Jockey Girl

by Shelley Peterson

  “I’ve got some errands to run and I’ll pick you up at three-thirty, okay?”

  “Merci beaucoup. A bientôt.” Evie jumped out and went up the steps with her French books under her arm. She kept her eyes down and successfully avoided bumping into Mark. He was likely doing the same thing, which was okay with her.

  The exam went well, which was one good thing. Evie checked it over before handing it in and waited on the front steps in the sun for her aunt.

  She felt tense, nervous that Mark might show up. What could they say to each other? It was over before it began. She felt stupid. He was only toying with her, anyway. After yesterday, she had good reason to believe he thought she was easy. He thought he could take her home, do what he wanted, and throw her out, and that made her feel sick. Heartsick.

  School was almost out for the summer. She should be feeling joyful. Instead, she was close to tears.

  Mary’s white truck appeared and Evie ran for it. “Home free,” she said, her laugh one of relief.

  “You can run but you can’t hide,” said Aunt Mary. She indicated the person who’d emerged from a small blue compact car in the parking lot and was striding quickly toward the truck.

  “Do you think he saw me?” asked Evie, ducking.

  “Yes, I do. He was watching out for you. Time to face the music, sweetie.”

  Evie sat up. She steeled herself and looked out her window.

  Mark stood there with a very serious expression on his face. “Uh, I’ve been thinking, Evie. I was an idiot yesterday. I want to start again.”

  He actually looked nervous, Evie thought. Good.

  “There’s no school tomorrow. Thursday. Can we go out? See a movie, maybe? Grab a burger?”

  Mary nudged her.

  Evie wasn’t ready yet to jump at the offer. “And then go to your house?” she tested.

  “No!” Mark’s eyes looked startled. He blushed, and Evie’s heart leaped at his honest reaction. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I was disappointed, that’s all.” He actually blushed more deeply, to Evie’s growing delight. “You’re not like other girls.”

  “I guess you’re not like other boys, too, which I worried about after yesterday.” Evie smiled to lessen the sting of her words. Then she conceded, “I was wrong about the day of the prom and I’m sorry, too.”

  “I feel a whole lot better now.” Mark’s lovely, slow smile grew on his face. He bobbed his head a little.

  “Me, too. And it might turn out that I’m not riding in the Queen’s Plate, anyway. Maybe I’ll be free on Saturday night, after all.”

  “What happened?”

  “Long story.”

  “Tell me tomorrow. I’ll call you later to make a plan.”

  “Deal.” Evie gave him a quick wave goodbye as Mary drove out of the lot.

  “Well, that’s a turnaround,” Mary said.

  Evie bounced on the seat. “Whoo-hoo!”

  “And I’m glad to see you’re accepting the inevitable.”

  “About what?”

  “About the Queen’s Plate. It’s Grayson’s decision and there’s nothing to be done.”

  “Did you check out that company — 703556 Ltd.?”

  “I did. It’s nothing but a holding company for tax purposes. Grayson is the president and sole beneficiary.”

  “But Angela is the owner?”

  “It’s in her name, but Grayson has power of attorney.”

  Evie was glum. “You found out all that?”

  Mary nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  Evie looked out the window and blindly watched the countryside go by. Was this the end of her Queen’s Plate dreams?

  “Why don’t you ride Christieloo again this afternoon? I’ll ride Paragon. We’ll go for a hack.”

  Evie tried to smile. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”

  “No Justice needs some time off, and then we can start to retrain him as a jumper or a trail horse.”

  “That’s if my wonderful father doesn’t give him away.”

  Mary inhaled sharply. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  Evie snorted. “Right.”

  “Evie, listen to me. I understand your disappointment, but you must let this go. No Justice is not running on Sunday. Make the best of it. Go to the prom with Mark. He seems like a good guy.”

  That gave Evie a great idea.

  Mary and Evie went for their hack that afternoon. Evie was thrilled with Christieloo. The little mare was safe and reliable and a great riding horse. Whatever her problems, they were in the past, Evie thought. Possibly it was as simple as the mare not liking her former owners. And it was clear Christieloo and Kazzam were very good friends, and just like people, horses are happy when they like their companions.

