by Bella Knight
“I’ll tell Tito to bring in the grader and pour the concrete,” said Henry. “This is definitely big enough.”
“Let’s do it,” said Nantan. He laughed as Jumper rushed back to the fence.
“I’ll talk to Tito. You go to the barn and get a bridle and saddle for your follower.”
“I can ride bareback,” said Nantan.
“Of course, you can,” said Henry.
Tito took the news about the extra work with equanimity. “I can get a backhoe in here tomorrow,” he said. “My cousin needs the extra work.” He put a level on the counter, and made sure it was straight. “Concrete pour that big will need either a lot of wheelbarrows or a cement mixer. I can rent a smallish one and get it done in two days.”
“Another cousin?” asked Henry.
“The same one,” said Tito. “His wife is pregnant, and he’s already haunting used furniture stores, looking for a crib.”
“Smart man,” said Henry.
When he came back out, Jumper was bridled and Nantan was bareback on her back. He led her in a walk, but she tossed her head, wanting more. He laughed, and let her into a trot, then a canter. Henry gasped as she jumped the fence, tail high. Jeffrey ran out of the barn, about to scream. Henry waved him off. Nantan ran the horse around the outside of the paddock. Henry pointed to a meadow out back, and Nantan wheeled her, taking her out.
Jeffrey ran up. “Who the hell is that?”
“That’s Nantan. He’s going to help with getting us a barn and hydroponics so we can grow things. Like horse feed.”
“What is he doing with Jumper?”
“Giving her what she wants,” said Henry. “Always a good idea to give a woman what she wants.”
Inola came out of the tack room. “Why did you run out of there… Jumper’s gone.”
“Nantan took her to the meadow to run,” said Henry. “Be nice to go back to that empty house and find some papers. Nantan says she’s got good breeding.”
“Who’s Nantan?” asked Inola.
“Hydroponics guy,” said Jeffrey.
“Good to know,” said Inola. “Save us a fortune in feed if you can grow some.”
“Working on it,” said Henry. “Going to put us a pad there,” he pointed. “Then move a barn there, and make it a hydroponics place.”
“Then why did we build a barn?” asked Inola.
“This one’s over a hundred years old,” said Henry.
“They’re the best kind,” said Inola. “Go back in and lay that rubber tile like I showed you,” said Inola to Jeffrey.
“On it,” he said, smiling a lazy smile now that his heart rate had gone back to normal. He turned and sauntered back to the barn.
Inola lowered her voice. “He going to be a problem? For me?”
Henry looked at her, appalled. “No. He’s had, male lovers.”
Inola sighed. “Good.” She smiled, patted Henry’s arm, and sauntered back into the barn.
That woman’s going to be the death of me, thought Henry. He gave up staring at the spot where the horse had been, and took his time walking back to the house.
Henry took Nantan over to help him find and steal the horse’s papers with the dually. They stole the rest of the salvageable horse equipment, too. The papers showed Jumper to be “True Blue Jumper,” a horse with a fine bloodline.
“That mare can breed,” said Nantan. “Bring in money for this little operation of yours.”
“Pay your salary,” said Henry. “Keep you in gasoline and oil.”
“There is that,” said Nantan.
“Talk to Inola in January,” said Henry. “Now we need to rescue us a stallion from a good bloodline.”
Nantan snorted. “Good luck,” he said.
Henry thought about the recent times and the anarchy he and Inola had suffered through. He was glad the threat was gone and that everything was running along nicely.
“Real recovery is a long, painful process that always sucks.”
5
China Trip
“Legal machinery grinds slow, then, when you get what you want, move fast.”
Hu laughed, a big burble that lit up her entire body. She glowed with happiness. Grace followed suit, her eyes alight. The girls sang the song again about flowers, switching back and forth from English to Chinese. The girls were sitting on bean bags, with lap desks on their laps, their toes touching, cutting out a rainbow of flowers for a school project. Hu and Grace both had hair braided into multi-braids, something Ghost had shown Callie how to do. Their braids clacked, and plastic beads of red and yellow, and black and white were clicking as they moved. They laughed again. Callie saved the clip and uploaded it for Hu’s mom.
