Marta nudged me with her shoulder as she passed me with a plate of cookies.
“See? This isn’t so hard, is it?”
I thought of Mom in this place, and how my heart no longer seized with panic when I came here.
“No, not as hard as I once thought.”
“That’s my sis.” She smiled, hurrying toward a group of older ladies.
“I won!” Stevie, who was playing a game with Brett and Quentin, sat with his hands up in the air, victorious.
I noted that Judy paused to study him curiously before turning back to the baby. I stood back, watching, happy that Judy was having such a good day. When Judson’s eyes drooped, Keith took him in his arms and rocked him. This made Judy break into a smile.
My eyes rested on Peyton dressed in a pair of jeans and her new boots next to her mother all decked out in her own boots and fringe, something she’d worn in another era when she was still whole. Her mother was confused, but she held on tightly to Peyton’s hand, hanging on the best she could. I thought about how easily Judy had scooped Stephen up, saving him from heavy horse’s hooves, perhaps a motherly instinct that had, in a split second, inexplicably risen up out of her disease.
Peyton and Judy looked up at the same time, and anyone could see that they were mother and daughter, and yet, Peyton was my daughter, too. Her and Stevie, gifts given to me, and I realized in one breathless moment that I loved them as much as the little bundle cradled in my husband’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Okay, Mandy. It’s time for your lesson.”
“She stood in the doorway holding a stick with the leather strap hanging from the end. She was dressed in jeans and boots. She was holding a dirty pair of boots in her other hand. I noticed they had spurs.
“But those boots are ugly,” I said. She just smiled.
“Come on, Mandy.”
“Fine,” I said, offering Judson to Marta, who had come over to spend the day with us. My daddy reached out and took him instead, which made Marta pout and me smile.
“At my birthday party, you told everyone you’d let me teach you how to ride a horse,” Peyton said.
It was true. In front of twenty people, I’d told her it would be her birthday present.
“But that was ages ago! I think you’ve had another birthday since then, Peyton. That promise expired.”
“Just because you hoped I’d forget doesn’t mean I did.” She teased.
“You can’t go back on your word,” Daddy said, cradling Judson in his arms.
“You can’t do it, sis.” Marta clapped her hands.
“A promise is a promise,” Keith said.
“You are enjoying this, aren’t you?” I asked.
Keith grinned ear to ear. I was already wearing jeans, so I sat down and pulled on those dirty boots. I spun the spurs. They were a lot smaller than I thought they would be.
Out in the round pen, I worked Lizzie the way I had before, back when I’d ultimately fallen from the horse before it could even take off. Daddy stood back from the pen with Judson while Peyton, Estefan, Aunt Marta, and Stevie all sat on the fence watching.
“You have to let her know you are the boss,” Peyton said.
“That shouldn’t be too hard for her,” Keith called.
I glanced over at him, leaning nonchalantly on the other side of the fence. Oh, that cowboy. He still ignited sparks in me.
“Now, pay attention.” Peyton gently chided.
I tried to recall the instructions from last time, before Judson came along. The stick wasn’t for whipping, but for guiding her as I directed her to walk in wide circles around the pen. Occasionally, I was to gently let it fall on her flank, but not to hurt her. Boy howdy, was I glad to learn I didn’t have to whip her.
“You’ve seen too many movies,” Peyton said. “Okay, now put that down and get on her.”
“What?”
Keith hopped over the fence like it was nothing and walked toward Lizzie and me. He took her bridle while I climbed up, instructed me on how to get my feet in the stirrups, and handed the reins up to me.
“When you want to go right, pull the reins to the right, putting the pressure of this strap on the left side of her neck. When you want to go left, the same.” He went through instructions on how to get her to trot, gallop, and stop.
“I’m never going to remember all that,” I said.
“We’ll instruct you from the fence.” He walked away. “Hey, you’re leaving me?”
He smiled as he climbed up the fence.
“Okay,” Peyton said. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I said, pressing my heels into her sides. Peyton assured me the spurs did not hurt her at all.
“She’s a big horse. She can’t feel it.”
“Okay.” I tried it again and she took off. There I was walking, eventually galloping around the pen.
“Whoohoo!” Stevie clapped from his place on the fence.
“Whoa, Lizzie. Easy, girl.” I walked her for a while, before trotting, galloping, and walking again.
I even walked her in figure eights, but, of course, it was all because of Peyton’s excellent training of Lizzie that she did what I said, but I felt in control. I never imagined how no longer being afraid of a horse would make me feel. I didn’t fall, the horse didn’t run away from me, and I didn’t die. I’d say I was pretty successful and free.
I guided her into a trot, and as I moved through the air, my hair blowing behind me, I listened to the clop of Lizzie’s hooves hitting the ground firmly, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face as my heart flew its doors wide open.
“How do you feel?” Peyton called.
“Like a cowgirl,” I called back.
“That’s because you are, cowgirl,” Keith called out.
On a whim, I held my hat over my chest and then held it out to the pretend audience, and then I threw it high in the air.
And the crowd went wild.
