Hayride

by Bonnie Bryant

  Around horses Carole was the most skilled and confident member of The Saddle Club. In fact, Lisa and Stevie frequently turned to her with questions, and she was known for her enthusiastic—if lengthy—responses. But in social matters the roles changed. Carole could be spacey about people, and Lisa tended to be shy around boys, so the two of them looked to Stevie, who had an outgoing personality—not to mention three brothers and a boyfriend. If there was one thing Stevie could do, it was plan a coed party!

  To reassure Carole now, Stevie reminded her that all of the absolute, surefire couples who would definitely still be going out in a week’s time would just as definitely come to the party as a pair.

  “But who are they?” Carole asked dubiously.

  “Tons of them—I mean there’s me and Phil, and, uh, you and Cam, and, let’s see, hmmm … Did I say me and Phil?”

  “Yeah, and don’t forget about Carole and Cam,” Lisa said. The three of them began to giggle. It got louder and louder until, all of a sudden, Carole put a finger to her lips and motioned for them to be quiet.

  “What?” Lisa mouthed. Carole pointed to the stall next door. There was a voice coming from Garnet’s stall, and it was unmistakably Veronica’s. In an impatient whine Veronica was chiding the mare for her performance that day. They could easily hear her through the dividing wall between the two stalls. “Stupid horse. My father spends a fortune on you, and you’re just as stubborn as a school horse. What a huge waste of money. I ought to—” Abruptly Veronica fell silent.

  The Saddle Club looked at one another. They knew that Veronica had stopped talking because she had realized that they were eavesdropping on her. Which meant only one thing: She had had ample opportunity to eavesdrop on them. Carole, Lisa, and Stevie all thought back on their conversation for a moment. They let out a collective sigh. Luckily, they hadn’t said anything bad about her. They had been imitating her, but there was no way she would have noticed that. All they had been discussing was the party. And since they had already decided to invite her to the party, they were completely in the clear.

  “Phew,” Stevie muttered under her breath. “The last thing I need is a run-in with her today.”

  “I know,” Lisa whispered back. “Good thing she’s included in the party—she’d be really upset to hear about it if she weren’t.”

  “Hi, Veronica,” Carole said, going out to the aisle. Now was as good a time as any to invite her.

  “Oh, hello!” Veronica said, mocking surprise. “I didn’t realize you three were here. I guess it’s kind of hard to know people are around when they hide in stalls.”

  “We weren’t hiding,” Lisa said as she and Stevie joined them. “Carole hurt her ankle and so we’re helping her.”

  “How convenient,” Veronica responded. “You can have secret club meetings now and blame it all on a hurt ankle.”

  Carole took a deep breath, forcing herself to be civil. “Veronica, we were just talking, and I wanted to ask you—”

  “It must be severely injured for you to be hanging around Pine Hollow all afternoon, as usual.”

  Stevie rushed to her friend’s defense. “She was making sure Starlight was all right—something you probably wouldn’t understand,” she said.

  As Veronica tried to think of a retort, Simon Atherton appeared around the corner. He had changed out of his riding clothes and was on his way out. His face lit up when he saw The Saddle Club.

  “Hi, Lisa,” he said, giving her a big grin. Then, continuing to look at Lisa, he added, “Hello, Carole, Stephanie.”

  “Hi, Simon,” Stevie said. “How was your ride?”

  “Gosh, it was great!” he replied. “Did you have fun, Lisa?”

  “Yes,” Lisa answered succinctly.

  Stevie and Carole exchanged glances, smiling. Simon had obviously fallen for a member of The Saddle Club, and it wasn’t hard to tell which one! Simon was looking at Lisa as a loyal hound looks at the huntsman. If Carole and Stevie hadn’t already known how she felt about him, they would have expected her to reach over and give him a friendly pat on the head.

  “Do you girls always ride together?” Simon inquired.

  “A lot of the time,” Lisa said. “You see, we—”

  Veronica’s shrill voice broke into the conversation. “You see, they have to be alone all the time in their special little group.”

  Simon looked confused.

  Stevie gave Veronica a withering glance and turned to the new rider. “Simon, have you met Veronica diAngelo?” she asked.

