Bloodless Day

Win Some, Lose Some

Just when things had settled, just when everything seemed calm and secure, everything changed again.

Fog rolled over the green Kentucky hills, painted gold by the sun. Already humidity had me wiping sweat off of my forehead with a somewhat wet saddlepad as I stood in the back row, brushing BD down. "This has to be the hottest summer yet."

The Thoroughbred nickered and curved his head to look at me, eyes dark and soft. I bopped him on the nose and laughed as he tossed his head in mock-shock, mane rippling in a wave that went down his neck. A little piece fell over to the right side. I frowned and combed it back over; this had been an ongoing fight for weeks as it stubbornly grew in the wrong direction.

He'd been working out amazingly, breezing strongly enough to leave Jack euphoric and Willifred whistling in a low awe. I grinned as I recalled the prints he'd left in the freshly raked track, long distances left between BD's front and back hooves. He was a machine, he was fast, he was so, so alive.

And he was softly touching my shoulder with his muzzle. I brought myself back to the present and looked up at this tall, majestic creature that had chosen to trust me and smiled, pausing to wipe some dirt from his chiseled head before leading him towards his stall.

Lilac was a few stalls down on the other side of the barn, brushing down Goodie. I stopped to study the two, the stallion so dark he was nearly a silhouette, and Lilac, pale and slim and small next to him. BD stiffened at the sight of him, neck arcing indignantly as he pawed at the concrete barn floor, sparks shooting up from his shod feet. With a snap of the lead rope he calmed, though his ears remained sharply pointed forwards and eyes alert. Goodie responded in kind.

As I watched Lilac, though, I began to recognize that she hadn't calmed down. Or been calm to begin with. She vigorously brushed Goodie, dust and dirt and hair flying in her face, but she neither paused nor stopped to wipe it off. There was something incredibly hard and jerky about her motions as well, her expression unfocused. I cleared my throat and she froze, startled.

"Are you okay?"

"Ned and I broke up," she said matter-of-factly, and returned to the grooming of Goodie.

It took me a few seconds to digest her words, another to realize what they meant, yet a few more to recognize that she didn't really answer my question to begin with, and a full minute had slipped by before I responded.

"What! Why?" BD tossed his head, upset at my tone, but I ignored him.

Lilac ran the dandy brush over Goodie's already gleaming coat a few more times before stopping and putting it down, turning to stare solemnly at me. "Do you ever think about your future?"

Well, the past hurt too much. What else did I have to think about? "Sure, but-"

"And what do you plan for yourself?"

This was so not the conversation I was expecting. "Oh, I'll own a mansion and become a celebrity and people will worship the very ground I walk on."

Lilac's eyes turned steely, but behind them glimmered teary emotion. "Seriously, Anna. I don't have time for this." I blinked, trying to deny to myself how much that statement really hurt. "No! I didn't mean- I'm just- I'm leaving."

"Leaving where?" Behind me, BD was just hot breath and movement, and in front of me Lilac was emotion. She shook her head even as I asked, "on.... vacation?"

"No. To Santa Anita."

At my blank stare, she explained, "Goodie's owner is based in California. She wants him running with Santa Anita as his base."