Beach Ride

by Bonnie Bryant

  “Isn’t she a rider, too?” Stevie said. She was crinkling her brows, trying to recall exactly what Carole had said. When it came to horses, she usually had a pretty good memory.

  “She’s got a pony,” Carole reminded Stevie. “She’s had him for years, and she rides him every day. She’s as horse crazy as we are. It’s one of the reasons I love her a lot. Also, like me, she wants to work with horses when she finishes school. The difference between us is that she’s decided exactly what she wants to do already. She wants to be a trainer.” Carole’s friends knew that Carole couldn’t make up her mind whether she wanted to be a trainer, instructor, breeder, show rider, owner, or veterinarian. At the moment, she wanted to be all of them.

  “Well, if she rides, won’t you get to ride, too?” Lisa asked.

  “I don’t know,” Carole said. “That’s what I was thinking about before class. When you’re visiting other people, you really have to do what they want to do. I’m not sure Sheila’s going to want to ride while I’m there, though I hope she will. Besides, she only has one horse and it’s a pony,” Carole added. “It’s a little pony, and my cousin is big.”

  “Does she hurt the pony?” Lisa asked, concerned.

  “Oh, no,” Carole said. “It’s a strong pony, and she’s not all that big, just regular sixteen-year-old size. But if she wants to succeed in competitions, she ought to have a regular-size horse.”

  “Does she want to succeed?” Stevie asked. It was hard to imagine that anybody wouldn’t want to win prizes, but then she remembered that the girls had a friend named Kate Devine who had won a lot of prizes in horse shows and then decided she didn’t want to compete anymore. She just wanted to ride. Maybe that was what this Sheila wanted, too.

  “I’m not sure,” Carole said. “I do know that she loves this pony so much that she’s willing to do poorly in the shows because of it.”

  That sounded very odd to Stevie and Lisa.

  “Not wanting to compete is one thing,” Lisa said. “Wanting to lose is another altogether.”

  “Crazy,” Stevie observed. “Plain crazy.” Then her eyes lit up in a way her friends recognized. It meant a light bulb had just gone on. Stevie had an idea. “That’s it!” she declared. “You’ll be the perfect person to talk her into getting a new horse, Carole. All you have to do is explain what’s going to happen.”

  “I’ve thought about that,” Carole admitted. “But maybe it’s not really my business what horse she rides. Besides, she loves that pony, and she always has a good time riding it. What good would it do to have her give up the pony she loves for a horse she doesn’t love, just to win ribbons?”

  “Maybe she should have two horses,” Stevie suggested. She was good at compromises, especially when it involved spending other people’s money!

  “And maybe pigs should fly,” Lisa said wistfully. To her, owning one horse seemed like such a distant dream that she couldn’t imagine owning two.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the waitress. “You girls ready to order?” The waitress asked all of them, but she was looking at Stevie.

  “Vanilla frozen yogurt,” Carole said.

  “Small hot fudge on chocolate ice cream,” Lisa said.

  The waitress wrote down their orders, but never took her eyes off Stevie. It was part of the challenge. Everybody there knew it. Would Stevie be able to come up with something so outrageous that the waitress would make a face?

  Stevie took a deep breath.

  “One scoop of Oreo cream, one of pistachio. Hot butterscotch. Pineapple topping. Each on both. Whipped cream. Walnuts. Maraschino cherries. One on each.”

  The waitress wrote busily. Her face was stony.

  “Oh, and can I have that chewy blueberry granola topping, too?”

  The waitress’s jaw dropped.

  Stevie had won.

  “DO YOU KNOW what Aunt Joanna has planned for us this week?” Carole asked her father.

  The two of them were sitting in their comfortable seats on the airplane. It was Saturday morning, and the plane was beginning its descent into the Florida airport, where their vacation awaited them.

  “If I know my sister, whatever it is, it involves trying to introduce me to a very eligible woman,” Colonel Hanson said, sighing with resignation.

  “She’s been trying to marry you off to one of her friends ever since Mom died,” Carole said. “She’s relentless, isn’t she?”

