Horse

by Talley English

  “At least they tried. Nobody wants a relative left alone,” Susanna said.

  “Except they had incompetent people who killed their relative,” Charlie said.

  Teagan gave him a look. She didn’t know why he was talking like that.

  “I don’t think the family was aware of the problems,” Joan said.

  She seemed to be talking to Charlie, but Teagan thought Charlie just needed to shut up.

  “They could have known if they wanted to.” Charlie sounded scornful.

  “Charlie, what’s your deal?” Teagan said.

  Joan said, “It’s complicated. It always is. There’s always more than one thing going on. It’s unfortunate. Nobody wants to lose a family member that way.”

  Teagan stared at Charlie, trying to signal him to drop it, but he didn’t look at her.

  Jim stood up, brushing off his jeans. “Let’s change the subject and have some fun. I say we go inside for a game of Spoons.”

  “Spoons?” Susanna said.

  “It’s Dad’s favorite game ever,” Lilly said.

  “But he cheats,” Seth said.

  “It’s part of the game.” Jim smiled.

  * * *

  —

  Inside, Lilly gathered a handful of clean everyday spoons.

  Jim brought out two packs of playing cards. “You’ve never played this?” he asked Susanna.

  “I still think you’re kidding,” Susanna said.

  “No, no. Not kidding,” Jim said, sitting down and beginning to shuffle the cards.

  Lilly arranged the spoons, bowls in, handles out, in a circle in the middle of the table.

  “Anyone want apple cider? It’s not spiked,” Joan said.

  “Why not?” Seth asked.

  “Is there any of that wine left?” Susanna asked.

  Jim said he’d open a new bottle. Susanna protested but lost. Wine was poured, but Jim suggested that people keep their glasses off of the table because things could get ugly.

  “Have you played this before?” Joan asked Teagan.

  “No,” she said.

  They crammed around one end of the kitchen table.

  “Pull in close. You need to be able to reach to the middle,” Jim said. “Okay. Ready to learn? Let’s see. We’ve got too many players, but that doesn’t matter. Everyone starts with five cards and the rest go in a pile. I’ll be dealer for this game, just to start us out.”

  “Here we go,” Seth said, indicating that Jim would cheat.

  “There are eight people, but there are seven spoons on the table,” Charlie said.

  “Yes. I’m glad you pointed that out, Charlie,” Jim said.

  “Good counting, Charlie,” Lilly said.

  “Thank you, Lilly,” Charlie said, bowing slightly to her.

  Jim continued. “The top card is turned over and starts the discard pile. So, the first card is a six of spades. Charlie, since you are sitting to my left, you start. You put down a six or a spade. Just for practice, tell us what cards you have.”

  “I have a two of spades.”

  “Okay, lay that card down. And when you lay down a card, you have to say what it is, just like Charlie just did.”

  “I have a two of spades,” Charlie said again.

  “Yes. Thank you,” Jim said.

  Lilly clapped lightly for Charlie’s demonstration.

  “Now. Charlie had two options. He could play his card, or he could hold it, but then he has to draw. Let’s say he draws a card he can play; he can play that card right away. If he doesn’t, then the person to his left goes. The goal is to play all of your cards, but you have to announce when you are down to one card. If you don’t announce it and we catch you, then you have to draw another card. Everyone with me so far?”

  Susanna shook her head, so Joan leaned in to help.

  “A few more rules. If you lay down a queen, that reverses the direction of play. So if Charlie plays his two, and Lilly lays down a queen, then play goes back to Charlie, instead of on to Seth. The eight of any suit is a wild card. It changes the suit. If you lay down an eight, you can call out whatever you want, diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades, and that’s what the discard pile becomes.”

  “When do we get a spoon?” Susanna asked.

  “Ah. You get a spoon when you are out of cards. Whoever plays all his or her cards first grabs for a spoon, and when that happens, everyone else can grab, too. If Teagan plays all her cards and I see her reaching for a spoon, then I know that I’d better grab one. This is where it can get rough. Everyone should cut their fingernails before we play.”

