by Jean Carroll
“Are you ashamed or embarrassed by the fact that we’re living together?” he asked.
“No, of course not,” she answered. He stared at her for a few minutes.
“I mean we’re not married, doesn’t that bother you?”
“No, I love you too much and I couldn’t wait any longer to be with you.”
“I know, I couldn’t wait any longer, either. I’ll have to do something about this situation.” He said firmly.
“Like what?
“Never mind, this is the end of this conversation and we’re sleeping together at my parents’ house,” he said decisively.
“Great.” She said and turned to go.
“Meg, come here, honey,” he said softly. She went to him and he folded her in his arms and kissed her tenderly.
“Don’t worry; I love you more than anyone in the world. My Mom will know it and approve. I’m also going to make it right.”
“I just don’t want to start trouble between you and your parents.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Jeremy drove them to Dulles in the limo. They were all immensely excited to be going to Ireland. The girls never shut up, chattering continuously about the trip. Meg was almost hyperventilating from the non-stop talking and the jittery, tingling in her stomach. Katie bounced in her seat as she prattled on and waved her hands in the air.
Sean felt the excitement in his gut but was having too much fun watching the girls. Blackie was quiet. It was three years since he set foot on Irish soil. He ached to get there. He wouldn’t admit it, but his heart warmed at the thought of his parents’ welcoming embrace. His parents, horses and Ireland were all woven together deep in his heart.
They pulled into the General Aviation terminal and glided to a stop next to a gleaming white Lear jet with a green stripe.
“We’re here ladies,” Blackie announced.
“Ohmigod, is that yours?” Meg gasped.
“It belongs to the farm.”
Katie and Meg squealed and hugged each other. The guys just laughed as they pulled the girls from the car.
Meg couldn’t believe her eyes. The plane was beautiful. Blackie led her up the carpeted stairs into the cabin that was just as beautiful as the outside. Decorated in soft beige and green, Meg settled into one of the pillow-soft seats. She inhaled the “new car” smell and was amazed at how quiet it was when the pilot closed the door.
They dug into the pizza and drinks Blackie ordered and didn’t even notice the rocking chair smooth take-off. The four of them played cards, talked about the trip and Sean and Blackie shared Irish facts and folklore with Meg and Katie.
Finally winding down, the two couples retreated to opposite ends of the cabin, Sean dimmed the lights and they were asleep.
Meg woke up when they were approaching Dublin Airport and shook Blackie awake.
“Come on, honey, we’re getting ready to land.” She couldn’t wait to put her feet in Ireland. Blackie sat up and looked out the window.
“I always love coming home,” he said, his eyes shining. “Good morning sweetheart, how are you? Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I had a wonderful night. I’m always comfortable cuddled up against you.”
“Good, let’s get ready to de-plane.”
They loaded their bags in the SUV Blackie rented and drove toward Naas. The countryside was beautiful, rolling and a lush green color she’d never seen before. They registered at the hotel and piled into their elegant adjoining rooms. Meg and Katie were so excited, they kept chattering about how lovely everything was. The guys just rolled their eyes.
It was late and the sale pavilion was closed so they changed and went to the hotel dining room for dinner. The meal was wonderful but expensive and Blackie, of course, picked up the check. They were tired from the trip and turned in early.
The next morning she awoke to Blackie kissing her neck. She turned and looked at him. He had a frisky glint in his eyes, so she kissed him hard.
Mmm, good morning to you too,” he said huskily. He kissed her again, taking the kiss deeper while caressing her lovingly. It wasn’t long and she was just as ready as he was. They slowly made love to each other and took their time about it.
“I love being away together like this.” He murmured afterwards.
He ordered breakfast in their room while she took a shower and dressed in jeans, boots and a sweater. She put her hair up in a ponytail and came out just as breakfast was arriving.
“You look cute,” Blackie said. “Are you hungry?”
“Not after what you just did to me.”
“Oh really, you’re going to lose weight on this trip then. I think you better eat,” he laughed.
