“Hi, dad,” I greeted him as he made it over to us by Flash’s stall. Without hesitation he pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my cheek. I wasn’t so hesitant about my dad. Not at all.
“Hey, baby girl. I missed you,” he said with a smile. “Your momma told me you were all the way in London, is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I told him. “I really like it over there even though it’s kinda cold.”
“Well, so long as you’re happy. You look good,” he said, examining me closer before his eyes settled on Jess. “Who’s your lovely friend here?”
“This is Jessica. She’s my girlfriend,” I said honestly. I didn’t expect any rudeness out of my dad honestly. I knew he didn’t agree but after he’d adjusted to the news years ago he never showed any signs of disgust toward me like my mom had. My dad was just one of those men who you knew had a really good heart and always meant well.
“Well, that’s great,” he said, sounding genuinely happy for me. He stepped over to Jess and, to my surprise, pulled her into a hug. “Welcome to the family,” he told her.
I saw Jess’s mouth open and close as she was shocked into silence for a moment but quickly recovered herself.
“Thank you,” she said shyly, a smile spreading across her face. I knew that meant a lot to her. Hell, it meant a lot to me too.
“You take care of my little Elena now,” he said in his stern dad voice. “I know she can be difficult and she’s got a mouth on her but she’s a good one.”
“Dad, stop,” I whined.
“Well you do have a smart mouth,” he insisted.
“It’s okay,” Jess said. “I love her and I’ll take care of her.”
“Good,” Dad nodded approvingly. “You got yourself a nice girl, Elena. I have work to do but I’ll see you both at dinner time. We’ll talk then.”
I watched my dad walk off for a moment before turning back to Jess, who was standing right with Flash again. He was standing happily with his head against her chest again, eyes closed and all. I was starting to feel like my girlfriend was getting monopolized. By a horse no less.
“Your dad is nice,” Jess commented as she continued to rub behind Flash’s ears.
“Yeah he is. Flash seems to like you,” I said, noting that he had yet to move a muscle.
“I like him. He’s sweet,” she smiled.
“That’s because I raised him,” I said matter-of-factly.
“I’m sure that’s exactly why,” Jess laughed.
~~
Jess and I spent the next few hours around the property. I’d introduced her to all the horses once everyone was cleared out of the barn. We ended up walking together on the dirt road that bordered all of the pastures. It was usually used for trucks and tractors to bring hay to each section but I imagine it wasn’t used at all now.
“I can’t believe you didn’t want to come back here. This is amazing,” Jess commented as we started walking toward the house. The sun was just starting to set and being out here after dark wasn’t exactly ideal.
“Honestly, I kind of forgot how much I liked being out here,” I said as I started swinging our hands between us childishly. Being out here made me feel so carefree. It was a nice change for once.
“Maybe we should move out to the countryside,” Jess said. I turned to look at her, not sure if she was being serious or not. I found no sign that she was joking as she looked back at me, still smiling away.
