Chapter thirty-five:
The Farm
I glanced back in through the door to see Johnny talking to Dally but couldn't hear what he was saying then Two-Bit stood and came out sitting down next to me. We slowly rocked back and forth for a while before Two-Bit spoke. "You're going?" It was more of a statement than a question but his tone still made me think he wasn't completely sure of this fact.
"I don't know. After what happened last night ..." I stared down at my shoes as they pushed against the porch rocking the swing back and forth. "I feel like nothing's normal anymore."
"What's normal?" Two-Bit asked.
"Routine, you know?"
"I know what you meant, I just want to know what normal feels like to you."
"Two-Bit, my parents died two and a half months ago. Not at the same time but close enough. Ever since then things have been up and down and round in circles. Training horses, riding horses ... When I'm out there on Passion it feels like I can forget what happened in the past two months. It's like hanging in a free fall or being in the middle of a drag race. You don't worry about how it started or how it's going to end—it's just—everything feels like it's suspended for a moment. If I do this, when I'm out there training this horse, I can forget everything. I can forget that parents died, I can forget that the PR even exists, I can forget that Barnes even looked at me last night. Have you ever had that feeling?"
"Once. I was really drunk and totally forgot everything that was wrong. My dad leaving, Jackie not talking to me, the at the time beef with Shepard. I know that feeling but when it hits you after that it hurts even more." Two-Bit said slowly.
"But isn't it worth it to just feel that for at least a couple days?"
"And Pony's birthday? Your dinner with that PR jerk?"
"He's not a jerk he's—"
"He's the guy that kidnapped you." Two-Bit snapped.
"I know, but he was just following orders. He's a sweet kid. The only reason he's in the PR is because he lives on their turf and they let him fight and race cars. He's big on racing cars. Two-Bit this guy ... one of the first things my daddy taught me after he married my mama was that a man's word and a handshake are as good or even better than written contract. If a man doesn't have honor he doesn't have anything. I promised I'd would have dinner and play a couple games of pool with him. I can't break that promise. What if it was you? Huh? Would you like it if one of my friends told me not to see you?"
"I'm not dangerous."
"Really? Did you see the look on your face when I told you what he did to me? You can be dangerous." I said.
"You're right." Two-Bit looked down and flipped out a switchblade playing with it much like he had the night before. "I wouldn't like that. I just want you to be careful."
"You care about me." I said bumping my shoulder against his.
"The way Dally cares about Jackie."
"Dally don't care about nobody."
Two-Bit slid the knife back in his pocket then looked at me. "Oh he does. I know he does. You just have to know him. I don't want ya hurt. You're a good kid." Two-Bit grinned and tugged gently on a strand of my hair.
I bit my tongue and looked out at the street.
"You'll always be a kid to me. You may be 16 in less than two weeks but I'll always consider you a kid." Two-Bit said. "Tim calls you baby this ain't any different"
I leaned back against the back of the swing and sighed loudly. My attention was drawn to the street as a blue car tore past. Two-Bit glanced at it too then looked back at me and shrugged.
"People huh?" he asked.
"Yeah." I shrugged. We swung in silence for a while then he tossed an arm around my shoulder. "I'm having dinner with Danger tomorrow night. At The Dock at seven. You know, just in case."
"Good to know." Two-Bit answered. He stood up as two figures walked up the street and then he went back inside.
The two figures turned at the gate and walked up the front walk coming to a stop on the porch.
I still didn't know what to do but I figured maybe they could help me figure it out.
"Something wrong?" Soda asked leaning against the porch railing. Steve sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He pulled me to lean against him and I sighed then explained what Robby wanted leaving out his and Shawn's suggestion that I stay at Robby's place.
"Don't go." Steve said, then rubbed my shoulder.
"Why not?" I asked.
"You're just gonna make Dally angry and you know you don't like it when he's angry." Steve reasoned.
"I know Steve, but it's just training during the day, usually when I'm barrel racing with Buck. It'd be no different."
"Are you sure?" Steve asked.
"Yes."
"Well I guess it's your decision then." Steve pulled away and glanced at Soda.
I had to remind myself we still hadn't been dating long and he hadn't officially asked me to be his girlfriend so his up and down moods made sense. Time to deflect the anger and find out what Soda thought. "Soda, what do you think?"
"I think Steve needs to go get us some chocolate milk. You like chocolate milk, right?" Soda answered.
"And not wearing shoes." I answered lifting my bare feet up to show him. Soda grinned.
Steve huffed but went inside and Soda took his seat. "There's something you're not telling us."
"That's it I swear." I said looking at the floor.
"Look me in the eye and tell me that." I looked at him and sighed. He knew as well as I did that I couldn't lie to him if I looked him in the eye. Anyone else I wouldn't have a problem but there was something about Soda that still made it impossible to look him in the eye and lie to him.
"Robby wants me to stay with him as well. It'd be easier that way. He's Ashley's big brother."
Soda smiled at her name. That was interesting. "You think Dally wouldn't allow it, don't you?"
"Yep, that's why I was trying to figure out how could I explain it to Dally without making it sound like it was the original idea."
