they might have some trouble connecting as a family. The five friends wish that there was something that they can do to help things along, but shortly realize that if they try getting involved even to help it could ruin everything so they opt to watch and see how things play out. The five friends know that Ezra has a very hard time letting anyone get close to him, and that it will take him time to let his father in. It took Ezra months and a startling revelation for him to let Chris into his heart, and the rest of the Seven know that it will take Ezra just as long,if not longer, to let Micheal Larabee into his heart. Their only hope is that Micheal Larabee is willing to stay in town long enough to put in the effort it will take to get to know Ezra, and gain his trust enough for them to be a family.

Micheal Larabee notices that his sons are being very guarded around him, and it is very frustrating to say the least. Now Chris he can understand, but why is the son he has been waiting so long to meet treating him this way? It is very upsetting that Ezra is keeping him at arms length while pulling Chris as close to him as he possibly can. It's almost like Chris is an emotional security blanket, and therefore the person that he trusts the most with his heart. Micheal once again curses Maude Standish for running off with his son, because if she hadn't Ezra would hold him in that regard instead of Chris. He should be the person that Ezra trusts most, not Chris. He is Ezra's Pa and all, doesn't that count for anything? These facts beg serious questions as to how Maude raised the boy, for him to be so guarded even around members of his own family. Micheal is extremely glad that Maude has finally been brought to justice after all she has done to them.

The Letter

by E. Broen