She texted the lawyer, who wrote back that all the paperwork had been filed, and they were awaiting the visa. The girl was in the USA legally, as was her grandmother; family should be easier to bring to the USA on a work visa.
Callie brought up her notes and slammed out a ten-page paper. When it wasn’t so hot, she’d take the girls to the pool and let them splash around before their gym/dance class.
She was shocked when she received a text back. She put it into the translator.
“My daughter looks so happy. I have been investigated. I explained I want to work in my mother’s restaurant and teach Chinese in America to American children. I showed your many videos. The government is very happy that she is keeping her Chinese language and culture.”
Hue Bao sent a photo of herself standing in front of a building with a red door. She still looked tired, but her eyes looked a little less haunted.
“I would never take that away from her,” texted Callie. “That would be both evil and stupid. Children who know multiple languages do better in school in all subjects. Besides, she is Chinese. Five thousand years of history, language, and culture! What a wonderful heritage!” Callie put her text through a language converter, and sent that too, although she knew it wouldn’t translate well.
She worked on her project, getting back into the slamming words into her word processor. She kept track of her sources, creating a bibliography as she went.
“My government has given their permission for me to come to see my daughter. They want to see many more videos of the girls.” Bao sent a smiley and a thumbs-up.
Callie jumped up and did a little dance. She sat back down. “We are waiting to see what the US Government has to say for your visa.”
“They have interviewed me here, and I showed them the many videos. I am working with someone named Adam Wang at the American embassy.” Callie let out a startled huff of air.
Things were working from their end, too? she thought, quizzically.
“The Chinese government has been most gracious. I have attended school to be a teacher of Chinese languages. My mother has been hiding this from you so I could tell you myself. I received a certificate this morning, and I will continue my studies online while in America. Bao showed a picture of herself, holding up a certificate.”
Callie clapped a hand over her own mouth, with tears streaming down her face.
“Wow. That is so amazing,” she texted. She snapped a picture of the paper she was writing on her computer, and sent it. “I am working on my certificate, and my degree, too. We will be best friends and we will go to school together.”
Bao sent back a smiley emoticon and another thumbs-up. “Like our daughters, she said.”
“Exactly, texted Callie.”
She called the girls into the kitchen to tell them to congratulate Hu’s mother on her certificate. They were so excited that they went back in their room to create a certificate in Chinese and English they could photograph and send to her. They never made it to the pool; Callie finished her paper, fed them lunch, and took them to gymnastics/dance instead. The girls were learning tumbling, followed by hip-hop dancing. Callie sent photos of their antics to Hu’s mom as well.
Ivy came back for dinner, sweaty and dusty from hammering nails at Henry’s place.
“They�
�ve got this new guy, Nantan. An Apache. Turns out the horse named Jumper can really jump.”
The girls got excited and started jumping up and down, wanting to see the horses. “Tomorrow is early enough,” said Ivy, then drained her water and refilled the glass. “There are ponies that are saddle-trained, two of them, Dee and Duma. You can ride them, but you’ve got to listen to Inola and Jeffrey and do everything they say.”
“Mommy’s getting a visa,” said Hu, digging into her mac n’ cheese.
“She is?” asked Ivy. “That’s great!” Callie told Ivy about the texts. “That’s good news!” said Ivy. She hugged Hu and Grace.
“Mama, you smell bad,” said Grace. Callie and Ivy laughed.
“Gotta shower, and hit up Dirty Vegas,” said Ivy. “Ace and Lily opened for me. They’re going home early to sleep; they’ve been putting in mega-hours on the dorms. They made the pods just like theirs, and we had to get a rainbow of paint to get them all color-coded.” She held up her arm, streaked in crimson and gold.
“You look Chinese!” said Hu. They all laughed.