  “Absolutely. Every time I’ve seen her in the past few years, we’ve somehow managed to run into a couple of her single friends.”

  “Is it embarrassing?”

  “Not really. I suppose it’s flattering, but it never seems to work out.”

  “Why don’t you just tell Aunt Joanna to stop?” Carole asked. “You can find your own dates. I mean, it seems to me that you go out a couple of times a week at home without any help from her at all.”

  “I wouldn’t want to interfere,” Colonel Hanson explained. “She’s having too much fun trying to fix me up.”

  “And what about Mrs. Dana?” she asked. Mrs. Dana was the mother of a girl Carole had befriended and helped. Her father and Mrs. Dana had seen a lot of one another since Carole introduced them. Carole liked her. Apparently her father did, too.

  “I’m seeing her after we get back,” Colonel Hanson said. “I’ve got tickets to a Beach Boys concert. She’s almost as crazy about golden oldies as I am.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what,” Carole said. “Every time Aunt Joanna tries to push one of her ever-so-slightly weird friends on you, I’ll talk about Mrs. Dana. Is that a deal?”

  “Deal,” her father said. They shook on it. “But don’t expect it to stop Joanna from trying.”

  Carole knew that was true. Her aunt could be very persistent when she decided to meddle. It wasn’t Carole’s favorite side of the woman.

  A few hours later Carole found herself appreciating one of Aunt Joanna’s better sides. Carole was standing in Aunt Joanna’s kitchen, next to her cousin, Sheila. The two of them were taking turns using the food processor to make cole slaw. Carole was on cabbage, Sheila in charge of carrots. Aunt Joanna had orchestrated an entire work crew, including the girls, Colonel Hanson, and Uncle Willie. Everybody had a job; everybody was enjoying the work.

  “Where’s your dill weed, Joanna?” Colonel Hanson asked. “I can’t make a marinade for the shrimp without dill weed.”

  Aunt Joanna produced a whole tray of spices. “Here you go, Mitch,” she said. “Create!” His eyes lit up. Aunt Joanna went on. “You’re a wonderful cook, Mitch. Some woman would be really lucky—”

  Carole knew a cue when she heard one. “That’s just what Mrs. Dana says about him,” she piped in.

  “—to catch you,” Aunt Joanna finished, apparently unaware of Carole’s none-too-subtle hint. “But remember to make a lot of marinade, because we’ve got a lot of shrimp, because there are going to be a lot of people at the party tomorrow. And it had better be delicious.”

  The party, Carole had learned, was to be a family reunion. She had many relatives who lived in the area, most of whom she’d never met, and the rest of whom she didn’t know very well, but all of whom she was sure she’d like. Her father’s family was large and boisterous. It was always fun to be with them.

  “They’re all relatives, Joanna,” Colonel Hanson said. “How fussy can they be?”

  “Not all of them are relatives,” Aunt Joanna said. “There are a few special nonfamily guests.”

  “Like who?” Uncle Willie asked. He was suspicious.

  “Oh, just a few,” Aunt Joanna said vaguely. “Well, like there’s a friend of mine who didn’t have anything planned for tomorrow, and so I thought—”

  “A single friend?” Uncle Willie asked. He knew what Aunt Joanna was up to.

  “Well, I guess so,” Aunt Joanna said. “I think she said something about her son spending the weekend with her ex, and I’m just sure everybody in the family will like her, so I said we’d pick her up on th
e way over to Julie’s.”

  Carole tried again. “Dad, didn’t you ask me to remind you to call Mrs. Dana so she’d know we got here safely?”

  Her father smiled. “Thanks, hon,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  That, Carole knew, was her father’s way of saying he could manage, and he didn’t want to upset his sister or give her the impression that he was wildly in love with Mrs. Dana. Carole realized that if Aunt Joanna thought that was the case, it would just invite another kind of interference. It was hard to know how to balance in a case like this. She decided to change the subject instead.

  “Could somebody please tell me again what all these events are that you guys scheduled for me and Dad? I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful vacation!”

