A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!
March 4th 2022
Chapter 63
Our Reach Toward Legacy
For some time now, the old stable up at Sanderson Farm had stood empty. Once upon a time, it had housed old Trooper, until his passing. Then, it had taken in two more horses when Lucas' uncle, Walt, had sold his farm. Several of his animals had come to the ranch, save for a pair who'd simply been too advanced in age and condition. Millie's Constellations, they'd called them, as Walt's daughter had been the one to name them… Andromeda, and Orion. They'd been so well cared for, by their old family as well as their new. The Sandersons had been more than happy to host them as they had done Trooper, and none more than Missy Sanderson, who had loved and then mourned the old horse.
But, in time, as was to be expected, Andromeda and Orion had in turn passed on. It was a comforting notion that they had reached their end in such a place as this, but they were no less missed. If anything, they were missed more for how they'd come to matter, to the Sandersons, to the Friars… to Ella.
Most of them had been unaware of this for the longest time and had only found out very recently, when Lucas had gone up to see them, asking if they might take in a new horse. The old Mr. Sanderson, Missy's grandfather, had not even needed to think very long. Of course, they would be happy to take a new tenant into their stable. They could bring the horse whenever they were ready; they knew the way. At the same time, Lucas got around to mentioning Ella's choice of career, or at least her chosen field of study. When he'd heard it, Mr. Sanderson had given a knowing laugh and a nod which had made Lucas curious. He'd asked what it was about, and the man had hesitated for a moment, as though he might have been breaking faith with someone if he explained. All he'd said was to ask Ella about the constellations.
The notion had not been one he'd thought of again until he told Ella about the upcoming transfer. He asked if she would like to join him on that day, bringing the horse to Sanderson Farm, and just saying it, seeing a memory flash on to his daughter's face, he remembered the comment and asked the question. She looked surprised at first, but then she smiled, relaxed, and shared her tale. It seemed as though, unbeknownst to them, Ella used to visit Andromeda and Orion.
It wasn't hard to imagine it. They were just there, up the road, be it the main one or the back one, only ever used by those who lived on that side of the lane. Once upon a time, it had led a distraught Phoebe Munroe to take refuge at the farm on Halloween night. Whether it was for purposes of refuge or just a curiosity that turned into a habit, Ella… Summer then… had started going up there, too. She couldn't say how many times, in the time where she'd lived up at the house, she had wound her way up to the old stable without telling them.
The only reason she'd never mentioned it was just that… Well, it had started off so randomly, about a week after she'd come to live with them. She had always been a great mother to her Tori, and maybe all the more so for recognizing when she needed a moment to stop, and step back, and breathe. She'd started off so on her own at first. In the first few weeks of her sophomore year, while Tori had still been a secret to just about everyone, it had been a miracle she'd gotten to go to school. That miracle was a kindly neighbor who would watch the baby during the day, and then also while the young mother worked. Had she been able to pause, to feel like she could breathe, she might have opened up more to the woman, but back then it had just felt more prudent not to rely on her too much. She'd needed to prove that she could tend for her own daughter, to care and provide for her but also love her.
When she'd come to live with Maya and Lucas, with Granny Lizzie and little Marianne… It had taken all of days for her to start to see that she was not just in a safe place. In essence, she had been on a constant marathon for weeks, months, always in motion, always with a singular focus toward ensuring that her daughter would be born healthy and would thrive once she came. And once she'd come to the house on the lane… She had been able to slow down, to stop. It didn't happen all at once, and maybe the first time she had ventured out, not running but walking slow, taking in the air around her, was literally that. One evening, she'd seen how Granny Lizzie had Tori, and all was well, so she'd asked her to keep watch for a little bit, to go take a walk around. Granny Lizzie had encouraged this, promising that the baby girl would be in good hands while she got some fresh air.
She hadn't even meant to go up the way she'd gone, but then she'd ended up on the back road, all the way up to the gate of Sanderson Farm. She'd almost turned back around, but then she'd heard a horse in the distance and… she'd been curious. Her brief days with the Friars had let her assume correctly that she shouldn't get in trouble for going up there, so she'd gone through the gate and found her way up to the stable, where she'd come upon Andromeda and Orion.
She wouldn't stay long, not that first time, but she would remember how good it had felt, just those few minutes with the pair, enough so that she'd come back again a few days later, and then a few more days after that, again, and again, until it became a regular thing for her, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for an hour, sometimes longer. The Sandersons were not ignorant to her presence. They caught on pretty early on, but they all understood that this was Ella's own thing, so they never mentioned it to their neighbors up the lane.
Sometimes, she would bring Tori with her, sometimes she'd just go on her own. It had started off as her needing to step away, to not be caught up in the middle of her life but have a chance to pause, and contemplate, and reset herself. After a while, that didn't seem to feel so needed, but by then it had come down to just caring for Andromeda and Orion, her secret friends. The Sandersons were well aware of her by then, enough that rather than just sit or stand with the pair in the stables, she would sometimes get to lead them out for a walk, one and then the other. For a time, they had been part of her life, cherished, both of them.
Orion had been the first to go. They'd all seen it coming, his time was just approaching, and anyone who cared for him in any way would feel some sadness for losing him, yes, but at the same time, they would know that there was simply nothing to be done for it, and he had lived a good, long life. After he'd gone, Lucas had started checking in on Andromeda more, knowing she might struggle, now being on her own. Ella had done the same, on her own as she used to do, but also with her father at times. How he hadn't realized the bond between them, he couldn't understand now, but he was really glad to know it now.
