As I rode along, letting useless thoughts rattle around, I suddenly noticed I had gotten the concept of posting. I must have been thinking too hard about it, and it had come subconsciously when I wasn’t paying attention. Up, down, up, down. This time it was in time with the horse’s steps so that I wasn't being bounced and jostled, but rather lifted out of the saddle using the stirrups when the creature brought its weight down. With an approving nod, I gave Filbert a bit of a tap with my heels to have him keep up better with the rest of the group. Filbert was trying to snag some grass along the trail and having trouble walking and eating.
“Me too, buddy,” I said softly to the big guy and even reached down to pat its thick, muscular neck with a shadow of affection.
Lillian
I was in the barn cleaning out some of the stalls from overnight use as the guests were all out on their morning ride, and things were quiet and empty. An elderly horse was staying behind to keep me company. Mr. Frey said that she had been the first horse to come to the farm, an adopted mare from a less-than-happy home that needed some love and care before she could be ridden. She was fattened up, and Mr. Frey had even slept in the barn with her on the most touch-and-go of nights, Anna and himself taking shifts.
After all of their hard work and dedication, they determined she wouldn't be a working horse after all. Instead, she seemed to provide a sense of calm and direction to the other horses. Having her around made them easier to train for their purposes. She was like a mother to the entire herd, and they were thankful for her. I snuck her an extra cup full of molasses oats as I went around and filled each stall’s feed bucket for breakfast when the group returned. The old girl snorted with happiness and buried her face into the feed.
A few hours passed, and I was just finishing up sweeping out the barn's main throughway when I saw the group of guests returning, trail guide at the lead. He walked his horse up to me. "How'd everything go with the new group?"
“Oh great, it’s been a little while since we had a group this big. It was nice having everyone out and about.”
He dismounted and helped direct others into the barn as well, helping them climb down off the massive animals, who patiently waited through the process.
As they did so, they would hand the horse's bridle over to me, and I put the horses away in their specific stalls as the guests went on their way to lunch in the house with Mrs. Frey.
I closed one of the stall doors and turned back around for the next. Standing nose to nose with me was Filbert, forgetting that people tended to like a little room around them. He was one of the youngest geldings and had more personality than he could contain; it often got him into trouble. His lips wiggled at my ponytail, and he tried to nibble it up, mistaking it for a spring of fresh hay.
“Hey, now, you, get out of here.” I pushed his big tan head away from me, giving a scratch on the white star between his deep-brown eyes. When I did so, I could see someone was standing behind him, waiting for me to take his reins.
“Oh, here, thank you for bringing him over,” I said, reaching out to grab the leather strap but almost choked on my breath when I saw who I was talking to.
“Lillian?” Andre gasped. His thick, dark brows pushed themselves together to make a mountain between them, and his razor-sharp, chestnut eyes trained themselves on me like a hawk’s. “Lilly? Is that really you?”
I couldn’t believe it was Andre. We had been high school sweethearts, but due to… well due to a disagreement, we ended up separating and going to different colleges. We had even gone to prom together and were known as the couple everyone talked about. He was the football team captain, and I was some bookworm who didn't fit his stereotype.
“Yes-yes, it’s me. Andre, why are you here?” I asked, reaching out and grabbing his forearms as if I didn't believe he was really there. I gave him a brisk shake, his hands flapping around comically as I did so. “I thought you were off being king of the world somewhere far away from here?”
He chuckled and freed himself from my grasp. "Yeah, well, I have to admit, I didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew. You know, sporting jeans and a t-shirt…and whatever else I happened to pick up this morning."
He normally dressed to impress, even in leisure clothing.
“And not far away, no. I never got out of New York City, but does anyone?” He laughed. “You seem to be an exception. How did you find yourself all the way out here? Are you vacationing, too?”
“No, actually, I wanted to get out of the city and do something a bit more ‘me.’ I work here.” I was very proud of myself.
I did know, however, that Andre was one to judge someone in my position. People who did physical labor were considered less. At least he used to be that way.
“Well, I guess I can’t blame you.”
His response was surprisingly refreshing for me to hear.
He rubbed the back of his neck, resting his hand on Filbert's side. “I guess I'm out here kind of under the same circumstance. I wasn’t feeling well back in the concrete jungle, so Greg actually recommended I come to stay out here for a while, clear my head.”
“Oh my gosh, I haven't seen Greggy in forever. I hope he’s good. William still talks to everyone. I just don’t talk to William.”
“Everyone back home is good. Things are going really well for him. His construction company just won’t stop pulling in work, so he keeps his nose to the grindstone.”
“Better than getting it into trouble, right?” I chuckled and gave a shrug, tilting my head to the side.
Filbert went after my hair again and flapped his lips against my ear. The horse knew it was breakfast time, and our bantering was getting between him and his sweet oats.
“Let me get this big lug in for breakfast, and then I can walk you up to lunch if you’re okay with that?” I said over my shoulder as I led the horse down the throughway of the barn, the gentle cool breeze from the shaded area brushing what hair had come free from my ponytail across my face.
"Sure, yeah," he replied, chuckling.
With the bolt's clicking on Filbert’s door, I brushed my hands on my pants and waved Andre along after me. He followed beside me and looked down, trying to make eye contact. It was a little silly. He had gotten so tall, about a head taller than me.
"I'm amazed at how I different you are from the last time I saw you. The tan definitely suits you."
I chuckled. "What? That, never see the light of day, vampire, cave dweller, bookworm look wasn't in style?"
My skin and hair were both sun-kissed from my time on the farm. But, I was pale back when he had seen me last- the summer before I went off to college. Sitting in a library in the dark and gloomy city had given my skin a gray undertone and made me look partially dead when we were younger. I often remarked that it gave me another relating factor to the thriller books I loved to read. Instead of relating to the main character, the hero, I felt more like the zombies or the monsters or even the murder victim, which often pulled a chuckle from him. He rarely laughed during the time we were splitting up. Now his laughter seemed to come much easier.
“So really, why are you here?” I asked him again. “I can’t imagine just because Greg said ‘go to a farm’ you actually just got up and did it. What are you doing?”