The Stable Boy

by Stalter, Harmony

  Rubbing it, I said “Thanks, John.” Driving to the hospital, I blasted the music and sang along. I felt myself smiling. I had not had anything to smile this much about in along time. I parked my truck. I went to Alison’s room to find her dressed and waiting for me.

  “Hey,” she said. “I am still waiting on them to say it is okay to leave. It should not be too much longer.”

  “Okay,” I said. “How are you feeling? How is the head?”

  “I am okay. My headache went away. I am not having any dizziness or anything, so they said it was okay to go home.”

  “That is great,” I said.

  “Enough about me, what were you doing this morning when I called?” she asked with a grin.

  “Um, nothing, just doing breakfast dishes,” I said as my voice suddenly got higher.

  “Liar, I could tell by your voice there was something else going on,” she said.

  I could feel the heat in my face. “We were kissing.”

  “Did I ruin the moment, again?”

  “No, not at all,” I said.

  “Did the moment already happen?”

  “Maybe,” I said laughing at her.

  “Woohoo, now I just need to get you drunk enough to tell me everything,” she said as the nurse came in with her wheelchair.

  “I think I walked in at the wrong time,” said the nurse. We all laughed.

  “Yes, you did,” I said.

  “It is time for you to leave Mrs. Everett. Are you ready?”

  “Been ready,” she said, climbing into the chair. We went down the hall in silence. Alison and I just kept looking at each other and laughing in the elevator.

  “I am sorry,” I said to the nurse.

  “I understand the power of best friends,” she said. “There is always and unspoken language that the only the two of you can understand. I am the same way with mine.”

  “Good, I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” I said as the elevator doors opened. I went ahead to get the truck. I pulled up to the door. Alison climbed in. We were out of the parking lot before she spoke.

  “So, are you going to tell me the dirty details or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”

  “You are so wrong on every level,” I said. “First, I am going to tell you that yes we did make love, but I panicked right afterward. I felt like I was cheating on John.”

  “Oh boy,” Alison said.

  “Yeah, it was pretty bad, but Josh clamed me down. I fell asleep in his arms. When I woke up, he was gone.”

  “Gone!” she interrupted.

  “Not, gone, gone, just not in the bed. He was outside. I went up stairs to shower and get dressed. When I came down, he was eating cereal. He told me I called out for John in my sleep. I think it upset him.”

  “It would have me to, if I had just spent my energy on you.”

  “I know,” I said. “I apologized for it and told him that I dreamt of John.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long has it been since that happened?”

  “Quite some time, but it was odd. John gave me his approval in the dream. I am not sure if it was just my subconscious trying to convince me that what happened was okay or if it was actually a sign.”

  “Let me ask you this,” Alison said. “Why would it not be okay to start your life again?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that.”

  “I think that you are just scared.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “To me, that is exactly what it sounds like. It sounds like you are scared of loving again, because you are afraid that the memories you had with John will fade away or the love you had with him will no longer matter. It may be that you are afraid of loving someone only to lose them.”

  “I don’t know. It could be anyone of those things.”

  “What are your feelings for Josh?”

  “I like him. I really do. He is nice and seems to really care.”

  “I know there is something more than that. I saw the way you two looked at each other. I definitely know that he has feelings for you. He can’t take his eyes off of you when you are in the room.”

  “I don’t know what is there on his part or my part for that matter. Maybe it is just lust.”

  “Let’s go with that. Say it is lust. I would not blame you in the least bit. He is incredibly hot.”

  “Is that all you think about?”

  “Pretty much,” she said, laughing.

  “You are a dirty, dirty woman.”

  “I bet he likes it down and dirty.”

  “Oh my God, Alison,” I said, laughing until tears clouded my vision.

  “Come on you have to tell me something, anything. Does he look good naked?”

  “Okay, I will tell you this. All I could think was damn that is one good looking body.”

  “Finally, a morsel I can hang on to.”

  “Does your husband know this is all you think about?”

  “He better, since I wear him out all the time,” she said with a raise of her eyebrows.

  “Poor Bob,” said shaking my head. “Where do you want to stop before going home?”

  “I need to finish shopping for tomorrow, but I also want to have lunch or an early dinner. I can bring Bob home something from the diner.”

  “I told Josh that I was sure that we were going to be gone most of the day so I would bring him home dinner. I asked him what he wanted, but he never told me.”

  “Is he that mad at you?”

  “No, it had nothing to do with him being mad.”

  “Oh, it had something to do with what you were doing this morning.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “You are never going to tell me are you?”

  “There is nothing to really tell.”

  “You know you have never been a good liar, right?”

  “John used to say the same thing.”

  “I know, he is the one that gave me your tell tale signs,” she said. “Was it not any good? Did it end too fast? It could have been first time jitters.”

  “You are determined to know, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, so answer my questions and get it over with or I am just going to keep asking.”

