Driving Team

by Bonnie Bryant

  After she pointed out all the Italian dictionaries, she helped Mrs. Davidson pull some medical reference books for a man with a broken finger; then she helped a little girl find an aerial map of Peru. By the time she got back to the table to start researching the history of driving, Lisa was waiting to take over.

  “Hi,” Lisa said. “I’ve finished my chapters. How far have you gotten?”

  “Not far at all,” said Carole, almost out of breath. “Every time I turn around, Mrs. Davidson is either about to lead someone past that little nook or she’s looking something up for somebody. I’ve spent the whole time keeping her away from you and Cynthia!”

  “What should we do?” Lisa asked.

  “Well, I’ll go read. You do as much research as you can, but keep an eye on Mrs. Davidson. She buzzes around here like a bee!”

  “Okay,” Lisa promised.

  Carole walked over to the nook and sat down beside Cynthia. As she read the next two chapters of Misty, she stayed on the lookout for the librarian. Apparently Lisa was doing the same thing. Once Carole saw her shelving some books in the cookbook section; then she saw her hurrying to take a young couple over to the periodicals. As Carole neared the end of her chapters, Lisa was looking up information on butterflies for a couple of Brownies. Mrs. Davidson, though, had not left the checkout desk. Carole gave a big sigh and looked at her watch. It was time to go. They’d spent all morning at the library, and as far as she could tell, all they’d done was help other people out in the reference room and read several chapters of Misty to Cynthia.

  Lisa appeared. “Carole, have you checked the time?”

  Carole nodded. “I know. We’ve got to go.” She looked over at Cynthia. “I’m sorry we can’t stay and read more of Misty, Cynthia, but we’ve got to go now. We promised Lisa’s mom we’d be at her house before one.”

  “That’s okay.” Cynthia’s voice sagged with disappointment. “You were great to read to me. I’ll just go back to my secret hiding place and look at the pictures for the rest of the afternoon.”

  “We hate to leave you,” said Lisa. “Are you sure you’ll be okay till your mom comes?”

  Cynthia gathered up her book and nodded. “I guess so,” she replied sadly. Then she looked up, happier. “My mom said she might come back early this afternoon and take me to the mall!”

  “That would be wonderful, Cynthia,” said Carole as she got to her feet. “I hope she does, and I hope you have a great time.”

  “Thanks,” said Cynthia with a wan smile. “Bye,” she called as she scurried off into the dark corners of the stacks.

  Carole and Lisa walked slowly over to their table. “Can you believe we’ve been here all morning and haven’t taken one note?” asked Lisa. “We could have gotten so much more done if we’d just thought to move Cynthia to a different location.”

  “I know,” agreed Carole. “But everything started happening so fast. It seemed like every time I looked up, Mrs. Davidson was on her way to that little nook!”

  “Carole, we’ve got to do something about this,” said Lisa as she zipped up her jacket. “We can’t just let Cynthia’s mother keep on leaving her here like this. Even if she does come pick her up early this afternoon, it’s still practically child abandonment!”

  “I know.” Carole tied her scarf snugly around her neck. “Let’s give it some thought on the way to your house. Maybe we’ll have some brilliant flash of inspiration.”

  “We need Stevie,” Lisa said. “When it comes to brilliant flashes of inspiration, she’s the one to have on your team!”

  “MORNING, GIRL,” STEVIE said softly. “How about a good scratch behind your ears?”

  Belle stepped forward in her stall. Though she had already been fed, it was barely eight o’clock on Sunday morning, and she had the same sleepy look in her eyes that Stevie did.

  “I bet you’re surprised to see me here so early,” Stevie whispered as she rubbed Belle’s soft ears. “I’m surprised to be here myself, but I’ve got to work on our project today, and who knows when my wonderful partner will show up. She’s probably having breakfast with her French friends, and you know how the French are about breakfast!” Stevie imitated Veronica’s haughty voice as Belle flicked her ears in surprise.

  “I gotta go now.” She gave the horse a final pat. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

  She turned down the hall and began to walk toward the back storage room, where she’d stashed the driving tack she’d untangled the day before. As she turned the corner, she noticed a light on in Danny’s stall and a wheelbarrow of dirty straw sitting by the door. She walked over and peeked inside, then gasped. In the middle of the stall, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, stood Veronica diAngelo!