  “Gosh, hello, Veronica. Pleased to meet you.” Simon extended a hand. Veronica ignored it.

  “Don’t worry, Sammy. Even though you’re new here, you might get invited to some of the parties for less popular people,” Veronica told him, her voice laced with sarcasm.

  “Uh, that’s Simon,” Simon said.

  “Sammy, Simon, whatever,” Veronica replied.

  Carole had been watching this exchange uncomfortably. She had never been the kind of person to exclude newcomers or kids who weren’t in the “popular” crowd, and she resented Veronica’s implying that she was. Even if it threw off the girl-boy ratio, she was going to invite Simon Atherton. It was the only fair thing to do, and she knew Lisa would agree. She might not want Simon as her date, but she wouldn’t want to see him left out either.

  “Simon,” Carole said firmly, “I’m having a hayride birthday party next Saturday, and I’d really like you to come.”

  Simon grinned from ear to ear. “Gosh, Carole, that’d be just swell.”

  With a meaningful glance in Veronica’s direction, Carole added, “I can’t guarantee that all the popular people will be there, but I know all my friends will.” Rather than officially invite Veronica right then as well, Carole decided she would let her words sink in first. Besides, she was too angry to sound sincere. Veronica would find out soon enough that, as usual, she had misjudged The Saddle Club.

  After thanking Carole and reminding Lisa, once again, that he would see her in first-period math, Simon went to wait for his ride. The distinctive honk of the diAngelo Mercedes a few minutes later saved The Saddle Club from having to deal with Veronica anymore—at least for today. With a final reprimand to Garnet, Veronica flounced off to the waiting car.

  “Saved by the chauffeur!” Stevie cried when she was out of earshot.

  “Could you believe her?” Carole asked. She explained to Stevie and Lisa why she had decided to invite Simon on the spot but wait awhile to ask Veronica.

  “She knows she’s invited anyway,” Stevie said. “I’m sure she heard you mention her name when you were going over the guest list.”

  “Actually, I don’t know if I did mention her,” Carole said, trying to remember. If she had, it was a very strange way for Veronica to react. Carole pointed out that they’d better make sure to invite her soon or else risk a full-scale war breaking out.

  Stevie volunteered to mention the party to Veronica at school the next day, and then Carole could just give her a follow-up call in the evening.

  “And I don’t mind if Simon comes,” Lisa said. “He is polite, and it would have been too mean after why Veronica said not to invite him.”

  “Besides, Lisa,” Stevie added, a merry glint in her eyes, “it’s always good to have a boy around who likes you, even if you don’t like him.”

  “Why?” Lisa asked.

  “Simple,” Stevie said. “It automatically makes other guys jealous.”

  Lisa thought for a moment. “Gosh, Stephanie,” she said in her best Simon Atherton imitation, “you’re right!”

  They all laughed. It was good to see Lisa kidding around about what could have been an awkward situation. So far, it looked as if the party would be great. They planned a few more details—including meeting at Carole’s on Friday afternoon to decorate.

  “Sounds good to me,” Stevie said. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly three o’clock. Suddenly she had an idea. “Help me take Starlight’s tack back to the tack room, Lisa
,” she said.

  “Oh, let me do it,” Carole protested.

  “Absolutely not,” Lisa said. “You shouldn’t even be walking, let alone lugging tack around.”

  Lisa was surprised that Stevie wanted help carrying a saddle and a bridle, but she didn’t want to make a big deal of it and make Carole feel worse than she already did.

  They picked up the tack and left Carole giving Starlight a final once-over.

  Inside the tack room Stevie explained her idea. “We have to figure out what to get Carole for her birthday. My mother has an errand at the mall. If we hurry, we can catch a ride with her.”

  Lisa quickly agreed, and then she and Stevie hastily changed and went to say good-bye to Carole. She was sitting on a hay bale chatting to Starlight, whose ears were pricked up attentively.

  “Shouldn’t you be going home soon?” Lisa asked.

  When Carole hesitated, Stevie exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you’re going to do more stable chores with that ankle!”

