Bloodless Day

Holding Back

"You're crazy!"

"You ask for the impossible. I refuse to follow your instructions."

"Remember who writes your paycheck!"

"Remember who's taken you to glory."

Silence. Not permanent, but a pause.

I stood in Wayward Traveler's stall with a pitchfork and a frown. Next to me, in Skip's stall, Mary put down her pitchfork and crept over to the wall closest to the argument, pressing her ears against wood "It's Willifred and Mr. Piperson," she whispered. "They're arguing about BD's training."

Worry flooded through me. "What about it?" Inside my pocket, my phone buzzed urgently, making me jump. I'd thought it died a few days ago, but maybe people had just decided that it wasn't worth the fight to make me answer calls.

Mary's face was pinched and worried. Behind her, shavings rustled as Skip came to stand next to her, curious lips exploring her hair. Every other horse was in the pasture, but the colt had thrown a shoe and now had to wait for the farrier. "Mr. Piperson wants him on the gallops every day, working up muscle and building up speed."

"Mr. Piperson is the reason we're not doing that," I hissed. Willifred, Jack, and I had conferred during the ride home, deciding that the best thing for BD was the spend the next month encouraging his spark to come back. The stallion was to relax in his pasture, go for trail rides in the forest- anything but go near the track. After a long campaign, he deserved a break before the most grueling three races he would ever run.

Mary flinched. My tone had been way too harsh, even if my anger wasn't directed towards her. "Sorry," I said.

She shrugged. "It's okay. But shouldn't you answer that?"

I hadn't even realized my phone was ringing. A short song punched it's way out of my pocket as I hastily grasped the cell and hit 'answer'. Jack's voice fell out.

"Anna. Mr. Piperson called me to go get BD and exercise him."

"You can't!"

"I know, which is why I'm telling you. Go grab his halter and get him out of there before he decides to do it himself. You only have to keep BD out of the stable until five- that's when Bloody Murder arrives, and he'll be too busy with that to worry about running BD into the ground."

I glanced at my watch and then at Mary's quizzical expression. It was 3:45. "Great. Where do I take him?"

"The woods? For a walk? It doesn't matter."

"And if Piperson calls, demanding that I return?"

"You never answer anyways. It won't be unusual. Actually, thanks for answering this time. I called four times before you did." And with that, he hung up.

I smiled. "Hey, Mary. Want to go for a walk?"

*****

My heart sank when I took BD out of the pasture. His neck had lost its lively arch, and he dragged his feet as I led him through the gate where Mary waited, arms crossed over the fence and one foot resting on the board. She whistled disbelievingly. "I've never seen him like this." Her hand extended to brush his nose, but BD didn't react, to my disappointment. Even his trying to bite her would have been better than this... nothingness.

"I don't get it," I said. "He almost destroyed himself over the race, yeah, but that was a week ago." A week ago today, in fact. Three weeks till the Derby. But I was too worried to feel nervous.

Mary tilted her head in consideration. Her hair, looped into a pony tail and shoved under a baseball cap, had begun to escape and brushed over her forehead as she spoke. "Okay, think of it this way. I saw the race on TV, and Jack kept me up to date on his condition while you guys were gone, so I know what I'm talking about."