"It sounds to me like you've already made your decision." Soda said.
"I meant if I decided to go. I'm not sure."
"I think you already know what you're gonna do. It would get you away from here and all those Brumly boys that won't leave you alone but at the same time it would keep you from seeing Steve as often."
"I know, but what girl sees her guy every day? He hasn't even asked me to be his girlfriend."
"He just kinda assumes that kind of thing. Don't worry about Dally, you have to make yourself happy and that's all that matters." I shrugged and Steve came back out with two chocolate milks.
"Figure it out?" Steve asked stuffing his hands into his pockets after he handed them us.
"Kinda." I answered.
After a long day of sitting on the porch thinking things over I finally came to a decision. After Dally left and I had dinner I called Robby and told him that I would do it starting the next day. He asked if I was going to stay the night as well and I told him I was.
The next day when I was ready to go Two-Bit looked at the bag in my hand confused. "What's in the bag?"
"I don't know what kind of condition the horse is in so I want to be prepared."
He shrugged and Shawn walked in. "You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." I answered. We walked out to his deep blue Chevy truck and he drove me out. It was a sweet looking truck and it ran really well.
We reached the city limits before Shawn asked me anything. "So you are staying then?"
"Yeah, I'll call Dally tonight and tell him it'll be easier and more efficient if I just stay there."
"Alright."
"Besides it may calm me down from what happened and everything else I've been through."
"Sure." When we got there and got out of the truck Kenny ran out and scooped me up. I had forgotten how young he really looked. Kenny Anderson was Ashely's 14 year old kid brother. He could definitely pass for 12 with his light brown, shaggy hair, bright blue eyes like his sister, and a charming smile. Plus he was happy all the time.
"How's my favorite little big sister?" Kenny asked. Though Ashely and I weren't super close we were still close enough to consider each other family.
"Kenny, put the girl down." His mom called from the doorway.
"I'm good. Now let's go see about this horse shall we?" I answered.
"You're not gonna like it." Kenny taunted.
"I haven't met a horse I haven't liked yet."
"No," he answered racing me back to the house. "Not the horse what Robby did. I win."
"Alright track star, you win, give the old girl some time to catch her breath." I answered jogging up behind him. I stopped on the porch and waved to Shawn and he nodded then backed out of the driveway.
"If you're old, what does that make me" Mrs. Anderson asked looking at me.
"A wise, beautiful woman with the best waffles in the world?" I suggested.
"The county not the world and if you hurry you may be able to steal a few from Robby."
"Thanks Mama A." I answered bolting into the kitchen where Robby was putting the last two waffles on his plate. I stole the plate from under him and doused it in chocolate and maple syrup.
"Hey, I was gonna eat those." Robby whined.
"And now you're not." I answered sticking my tongue out at him. "Besides Mama said I could."
Robby fit the description of your stereotypical cowboy in every way. I don't think I had ever seen him without his trusty white Stetson, except in the house, and his broken in cowboy boots. He was blond like both his sister and his father whereas Kenny took after their mother. He too had blue eyes but they weren't quite as bright as his sister's or his mother who also had blue eyes. Mr. Anderson had blond hair, blue eyes and was just over six foot. He was quite the rancher and Robby would be taking over once he was old enough.
When I finished my waffles Mrs. Anderson walked into the kitchen. "Mama, she stole my waffles." Robby whined like a five year old.
"Of which you had four servings before she got here. Look how tiny she is. She could use a few more if you ask me. Is that friend of the family you're staying with feeding you right?"
"Yes ma'am more than I could ever want." She turned back to Robby and I stuck my tongue out at him again.
"Now behave and I'll make you something good for dinner alright?" Mrs. Anderson told Robby.
"Shouldn't you be off to work Mama?" Ashley asked.
"Of course. Have a good day kids." She said before walking out. When her car drove out of the driveway Robby looked at me.
"Come on, I want to show you Kenny's horse that he absolutely had to get." Robby took my hand and led me into the barn. "Meet Nightmare." He said pointing to the black and tan horse at the end of the stables. I went to step forward but he grabbed my arm. "Don't, only Kenny can get close to him."
"You want me to train him you're gonna have to let me go and go get Kenny." When Robby left the barn I slowly approached the horse speaking softly to him not to spook him. When I reached the stall he looked up at me and tossed his mane. "I'll kill Robby." I muttered. Standing in front of me was not a Thoroughbred like Shawn promised but a Mustang.
"Hey," Kenny said softly coming up beside me.
"Whose brilliant idea was it to tell me a Mustang was a Thoroughbred?"
"I told you that you weren't gonna like what Robby did."
"But you were the one that wanted me to train him."
"Under the condition you knew what he was. Robby said you wouldn't come if you knew he was a Mustang. How do you tell the difference?"
"He's smaller, more compact through the neck, shoulders, and legs. It's like comparing a swan to a duck, kind of. I guess the first thing I have to know is, is he a stallion?" Kenny looked confused and like it shouldn't make a difference. "Well, you can't completely train a stallion. You can to an extent but they're like some of the hoods I know, born a hood, die a hood. There's always going to be a wild side to them that will never be tamed."