The End
Dear Reader,
Love and family are complicated. This novel about those kinds of complexities has been inspired by two things that I feel deserve more attention: Stepfamilies and Alzheimer’s Disease, especially Younger/Early-Onset Alzheimer’s.
Several years ago I was shocked to see a story in the news about a very young person who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and it made me wonder what life would be like for that person as they lived their last “good” years. How would their spouse and family feel? What kinds of complications would this add to their relationship? I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so what resulted was this novel.
Before I saw that news story, I thought Alzheimer’s only happened to elderly people, but according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s website, five percent of the Alzheimer’s population has Younger Early-Onset Alzheimer’s in which they are diagnosed young. It can affect people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
I am not an expert on Alzheimer’s, but I endeavored to be correct as possible to tell the story of Manda, Keith, Violet, and their children. If I have erred in judgment, I did not intend to, but strove to tell a family’s story that might entertain, inspire, and hopefully bring attention to this type of Alzheimer’s Disease that affects patients much younger than the normal Alzheimer’s age. For more information about Alzheimer’s, visit http://www.alz.org/
As for stepfamilies, I have been married to my husband for eleven years and we share three teenaged children, so writing about the love stepparents can have for their children and the complexities dealt with by the children and entire family in this book were not difficult for me to write about. All stepfamilies are different, but it is easier when you have support. I didn’t know about it when our stepfamily was first born, but an excellent resource is http://www.stepfamilies.info/
Love and friendship transcend things like the complexities of Alzheimer’s and being a stepfamily, both of which, I daresay, aren’t situations we dream of when we are looking for a soul mate. My wish for
readers is that after reading this novel, you will have a deeper understanding, or at least another reminder, of how true love has no boundaries.
Sincerely,
Tina Ann Forkner
Book Club Discussion Questions
1. Manda doesn’t think she will fit into Keith’s rodeo lifestyle very well, based on the fact that she is not a real cowgirl and hates riding horses. Keith definitely disagrees. What do you think Keith sees in Manda that she can’t see in herself?
2. Keith has two children that Manda is happy to take on as her own. Were you surprised at the love she felt for her stepchildren? What things from her past might have prepared her for motherhood? What things might stand in her way?
3. The novel is set in a small fictional town in Tennessee. In what ways, negative or positive, does the size of the town contribute to the story of Manda and Keith? If you have read Forkner’s other novel, Waking Up Joy, how does The Real Thing’s Castle Orchard compare to Spavinaw Junction? Do you have a favorite?
4. Manda has a strong extended family that includes her twin sister and her dad, while Keith’s parents are never around. How might this contribute to how they each deal with marriage? Why do you think Manda still goes to Marta for affirmation and advice, instead of to Keith?
5. Manda’s relationship with stepdaughter Peyton changes throughout the story. What key scenes contribute to her reconciliation with her stepmother?
6. When ex-wife Violet’s truth is finally revealed, did the way you felt about her character at the beginning of the story change? Did you agree or disagree with the decision Violet made about her future without Keith and the kids?
7. Nobody seems more shocked about the truth than Keith. Do you think he bears any responsibility for the decision his ex-wife made?
8. Manda and Keith reach a crossroads in their marriage after they find out the dark truth of why Violet left Keith. How do you feel about how they handle the impossible choice? Would you have made the same, or a different, decision?
9. Manda wants so badly to be the real thing, as is suggested in the novel’s title. What are the key events that finally define what the real thing is for Manda?
10. What is the most memorable “thing” or impression that readers might take from this novel?
Love The Real Thing? Check out Tine Ann Forkner’s award-winning story…
Waking Up Joy
“A wonderfully-paced weave of compelling characters dealing with buried secrets and second chances within the framework of a flawed but fascinating family. Tina Forkner is an insightful, engaging storyteller. If you’re a fan of Jodi Picoult, you won’t be disappointed.”
~Susan Meissner Author of A Fall of Marigolds
Behind every lost dream lies a second chance…
When adored town spinster Joy Talley ends up in a coma after a peculiar accident, she is surprised and incensed to hear what is being said in her hospital room, including plans for her funeral. When she finally wakes, her well-meaning, but bossy, brothers and sisters dismiss her claims, thinking her accident has knocked her off her rocker, but Joy has never felt better, and is determined to set the past right.
Now Joy must face her darkest secret and risk reopening wounds caused by an old flame who rejected her more than twenty years ago. But taking risks brings change, as well as a new, younger man into Joy’s life, making her feel like a teenager again. Suddenly Joy’s once humdrum life is anything but boring and routine and the future beckons, exhilarating and bright.
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About the Author
Tina Ann Forkner is a substitute teacher and author of four women’s fiction novels including The Real Thing, Waking Up Joy, Rose House, and Ruby Among Us. Tina’s novel Waking Up Joy from Tule Publishing is a Virginia Romance Writers 2015 HOLT Medallion Award of Merit Recipient – Romantic Elements. She grew up in rural Colcord, Oklahoma and currently lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming with her husband and their three teenagers.
Learn more: www.tinaannforkner.com and Sign up for Tina’s newsletter here.
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