The food was delicious; a full Irish breakfast. After they ate, he took a shower and dressed in his usual attire.
Sean and Katie were ready, they jumped in the car and roared off for Goff’s, Blackie driving. They parked and found the office where Blackie had to register as a buyer and a representative of Killarney Farms. He signed a draft drawn on an account at the Bank of Ireland for €80, 000. He also gave them his credit card.
“I might want to buy some horses personally and I’ll use that.”
“Yes sir, Mr. O’Brien. Here’s your buyer registration and number,” the broker said.
“Okay, let’s go back to the stable area. Sean, do you want to ride any of the chasers we find to check them out? You know what, I should call Dad and see if he needs any horses while we’re here,” Blackie said.
“I guess I’ll ride. You’re better at gauging how good they are, but if you have an accident, I’ll be killed by Keary and Jill,” Sean said.
“Well, we’ll see what we find. We could both check them out. It’s not like I’m going to race or anything. I’ll call Dad,” Blackie said and made the call on his cell.
“Dad, hi, it’s Blackie. Sean and I are over at Goff’s for a few days. I was wondering if you need any horses. Anything we buy, I’ll have them delivered to you and then we can ship ours from there.”
He listened for a few minutes.
“Yes, we’re going to your house after we’re done here. Oh, we have our girlfriends with us, if that’s okay? Sure. Meg and Katie. Yes, Dad. Okay, tell Mom hi and we’ll see you in a few days. We’ll call before we leave here. Killashee House in Naas. Okay, I love you too Dad, bye.”
Blackie disconnected and said gruffly, “He wants two chasers,” and moved on to the stable area. Sean rolled his eyes at Meg and caught up with Blackie. As usual, when he was doing anything with horses, Blackie was extremely focused. Katie and Meg could have caught on fire and he wouldn’t have noticed. Every once in awhile, he’d stop at a stall and consult his catalog. Sean didn’t say anything, but deferred to Blackie as always. He stopped in front of a big chestnut gelding’s stall and looked for a long time. Then he consulted his catalog.
“What do you think, Sean?”
“Yeah, he’s promising,” Sean agreed.
“Okay, that’s #421, let’s put him down for a try-out.”
They both moved on. The girls followed at a distance because they wanted to talk. At one point, they were chattering away and Blackie turned and gave them a look. Another eye roll from Sean. This was business, no goofing around. So, Katie and Meg pulled back. All of the horses were beautiful; shiny and sleek. She didn’t see how he picked out one from another. Next he stopped at a bay colt’s stall. Not quite as big as the chestnut, but heavier in build. He came over and nuzzled Blackie and he scratched the colt’s nose.
“Okay, put this one down, #380. I like his breeding.”
“Didn’t we have a brother of his at one time?”
“Yes, I won a lot of races with him, too. It was Rock Hill. He looks a lot like him.”
This routine went on for some time. Katie and Meg decided they needed a break when they saw a drink kiosk and ladies room.
“Blackie, we’re going to get a drink. Do you guys want something?”
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“I’ll take a large coffee,” he said, still all business.
“Get me a Coke,” Sean said. Blackie gave her an €20 note.
“We’ll be over on that side, so you can find us,” Blackie said and motioned to the right.
“Okay, we’ll catch up to you,” she said and they took off. Their first stop was the ladies room and then they found a little table and sat. They got tea and scones and were happy for a break. Meg knew Blackie could keep up this pace for hours without a break. She bet Sean would have liked to come with them.
“It feels good to sit down,” Katie said with a sigh. “Is Blackie always this serious?”
“Only when he’s focused on horses. Usually he’s pretty playful, but this is business, so he won’t relax.”
“You two are good together; he seems very nice. I’ve heard a lot about Blackie from Sean. They’re at odds a lot but seem to care about each other. Sean makes him sound totally wild sometimes.” Katie said.
