It happened in Virginia City. On a nice day Mitch and Pam Cartwright were on their way from school to home when they ran into widow Clementine Hawkins. Clementine had heard about the twins sometimes and she also knew the couple but she never really had a talk with them.
“You are the Cartwright twins, aren’t you?”, the widow asked.
“Yes, Adam Cartwright is our father and Ben our grandpa. Why do you want to know that?”, asked Mitch.
By hearing the of Ben Clementine began to shine totally.
“Just like that. Do you want a cup of tea?”, she asked.
Mitch and Pam looked at each other and they nodded at the same time.
“Follow me then”, said the widow.
The children did that.
In the house of Clementine the twins looked around in the living room.
“It is rather cozy here”, said Pam.
“That is my opnion too. It is just a sad thing that she lives alone”, reacted Mitch.
“She is alone and grandpa too”, his sister remarked.
Mitch looked at his sister and got laughing eyes.
“I do know how we can make sure they both aren't alone anymore”, he said.
Then he whispered his sister in the ear, “We just gonna hitch widow Hawkins to grandpa. And in a much better way than Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe tried with Missy Ab.”
Pam nodded approving. Quickly they went to sit next to each other because a moment later
Clementine came in with the tea and cookies.
“Mrs. Hawkins, why did you never got married again?”, asked Pam.
“I wanted to but the man I choose didn't”, was the answer.
“Pity of him”, reacted Mitch.
“I think so too but yeah, what can I do when he refuses?”, asked Clementine.
“Nothing”, answered Pam.
Quickly they drank their tea and went then away.
The twins thought to go home unnoticed but that failed. Their father Adam Cartwright came after them after that sheriff Roy Coffee had told him that his children had been going inside by widow Hawkins.
“Why did you have to be with widow Hawkins after school?”, Adam asked when he had caught up with his offspring.
“She invited us for tea with cookies. We thought it was rude to refuse that”, answered Mitch.
Adam sighted deep. He looked at the two for a long time so that they became nervous.
“What are you up to?”, he finally asked.
“Well, widow Hawkins is alone and so is grandpa. So to make sure that they both aren't alone anymore we want to hitch them together. Then we have a grandma too”, Mitch explained.
“And a very nice one too”, Pam added.
Adam sighted again.
He said smiling, “I do understand that you want a sweet grandma and I grant you that too . But I know for sure that grandpa won't like this.”
“Why not? They are made for each other, aren't they?”, Pam asked amazed.
“She has an eye for grandpa for years”, said Adam.
“But grandpa doesn't see it?”, Mitch asked carefully.
Adam nodded and answered, “We go home and don't talk about it anymore.”
Once at home Ben Cartwright, owner of the de Ponderosa ranch, asked his grandchildren, “What are you late? Did you have to stay behind again of your father?”
“No, he had to stay behind of us”, Mitch reacted dry.
“We ran into widow Hawkins in town and she invited us for tea”, said Pam.
The rancher knew enough and didn't trust it. To avoid that they had to answer more questions the twins quickly went to do their homework.
“Adam, do you know what widow Hawkins has asked the twins?”, Ben asked worried his eldest son.
“Just stuff. How they are doing and that sort of things”, answered Adam.
“As long as they aren't gonna hitch me to her. Then they will experience something else”, answered Ben.
“They would never do such a thing. And if they would do an attempot to it, it will go a whole lot better that whatt Hoss and Joe ever tried with Abigail Jones”, Adam remarked.
He went outside to take care of the horses. Near the stable he found his younger brothers Hoss and Little Joe.
“Do you let the children stay behind these days so that we can do your work?”, asked Hoss.
“No, my lovely twins are friends with widow Hawkins since this afternoon. Something which pa cannot appreciate”, answered Adam.
His brothers couldn't stop laughing.
“We don't have to arrange the wedding reception, do we?”, asked Little Joe.
“If it was up to the twins yes. They would love to have a sweet grandma because they never had one. I can understand that but now to hitch pa to the widow Hawkins goes a bit too far for me”, answered Adam.
“I don't know. She is kind and crazy about pa”, said Hoss.
Adam couldn't deny that too but he wasn't really waiting for a new mother. His brothers weren't either.
In the meantime Clementine decided to be in her own command.
“The Cartwright twins have bought to the idea to spend my life with my Ducky. I will be the children grateful forever for it”, she said to herself.
She went upstairs and got her wedding dress out of the closet.
Apperantly at the Ponderosa waren Mitch and Pam were busy with their homework but in fact they were writing down the whole wedding ceremony for the grandpa and grandma to be down.
By suppertime Adam came into their room.
“How far are you with the homework?”, he asked.
“Not very far yet because we are busy with a much more important case”, answered Mitch.
Adam came to sit upon the bed and looked at his offspring.
“Let's see what you have done”, said Adam.
Pam gave him the paper for the wedding. Her fatherread it and couldn't stop laughing anymore. The twins looked at each other amazed.
“You don't really think that grandpa falls for this?”, asked Adam.
The children nodded at the same time.
Outside Ben got the fright of his life. He was busy on the porch when he heard a woman's voice saying, “Ducky of mine!”
The rancher looked up and saw Clementine running up the yard in her wedding dress.
When Clementine had come by him she said gasping, “Ducky, I already have arranged everything. The reverend is on his way to bond us forever.”
Ben was so speechless and amazed of this unexpected proposal that his sons and grandchildren came outside right away to see what was going on.
Mitch said to his sister, “Sis, now we still get a sweet grandma.”
Ben woke up bathing in sweat. Amazed he looked around him and realised then that he had dreamed it all.
“What a relief. I hope that the twins will never do this for me in real”, the rancher said to himself.
To bring nobody to this idea Ben kept this dream or nightmare to himself.