by Tey Holden
“But you have money! You always buy bookz and ztuff for me, and food and thingz for the house, and for Mommy Karen and you.”
Addy chuckled and looked at Karen, who rolled her eyes and looked away shaking her head. It was pretty obvious, even to Alex, who was the big spender in the house.
“I don’t even know if they would want to sell her.” When Addy made the comment, Karen immediately looked up. Oh no! She’s already giving in. She’s going to buy it!
“But you can azk, can’t you M’Addy? Can’t you? Mommy Karen, pleaze, tell M’Addy to do it. Pleaze!”
“Well, Alex, you have already said all that you wanted to say. And you heard what Mommy Addy said. It is what it is, and horses are horses.”
Alex looked at Karen trying to figure out the point she was making. But she couldn’t because, in fact, Karen didn’t have a point. So, she went back to plead her case with Addy. She knew that Mommy Karen would always go with whatever Mommy Addy decided.
Addy, who was also perplexed with Karen’s non-response, looked at Karen and spoke. “Alex, I promise you that I will make some inquiries tomorrow, and we will talk about it then. Now, I don’t want you to cry anymore, okay. Go back to your room and get some sleep.”
“Okay, M’Addy.” Alex hugged her and kissed her. She prolonged the hug more than usual. “I like it when you hug me. I want Alejandro to have hiz mommy too. I love you, M’Addy. Good night.” She came over and also hugged and kissed Karen, but the embrace with Karen was not as long as the one with Addy. Alex was a smart kid and knew that Addy was the one who she could shake emotionally.
“I’m going to pray to my Guardian Angel and to God and to Jezuz and to—.”
“Alexandra! To bed!” Karen spoke in a firm tone, and Alex ran up the stairs. The women smiled looking at each other. Karen got up to go to the kitchen. “You saw what she did, right? She is the real manipulator around here.” She patted Addy on her knee. Addy chuckled, but remained silent. “She plays you like a fiddle.” Karen continued to the kitchen, shaking her head and grinning. “Redemption, at last!” Addy grinned, but remained silent. Karen came back with a glass of water and sat next to her on the sofa. “How much is that horse going to cost us?” Addy smiled and rubbed Karen’s back.
“I have no idea. I’ll find out tomorrow.” She looked at Karen who was still looking at her. “What? Say what you have to say.”
Karen leaned back on the sofa and pulled Addy to her. “I have nothing to say. A long time ago I resigned myself to my fate. So far it’s been a good ride, and I have no complaints. Just make sure you don’t run us aground somewhere, Ms. Addy.” She kissed her on the head as Addy wrapped herself around her.
“Ms. Larsen, I was just thinking that it’s been a while since we’ve had a rendezvous on our favorite sofa. And it so happens that you’ve just turned me on.”
Karen opened her eyes in amazement. “Here? Now? And just what did I do to turn you on?”
“She’ll be asleep soon, and you don’t need to do anything to turn me on, just looking at you turns me on. So, are you going to leave me wanting, or is it a go?”
Karen looked at her with burning desire, and smiled. “I have never left you wanting, and I’m not going to start now. Turn off the light, and let’s have ourselves a very memorable rendezvous.”
The light went off immediately, followed by giggles. “Sssh! You have to keep it low!”
“Hand me a cushion.” Karen asked.
“You are so terrible!”
“But you love it.”
“Umm! I do.”
They never returned the mare. The next morning Addy went to the nearby farm and inquired about buying her. The owner was amenable to the idea and sold her, for a steep price, of course, but since she did have money for pizza and the bank machine always gave her money, she really had no excuse. She drove straight to the Manor house, and Karen’s office.
Karen saw her pull up the driveway from her window and as usual she came out to meet her.
“Well, we got ourselves another horse!”
“Please, don’t tell me how much we paid.”
“It was actually pretty good. I negotiated.”
“I don’t want to know. Please don’t tell me!”
“Okay, I won’t. Relax, it’s just a horse.”