Ivy got her shower, and Callie and the girls kissed her goodbye, then they walked Daisy again. The girls got their baths, and Callie led them in “quiet songs” about getting sleepy. They chattered and read in their little pods, Daisy listening to every word. Then, they slept, and Callie turned in that paper, edited another, and sent that in, too. She grabbed some cherry water and popcorn, and put in a comedy, screaming with laughter. She read a little, bathed, and went to bed. She did homework, something she normally didn’t do that late, but they were going to be out all day and, therefore, she wouldn’t be able to do homework.
Ivy came in at one-thirty. They relaxed, kissing, both exhausted. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next day dawned bright, and they ate fruit while Ivy drank coffee and made “um” sounds. The girls chattered non-stop about horses. They both had new riding boots, a present from Ivy.
Ivy got a text. “Adoption paperwork’s filed,” she said. “Hearing’s two weeks from today.”
“Awesome!” said Callie.
“Who’s getting adopted?” asked Grace. Her face turned mutinous. “Am I getting a little brother?”
Callie laughed. “We talked about this. Mommy and Mama both want to be your moms.”
“Okaaaaay,” said Grace. “But I don’t need a little brother. I already have a sister.” Their hearts clenched, and Ivy and Callie held each other’s hands.
Henry was on hand to supervise Inola teaching the girls to ride, her voice low, her patience phenomenal as the girls peppered her with questions. The ponies, both the color of nutmeg, were patient as well. They knew perfectly well little girls tended to dote on them and to feed them carrots and apples. The girls learned to lead the horses, how to put on the saddles and cinch them, and how to ride.
Ivy and Callie, in jeans and work boots, left them to their little-girl-horse-mad selves. They went over to help put the mattresses on the beds, the bedding on the mattresses, and to help move in the rest of the furniture, followed by a final deep cleaning. Every desk had a little tablet computer, every light worked in every pod, and all the wardrobes had hangers, also color-coded.
There was a shout as Ace and Lily drove up with the groceries in their saddlebags. Callie and Ivy cut up or shredded vegetables and fruit for easy handling, then made egg, chicken, fruit, tossed, and macaroni salads.
Katya came over with Elena, who immediately went horse-mad as well. She was able to ride a bigger horse, and so the lovely, and much happier, Chenoa was ridden and groomed and fed carrots just like the ponies, and loved every minute of it.
Katya was convinced by Henry and Bella that her daughter would be fine, and set about making mini-pizzas and freezing them. She also made a big pot of potato soup with bacon and chives, and fresh bread. Callie and Ivy made another tossed salad with tons of shredded veggies. They took the soup, salad, bread, shredded cheese, and sour cream out to picnic tables.
Manny and Tito finished the pour, while Gregory, Ace, and Nantan made it level. Katya rang the bell, and Gregory, Tito, Nantan, and Tito’s cousin Manny came over from the concrete pour, the grader still on the property. They passed around bowls, spoons, water, and sodas, and ate in the sun. The girls talked about horses with each other, eager to learn how to clean tack.
After lunch, Jeffrey and Inola happily led the girls on a very short trail ride —past the meadow, around a huge tree, and back to the paddock. They then curried the horses, checked their hooves for stones, and happily started doing Jeffrey and Inola’s chores. Katya and Bella did the dishes and prepared corn chowder and rounds of fresh bread for dinner. Inola withdrew to work on a class, sitting in an Adirondack chair along the back of the property, to type and eat grapes and drink lime water. Bella joined her to nap in the sun.
Gregory, Ivy, Callie, and Ace followed Nantan, and Henry to take a look at the barn. They all had gloves and crowbars. Henry drove his truck, and Nantan got out at the truck rental place and drove off with a flatbed and lots of tiedowns.
Ghost, Killa, Numa, and Bonnie were already there. A tiny black woman, with blue hair in braids, who looked fifteen years old, was with them.
“This be Blue,” said Ghost. “She small, but she eighteen, an’ she work, real well. Blue, this be yo fambly. You need sumpin’, they get it fo you.” Blue nodded, her braids clacking. She didn’t say a word that entire day, but she worked hard, her hands dwarfed by work gloves.
