Renaissance Man

by M. Garzon

  Neil and Monica didn’t say much when they dropped me off. It was Monday, the school horses’ day off, so I didn’t see anybody. I trudged into the house and dumped my duffle bag on the floor of my bedroom before sinking down next to it. I didn’t know what to do with myself. After the constant press of school, teaching, riding, and work in the barn, I was suddenly directionless at a time when I desperately needed to keep busy. Finally, I texted Teri with the news. I considered calling Julia, but I didn’t want to burden her when she was already so stressed. I called Jaden, even though he was at work, but he didn’t answer and I left him a short message. Then I got up and turned on my laptop. It was late evening in Spain; with any luck I’d be able to catch Seth online. I didn’t see him though, and when I tried to call, my biological father’s wife informed me rather coolly that Seth wasn’t home.

  I went out to the barn, bombarded by thoughts that swooped at me from every direction. I could feel tears coming and slipped quickly into Cal’s stall so that no one would see. He gave me an inquisitive look before taking a tentative step towards me. Everything about Cal looked young except for his eyes — those large, deep brown pools radiated wisdom far beyond his four years. He came to me, his soulful eyes alight with compassion, and slowly lowered his head. He blew softly into my hand before pressing his face against my front. The tears flowed, and I choked back a sob. I wanted to throw my arms around Cal but I was frozen in place. The warmth of his face against me was like a mirage, a promise of peace that I couldn’t reach. Instead, I whirled and went back into the aisle, wiping my eyes quickly. By the time Alan came around the corner I hoped I looked fairly normal.

  “Can I give you a hand?” I asked. Alan was happy for the help, and I spent a couple of hours working before going back to the house for dinner.

  Dec was in the kitchen. I’d called him with an update that morning, but he hadn’t said much and I approached him a bit warily. When he was stressed he had a tendency to react with anger and start laying blame. He examined my face silently for a minute before surprising me by putting his arms around me. I hugged him back uncertainly.

  “I’m sorry Seth’s not here,” he said quietly.

  I pulled back in shock, and he gave me a wry look. “I’m not good with this stuff. Seth always knew how to comfort you.”

  I nodded slowly, amazed that this was something Dec would acknowledge, let alone express. Then I gave him a small smile.

  “You’re not doing too badly.” I hugged him again, with feeling this time.

  We made sandwiches and a salad. We didn’t tend to cook much when it was just the two of us.

  “What happens now?” Dec asked as we sat down to eat.

  I finished chewing my bite of cheese and tomato sandwich before answering. “I’m not sure. Neil’s going to call his lawyer because the police said it’s a civil matter now that we know where Hades is. A ‘property dispute’, they called it,” I said, injecting my tone with all the disgust that phrase deserved.

  “What’s a property dispute?” Jaden appeared in the doorway, and I dropped my sandwich and threw myself at him with a wordless cry. He pressed me tightly against him for a minute before letting go in deference to Dec, but his eyes continued to hold me.

  “How are you?” he asked quietly.

  I shrugged. He steered me back to the table and sat next to me. I filled him in on everything that had happened, and other than reminding me to eat, he remained quiet.

  “What do you think?” Dec asked him.

  Jaden ran a hand through his hair before answering. “The news isn’t good,” he warned me, taking my hand under the table. “It will likely take a long time before the case goes to court, and in the meantime, Rodney will probably try to sell Hades. He can make a lot more money on him now that he’s well schooled. You’ll have to try to get an injunction to prevent Rodney from selling him before the case is settled.”

  I tried to tamp down the buzz of panic I felt. “I should go online. I’ll post Hades’ picture everywhere, on social media and all the horse forums — some forums even have a ‘stolen horses’ section. I’ll tell people not to buy him from Rodney.”

  Jaden shook his head. “You can’t do that. Accusing Rodney of stealing Hades is libel.”

  “But he did steal him!”

  “It has to be proven in court before you can say it.”