  “Or sharpen them.” Joan wiggled her fingers to show her nails.

  Susanna wiggled hers back.

  “This could end badly.” Teagan smiled at Lilly.

  “And whoever doesn’t get a spoon is out,” Paul said.

  “Oh no, I’m going to lose!” Susanna said.

  “Don’t get anxious yet,” Joan said.

  “Should we play?” Jim said. He shuffled the cards again and dealt five to each person, stacked the rest, and turned over the top card. Charlie started. He laid down a heart.

  “Draw again,” Teagan yelled.

  “Why?”

  “You didn’t say your card,” Lilly said.

  Charlie drew again.

  “Hearts,” Lilly said, laying down and drawing.

  “Hearts.” Seth played his card and drew.

  They went around the table. The laying down and picking up of cards began to happen faster. Names of suits were said by one person and the next.

  “Eight. Diamonds,” Lilly called out.

  “Damn!” Susanna said. She had to draw.

  Cards were laid down and picked up at a crazy pace.

  “You skipped me,” Teagan complained, but Lilly kept playing.

  Around they went again. The pace increased. Cards slipped off the table. Then Joan lunged for a spoon. A yell went up as everyone else realized what had happened and tried to grab a spoon at the center of the table. Charlie threw a friendly elbow into Paul, and there was general scrabbling and clanking of metal on wood.

  When the struggle subsided Jim called out happily, “Who has a spoon? Hold ’em up.”

  Everyone who had gotten hold of one held up the proof of a spoon.

  “I didn’t get one,” Teagan said, pulling a sad face and slapping the table with her empty hands.

  “Loser,” Charlie said.

  Joan leaned against Teagan in sympathy.

  “Who took the first spoon?” Susanna asked.

  Lilly quietly raised her spoon.

  “That was so sneaky. I’m going to have to watch this girl,” Susanna said.

  The game started again, and even faster they slapped down the cards, so that when someone called out the name of a card it overlapped with the next, and the game verged on chaos. Teagan noticed that Seth had stopped looking at the cards that were passing in front of him, and was only watching the six remaining spoons. She laughed when he called out the name of a card that was different from what was in his hand. “Seth’s cheating,” Teagan happily informed the table.

  Then Susanna screamed that she was out of cards and grabbed for a spoon, and a wrestling match between Seth and Paul took them off their seats.

  “Foul,” Jim called out, gleeful.

  Teagan laughed and slopped cider on her shirt.

  Everyone recovered and the next round started.

  * * *

  —

  One spoon was on the table. Joan was out of cards first, but Susanna won the spoon.

  Fairy Tale

  Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved horses. More than anything she wanted a horse of her own. One day her father said to her, “I will build a barn.”

  It was a go
od barn.

  “We must find a horse,” the father said.

  The daughter was happy.

  On the other side of the village, there was a young woman who had a beautiful horse, but she no longer wanted it. She went to her good mother and said, “I want to give my beautiful horse away.”

  The mother said, “If it is your wish, I know of a girl who hopes for a horse.”

  The young woman said, “Let me take my horse to her.”

  Riding Lesson

  Even though she could not tack a horse as quickly as Hope could, Teagan’s best time was approximately fifteen minutes. She wasn’t faster because she enjoyed grooming her horse. It was the only time that she moved seamlessly, the movements of her hands articulate. When she brushed his face with a soft-bristled brush, Ian would close his eye on the side Teagan was working on. She often captured his whole head in a hug and pressed her face to his white blaze. When Ian had had enough cuddling, he would nip at her side, and she’d have to move. Ian was tacked, and Teagan patted his neck and was thinking about walking him around when she heard the sliding lock move on the door in the run. Teagan turned Ian to the door and saw Lilly, who was looking relaxed and a little shy. She wore jeans and paddock boots, and carried a faded black-velvet-covered helmet.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi,” Lilly said.

  “Here’s your horse,” Teagan said. She felt happy. She gathered Ian’s reins.