  Carole assured them that her father would be there to pick her up in a little while and that she wouldn’t do anything strenuous. “It’s probably just a bruise—not even worth fussing about. You two go ahead—I mean it,” she said, making a waving gesture with her hands to shoo them out.

  With their shopping plan in mind, Lisa and Stevie didn’t need any more urging than that. They made Carole promise to get her father to look at her ankle and then left to meet Stevie’s mother.

  After they’d gone, Carole got hesitatingly to her feet. She was thankful to be alone. She didn’t want Lisa, Stevie, or anyone to know how much pain she was in—they’d only worry and act overprotective. She was confident that by tomorrow her ankle would be as good as new, and she wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of the best birthday party she’d ever planned.

  The hardest part, however, was going to be for Carole to convince her father that she was fine. She began walking slowly toward the driveway, forcing herself not to limp.

  STEVIE AND LISA eagerly set about looking over the merchandise at the mall. On their way over, they had agreed that the perfect present for Carole would definitely have something to do with horses. The first store they went into was a department store. They checked out the junior clothes department.

  “How ’bout this?” Stevie said, holding up a pale pink sweatshirt. “It’s got a horse on it.”

  Lisa looked more closely. “That’s a unicorn, not a horse. And Carole might think pink is too feminine for a sweatshirt.” Stevie nodded, deferring to the clothes sense Lisa’s mother had instilled in her.

  They found a T-shirt with lots of little horse heads but decided it wasn’t nice enough for a present.

  “Let’s check out the sale rack in case there’s anything good,” Lisa suggested. Together they sifted through piles of women’s lingerie, fluorescent spandex tights, and dresses in outdated styles.

  “Oh!” Lisa gasped. She held up a baby-blue sweater and ran to look at herself in one of the mirrors. “I love it,” she called to Stevie. “I just love it.”

  Stevie looked. It was a beautiful sweater—an angora-knit pullover with three pearl buttons at the neck—not her style, but perfect for Lisa. “It looks great on you. Why don’t you get it?”

  “I shouldn’t.” Lisa sighed. It seemed too rash to go running into a store and buy the first thing that she liked—especially when they were supposed to be shopping for Carole. It was the kind of thing Stevie might do, but not logical, sensible Lisa. She put it reluctantly back on the pile.

  “At least think about it,” Stevie said. She took the sweater off the top of the pile and hid it underneath some socks and underwear. Lisa grinned. “Well, you don’t want to give it away, do you?” Stevie asked innocently. “C’mon, the quest for the perfect gift continues in Sweet Nothings.”

  Sweet Nothings was a candy store. It had every kind of chocolate, bonbon, jelly bean, and gummi treat you could imagine. Lisa had a feeling that the quest for the perfect gift was quickly going to turn into a quest for their stomachs.

  She was right. They each bought a small bag of gummi bears and some butter crunch. To make it a legitimate stop, they carefully checked for horse-shaped candy. At first they didn’t see anything. They were about to leave when Stevie spotted a six-inch trotting horse covered in gold foil.

  “You don’t think we should give her that, do you?” Lisa asked. If a T-shirt wasn’t good enough, then a piece of candy wasn’t even in the running.

  “I guess not,” Stevie said. “But I love its shape. And it’s made of imported Swiss chocolate.” She gazed at the gold horse.

  “Do you want to move on?” Lisa asked.

  Stevie deliberated a moment longer. “I’m going to buy it for myself,” she said. “I can’t resist.” She took it up to the cash register and paid for it.

  “Sometimes you just have to give in to temptation,” she told Lisa happily as they strolled on to the next store.

  “Most of the time, you mean,” said Lisa, munching a piece of butter crunch.

  Both girls had high hopes for the store next to Sweet Nothings. It was a tack shop called The Saddlery. It had horsey knickknacks and trinkets as well as saddles, bridles, and equipment.

  “If we can’t find the perfect gift here, it may not exist,” Lisa said. They began to scan the shelves methodically.

  “A horse-photograph book?” Lisa asked.

  “I think she has that one. How about a new choker?”

  “Hers matches her ratcatcher.”