  “Don’t get all lawyer-y on me,” I snapped.

  His hand moved up and down my back. “I know it’s frustrating, querida, but I don’t want you to get in trouble over this.”

  “It’s ridiculous,” I grumbled. “That weasel stole a horse and I can’t even warn people?”

  “Not in public, and not in writing,” Jaden specified.

  Dec gave him a thoughtful look. “Why don’t you take this case, son? I bet you’ll be far more motivated than Neil’s lawyer, and you understand the horse industry.”

  “Would you?” I exclaimed, feeling suddenly hopeful.

  “Of course I would. I’ll have to clear it with my boss first since technically it would be her case — I’m still articling. But I’d be happy to work on it if Neil agrees.”

  “I’ll call him right now.” I jumped up and dashed to the phone. Neil agreed readily, grumbling that his own lawyer hadn’t even called him back yet.

  “It’s convenient to have a lawyer in the family,” Dec said, smiling. He clapped Jaden on the shoulder and retreated to his office.

  I loaded the old dishwasher while Jaden finished clearing the table. We tried to watch TV for a while, but I perched tensely on the edge of the couch with my knees bouncing up and down.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Jaden suggested. As we went down the wooden porch steps the balmy spring evening seemed to mock my worries, and moving around did calm me somewhat. Jaden took my hand, and we waved at some boarders riding in the main ring before starting down the trail that led away from the barn. As it turned out, there had been virtually no fallout from the revelation of our relationship to the boarders and students. All that angst, and in the end only our family had truly objected.

  “Do you think Hades is okay?” I worried aloud.

  “I’m sure Rodney will take care of him. The better he looks, the more money he can ask for him.”

  I flinched at the reminder. “How long will it take before we get him back?”

  He hesitated. “I’ll be honest. It could take several weeks. Some property disputes last even longer — years, in some cases. But not in this case,” he hurried on at the dismay on my face, “I’ll expedite it in any way possible.”

  I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my throat. I could feel Jaden’s eyes on me as we walked, and suddenly I felt myself being tugged sideways. We wove through the trees, Jaden pushing aside undergrowth. We weren’t on any kind of trail that I could see.

  “Where-” I started.

  “Shh.” He turned and pulled me hard against him. His firm lips found mine as one of his hands curved around the back of my neck. His other hand was hot against the skin of my back, and as I parted my mouth and felt his tongue, his hand slid down under the waistband of my shorts. He squeezed my buttock, and I made a sound that might have been a moan. All of a sudden he released me.

  “Hey,” I complained.

  He grinned as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his perfect torso. Even though we’d been together for almost two years, I was still obsessed with Jaden. I’d never gotten over the fact that someone like him — so beautiful, so good, so successful — was actually interested in me. I’d long since memorized every aspect of his body: the way his hard stomach dipped into little hollows toward his hips. The way his warm hands, with all their polo calluses, felt as they slid over my skin. The way the sharp angles of his face were unexpectedly softened by the white heat of his smile. And his smell... it was nothing external, nothing he put on. It was the scent of his very flesh, as intoxicating to me as catnip. I couldn’t get enough of being close to him. No matter how often we made love, I was
ready for more–I sometimes wondered if I was turning into some kind of addict, if I had a problem that I wasn’t even aware of. Not that I would have cared if I did.

  He spread his shirt and jeans out on the ground before lowering me on top of them. Then he covered me with his body, wearing only his boxers. I could feel his hardness pressing against me as he kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around him and wound one leg around his.

  “Come inside me,” I murmured in his ear.

  “There’s no rush,” he whispered back, his lips moving to my neck before continuing downward.

  “Says you,” I grumbled. I buried my hands in his hair, relishing the feeling of his hot skin sliding against mine. His mouth was on my breast, and his hand slid up my inner thigh, past the leg of my shorts, and snuck past the edge of my underwear. I bit my lip as his finger slipped smoothly inside me. Two can play that game, I thought as I ran my hand down his washboard stomach and into his boxers. He groaned against my chest as I enveloped him.