  “It was fine and it did not end too fast.”

  “You’re blushing,” she said. “I knew it. It was dirty.”

  “It was not dirty,” I said, laughing. “Now, can we please stop this conversation? We are at the store.”

  “Okay, but we will continue it later.”

  “If you say so,” I said with a roll of my eyes. We got out of the truck and went shopping. We picked up the items she needed. We both had a cart full by the time we were done. I only picked up a few essentials, while Alison went all out. We checked out. Climbing back into the truck, we drove the four blocks to the diner. Sitting in our usual booth at the back, Vanessa, our usual waitress came over.

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” she said. “How are you?”

  “We are doing well,” I said. “How are you, today?”

  “Not too bad,” she said. “I heard about your nasty bump on the head, Alison. Your husband came in for breakfast.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Alison said.

  “You know that if you are not cooking for him he is going to come here,” she said.

  “Yes, he will. I am doing great, by the way.”

  “Good to hear,” she said. “What can I get you ladies to drink?”

  “I will have a sweet tea,” I said.

  “Make that two, please.

  “Coming right up,” she said as she walked away. She came back with our teas. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Yes, but I want to order something to go, too,” I said.

  “That is not a problem. Do you want it when your food comes out, or when you are almost finished?”

  “Let’s wait until we are almost finished.”

  “No problem,” she said.

  “Great, I will ta
ke the Twisted Turkey Ruben and to go, I will like to get the Big and Juicy Burger.”

  “Did you want everything that comes on it?”

  “Um, yeah,” I said giving Alison a questioning look.

  “Okay,” she said. “And what about you Miss Alison?”

  “I am going to do the same thing as she is doing. I would like to have the Patty Melt and to go I will also take the Big and Juicy Burger, with everything that comes on it.”

  “Okay, ladies,” she said. “I will get your orders in.”

  “Thank you, Vanessa.”

  “You are so welcome, Claire.”

  “I have no idea if he likes everything on his burger,” I said.

  “He’s a man. I am sure that he will eat it all or take off what he doesn’t like. Bob, eats it just the way it is.”

  “I guess I will find out what he likes.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  “What time do you want us there tomorrow?”

  “Any time you feel like coming over. We can make an entire day of it.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” I said taking a sip of my tea.

  “Good,” she said with a grin.

  “I don’t like that look on your face,” I said as Vanessa returned with our meals.

  “Yup, that was definitely the getting in trouble look she gave you.”

  “Now, you be quiet Vanessa,” laughed Alison.

  “I know,” I said to Vanessa. “She seems to want to get into trouble a lot lately.”

  “Oh, poor Bob.”

  “What do you mean poor Bob?” asked Alison.

  “We have all done the girls’ night out together, poor Bob,” Vanessa laughed.

  “That needs to happen again,” Alison said.

  “I agree, you up for it, Claire?” asked Vanessa.

  “I don’t see why not,” I said.

  “Awesome, I have off next Saturday.”

  “I’m down,” Alison looking at me.

  “Sounds good to me,” I said.

  “Great, it has been a while since I broke out my dancing shoes. This is going to be fun.”

  “Just as long as we get Alison full of tequila,” I said.

  “Oh that reminds me, I have a bone to pick with you,” Alison said laughing.

  “On that note, I am out of here,” said Vanessa. “You girls enjoy your meals and I will put the other orders in.”

  “Thank you,” we said in unison.

  “I heard that you told Josh that tequila makes my clothes fall off.”

  “I can’t believe he told you I said that. No more telling him anything if he is going to tell you.”

  “So you did tell him. He told me about the conversation. He said he was going to ask me if it was true on Saturday.”

  “Oh my God,” I said almost choking on the bite of sandwich I just took. Alison laughed.

  “I like that with you it has loosened him up a bit. He seems to be more relaxed and so do you.”

  “Thank you. I am trying, Alison. I really am. I am just so unsure of everything right now.”

  “I know, but you will be okay. Finally, I feel like I don’t have to worry too much about you. You need to give him a fighting chance. I like him. Bob likes him. He likes you. You need to just take a few deep breaths and let life take you on another journey.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “I am not saying to forget John or what you two had together. What you had was special. Things can be special with Josh, too. It can be a different kind of special.”

  “I love you, Alison. You always make me look at things in a different light.”

  “It’s what best friends are for. We keep your head screwed on straight when you think it is going to fly off.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Here are your other meals, ladies, and your checks.”

  “Thank you, Vanessa. We will see you very soon,” I said.

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can we,” said Alison. We left the diner. We drove to Alison’s house to unload the groceries. Bob came out to help.

  “What did you do, buy out the store?” he asked Alison.

  “Pretty much,” she said. “Some of this stuff is Claire’s.”

  “I am going to guess these three bags are it,” he said.

  “You guessed right,” I said.

  “I will put these in the passenger seat for you.”

  “Thank you, Bob,” I said as I hugged him.

