"Yes grandpa?" I yelled as I slid down the railing of the stairwell. There was no response. The front door was halfway open, so I poked my head out to find my grandpa standing by the barn. The sunset was beautiful here. He signaled for me to walk over there so I did exactly that. Right as I walked up to him, he placed a dark brown riding helmet on my head.
I giggled at him. "What are you doing?"
"Why, you're going to ride Berkely. It's good to get outside sometimes." my grandpa insisted in his old rustled voice
"Are you crazy Grandpa Zach!?!? I haven't been on a horse in years."
"Exactly. That's why Charlie's here. I'm too old to ride, but Charlie will take you on the trail."
I transferred my gaze to Charlie standing in the corner as he smiled at me. I squinted my eyes and bit my lip suspiciously.
"Well are you coming or not slow poke?" Charlie asked.
I regretfully nodded my head just to please my grandfather. He walked out of the barn with a satisfied look on his face. Only Charlie and I were left in the barn.
"There's no way I'm doing this, especially not with you." I explained to Charlie
"You want to please your grandpa correct?"
"Of course I do."
"Then, you're getting on that horse." Charlie said as he pointed to Berkely, the horse I had been brushing earlier.
"Fine." I said
"Fine." He responded.
I walked over and hopped up on Berkely; it was harder to keep my balance than I had remembered.
"You got it?" Charlie asked as he sat upon his ash black horse. I nodded my head. "I can do things on my own." I said pridefully
"Let's go!" he said as he led the way on a dirt path
The horses galloped through an immense corn field as I admired the pink and orange sunset. If I hadn't known Charlie, I would have admired him. Unfortunately, I knew him. His perfect white teeth emerged as he looked up at the sky and smiled. His light brown hair blew a little in the wind. The nightime country breeze for some reason made me smile too. Everything on this farm seemed perfect.
"Pretty incredible right?" Charlie asked as he gazed onto the many corn stocks.
"Beyond incredible...." I responded as we continued on the trail
The sky had transitioned into a dark color with uncountable stars. The stars were incredibly visible, no distractions. The temperature had dropped, but I loved the nighttime weather. We rode side by side for what seemed like three or four miles.
"Let's take a break; we can look at the stars." Charlie insisted as he hopped off his horse. I agreed as he helped me down from my horse. Charlie placed a blanket on the field for us to sit on and he tied the horses to a peg in the ground. I, for some reason, wished that it were Colby there with me. He handed me a jug of warm milk and lit a lantern that was strung onto his horse's saddle.
"Thank you." I smiled at him. I think that was the first time I had ever smiled at him. Charlie took a seat on the blanket next to me and took off his boots. Even though his socks smelled terrible, I didn't mind.
I gazed up at the endless sky of stars. "Wow, I didn't even know this many stars existed."
"That's why I love it out here. Places like these make me realize how small my problems are. You want to know something interesting?"
"Sure..." I said
"You're the only person Mr. Zachary has ever asked me to take riding. Weird right?"
"Hmm. That is strange." I responded
"Sooo" he tried to create conversation, "Who's the boy?" Charlie asked as he laughed
I couldn't help laughing as I shook my head. "What boy?"
"The boy on the phone, whom you miss." Charlie descended back until he was lying on the blanket while I was still sitting up. I did the same.
"Oh, he's just a friend. That's all."
Charlie giggled at me. "Well you sure fooled me. He sounded like a lot more than a friend when you were talking to him on the phone."
"And you heard that phone call how?"
"My room is right next to your room. The walls here are like paper. So why do you hate me so much? Please do explain."Charlie said as he gave me a smirk
There was a moment of embarassing silence. "Oh my gosh. You heard every word I said about you."
"Every cruel little word..." He assured me as he raised his eyebrows.
"I'm so sorry. I just said those words because I know you hate me too."
"Look Casey, I know it may seem that the feeling is mutual, but I don't hate you. I'm just a tease."
I caught myself smiling. "I know we got off to a rough start in the barn. After the way you spoke to me, I tried my best to dislike you. But, for some reason I couldn't really hate you."
"I was simply teasing you, so can we just start over?" Charlie asked me
"Of course." I responded
Charlie stuck his hand out towards me. "I'm Charlie. It's nice to meet you." He smiled and let out a breath of warm air. I shook his hand, but this time with an intention of getting to know him better.
"Your hand is freezing!" Charlie said as he took off his jacket. He handed me his warm Columbia pull-over.
"Are you sure?" I asked
He nodded his head as I pulled the jacket over my head. It was big on me, but it kept me warm. "Thank you." I said
"So now that we're on the right terms, tell me about this boy."
"I don't see why you're so curious." I said coyly
He didn't say anything. He just looked at me. We were both stretched out on that blanket staring into the midnight sky in perfect silence. I figured I might as well tell him.
"Well, he's not my boyfriend. He's just my best friend, with a massive crush on me."
"Oh, so he has a crush on you, but you don't feel the same way?" Charlie asked
"Exactly, and it's not like I can force myself to feel the same way." I answered
"I know how you feel. I'd give him a chance because you never know what the future holds. I felt the same exact way when I was nine." Charlie said
"Spill!" I exclaimed as the nightime wind brushed over us. I was surprised how easy it was to talk to Charlie.
"Well, I've lived here all my life. When I was nine, I became pretty good friends with the minister's daughter, who was a year younger than me. Then, one Sunday at church, she told me she had a crush on me. I didn't even respond to her; I just ran away like a little boy. It was one of those crushes that you have on another kid in preschool or something. I really liked her, but I didn't know how to tell her. Then suddenly, she stopped coming to church. I never got the chance to tell her anything. The church spontaneously hired a new minister. I started to miss her alot. I just didn't realize it until she was gone. I later found out that she had moved away. I haven't seen her since. All I remember is that little eight year old prancing around in her pink church dress."
"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked
He nodded his head.
"That minister's daughter was me." I said