  “Sure,” Sheila obliged. “Tomorrow’s the family reunion. Then Monday the five of us are going to Disney World for the day. Then Tuesday I’ve arranged for you to borrow a horse, and the two of us are going to have a picnic on the beach. We’ll ride to this beautiful place I know where there’s a patch of coral you won’t believe, and I’ve got snorkels for us—”

  “That beach can be dangerous, you know,” Uncle Willie said. “If there’s a riptide, you could be in trouble.”

  “Dad,” Sheila said. “I was practically born in the water down here. I can handle it.”

  “You can’t handle a riptide,” Uncle Willie said.

  “No, but I can stay out of one,” said Sheila. “Don’t worry. We’ll be really careful. Besides, there’s just about always a lifeguard on duty. We’ll be fine. I promise.”

  “If you want to ride, you’d be better off riding at the school,” Aunt Joanna said. There was a little irritation in her voice that Carole wasn’t used to hearing. “Carole could help you try riding some of the horses that Mr. Abelman said were for sale.”

  “Mother,” Sheila said. Aunt Joanna wasn’t about to stop now, though.

  “I mean it, Sheila,” she said. “You really ought to let us sell that pony. You’re never going to succeed as a competitive rider if you’re riding Maverick.”

  “I don’t care about succeeding as a competitive rider,” Sheila said. “I want to ride Maverick, and I won’t let you sell him.”

  “Carole, will you talk some sense into this girl’s head?” Aunt Joanna asked. “Tell her that if she wants to be a horse professional, she’s going to have to have some ribbons on her walls. She’s going to have to have a way to show the world that she knows how to train a horse.”

  “Maverick is very well trained,” Sheila said.

  “Sure he is, but you never win any ribbons riding him! And your father and I pay to feed and house him month after month. We’re not getting anything for our money, and neither are you.”

  This sounded like an argument that Sheila and her mother had had before, and would have again.

  “Who wants to taste my marinade?” Colonel Hanson asked. Four hands went up. Everybody was glad to have the focus of the conversation switched to something noncontroversial, like how many peppercorns the marinade needed.

  STEVIE LOOKED DEEP into the horse’s eyes. The horse looked back into hers.

  “I think Starlight misses Carole already,” Stevie said to Lisa, who was standing right next to her.

  “Maybe,” Lisa said. “Although she was here just yesterday.”

  “Yes, but that was yesterday,” Stevie said.

  “Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Since Carole is going to be away for five days, Starlight is going to adore her when she gets back. In the meantime, it’s our job to take care of him, right?”

  “Right,” Stevie agreed. She gave Starlight a pat and a hug and then promised him she’d be right back. She went to get some fresh hay and some grain. Lisa took his bucket for water.

  Stevie and Lisa were only too happy to take care of Starlight. He was a wonderful horse, and Carole was their best friend. Feeding him and mucking out his stall wasn’t really hard work. It was fun. Since they were on school vacation, they were going to be at the stable every day anyway, and this was just one small extra chore for them. It was no problem.

  In the feed room, Stevie picked up a flake of hay in one hand and a coffee can of grain with the other, That was Starlight’s breakfast. He nuzzled her happily as she doled out the goodies in his stall. He also sniffed at the fresh water Lisa supplied.

  “I think we have a happy customer,” Lisa observed. She offered her hand for Stevie to shake.

  “Good morning!” Alice greeted them cheerfully. “This is your friend’s horse, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, this is Starlight,” Stevie introduced them. “Carole is away for a couple of days, so we’re horse-sitting.”

  “Lucky horse, I think—”

  “And lucky Carole to own him,” said Lisa. “He’s a great horse, and she’s made him even greater by all the work she’s done with him.”

  Alice nodded. “I was watching her in class,” she said. “She’s wonderful with him. He’s obviously got a lot of potential, and she saw to it that he did his best with every single move. It was like she wasn’t going to let him get away with anything. I thought it was funny when he took two steps backward, and she made him take two forward. Then he took one backward, and she made him take one forward. She’s always in charge.”

  “It’s important,” Lisa said.