“Only three people and two horses are happy about this transaction.”
“Are you the third person?”
“No. The guy who sold you the horse.”
Addy laughed.
***
Every day after school, Addy brought Alex to the stables to see Alejandro. Marshall was always delighted when Alex came because she always took interest in her work. Alex was her little darling. Carol always had cookies for her, and even spent time with her showing her how to bake some of her favorite treats. The two adored and spoiled the little brat in their own way.
The moms decided that with the privileges of ownership came responsibilities as well. So, Alex had assigned duties at the stables. Part of her responsibilities included the care of Alejandro. Sometimes Addy and Marshall would have long talks about the horses and the stables while Alex performed her duties. Alex seemed to enjoy anything that had to do with Alejandro. There was no special treatment for her, of course, Marshall would find work that was appropriate for her age, and she’d show her how to do it.
They figured that if Alex was serious about learning about horses, she would put up with everything, including the not so glamorous task of cleaning the stables. From the young age of five, Alex was cleaning manure, spreading straw bedding, feeding hay, pouring oats in Alejandro’s feeder and water in his bucket and doing many other not so glamorous tasks involved in the raising of horses.
Marshall was happy to see that Alex never complained and did all she was told to do. The unexpected twist was that Alex had taken to her role fully committed, and it wasn’t long before she was asking for more things to do. She loved Alejandro and the stables. With her daily visits and her inquiring mind, Alex became quite knowledgeable of horses and their care. Slowly and steadily, Alex was learning. It was funny to see her work around the stables.
“She’s getting to be something around here,” Marshall commented to Addy. “Soon, she’ll have my job.”
Addy chuckled. “Don’t worry, Marshall. By the time she’s ready to do it, she won’t want it. Her interests will change.”
“I don’t know, Addy, this one is fearsome.”
Addy chuckled again. It was true. Alex was awe-inspiring. She was like Karen in terms of commitment. When she was into something, she wanted to be the best at it, and heaven forbid anyone getting in her way. The little one was a force to be reckoned with.
Alejandro continued to grow. He was a strong beautiful horse. Alex was only five and was still small, but Alejandro was already huge. Alex could not understand why the little horse had gotten so big so fast and she was still so small.
On Saturday morning, after the soccer game, it was Karen who took Alex to the stables. They were both standing by the fence watching Alejandro run around the field. “Mommy, it’z not fair! Look how big he iz! I will never be able to ride him now!”
Karen looked at her in wonderment. Did she really think she would ride him some day? Not if she could help it! But there was no need to touch that subject now.
“Alex he is a horse and that is how horses are. They grow very fast. He is big and tall, but his mind is like a child’s. So, in the world of horses, he is still a little kid just like you.”
“But look how big he iz! I can’t even reach him. He haz to bring hiz head down so that we can talk.”
Karen laughed. She picked Alex up and sat her on the fence. Alex put her feet inside the fence and leaned on Karen who was holding her by her waist. “You talk to Alejandro?” She loved to talk to her daughter. There was always excitement and amusing facts in Alex’s conversations. She was just like a small version of Addy. She always had bright, wild ideas that sometimes worried Karen, but
she brushed them off knowing that they were childish thoughts. It was Addy’s thoughts that always concerned her.
“Yez, all the time.”
“What do you talk to him about?”
“I tell him about you and M’Addy, and that I love you a lot, and I remind him that he iz a race horse, and that he needz to learn to run like the wind. That’s what Marshall sayz he haz to do. I tell him that I want him to do juzt that so that he can win all the racez.” Alex paused and was pensive. “Mommy, what doez that mean? How doez the wind run? How can a horse run like the wind? I think we need to explain that to him because he might not know and then how can he do something, if he doezn’t know what it iz?” Alex looked very concerned about the matter.
Karen chuckled. Oh boy! How do I explain this? “Well, Alex, I think the wind doesn’t run, it sort of flies. So the expression ‘run like the wind,’ means to run so fast that it would appear as if one was flying. Do you think Alejandro likes to run?”