"No matter what we do?"
"No matter what."
"And a stallion is a male horse that ..." He prompted
"That hasn't been neutered." I clarified.
"Oh right, nope this guy was neutered before we bought him."
"So why is he named Nightmare?" I asked.
"That's the reason he was sold. So far eight people have tried to tame him and all have failed." Kenny said.
"Well it looks like he's met his match then."
"So are we going to get started?"
"We started when you came out here."
"But all we've been doing is talking."
"Exactly. He has to be used to us before we try anything else." Kenny and I talked until Ashley came out for lunch. "Alright, Kenny, I want you to take his lead and put him into the ring. The one with the high fences." Kenny nodded and took the rope lead. When we came back we walked inside. "How long have you had him?"
"A week and a half. The info we got on him says he's about two. You know sometimes I go out there and talk to him in the middle of the night."
"About what?"
"Nothing in particular. Just anything really."
"That's why he's already responding to you so well. He's starting to trust you because you've showed him that not all humans are going to hurt him. That's good."
"Okay." Kenny said smiling. That afternoon Nightmare ran around his ring no doubt trying to find a way out as Kenny and I stood talking. Slowly but surely Nightmare stopped trying to get out and slowly made his way towards us. Kenny started to turn but I took his arm.
"You can't, not yet. You still have to treat him as if he's uninteresting."
"But—"
"Kenny bud, who's already successfully tamed a mustang before and a whipped colt? I know what I'm talking about. You have to reward him for good behavior and slightly ignore the bad. Ignoring the bad behavior will show him that it's not getting your attention. If only his good behavior gets your attention then he'll start doing it more. True there is part of him that will relapse occasionally like Mousey is but most of the time he'll be as sweet as Passion." Slowly the afternoon wore on and things progressed much faster than I thought they would. After Kenny put him up for the night we went inside and saw it was almost 5:30.
"Will you be joining us for dinner Victoria?" Mama A asked.
"I'm going to meet a friend a bit later on and they promised to buy me dinner." I answered.
"Just a little bit?" She asked.
"It's free food. When have you ever turned down free food?" Kenny said.
"Aw hush Ken. Don't pick on me."
"Kenny likes Tore, Kenny like Tore." Robby taunted.
"I do not." Kenny spat.
"Yes, you do. Otherwise you wouldn't tease her like that."
"Robby don't taunt your brother it doesn't bode well for your argument. Kenny and Tore go wash up." Mrs. A said. We nodded and raced upstairs. Kenny won and cleaned up before I got a quick shower. When I got out I went back to the kitchen but the Salisbury stakes weren't ready yet so I went out to the living room. When I got there I picked up the phone and called Soda's.
"Hello?" A male voice said when the ringing stopped.
It didn't sound familiar so I took a shot in the dark. "Soda?" I asked.
"Nope, it's Ponyboy."
"Oh hey, it's Tore, is Dally around?"
"Yeah sure. Where are you at?"
"Doesn't matter, can I talk to Darry."
"I thought you wanted to talk to Dally? Anyway," in the background I heard, "Darry! Phone."
"Ponyboy, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" I could imagine Pony rolling his eyes as he handed over the phone. "Hello?" Darry asked.
"Hey, it's me." I said softly.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, Dally's going to be really mad when you tell him what I'm about to say. I don't want to get into a fight with him so could you tell him?"
"What is it?"
"My friend Robby offered to let me help train a horse and the thing is he lives half an hour from city limits and that's like an hour from your house one way and I couldn't have Shawn drive that far every day, twice a day. So they've offered and I'm gonna stay here for a while."
"How long?"
"A while until next Saturday maybe."
"Ponyboy's birthday is tomorrow and Soda said you'd be here."
"Yeah I'll be there, other than that though I need to stay out here. After what happened."
"I understand."
"Thanks Darry, bye." I hung up the phone and flopped down on the couch.
"Kids, dinner." Mrs. A called. I ate some mashed potatoes and Ashley was the first one finished.
"Hey Ash, you know you're my bestest friend ever."
"What do you want?" She asked.
"You to take me to meet my friend."
"Alright. Is it ok if we go, Dad?"
"Drive safe." Mr. A told her.
Ashley and I went out to the garage and climbed into her Jeep. She drove with my directions towards The Dock. "I've never been this far into town. Are you ok?" She asked.
"I'm fine; and thanks for the ride. I don't want to talk about what happened. Turn here."
"Ok, when you do, I'm here. You have a ride home?"
"Yeah a friend of mine, and no, not Soda."
"As long as it's before midnight. Dad gets sorta cranky about curfew. I know Soda has a girlfriend. You didn't have to say it."
"I'm sorry, I know you liked him."
"Yeah, I did." Ashley smiled and stopped out front of the building. I slid out of the Jeep and smiled back at her. She nodded then drove off.
I watched as she left then scoped out the parking lot. Not far from where I was standing was Buck's bright red T-bird, Tim's black Hornet, Danger's black Impala, and pick-up I had seen somewhere before but couldn't tell where. I shrugged and entered the building.
Dinner with Danger. How does it go? Any guesses?