They took out pegs and nails, removed boards and doors, and used grease pencils, chalk, and photos to document their every move. Barn consultant Victor Ortega was there, lifting the heavy beams and loading a truck. The truck was getting full.
Gregory and Nantan backed up their trucks. They used the crane and simple sweat to load them up. They collected the trash, and put that in recycling bins. Silver State would come by the next day to recycle old nails and the like. They made sure there was nothing left, covered the wood with tarps, and they all rode back to the farm, with the wind in their hair.
They stored the wood in the new barn, careful to keep the coded plan when stacking it. They covered it with tarps.
“See you in two days,” said Henry, shaking Victor’s hand.
“See you then,” he said and drove off.
“What’s in two days?” asked Callie.
“The barn raising,” said Gregory, taking off his work gloves. “That concrete isn’t wet, but I wouldn’t put a load on it.”
“I need a shower,” said Callie.
“Luckily, we have two halves of a barn, a dormitory, three apartments, and three bathrooms in the main house,” said Henry. “Or, we could just ride to Lake Mead and jump in.”
“I’ll text everybody,” said Ivy.
They loaded up some coolers with food and drinks, and went off to the lake. Quite a few of the Nighthawks were already there; a campfire was already going. Everyone shouted when they saw Henry and Inola, and rushed to embrace them. The hard workers all changed —or not —and jumped in the lake. The chowder and bread were being reheated over the fire when a van came down the road. Henry saw it first, and he caught Inola, Gregory, and Nantan’s attention. Numa saw it too, and came up. They went over as the van parked, and seven teenagers and two adults tumbled out.
“Mom!” said Gregory. A woman with his wide face and Paiute cheekbones grabbed him and held him close.
A man with long gray hair and feathers in his hair and ears went to Henry and held him close. “Henry,” he said. “It’s been too long.”
“Wyatt,” said Henry. “Who have you brought?”
The wide boy with the wider eyes was Honi. Micco had a tall body and a regal bearing. Tocho had a wide smile. The boys stood together in a knot, stretching after being in the van.
Jaci and Nova held hands and smiled shyly at Inola and Bella. Inola came over and embraced them. Nova looked terrified, her eyes darting back and forth. Inola reached out, touched her hair.
“
You are safe here,” she said. Imala rested against the van. Bella went up to her and nodded. Imala nodded back.
“Restrooms are that way,” said Henry, pointing to the right. “Then food.” They all streamed off, except Winnie, who held her son close, then looked at him, then clasped him again.
Henry went over to them. “Your son has a real gift with the horses,” he said.
Winnie couldn’t speak. She choked on her tears.
“It’s all right, Mom,” said Jeffrey. “We’re home now. Come on, Katya’s soup is amazing.”
The teens ate an amazing amount of food. Henry was pleased that the Nighthawks had also brought pork for sandwiches. They ate like pigs, and went through water and colas at an alarming rate. Bella and Inola watched them swim. They came out, shivering with cold, but went back into the chilly water after a few minutes to do it again. The sun went down; at dusk, they all dried off and laid around, dogs running around and kissing them. The guitars, drums, and ukuleles came out, and the songs began. The ladies sang a rather touching Eddie Sheeran’s Stay with Me, followed by Thinking Out Loud. The pixies went into All American Girl, making the rest of them laugh.
Tomas did some fretwork, and Ace tried to keep up. They did The Eagles’ Hotel California. They sang into the night, finally bundling tired pixies into Callie’s car and tired teens back into the van.
Two days later, Dirty Vegas had an “Open Later” sign, the bikes and trucks rolled in, the hammers and mallets came out, the pixies found the horses, and the barn-raising began.
Victor Ortega knew exactly what piece went where, and ran the team like a conductor directing an orchestra. The teens were full participants, rotating the jobs of runner, water carriers, board holders, and mallet swingers.
They were finished with the initial framing when the Inola got a call. She listened carefully. Gregory ran up with a pencil and a pad of paper took down the address and pulled out his phone to look up the address.
“Henry! Nantan! Jaci! Nova! Tocho!” We need trailers for three!”