“He can be a handful. He has a lot of problems from the past when he was racing. Hopefully he’s getting them straightened out. Basically he’s a sweet guy,” Meg said.
“You guys seem like you’re so in love. Any wedding plans?”
“He’s always telling me how much he loves me and I’m wild about him. No, he hasn’t asked me to marry him yet.
“That’s funny. Sean and I talk about it a lot and I think he’s going to pop the question soon.” Katie said.
“That’s fantastic. I hope he does. Blackie would like that. He sort of assumes stuff in his head and then is surprised when other people don’t know what he’s thinking,” they both laughed.
“I wish I could see him ride. Sean’s always going on about what a great jockey he was and gets upset when he talks about this accident.”
“He still rides, he just can’t race anymore. You might see him ride today or tomorrow. They’re going to try out the horses they want to buy.”
“Oh, I’d love to see that. I guess we better find them soon and take their drinks.”
They got drinks for the guys and paid. They went searching for them and found them inspecting a horse cross-tied in the aisle. Blackie was squatting down feeling the horse’s legs. Sean was rubbing the horse’s neck and watching Blackie. He smiled when they walked up.
“Hello ladies, did you two have a good time?” Sean said. Blackie ignored them and continued what he was doing.
“I don’t know, Sean, this joint feels hot to me. See what you think.” He stood up and almost bumped into Meg.
“Oh, hi sweetheart, what have you guys been up to?” he said and kissed her. She was surprised by this attention and handed him his coffee.
“Great, how did you know I needed caffeine,” he said looking at the cup in surprise.
“Did you buy any horses?” She asked, smiling at him and ignored Katie who was trying to suppress a laugh.
“Well, I put holds on six horses, but we need to ride them before the auction. I like this one but I don’t like the way his ankles look. I think there’s a chronic problem there.”
Sean stood up. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Both his front fetlocks are hot.
Blackie went back and felt the joints. “Yeah, you’re right. Forget him. Let’s put him back.”
Sean untied the horse and put him back in his stall.
“Let’s see, Dad wanted two. Is four enough for us? We might see a couple at Tattersalls. Hopefully we’ll get the ones we want. Did you like any of the others that we didn’t put on our list?”
“Well, I liked the gray that you weren’t crazy about,” Sean said.
“Okay what was his number? We can go back and take another look and try him. Just because I didn’t like him in the stall doesn’t mean much,” Blackie said.
“He was #1219, he’s over near the door to the warm-bloods,” Sean said.
“That’s perfect, we’ll look at him on the way to them. Hey, Meg, want to find horses for dressage?” Blackie asked her, putting his arm around her.
“Oh, can we? That would be great.”
They walked around and found the gray that Sean liked so Blackie could take another look. Sean led the horse out and cross-tied him. Blackie walked around and peered closely at the colt, feeling his legs.
“He actually looks pretty good. Maybe it’s just my aversion to grays. Let’s give him a try.”
Sean was pleased and wrote the number down.
“Are we going to do the riding horses now?” Sean asked.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Blackie said and put the colt back in his stall.
They walked around a good bit in the warm-blood area. Blackie was holding Meg’s hand most of the time. She thought now that the racing stable business was over; he could relax and concentrate on the riding horses and her.
They looked at a lot of horses. She was getting discouraged when she saw a beautiful chestnut mare. She wasn’t too big and had a very sweet face. Meg liked her instantly and called Blackie who was down the aisle with another horse.
“Blackie, come here and look at this mare.”
He walked over and looked in the stall.
“Oh, man, she’s beautiful. I like her head. Let me check her in the catalog. She’s an eight year old Swedish warm-blood. Let’s get her out and take a look.”
Blackie ran his hands all over her. She nuzzled him when he came up to her head.
“She’s sweet and in good condition. I think you should ride her later. I’ll put a hold on her.”
“You mean she’s for me?” She asked as her hand flew to her mouth.
“Well, sure. She’s only fifteen and a half hands. She’s too small for me and too lightweight. She’s a woman’s horse.”