  Lilly walked to Ian and stroked his head, saying hello to him. Ian sniffed her shirt and flicked his ears forward. He nosed Lilly’s arm and side, checking her out. Lilly stood quietly, letting him. Teagan brought his attention back by reaching the reins to his neck, putting pressure on the bit, and Ian followed the pressure and quieted his head. Then his ears flicked forward and his head went up and he tensed. Teagan looked at the sky; she saw black bodies disappearing into the trees and heard the cawing noise of crows. It was nothing, but she saw Lilly looking up at Ian’s raised head.

  “Tell you what,” Teagan said, “why don’t I put a halter on him, and I’ll lead him, just to start.”

  “That sounds good,” Lilly said.

  Teagan handed the reins to Lilly and got a halter, then fed the reins through the halter so that Lilly could use them, and buckled the halter over Ian’s bridle. She clipped a lead rope to the halter and flung the tail of the rope over his neck.

  “You hop up,” Teagan said.

  Lilly fastened her helmet and led Ian to the mounting block. She stood on the wood step and placed her toe in the stirrup. Teagan stood at Ian’s head, but she didn’t have to do anything, because he stood quietly. Lilly settled onto the saddle. Teagan checked Lilly’s stirrup lengths.

  “Put them up a hole or two on both sides,” Teagan said.

  Lilly moved her leg back and flipped up the saddle flap. She slid up the buckle on each stirrup leather, which shortened the stirrup length. With the toes of her boots she found the stirrups, got her feet in them, and pushed her heels down.

  “How’s that feel?” Teagan asked.

  “That feels better,” Lilly said.

  “Stand up and then sit down again, thinking about pushing your heels down,” Teagan said.

  Lilly did, and Teagan said that her leg position looked better. “Okay. I’ll lead him down to the ring, but go ahead and hold the reins and keep your leg on him. Just get used to him a little bit.”

  Lilly gathered the reins and moved Ian into a walk. Teagan held the lead rope loosely in her hand and walked at Ian’s shoulder. They walked toward the riding ring.

  “How’s he feel to you?” Teagan asked.

  “He’s the tallest horse I’ve ridden,” Lilly said.

  “He likes to stretch out. He’s got a long stride, but he’s also really even, which makes him comfortable to ride. At least I think so,” Teagan said.

  “Yeah, he’s got a nice walk,” Lilly said, after a moment.

  Teagan glanced up at Lilly on Ian, taking in the picture. She was happy with the way Lilly sat, lightly and easily in the saddle. Ian’s walk was relaxed. His head was down and he was taking his usual long ground-covering strides. He seemed to be accepting of Lilly as his rider, and he wasn’t giving her any trouble, at least not yet. Teagan hoped he would continue to behave himself. He could be a wonderful horse, or a really tough one, and she wanted to give Lilly the best version of Ian that she could. Teagan felt that she and Ian had worked well together, despite how difficult he had been for her at first. She saw that her work, and his, was paying off. Ian was calm and paying attention to Lilly.

  Teagan opened the wooden gate and they walked into the grass ring. Lilly turned Ian’s head to the gate and Teagan, still holding his rope, closed it. “We’ll walk around once on the lead,” Teagan said, “so you can get a feel of him on the flat, and then I’ll turn you loose.”

  Going to the right (Ian’s right shoulder was toward the fence), Teagan walked on Ian’s left. She held the lead loosely, so that Lilly could take the feel of his head. Teagan could tell that Ian was taking his cues from her, rather than from Lilly. He was matching his pace to Teagan’s. When she began the turn around the end of the ring, Ian matched his turn with hers. She was pleased that he was so in tune with her, but she wanted to give Lilly a chance to engage with him. Teagan stopped walking halfway around the ring, and Ian stopped when she stopped.

  “He’s following me,” Teagan said.

  Lilly smiled. “I know. I’m not doing anything.”

  “Let me take off the halter and see what you guys can do together.”