  “You’re right, why rush?” I teased.

  He pulled away from me just long enough to tear off my shorts, and then he was back, his mouth on mine as he filled me inexorably with his heat. He took his time after that, bringing me to the edge many times before we finally tumbled over, gasping. We lay in a heap, catching our breath in the darkening twilight. I savored the sweet, fertile smells of the Earth reawakening. The air was thick with birdsong.

  “It’s a good thing there aren’t any bugs,” I mused.

  “Yes,” he agreed, nipping my shoulder. “No one but me is allowed to bite you.”

  “Not that I’m complaining, but was there a reason you decided to seduce me in the woods?”

  He hitched himself onto one elbow and gazed down at me. “I wanted to take your mind off your troubles,” he admitted. He gave a rakish grin. “Did it work?

  I smiled back. “I didn’t think of Hades once. If we could make love nonstop until he’s returned, I’d be fine.”

  We got up and started tugging on our clothes. “I wish I could stay, but I have to be at work in the morning,” Jaden said.

  We walked back leisurely with our arms around each other. When we got to his car he held me tightly and gave me a passionate kiss goodbye, ignoring Stephanie and Lisa, who were standing outside by their cars. He brushed my tousled hair out of my face.

  “Try not to worry.” His honey-drop eyes beseeched me.

  As his car disappeared from sight I trudged into the house, picking brush out of my hair and straightening my clothes. I was afraid it was going to be a long night.

  As it turned out, that night was the least of it. Two days later not much had changed; Jaden was trying to find a legal means to prevent Rodney from selling Hades, but we were no closer to getting him back. Meanwhile, I was losing my mind from inactivity and distress. I’d been scheduled to be at the show, so I had no lessons lined up. I rode Cal every day and took over some lessons that Dec was supposed to teach, but there wasn’t enough work to keep me from obsessing over Hades. I’d talked to Julia, who was sympathetic but distant, and Teri, who commiserated with me over the phone. On Wednesday I finally connected with Seth on a video call.

  “Where the heck have you been?” I demanded irritably as soon as I saw him.

  He gave me his usual affable smile. “Gee, I’ve missed you too, Sis.”

  Before I could explain my bad mood, I heard the sound of childish laughter and two little girls suddenly appeared onscreen. One of them immediately crawled onto Seth’s lap while the other leaned close to the camera, momentarily obliterating my view.

  “Climb up here,” I heard Seth say in Spanish. His Spanish had gotten quite good since he’d been in Spain, although his accent was different from the Argentinean one I was used to, which sometimes made it hard for me to understand him.

  “Hola Téa.” Carolina giggled. She was six, the elder of the two. She was bright and outgoing, as opposed to four-year-old Nelia, who seemed quite shy and was only beginning to speak to me. They both had lots of wavy dark hair and smooth olive skin. A stranger would never have guessed that the blond young man next to them was a relative.

  I made an attempt to talk to my half-sisters for a while, but our conversation was stunted and they soon ran off. I never knew what to say to young kids, since I was rarely around them. Seth watched them go with a smile before turning back to me.

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” he asked.

  He’d noticed right away, of course. I cried a bit as I told him, but I didn’t mind so much with Seth. His blue eyes darkened with concern as I spoke.

  “Aw, crap. I’m sorry, Sis.” He leaned closer to the camera. “What are you going to do?”

  “There’s nothing I can do,” I complained. “Jaden’s basically told me to sit on my hands and wait.”

  “Exactly what you’re best at,” Seth joked. He paused for a minute. “I have some news too — I’m taking off.”

  My heart leaped. “You’re coming home?”

  “No, no... just leaving here. I’m going to travel for a bit.”

  “But why? I thought you wanted to get to know Alfonso and the rest of our family.”

  He shrugged. “And now I know them. It’s time for me to move on. I feel like a fifth wheel around here, and Alfonso and I aren’t getting along that great. I’ll miss Carolina and Nelia, but I’ve told them they can come visit us in Canada when they’re older.”