  “Veronica!” Stevie’s voice came out in a surprised croak. “What are you doing here?”

  Veronica turned and gave her an icy stare. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’ve just cleaned Danny’s stall, and now I’m grooming him.”

  “B-But it’s so early in the morning,” Stevie stuttered. “I didn’t think you’d get here before noon.”

  “Looks like you thought wrong, didn’t you?” Veronica smirked over her shoulder.

  For a moment Stevie was so astonished, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Then she decided that since Veronica had actually shown up, they’d better get some work done. “Well, I’m glad to see you. I finished cleaning the rest of the tack yesterday afternoon, so I guess we should start working the horses together. Why don’t we take Danny and Belle out to the back paddock and longe them together in the driving harness?”

  Veronica frowned for a moment, then shrugged. “Oh, all right,” she finally muttered. “You set it up. I’ll bring the horses.”

  “Okay.” Stevie smiled. Even though Veronica was not in the sunniest of moods, at least she seemed to be willing to cooperate a little. Stevie headed to the storage room and fished the proper pieces of tack out of the box. Then she grabbed an extra-long longe line and headed to the back paddock. She had just checked to make sure she had two sets of each piece of tack when Veronica led Danny into the paddock.

  “We’re ready,” Veronica announced, standing impatiently with one hand on her hip.

  Stevie looked up and frowned. “Where’s Belle?”

  “I don’t know. In her stall, I suppose,” snapped Veronica.

  “You were supposed to bring her out, too, Veronica. A team of horses implies that there will be more than one horse.”

  “So?”

  Stevie felt her face heating up with anger. “So go get Belle now, like you promised, while I finish with this tack.”

  “Oh, whatever.” Veronica unclipped Danny’s lead line and walked slowly back to the stable. A few moments later she came out with Belle walking beside her. “Here’s your beast, Stevie,” she said, flipping the lead rope in Stevie’s direction.

  “Thanks,” Stevie muttered, giving Belle a reassuring pat on the neck. If there’s any beast in this paddock, she thought, it walks on two legs and answers to the name of Veronica. She took a deep breath and whispered the word patience three times.

  “Why don’t we try to get them into this harness first?” Stevie suggested. “All this stuff needs to fit properly.” She held up one bridle. “This goes on the horse who pulls on the right.”

  “Well, that will have to be Belle,” Veronica sniffed.

  “Why?” asked Stevie.

  “Because the left horse is the lead horse, and Danny needs to be the lead horse.”

  “Why?” Stevie asked again.

  “Because he’s high-strung. He needs to lead.”

  Stevie frowned. “If he’s that high-strung, maybe he should follow. He might spook being in the lead.”

  “If he’s not in the lead, he probably won’t pull at all,” Veronica warned.

  “He can’t help but pull, if Belle’s in the lead and she’s pulling, too.”

  “It doesn’t work like that.” Veronica turned her mouth down in a stubborn line.<
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  “How do you know? How many wagons have you driven?”

  Veronica’s green eyes flashed. “About as many as you have.”

  Stevie took another deep breath and whispered patience again. “Well, why don’t we just try longeing them together like this and see what happens?”

  “I don’t see the point in longeing them if they aren’t going to pull the wagon in the same way.”

  “Well, then, let’s get the rest of the tack adjusted on them,” Stevie suggested. “Then we can decide who pulls where.”

  “Oh, all right.” Veronica walked over and looked at the tack Stevie had cleaned. She picked through it, choosing the best pieces for Danny and leaving the more worn bits for Belle.

  “Hey!” cried Stevie. “Let’s divide this up more equally. It’s not fair for Danny to have all the best pieces.”

  “Why not?” asked Veronica. “He’s obviously the best horse.”

  Stevie opened her mouth to give Veronica a large dose of her opinion about Danny when Max’s voice rang out.

  “Veronica!” he called, cupping his hands around his mouth. “You’ve got a call in the office! They said it was important.”

