Of Mirth and Bananas (Dom)

Jen woke me up in the morning and shoved a drink into my hand. I sampled it and grimaced but drowned it anyway. Then she rushed me down into the car and we ran of to the auction. There she had proceeded to bid on a pretty pony her sister wanted and then Nicole and I had gone off to find Evan.

We found him standing beside a pen with a large mare in it and her 3 month old foal. A little paint filly was in the pen next to the large mare and seemed not the least bit afraid of them.

"Oh, is that her?" Nicole asked in obvious delight. The little filly had delicate legs and a small muzzle. Her proportion was perfect. As where the large grey mare's leg seemed a tad to long for her frame.

"That's her alright dear sis," Evan spoke to his sister. "Grace picked a beauty alright."

Nicola sighed and then perked up when she saw several guys cross the way, "Marc, Leo, Cade, come on over here." Three lanky guys moved their slouch in our direction at that moment Jen and Grace also joined our group.

"Hey, beautiful girls," one of the three remarked to Nicole and Jen. The one that seemed to look the dirtiest of the bunch. His clothes were stained and his hair askew but its color stuck in my mind. It was the color of a fox mixed with the purest glaciers in Tortall in shade.

Cade came over to us and threw an arm around Nicole and then his other around Jen. "I'll see you boys later," he said with a tone of finality in his voice directed at the two called Marc and Leo. "Darling Jen do me a favor and grace me and the audience with your lovely singing voice as Laguna performs tonight.

I stared at him, he seemed to ooze of charm and charisma how was the possible. He was nothing special to look at with russet colored hair and green eyes. But he seemed to radiate something that drew girls to him.

"I don't know Cade. I was supposed to go to Nicole's and Evan's. Can I let you know later?" Jen smiled at him. It was a forced smile but none the less a smile. Her teeth flashed, I hadn't noticed before but her left front one had a small chip in it.

"Yeah, we're leaving now," Nicole spoke up catching onto Jen's anxiety. She grabbed her arm and dashed off towards Jen's car me and Evan trailed behind with Grace.

I smiled at Jen's little sister and said, "Do guys bother your sister much?"

Grace replied with a slight grin in the corner of her mouth, "You mean hit on her? If that's what you mean, yes. She rarely cares though. I mean Evan was the last one she got serious with."

Evan sputtered for a minute and then looked delighted, "Really, do you think she still likes me?"

Grace looked at him and then bluntly said, "No, I think you just turned her off guys."

Evan looked crestfallen for a minute and then perked back up, "Well maybe I still have a chance."

Grace chuckled and then tossed him a yellow thing, "Monkeys will fly before then."

Evan unwrapped it and bit into it, "So you gave me a banana to say…"

Grace frowned and then jogged up to her sister's car, "Figure it out for your self, Evan."

"Well, a banana isn't such a bad fruit is it?" Evan asked me as we slid into Jen's car.

Jen and Nicole both turned around from the front and asked in unison, "Why do you have a freaking banana?"

Evan simply said, "Monkeys."

Nicole and Jen looked at each other in confusion and then looked at me, "Did you get a banana, too?" Jen asked me with a hint of laughter in her face.

"No," I said as I looked at them both.

Jen turned back around and started the car. We drove for a short while back the way we had come it seemed. The scenery flew by as the car speed up and turned into a fence lined driveway. Huge horses were in paddocks and as we got down farther lithe horses nibbled at grass.

"Welcome to Resurrection Farms," Nicole said to me as we all piled out of the car. "The number one place to buy Renaissance era horses."

A petite woman scurried out of one of the massive barns and came towards us. "Hello, Jen and Grace." Then she looked around and her gaze rested upon me and she grinned, "Hello, son what is your name?"

"Dom," I answered and then smiled back this must be Evan and Nicole's mom.

As if to prove me right, Evan scurried forward and pecked his mom on the check.

Nicole then turned to her and asked, "Mom, are our horses in?" Then at her mother's nod she grabbed my arm and hustled me towards the largest barn. Behind us I heard Evan challenge Grace and Jen to a race and then seconds later I saw them all hurtling past us stopping short of the barn and then walking in. The interior of the place was dim and cool. "Everyone ready for a ride?" Nicole asked.

I nodded my head along with all the others and with minutes was standing in front of a large paint stallion, "This is Baseline; after you brush him call me." Nicole then thrust a set of brushed like the ones we had back home into my hand and I set to work.

Down the aisle I heard Nicole point Grace to a gelding named Fireproof and then Jen slipped into a stallion named Kamikaze's stall. Evan greeted his mare Bright with an enthusiastic hug. This event caused me to crack up with mirth. Nicole then slipped into the stall of a lithe mare named Vegas's stall. After the horses were all groomed and tacked up we set of on a trail ride.