  Even with the halter and lead off, when Teagan walked toward the middle of the ring, Ian turned to follow her. Teagan did not look at him, and she heard Lilly speak to him as she turned him away and put him on track around the ring. Standing in the middle of the ring, with Lilly and Ian tracking along the rail, Teagan could look over Lilly’s position. She watched what her legs and hands were doing. Teagan saw that Lilly was working hard to keep her leg in place, but she wasn’t feeling Ian’s movement. It looked as if her leg was hovering away from the horse’s side rather than moving with it. That could be fixed. Teagan liked Lilly’s hands, which were soft. She held the reins too loosely, but for now that was okay. Her hands were also relatively still, hovering above Ian’s withers, which Teagan liked to see.

  “Are you going to ride more?” Teagan asked.

  “Yes. I’m probably going to take lessons with Hope. Your mom is going to get us in touch with her and help set things up,” Lilly said.

  “That’s great,” Teagan said, and then she switched into speaking like an instructor. She had a student to teach, and she wanted things to go well for Lilly.

  “First things. This leg looks pretty good.” Teagan placed a firm hand on Lilly’s calf. “It’s in position, but I want more contact.” Teagan pushed Lilly’s leg against Ian’s side. Ian shifted a little but didn’t take a step. “See? He should feel you. You want to be able to feel him. That way, you can always tell what he’s doing, and he can listen to what you are doing, and more importantly, you can feel what he is about to do, in case you need to get more control.”

  “What do you mean, feel what he’s about to do?” Lilly asked.

  “Let’s say you are on a trail ride, and your horse gets worried about something on the trail. A deer or a funny shadow or something catches his attention, and if you have your leg on, you will be able to feel him stiffen up, and then you know you have to make a decision. If he tries to turn, or run, or shy, you will be able to feel which way he is leaning, and then you have enough time to react. But don’t worry, he’s a good trail horse.” Teagan smiled, trying to soften her comment.

  Lilly smiled a small smile.

  Teagan said, “Or let’s say you are in the ring, heading to a jump, and you feel him bulging to the right or left. With a steady leg on you can feel that, and straighten him ou
t in plenty of time.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Lilly said.

  Teagan said, “So, you should be able to ask him to move sideways by just using your leg. With this horse, you don’t even need to use the reins. It’s like this.” Teagan pushed on Lilly’s leg, pushing it against Ian’s side; she kept up the pressure until Ian’s back hoof stepped underneath him and he shifted his hind end over. Teagan said, “Did you feel that? Did you feel him take a step?”

  “Yeah. That’s cool,” Lilly said.

  “Now you have to do it without me.” Teagan gave Lilly’s leg a pat and she moved toward the middle of the ring. She said, “You’ve got a good horse. He’s sensitive. That means he responds to the signals you make with your legs and body position, as well as your hands. So, be really clear about giving those signals.” Teagan knew that she was giving Lilly too much information, but she thought it was good to give it anyway.

  Teagan said, “Try to ask him to go forward using only your leg. Don’t touch the reins.” She could see Lilly’s seat shift in the saddle, and she was pressing her leg against Ian, but he stood.

  “Keep going. You’ve asked him, so you have to keep asking for what you want. Don’t let him get away with not listening,” Teagan said, raising her voice. “More. Heels down. Put your leg on. Keep going.” Teagan watched as Lilly tensed other parts of her body, her arms and back, but she wasn’t getting a result, and Ian was being stubborn.

  “Stop,” Teagan said. “Take your feet out of the stirrups. Good. Now sit deep in the saddle, but don’t round your back. That’s it. Good. Let your leg hang loose. Good. Now, put your leg on again, and wrap as much of your leg as you can against his side.” Teagan could see Lilly flex her leg. Her leg position looked better.

  “C’mon. You can do it. Think, Walk, and think about pushing him in front of you,” Teagan said.

  Then, as if it was the first time Lilly had asked, Ian began to walk.

  “There you go,” Teagan cheered.

  Lilly let out a breath. “I felt like I couldn’t get my leg to do anything.”