  “What is this about?” he said returning the hug.

  “Nothing, I just needed a hug is all.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Everything okay on the home front?”

  “Yeah, everything is great over there.”

  “Okay, just checking,” he said as he grabbed the last of the bags.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said climbing into the truck.

  “See you then,” he said with a smile. I drove to my farm. I went in the house, but there was no Josh. I checked the barn with the feed and hay. He was at the top tossing down bales. He didn’t hear me come in. I climbed the ladder. He saw me as I reached the top.

  “Hey,” he said. “Let me help you. I didn’t hear you pull up. How is Alison?”

  “She is good, excited for tomorrow. I brought you back a burger with everything on it. I wasn’t sure what you wanted as we never finished discussing it.”

  “No. we didn’t,” he said with a smile. “I like their burgers, though, so that was a great choice.”

  “Good,” I said. “You want some help?”

  “No, but you can keep me company.”

  “Okay,” I said. I sat on a bale of hay. I watched him as he tossed one over the loft. The muscles in his arms were bulging. His skin was glistening with sweat. I day dreamed for a minute before he brought me back.

  “How was the shopping trip?” he asked.

  “Good, Bob asked Alison if she bought out the store,” I said.

  “How much stuff did she buy?”

  “Pretty much the entire store,” I said with a laugh.

  “For some reason, I am not surprised,” he said with grin.

  “You better quit for the night before your burger gets too cold to eat.”

  “It’s okay. That is what the microwave is for.”

  “A reheated burger in the microwave doesn’t even sound appetizing,” I said with a shudder.

  “I agree,” he said with a laugh. “If you could have seen the look on your face just then, it was great.”

  “Well it doesn’t,” I said. “Are you ready to call it a night?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go inside. I’ll go down first, so I can hold the ladder for you.”

  “Okay,” I said as he took the first wrung. Once he reached the bottom, I descended. He was waiting at the bottom. I stepped off and he spun me around. Taking me in his arms, he kissed me.

  “I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he said staring into my eyes.

  I smiled at him, and then kissed him back. “I have been thinking about your kiss this morning all day.”

  “Good,” he said. “That was my intention.”

  “Really, why is that?”

  “I don’t want you to ever go a minute without thinking about me, I think about you all day.”

  “No you don’t,” I said feeling the heat in my face.

  “Yes, I do,” he said kissing my forehead. “I have since I first laid eyes on you.”

  “Stop,” I said turning my head.

  “What?” he asked. “It is the truth.”

  I hugged him tight as tears welled in my eyes. John used to tell me he thought of me all day while out in the fields. I pulled away. I could not look at him. I did not want him to see that he struck a nerve. I walked away. He followed me into the house. I went up stairs. He went to the kitchen to eat his meal. I heard the stair squeak and knew he was coming up them.

  Knocking on my bedroom door, he said “Hey, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I am fine,” I
said coming out of the bedroom.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Did I do something that reminded you of John?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But it’s okay.”

  “I don’t want to see you upset. I think I do more that upsets you than makes you happy.”

  “No, it is not you. It is my over reaction to things that I need to control. It is just going to take time getting used to everything. I am sorry.”

  “There is no reason for you to be sorry. I know this is taking its toll on you. “

  “Not really, I just am unsure of everything at the moment. Please, just give me some time to sort things out.”

  “You can take all the time you need. I am not going anywhere.”

  “Good, because I don’t want you to go anywhere,” I said wrapping my arms around his neck. He smiled. He wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me close to him. We went down stairs. We went to the living room to watch TV. “Alison said we can come over whenever we want to. She would like to make it an all day thing.”

  “Okay,” he said. “You let me know when you are ready to leave tomorrow. I need to get some things done before we go.”

  “Okay,” I said reaching for his hand. He took mine in his as we found something to watch. I only lasted twenty minutes before I fell asleep. He picked me up and carried me upstairs to my bedroom. He placed me on my bed and pulled up the blanket folded at the bottom. I slept that way the rest of the night. When I awoke, the sun was shining in my bedroom window. The clock read 7:30am. I got up to begin the day.

  5 The party

  I showered and went down stairs. The front door was still closed. I looked down the hall to see the bedroom door closed. ‘He must still be asleep,’ I thought. I went to feed the chickens and saw that they had already been fed. I looked up to see that Josh’s truck was gone. ‘Okay,’ I thought. ‘Maybe he went into town for something.’ I went in the house. I went back upstairs into my office. I would be able to see him come in from the window there. An hour went by. There was no sign of Josh. I picked up the phone and dialed Alison.

  “Good morning,” she answered.

  “Good morning,” I returned. “Have you heard from Josh?”

  “No,” she said. “Why? Is he not there?”

  “No, I woke up and he was gone. I have been awake for an hour, but he has yet to come back,” I said, voice beginning to shake. This was the exact time the ambulance pulled into my driveway when John had his accident.