Alex was really excited now. “Mommy, he loves to run and he says he’z going to win all the racez he ever runz. But I’m going to have to ask him if he thinkz he can fly like the wind. I don’t know if he can.”
“Did he really? I guess we shall soon see. When he turns two, he will be eligible to run. Did you know that?”
“Yez, Marshall told me. I think he will win the Triple Crown.”
Karen laughed. “Alex you sound like Mommy Addy.” Having said that, Karen chuckled. She remembered Addy’s promise that one day Alex would say things that would remind her of her. It warmed her heart to hear Addy through Alex’s words.
“If he can run like the wind—.” She turned to face her mom. “Then he will be a winner.” Karen said nothing. She had totally turned to mush. It was a mini replica of herself that she saw in front of her, but the expressions, the talk, the liveliness in Alex was all Addy. Karen hugged and kissed her. “Yes, he will, my beautiful princess! Let’s go home. Mommy Addy is probably back from the store already.”
***
Through James, Karen was able to get Mary an interview with one of their distributors. The job was to drive a medium sized truck to Glasgow making several deliveries along the way. Mary took the job because there was nothing else available in town. The job was perfect because it took her away from Altee, and that was a good for everyone. She stayed at the firehouse for a while but later found a room in a nearby town, which turned out to be more convenient for her route. She still came to the pub every now and then, but since Marshall and Carol had found other types of entertainment, they weren’t going to the pub as much so there was little chance of meeting.
“By the way, I saw Mary in town today. I stopped at the deli to get some muffins and she was getting some coffee before heading out of town. She said she liked the job because it gave her the opportunity to see other places, and to meet new people. She didn’t give me specifics, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she meant ‘ladies’ because she looked very happy about it.”
Karen smirked. She didn’t like Mary at all. “Good riddance! I hope she finds someone who will keep her away from here.”
Eventually, Carol moved in with Marshall to the apartment above the stables. It was the smartest thing to do because they were living rent-free. Of course, Marshall being a very appropriate person and not wanting to risk her employment, asked Addy and Karen whether it was okay for Carol to move in with her. They had no problems and everything worked out.
Marshall turned out to be a great administrator for the stables and trainer for Alejandro. Carol still baked and sold her cookies and desserts to nearby coffee houses. Mary had been right about Carol being a gifted woman, at least, as far the baking was concerned she was superb. She ran her business well and kept Marshall happy. The arrangement worked for all. That is not to say that they weren’t worried about Mary resurfacing. But since Marshall had proven to be one tough cookie, everyone hoped that Mary would think twice before messing with Carol again.
***
Alejandro was developing well and growing fast. Marshall was a dedicated woman and took her job as trainer seriously. She’d get up early every morning and exercise him. He was already turning one and it was time for his race training to begin. Marshall informed Addy of the need to find a jockey to ride him. Addy immediately authorized Marshall to begin her search in the appropriate circles.
By this time, Alex had turned six, and as Addy had predicted, she had slowly improved her speech and was no longer pronouncing her ‘s’ like a ‘z’. There was never a need to go to the speech therapist and Karen was greatly relieved. This transformation happened while in first grade. It was Karen who noticed the change. “Have you noticed?”
“What?”
“How she has improved her speech.”
“Really? No, I haven’t. It’s probably because I always thought that in the end she would.”
Karen chuckled. Addy knew everything about Alex. Addy even knew where Alex had the smallest birthmark. And later when she got the chicken pox, Addy knew exactly where the illness had left two marks on her skin because Alex had scratched them. That is why Karen was surprised that Addy had not noticed the change in speech.
“You know, Ker, if she had not improved, I would have been the first to take her to a therapist. I just think that we all need the time to work things out at our own pace. Like I did.” Addy, of course, was referring to her sexuality.
“Well, you were right. It worked with her and it worked with you.”