  “Thanks,” Veronica replied. She tossed Danny’s lead rope to Stevie. “Here. You can hold him till I get back.”

  Seething with anger, Stevie watched as Veronica hurried into the stable and Max sauntered over to the fence.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  Stevie led both horses over to him. “Max, Veronica has just hit a new low in being the most obnoxious person at this stable. She won’t cooperate over anything. Danny has to lead. Danny has to have the best tack. Danny can’t be bothered with longeing with Belle. I don’t think this partnership is going to work!”

  “Oh, I bet it can,” Max replied calmly.

  “No, it won’t. Not when Veronica acts like the biggest, most stubborn jerk who’s ever pulled on riding boots!” Stevie’s voice rose so high that Belle jumped.

  “Well, did you ever think it might not be much fun to be Veronica? You don’t know what’s going on in her life right now.” Max frowned at her. “Stevie, you shouldn’t judge people until you’ve ridden a mile in their boots.”

  “I wouldn’t ride a mile in her custom-made boots even if I could!” cried Stevie. “They’d probably cut off my circulation!”

  “Well, you two work it out.” Max patted Stevie on the shoulder and walked back to his office.

  “I’ll do my best,” Stevie whispered as she led the horses back to the center of the paddock.

  She fit the bridle and blinders on Belle first, then worked on Danny. He was as cooperative as his owner was uncooperative. Just as Stevie made the final adjustments on his tack, Veronica walked back into the paddock.

  “Hi,” Stevie began. “I gave Danny the better bit, and Belle the better—”

  Veronica wasn’t listening. She walked directly over to Danny and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his dapple gray coat and giving him a long, affectionate hug.

  Stevie’s mouth fell open. She’d never seen Veronica display any kind of affection toward any animal, ever. She almost turned away, embarrassed, but then Veronica let go of Danny and looked at Stevie. Again Stevie’s jaw dropped. She could have sworn she saw actual tears in Veronica’s eyes. She shook her head. You must be dreaming, she told herself. You got up way too early this morning and you’re still dreaming. Only people who have hearts cry, and all Veronica has inside her chest is some kind of weird pump made of eighteen-carat gold.

  Still, they looked like real tears glistening in her eyes. “Veronica?” Stevie asked softly.

  “Let’s get to work.” Veronica briskly turned her back to Stevie. “Danny’s very smart. He gets bored just standing around doing nothing.”

  “Okay,” agreed Stevie. “Let’s see if they’ll longe together.”

  “Only if Danny can be on the left,” insisted Veronica.

  “Fine.” Stevie gave up and clipped the right end of the checkrein to Belle’s bridle. Being upset enough to cry sure doesn’t make her easier to get along with, she thought as Veronica fumbled with the longe line.

  Finally they got the line sorted out and walked to the center of the paddock. “Here,” Veronica said. “Give the line to me. I want to drive first.”

  Stevie handed the longe line to Veronica and stood back to watch. Veronica cracked the long driving whip loudly and clucked to both horses. Belle started out at a trot, but Danny immediately leaped into a canter. They bumped halfway around the paddock, knocking into each other at both turns.

  “Slow them down, Veronica,” warned Stevie. “Or at least get them both in the same gait.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” Veronica said. “This is the way Danny likes to get started.”

  “But Belle doesn’t know what to do,” cried Stevie.

  “Well, that’s obvious. Belle’s certainly not the horse Danny is. I wonder if she’s even fit to pull a wagon with him.” Veronica cracked the whip again.

  “She’s every bit the horse Danny is,” Stevie retorted. “Maybe even more.”

  The horses continued around the paddock. Veronica’s constant cracking of the whip made Belle shift to a canter. That gave Danny the idea that they were racing. As Belle cantered past, he dipped his head and nipped at her shoulder. Belle gave a high whinny of pain and reared back, pawing at Danny with her front hooves.

  “Veronica!” Stevie cried. “Stop them!”

  “I can’t!” Veronica screamed, dropping the longe line completely.

  Now both horses were out of control. Belle reared up again, trying to hit Danny with her hooves. Danny’s head darted low as he snapped at Belle’s legs. Finally he twisted the longe line and wedged himself sideways behind Belle and started kicking at the paddock fence with his powerful back legs.