  “Braided reins? I heard her say she wants them for shows.” Stevie turned over the price tag. Eighty dollars. She sighed. “Never mind.”

  They peered around the shop carefully.

  “Look!” Lisa exclaimed.

  “They’re perfect!” Stevie cried. It was true: All at once they had found the perfect gift. It was a pair of gold horse earrings. They were dangly and had a horse jumping through a horseshoe fence.

  Timidly Lisa asked the saleswoman to take them out of the glass case so they could look at them. The gray-haired woman had been watching them in their search. She was very friendly. “Take as long as you want deciding. I’ve got to help another customer,” she said.

  Lisa held up the earrings to her earlobes, and together she and Stevie admired them in the mirror. “Really, really nice,” Lisa breathed.

  Stevie caught sight of the tiny price tag flapping below Lisa’s right ear. “Really, really, one hundred and fifty dollars!” she wailed.

  “Oh no,” Lisa said, dismayed. “They’re so perfect, and now—”

  “They’re completely out of the question,” Stevie finished for her. Dejectedly, they put the earrings back on the tray they had come from. They were too disheartened to look any further in The Saddlery—everything else would just seem second best.

  “You’re not going to take them?” the saleswoman asked as they shuffled toward the door.

  “No, thank you,” Lisa said dully.

  They stood outside the store and looked across to the opposite row of shops. Neither pets nor sporting goods sounded promising. But Mama Leone’s Pizza had a nice ring to it.

  “I think we might need pizza to help us decide a plan of action for finding another perfect gift,” Stevie said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” Lisa said.

  The enticing smell of the pizza inside the restaurant lifted their dampened spirits somewhat. Stevie ordered a slice with pepperoni, Lisa got a slice with cheese, and they decided to split a soda. They took their trays to the back, where there were a few tables.

  Munching earnestly, neither noticed the blond boy waving in their direction until he was standing in front of the table.

  “Stevie! Hello! Earth to Stevie Lake!” Distractedly, Lisa and Stevie looked up … and into the smiling face of Bob Harris. It took all of ten seconds for Lisa to blush about nine shades of red. Luckily, Stevie rose to the occasion just as fast.

  “Bob! Great to see you! How’s it going?” she said between
mouthfuls.

  “It’s going well, Stevie. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, except we’re looking for a birthday present for a friend, and everything’s too cheap or too expensive.”

  “I know the feeling,” Bob said. “I remember when I was shopping for my mom’s birthday, I couldn’t find anything here. I ended up making her a lamp out of a hollowed-out log.”

  “What a good idea!” Lisa blurted out. Bob glanced at her, looking surprised at her enthusiasm.

  “Thanks,” he said with a grin. Lisa gulped. She twisted her napkin in her lap. She stared at the grease dripping off her pizza.

  “Hey, haven’t I met you before?” Bob asked.

  “I, uh …” Lisa’s voice gave out temporarily.

  “Of course you know Lisa, Bob!” Stevie said. “Remember, my evil brother introduced you last summer.”

  “That’s right. Of course. I remember you were wearing your riding clothes,” Bob said.

  Lisa managed a nod. Why was he still standing there? It wasn’t surprising that he’d stopped to say hi to Stevie; he was Alex’s friend, and besides, everyone liked outgoing Stevie. But wasn’t Bob meeting friends here? Why was he alone? Why was he talking to them? Why was he asking her to scooch over so he could sit down?

  Stevie kicked Lisa underneath the table.

  In a daze Lisa slid over. Bob sat down next to her. Their elbows brushed. By now Lisa was so red that she was surprised no one had called an ambulance. So much for subtly meeting Bob at the party! Her interest in him might as well have been posted on a neon sign.

  To her surprise, when she dared to look up from her pizza, Stevie and Bob were chatting away as if the situation were completely normal.

  “That’s too bad about the earrings,” Bob was saying. “They sound nice.” Lisa eyed his profile cautiously. It was as nice as she remembered—blond hair brushed carelessly off his face, a straight, longish nose, and brown eyes. Suddenly the brown eyes turned and focused on her. “Some friends are hard to buy for,” he said.