  “I know it is,” said Alice. “I used to ride a horse who always wanted to be in charge. When the instructor had us all turn our horses around, my horse wanted to turn around in the opposite direction from the way the other horses in the class were turning. At first I thought it was funny, and it didn’t matter. But when he got the idea that he could do what he wanted to do, I lost all control. He stopped paying attention to everything I said. The instructor got so angry with me that he excused me from the class. I learned my lesson. And that was four years ago. I’ve never forgotten it.”

  Lisa and Stevie smiled. That was a lesson every rider seemed to need to know. And they all learned it the same way!

  “Say, would you like to ride Starlight?” Stevie asked suddenly.

  “Me?” Alice asked.

  “Sure,” Stevie said. “See, Carole’s away until Wednesday, and Starlight’s got to get some exercise, but Lisa and I each want to ride other horses in class today. It’s not that we don’t love Starlight. We do. It’s just that I’m kind of in the middle of working on something with Topside, and Lisa here has been trying to ride Barq as much as possible so she can get used to him—”

  “Pepper, the horse I used to ride has been retired,” Lisa explained. Alice nodded.

  “—so you’d really be doing us and Carole a favor if you’d ride Starlight. He’s a little too independent for the average rider. But you’re not an average rider. I’m sure Carole would be glad.”

  “And I’m sure Max would approve,” Lisa said. It was like Stevie to ignore the fact that they’d have to get his approval, and it was like Lisa to remember it.

  “And I’m sure I’d love it,” Alice said. “Definitely yes. I’ll get his tack.”

  “And I’ll get Max’s okay,” said Lisa.

  “And I’ll get Topside tacked up so I can be on time to class!”

  There was a flurry of activity then, which resulted in the three girls meeting at the good-luck horseshoe for the final preparation before class. Max was there, too.

  “I watched you in class, Alice, and I know you’re a good rider. Starlight has a bit of a mind of his own, though. You have to be a little careful.”

  “I will be. I promise,” Alice said. “Besides, I always am that.”

  “She’ll do fine,” Stevie said. “As a matter of fact, Max, I’m so sure she’ll do fine that I think she should come along on the trail ride that Lisa and I are planning to take this afternoon.”

  Lisa thought she saw Max suppressing a smile. Stevie had a way of taking a small “yes,” such as getting permission for Alice to ride Starlight in class, and turning it into a big “yes.”
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br />   “We’ll see how she does in class,” Max said.

  “Okay,” Stevie said. That was clearly as close as she was going to get to a yes, big or small.

  But Alice was shaking her head. “I can’t do it,” she said. “I have to do something with my grandmother this afternoon.”

  Max seemed a little bit relieved to have the question removed.

  “Tomorrow?” Stevie pressed.

  “Great!” said Alice.

  “Maybe,” said Max. Then he looked at his watch. That was a sure sign that they should all stop talking and get into class.

  Red O’Malley was teaching the young riders’ class that morning. He began the class by having the riders go through all their gaits. Then he repeated some of the balance exercises that they’d been working on Tuesday. During riding class, as with every class that Lisa ever took, her whole attention was on the teacher and her own performance. That was one of the reasons why she was a straight-A student.

  That was not the case with Stevie. She listened to Red and followed his instructions, but her lively and active mind just couldn’t be totally occupied with one thing at a time—not when there were so many other things to think about at the same time! That included things like admiring Lisa’s total concentration and watching Alice to see if she was as good as they thought she was. She was. Alice had complete control of Starlight, and she had done it without any apparent effort. Stevie knew that was the hardest part—working hard and making it look as if you weren’t. A horse responded to leadership like that. Starlight was working as well with Alice as he did with Carole, and that was something Stevie could really appreciate. There was no doubt left in Stevie’s mind. Alice was a really good rider.

  One of the other things that got Stevie’s attention was the fact that Max was watching the class from the door to the ring. His eyes never left Alice, and a smile never left his face. Stevie knew for sure, then, that he’d let Alice go on the trail ride on Sunday. That made Stevie feel good. It confirmed her own feelings about Alice’s skills. It also was a proven fact, demonstrated by The Saddle Club, that it was always more fun to ride with three people than two. That was just one more reason why she was glad Alice would be there the next day.