When Life Races You By

Chapter 11

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing. Rubbing my eyes, I reached for the phone.

Hi Claire, Rose here. I’m going to be in the area and I was wondering if it was ok to come by and see Manny. I’ll be there around 10. Thanks.

Looking at the clock, I saw it was just after eight. It was Sunday today and we didn’t have any horses running and dad didn’t need my help. Quickly changing and typing a reply, I headed down stairs, to the kitchen, to grab something to eat. Mum was just pulling some muffins out of the oven when I walked in.

“Hi mum,” I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and picking up a muffin.

“Hey hun. What are your plans for today?” she replied.

“Well Rose, the vet, is coming at ten to check on Manny, so I want to give him a brush before she arrives. Plus I thought I’d take Ben down to the stable. I think it will do him some good. He seemed a little distanced last night when I was talking about Manny.”

“How was last night?”

“It was good. We watched The Hunger Games, which was nice. I really like that movie.”

I tried to keep my voice normal, not wanting to give anything away. If mum found out about what Ben and I had been up to, she would either be over the moon or ground me for life. I definitely wasn’t willing to take that risk.

“Oh I’m glad. Well your dad and I are heading to the shops, once he’s finished with the horses.”

“Ok, I’ll see you later then.”

Pulling on my boots, I headed out the door. The gravel path to the guest house, crunched under my feet. I watched the horses run around in the paddock, playing with each other. Today was a slightly warmer autumn day.

Arriving at the door, I firmly knocked. Mrs Hopefield opened the door.

“Hi Mrs Hopefield. Is Ben around?” I questioned.

“Hi Claire. Sure, he’s just watching TV,” she replied. “Ben! Claire’s here to see you!”

I watched as Ben hobbled to the door, using the furniture as support.

“Hi Claire,” Ben greeted.

“Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the stable?” I asked. “The vet is coming to see Manny and I want to brush him first and I thought you might like to come.”

“Um,” he paused, “yeah, just let me grab my wheelchair.”

I waited as he went to get his wheelchair. Ben wasn’t quite yet up to walking with crutches as they made him tire quite easily. Once he got it, I started pushing him down the path to the stable.

“I had a nice night last night,” I announced.

“Yes,” Ben agreed, “it was great. It was nice spending time just together. We should do it again sometime.”

“What, just kick your parents out?” I joked.

“And yours as well,” he laughed.

“Yes, cover all bases.”

“You can never be too careful.”

This part was true. If you were just a random person, you wouldn’t understand what we truly meant. Only Ben and I knew what we were really talking about. We talked about other things before arriving at the stable. Putting Ben outside Manny’s stall, I went to get the brushes. When I returned, Adam was talking to Ben.

“… yeah she’s a keeper,” Ben said.

“Adam!” I exclaimed, hugging him, “how are you?”

“I’m good,” he replied. “I just stopped by to help dad exercise the horses.”

“Ok. Hey, what were you and Ben talking about?”

“Just you.” I blushed slightly, hopping that Adam hadn’t worked out the secret relationship. “Just kidding! We were talking about the latest horse, Belle.”

I gave him a playful punch.

“Hey, hey, I said I was joking,” Adam assured.

“Well are you still helping dad or are you just looking for trouble?”

“No, I’m actually off now. I’ve got some rides today.”

“Ok, well good luck!”

I gave him another hug, before waving him off. I brushed Manny all over as I talked to Ben. Ben was really nice to talk to, as he could be really funny, but serious when needed. Before long, the sound of a car pulling up filled the air.

“Hi Claire!” Rose greeted. “How’s Manny?”

“Hey,” I replied. “He’s going well. He seems really happy in himself. Oh Rose, this is Ben.”

“Hi Ben. How are you going?”

“Yeah, alright. I didn’t get off as lightly as Manny,” Ben said, pointing to his leg.

Rose began running her hands over Manny, checking for anything unusual, like heat.

“I can see that. Alright, Claire if you can just walk Manny around, I want to see how he moves.”

Clicking to Manny, I walked him around the stable. Silently I prayed that everything would be ok and that maybe, just maybe, he could start track work again. Rose took down notes as she watched.

“Ok, that’s enough. He’s moving well and he isn’t spooking at anything. We’ll have to take things slow. For a week, just start turning him out in the paddock for a few hours. Then seeing how he goes, he can start work again after that.”

“That’s such good news!” I exclaimed.

“Just don’t rush him,” she laughed as she packed up her things.

“Trust me! I won’t.”

“Call me if you need anything,” she said as she got in her car.

“Ok, bye.”

I walked back to the stable with a spring in my step.

“That’s great news!” Ben exclaimed, wheeling his wheelchair over to give Manny a pat.

“Yeah, not long now, hey boy.”

“Let’s just hope I’m up and going soon,” Ben sighed.

“I’m sure you will be. It’s only time.”

 

Author's Note: This chapter was a bit of a fill in chapter, but is needed in the overall story. Please comment your thoughts, I get excited everytime I see one. What do you think is going to happen next? Would you guys like a sequel? Thanks!