  “Stop it, Danny! Stop it!” Veronica shrieked. “You’re going to get killed!”

  Stevie didn’t know what to do. She knew it was dangerous to get between two angry, out-of-control horses, but if she didn’t do something fast they were both going to get badly hurt. She ran across the paddock and grabbed the longe line that held them together. She unclipped Belle, who raced to the other side of the paddock, and then she put all her weight on Danny’s line, forcing him to stop kicking and stand on all four legs. Both horses were streaked with sweat, and their ears were slapped back against their skulls.

  “Hey, what’s going on here?”

  Stevie looked around to see Max leaping over the paddock fence. “Is everything okay?”

  “I think it is now,” replied Stevie, breathing hard. She was so scared she was shaking.

  “What happened?” Max demanded, scowling with concern.

  “Veronica got them going too fast,” gasped Stevie. “Danny thought they were racing and tried to bite Belle. Then she freaked out.”

  Max frowned at Stevie, then at Veronica. “Look, girls. I don’t intend to have either of these horses injured over this project. Are you two sure you’re mature enough to handle this?”

  “I certainly am.” Veronica picked up the driving whip. “And so is Danny. It’s just Belle. She’s such an obviously inferior horse of mixed breeding.”

  “No, she’s not, Veronica,” Max replied sternly. “Belle is an intelligent animal with a lot of heart. Anyway, it’s not the horses I’m worried about. I thought you and Stevie were up to this challenge, but maybe I gave you too much credit.”

  “We’re sorry, Max,” Stevie apologized. She glanced at Veronica. “I know we can do this safely. I think we just need to work on our communication skills a little bit.”

  “Are you sure?” Max sounded unconvinced.

  Stevie nodded. “Give us one more chance. We’ll do it right. We promise.”

  “Okay,” Max said, relenting. “One more chance. But if I hear as much as a whinny from this paddock, the only thing you two are going to be allowed to do at that joint meeting is hand out cookies and lemonade.”
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  “Yes, sir.” Stevie looked at the ground as her dream of triumph disappeared. This was hopeless. Veronica was going to do everything she could to blow Stevie’s chance at impressing Phil at that meeting. Phil had even been hinting that he was going to do something special for the show, and here was her only big chance to do something even more special, and this idiotic girl was going to spoil it. They would be relegated to handing out cookies with the D-level Pony Clubbers, and it would all be Veronica’s fault. Stevie stood silently with her fists clenched until Max disappeared into the barn. Then she turned to Veronica.

  “How dare you imply that my horse has inferior breeding!” Stevie cried. “She’s got Arabian blood, mixed with some Saddlebred, and that makes the best combination in the world. She’s kind, she’s smart, and who would blame her for rearing up when another, bigger bully of a horse tried to bite her? She was just defending herself! Anyway, Veronica, you wouldn’t know good breeding if it bit you on the nose. If anyone in this paddock suffers from a rotten pedigree, it’s you!”

  Stevie glared at Veronica for a moment, waiting for her reply. But instead of pulling herself up into her usual haughty stance, Veronica seemed to sag. She covered her face with both hands and burst into tears, crying as if her heart were breaking.

  For a moment Stevie didn’t know what to say. She still felt angry, but she’d never seen Veronica shed a single tear, much less burst into loud sobs. “Veronica?” she finally asked. “What’s going on?”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Veronica sobbed.

  “Yes I would,” Stevie said more softly. “Try me.”

  “No you wouldn’t.” Veronica gave a loud sniff.

  “Yes I would,” Stevie insisted.

  “You wouldn’t care, anyway,” Veronica said in a thick voice.

  “I might care a lot if you’d tell me.” Stevie took a step toward her.

  Veronica looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She gave a resigned sigh. “You know that phone call I got yesterday?”

  Stevie nodded.

  “That was my mother telling me that she had to take our little white poodle, Robespierre, to the vet. He’s only six years old, and he’s got a champion pedigree and he’s a wonderful dog. The vet thinks it’s serious—he had to stay in the animal hospital last night.” Veronica teared up again. “I’m just so afraid he’s going to die!”