  I struggled not to show how hurt I was that Seth didn’t want to come home. “Okay,” I said slowly. “Where will you go?”

  “On a tour of Europe. I’ve met some great people over here and we’re going to travel together.”

  “By ‘people’ do you mean ‘a girl’?” I asked suspiciously.

  He laughed. “Some of them are girls. That’s not why I’m leaving, though. Will you tell Dec for me?”

  “Sure.” I sighed. Seth and Dec had hardly spoken since my brother had left home five months before to live with Alfonso, our newly-discovered biological father.

  * * *

  The week wore on, but rather than gradually relaxing as I’d hoped, I found myself getting increasingly wound up over Hades’ absence. Karen and Teri texted me daily. I knew they were trying to make me feel better, but their missives only reminded me of my impotence. Night became my enemy as sleep refused to visit, and I took to prowling the house and grounds in the dark. The tension had become a constant pain by Friday when I drove to Toronto to meet with Neil, Monica, and Jaden at his office. I was looking forward to gaining some relief.

  It was my first visit to Jaden’s new workplace. The law offices of Sisto, Goldberg, and Hwin were downtown, and I circled the block twice before opting to park in a paid lot. I hurried into the glass-fronted building and took the elevator to the eleventh floor. The doors whooshed open almost silently to reveal a semi-circular receptionist’s desk, behind which sat a woman who was so primped and polished she barely looked real.

  “Um, I’m looking for Jaden Foster?” I told Mannequin Girl.

  “Oh yes, you must be his one o’clock. Right this way.” She rose smoothly and glided down the hall, then showed me into a room that held a table and chairs before disappearing.

  Monica and Neil were routinely late, so I stepped into the doorway to look for Jaden. I spotted him right away. Even though I knew he worked here, it gave me a jolt to see him standing there in a suit and tie, looking cool and professional. Next to him was a slim woman in a sage-green suit. She was tall, even without the three-inch heels she was wearing. I couldn’t imagine wearing shoes like that to work all day, but I had to admit that, combined with her rather short skirt, they made her legs look very long. She had honey-blond hair in an elegant twist on the back of her neck, and she was nodding seriously as she listened to Jaden speak. She put her hand on his arm and pointed out something in the folder he was holding.

  I felt a quiver in the pit of my stomach. I trusted Jaden, of course, but I hadn’t realized he was working with women like this, polish
ed and well-educated women. Then again, I hadn’t really devoted any thought to it. When they headed my way I scurried back inside the room, wishing I’d worn something nicer than the sandals, jeans and stretchy girl-T I’d picked out. Jaden had a gift for being at ease anywhere — on a horse, in a kitchen, at swanky parties, and now, in an office. I wasn’t as much of a chameleon as he was, and I felt distinctly out of place.

  Jaden smiled at me as he dropped his papers on the table. He came over and kissed my cheek.

  “This is Téa,” he introduced me to the blond woman. “London, my boss.”

  London gave me the once-over as we shook hands. She didn’t seem impressed. From close up she looked older than I’d first thought, maybe in her mid-thirties.

  Monica and Neil were ushered in by Mannequin Girl, and after introductions were made we all found seats around the table. London sat next to Jaden, and I sat at the end so that Monica could be next to Neil. I shivered in the air conditioning as we all looked expectantly at Jaden. He’d gotten his hair cut; the golden waves were all snipped off, leaving his hair straighter and darker, in keeping with his new job and, I supposed, his new life.

  “Well, here’s where things stand,” Jaden said. “Rodney’s been charged with theft and we’ve filed an injunction to prevent him from selling Hades.”

  “We have two years’ worth of bills, not to mention his Equine Canada passport and breed registration papers,” Monica said. “Isn’t that enough proof that he’s ours?”

  “It appears the registration papers may have been falsified,” London said. “Or maybe they belong to a different horse.”