“You mean you’re going to buy me a horse?” She couldn’t believe this.
“Honey, we’re here to buy horses. Didn’t you hear Keary say to look for some dressage horses?”
“For you, not for me. Keary shouldn’t buy me a horse.”
“Keary’s not buying you a horse, I am,” he said.
“I thought we had this discussion about you not buying me such expensive gifts,” she said adamantly.
“Yes, we did and you lost the discussion. Hey, aren’t we together, aren’t we a couple?” he asked, frowning.
“Ah, well, yes, of course we’re together.”
“Okay, then my money is your money. Anyway, it’s not a gift it’s an investment in your future.” He said, just as adamantly.
She gave him a big eye roll and a huff.
“That’s my girl,” he said laughing and hugged her.
They walked around some more. Blackie saw a big, bay gelding that he liked.
“Hey, Sean, what do you think of this guy? He’s an eleven-year-old Dutch warm-blood.” They stood there studying this horse and feeling his legs and back.
“He’s good, but I’m not familiar with what you’d look for in a dressage horse. Why don’t you ride him?”
“Yes, let’s put him on the list,” Blackie said.
“Are we going to eat anytime soon?” Sean asked. “I’m starving.”
“We are, yes. We better do that now so we can ride these guys this afternoon. Tomorrow is the sale.”
TWENTY-SIX
There was a dining room at the sales pavilion where they ate. Sean and Blackie talked about the horses they would ride in the afternoon.
“Let’s do the chasers first and then go inside and ride the other two.”
“Okay, do you want me to ride some or all of them?” Sean asked.
“Don’t you feel confident riding them?”
“It’s been a long time since I did any riding, but I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt,” Sean said apologetically.
“I’ve been riding regularly so maybe I better do it. If I feel uneasy about any of them, I’ll tell you. Maybe we can find a lad to do it. There’s usually a bunch of young jockeys around to help out,” Blackie said.
They walked back to the stable area and went throu
gh to the outside where there was a training track with a few hurdles. Blackie found a young boy, maybe fourteen or so and gave the boy money to saddle and bring out each horse on the list. The boy ran off. Meanwhile, Blackie went into a tack room and came back with a helmet on and gave one to Sean. In about fifteen minutes, the kid came out leading the gray Sean liked.
“You want to try him?” Blackie asked him.
“Why don’t you ride and let me watch.”
“Okay, give me a leg up.”
Sean flipped him into the saddle and he was adjusting the stirrups as he walked the horse toward the track. He trotted the gray out on the track and started a slow canter in the opposite direction of the hurdles. Halfway around the track, he turned the horse and put him into a gallop. They were standing at the rail and watched as the horse pounded toward the first hurdle. When they got close, the colt flicked his ears backward to Blackie and then forward and looked at the jump. Right at the perfect moment, he took off and flew over the hurdle. They landed steadily and galloped toward the next fence.
“Jesus, nobody rides like he does! I wouldn’t have the nerve to take a horse I didn’t know at that pace. I wish you could have seen him race,” Sean said to Meg. She suddenly realized that a crowd had formed around them.
Someone said, “Is that Blackie O’Brien? I heard he was killed on the track. Sure and I loved watching him race.”
Another man said, “That’s him. I recognized him earlier but I didn’t know he could still ride. I heard he was crippled. I’m going to try and get his autograph.”
Blackie came back again, slower this time, standing in his stirrups. He went by them and slowed even more to cool the grey down. He came trotting back to us and pulled up by Sean.
“You’re right, this guy is fantastic. He’s got heart.” Someone yelled to Blackie from the crowd. Blackie looked over; smiled and waved.
“Hey, Bert, how’s it going?” Blackie jumped off and gave the gray to another kid to cool him off.
“Sean, I think we should definitely get him, he’ll be good for your string. What do you think?”
“He looks great, but then you were riding him. I agree. I think he’ll be a good addition to the stable.”