Andromeda had remained nearly two months after Orion went, but then she declined fast in the last days, until she finally passed, too, leaving the Sandersons' stable to stand empty a while. Again, Ella wasn't sure why, once they had both gone, she hadn't told her parents about going to see the two horses as often as she did. It was just… something that had been hers, and she'd wanted to hold on to it. But time had gone by, and now the news that there would be someone new in the stable had left her with these happy memories and she'd wanted to share them, with her parents, her little sister, and Tori.
It felt only natural, not just for this story but for the coming future, to have Ella accompany her father on the transport. Since she'd told him and Maya about her post graduation plan, it had become that much more important to him to include her in ranch matters. Oh, she'd already been involved for a good, long while, part of the family as she was, but this was just like him. He'd been away from Sullivan Stables for so long, and then he'd started to come around again. And then he'd come to realize his place was there, and he'd started to do more, to learn more. He wanted that for Ella, and she wanted it for herself, too. The first real step in that would come down to Turtle the horse.
Right from the start, when he'd met the quartet of rescued horses, this one had seemed to Lucas the worse off, and like his colleagues, he'd been uncertain that they'd ever get to a point where they could warrant keeping him around. They would give him some time, wait to see what the months changed in his state, but always the plan at the back of their minds was that he'd end up with the Sandersons. He was still young enough; he could have years with them. So, he would come over to the farm, where he'd have two families nearby, all eager to see to him and give him the life he deserved. As ever, it would be part of the arrangement that Lucas would check on him and see to his care, but now he would have Ella with him, learning along the way.
They took off on Saturday morning, the two of them. They might have brought Marianne with them, as Turtle was her great horse friend… him and about every single other horse she met, which was really beside the point… but they had a better idea. They would surprise her. She had known Andromeda and Orion, too, though whether she'd remember much of them as she grew up would be another story. Barring any unfortunate events, she would definitely remember and grow up with Turtle. They wanted to surprise her.
Just leaving the ranch with Turtle took some time, though they had sort of expected as much. The four horses who'd come together last August were all close to one another, and Lucas and Ella could see how they might not respond well to being separated. How they came to understand that this was what was happening, they couldn't say, but they clearly did, and they became unsettled for it, enough that the father and daughter both felt bad for taking Turtle, but there was nothing to be done for it, was there? Putting it off now would only delay the inevitable and make things worse. Once Turtle was loaded up for transport, they had to wait a while with him, so he would calm down.
"You'll be alright, I promise," Lucas told him. "You're going to love it out there. And Marianne and I will be close by…" he tried, and he smiled to see how the horse recognized the girl's name and appeared calmed by it.
"Yeah, she'll be so happy to see you," Ella chimed in with a grin. The way Turtle looked at her and responded to her, Lucas would say the horse was pretty happy to see her, too.
They soon started on their way from the ranch over to Sanderson Farm. Missy was there with her grandfather, and after only a minute of coaxing, Turtle came along to meet them. Oh, he knew Missy already. Once she'd heard about the quartet up at Sullivan Stables, she'd gone to look in on them, and continued to do so at least once a week. So, when he saw her, Turtle didn't feel so disoriented as he might have done. He followed her and the others into what would be his new home. They had prepared for his arrival.
"Can't wait for Annie to see him," Ella laughed as she and Lucas walked up the road together. "She's going to flip out when she finds out he's staying." Lucas laughed.
"Yeah, she definitely will," he agreed. He could see it in his head already, hear the excitement in her voice… Oh, she wouldn't be so loud as to startle the horse, no, she knew better already, so she'd probably make her approach with hands plastered over her mouth, one and the other on top of it. "You did really good back there," he took the time to mention, while it was still just him and his eldest. He was definitely of a mind to give credit where it was due, and Ella had comported herself in such a way as to show she was really headed down the path where she belonged. The fact that her path was so like his own, well, that only made it even better.
"Thanks," Ella smiled. The few words meant a great deal to her, it was plain to see. "I've been thinking a lot about them lately. The constellations…"
"Yeah, me, too," Lucas slowly nodded.
"I know it's going to be part of it, losing some of them sometimes, I just wish…"
"I get that," he assured her.
"Doesn't get easier, does it?"
"Not exactly, no. All I can tell myself is that…We get to be part of their lives, of their world and their time, and if we miss them, it's because we cared. We remember. It doesn't make losing them easy, but… at least it means something, right?"
"Right," Ella agreed. They walked in silence for a few seconds. "Been thinking about something, to keep remembering them."
"Yeah?" Lucas asked, eager to hear.
"Thought I could get the constellations done on me somewhere," she explained, fingers absently touching at the flowers inside her wrist.
"That would be a great tribute," Lucas nodded with a smile. "Anytime you want to go, I'd be happy to take you out there. Call it a graduation present." Ella was very much on board with this plan.
Oh, Marianne was beyond thrilled to learn of the new resident up at the Sanderson Farm stable. Her great Turtle friend was here, and he was staying, and they would be neighbors! Neighbors! Ella told her little sister that she would be coming to look in on him, too, like her, like their father, and she vowed to take her along as often as possible when she'd stop in at the stable up the road.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