Of course, Alex was growing fast. She not only had developed her speech, but also quite a personality. She had grown up with plenty of love and self-assurance. So, in terms of her individuality she turned out to be a very confident child with a good sense of worth, and socially, she was respectful and caring. From an early age, she showed a dislike for injustices.
When Alex heard that they were searching for a jockey for Alejandro, she felt betrayed and hurt, and she did not hesitate to share her complaint.
“But I thought he was my horsie!”
“He is.” Addy replied.
“If he is my horsie, why don’t I ever get to ride him? And why do we need a jockey for him? I can ride a horse and since he is my horse, I should be the one riding him!” Alex was not happy at all that someone other than her would be riding Alejandro.
“I have been robbed!”
Not understanding the use of the term in the context of the conversation, Karen asked, “what in the world do you mean by that?”
“Robbed! Alejandro is mine and now you are giving him to someone else!”
“Ah! You mean that you feel cheated.” Karen corrected.
“Yes!”
“No, you have not. Alejandro is yours, but you are his owner, not his jockey. He needs to be raced by a professional jockey.”
“Why? Why can’t I?”
Addy pulled her closer. “Alex, Alejandro loves you, but he is a race horse. He needs a rider who knows how to ride races. Jockeys know what to do to make a horse win.”
Then Karen interjected. “Also, little girl, do you have any idea of how dangerous it can be riding in those races?”
“Mommy, you always think everything is dangerous.”
“Horse racing is not a game, little girl. It’s serious business and all the riders are grown men and women. Children are not allowed to ride in races. First there are a bunch of hyper thoroughbred horses. They are all jumpy and nervous when they are placed in the gates at the starting line. Then, when they open the gates, all those nervous horses come out in a stampede and run like mad. If someone were to fall from one of them, they could be killed. The horses will not stop and say ‘oh poor little girl, you fell, let me help you.’” Alex chuckled visualizing the scene.
“They are going to continue running and step all over you and hurt you and maybe even kill you.” Alex grimaced at the awful picture of her possible death under all the horses.
“Karen!” Addy called her attention, and opened her eyes. Karen had no tact when
conveying a message, especially when she wanted to deter her daughter from a particular course of action.
“She has to know of the danger. This is no game. It is what it is.”
“I have never fallen from a horse! M’Addy has, but I haven’t.”
Addy was stunned with Alex’s rebuttal. “All I have to say about that is that falling from a horse is not fun, and that it hurts like mad. And my horse was not even a racehorse, and I was not in a race with other horses! I ached for a long time and was all bruised. It was not fun at all.”
After hearing Addy’s remarks, Alex appeared to be having second thoughts. Karen repeated Addy’s statement for emphasis. “Yes, she hurt for a long time.” Inwardly, she smiled remembering Addy’s purple butt.
Alex was still pouting. “So, who is going to ride him?” Her tone was now a resigned one, since she realized that Addy would not be on her side to persuade Karen.
“We don’t know yet, Alex. We will have to look for someone. A professional jockey.”
“Can I choose him?”
“We’ll see what Ms. Marshall says about that.”
Several jockeys were interested and they were called for interviews. Alex was present at all the meetings. The conversations were conducted in an open arena in front of the stables. Some of the jockeys looked at Alex several times during the interview, but none talked to her.
The tactic was that Alex would come in to the stables first while the moms and Marshall waited outside for a few minutes to see if any dynamic developed between her and the jockey. Nothing happened with the first three. Alex just came into the stable and sat on a stack of hay and stared at the jockey and at Alejandro
The fourth jockey interviewed was the only one who talked to her. “Nice horse. Do you like horses?”
“Yes, do you?”
“Oh, yes! They are beautiful and strong. Look at this one. He is fine-looking. Look at the way he stands, proud and tall. He’s a very strong fellow too. I bet he runs like the wind.”
“He does. I told him to.”
“You told him to? And what is your name young lady?”
“My name is Alex. What’s yours?”