  Like her and Mark, Evie thought, and smiled. She didn’t know him well yet, but she liked what she knew so far. A lot.

  That evening, Evie thought it was time to put her great idea into effect. All the chores were done. Mary was typing away at her computer, engrossed in her next book.

  Unnoticed, Evie snuck upstairs with the phone. “Mark? It’s Evie. Can you get your mother’s car tomorrow? Early?”

  21

  Secret Mission

  Mark Sellers arrived at Parson’s Bridge at exactly seven-thirty Thursday morning. Evie watched him stop the little blue car in front of the farmhouse.

  She threw open the kitchen door and called, “You’re just in time!” She ran down the path toward him, and was so excited that she skipped a step.

  “Are you skipping?” Mark asked.

  “I always skip when I’m happy.” Evie laughed. She hadn’t realized it until that moment.

  He grinned. “I’m happy to see you, too, and very curious about your secret plan. Where are we going?”

  “I’d like to bring along my dog, Magpie, if it’s okay.”

  Mark gave her a sidelong look. “Sure. Any other little surprises?”

  “You never know.” Evie smiled brightly.

  “So? When are you going to fill me in?”

  “As soon as we’re out of here.”

  Mark raised his eyebrows. “Then we better get going.”

  Within minutes they were on the road, with Magpie happily lying on a blanket on the back seat.

  “Okay? Are you going to tell me what we’re doing and where we’re going? Might be a good idea, since I’m the driver,” Mark said.

  “Keep going southeast,” answered Evie. “First, let me give you the background. My father nominated No Justice, you know, the horse I call Kazzam, for this year’s Queen’s Plate. I won’t bore you with all the details, but when he read Chet Reynolds’s article in the paper on Monday, he decided not to let him run.”

  “So, no race for your horse?”

  “No race. Aunt Mary and Jerry Johnston, the trainer, have given up. They don’t want to hear any more about it. But when I met my mother — and that’s another long story — she told me that she owned all my father’s racehorses, including No Justice.”

  Mark glanced at her. “And so? Go on.”

  “So, I want to find my mother again and get her to help.”

  “So you called her?”

  “No. I have to talk to her in person.”

  “And that’s why I have my mother’s car? To drive you where?”

  “Toronto.”

  Mark pulled over to the side of the road. “Evie, do you know how much gas that’ll take? My mother’ll kill me.”

  “I’ll pay for the gas. I have a whole lot of money. Kazzam and I won it in the Caledon Horse Race.” She pulled several fifty-dollar bills from her pocket. “See?”

  Mark whistled at the sight. “Do you have an address?”

  “The corner of Spadina and Queen.”

  “Hmm.” Then he nodded. “Okay. Off we go!” Mark drove south on Highway 410 toward the 401. “Tell me all about this mother of yours, Evie. I’m a little curious, and we’ve got an entire hour to kill.”

  Evie wasn’t at all sure she wanted to tell him, b
ut once she got started, the whole story came out. Paulina and her flirtations, Grayson the control freak, Angela slipping away from the hospital and living on the street, Beatrice and Jordie, finding Aunt Mary. Listening to her story, Evie realized how odd it must sound. “I’m not making this up, Mark.”

  He snorted. “No chance! Truth is stranger than fiction and this is really strange.” He glanced at her. “I’m not judging, Evie. I didn’t mean that. It’s just....”

  “I know. Your family’s normal.”

  “Normal? What does that mean? We’re normal on the outside, I guess, but my dad lost his job and my mom is a retired nurse and she’s trying to get a spa set up in the garage as a business. There’s a lot of stress. They argue all the time, and my sister thinks they’re getting a divorce.”

  Evie felt sympathy for him. Stress at home was very familiar to her. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. I’ll need to know which exit to take. What’s her address?”

  “She lives on the street, remember?”

  “Oh. Actually, the street.”

  “Well, that’s not clear. Aunt Mary said she shares a place with some people, but she always finds her on the street. More accurately, Angela shows up if she wants to be found.”

  “Am I ready for this?”

  Evie shook her head. “Probably not. I know I’m not, but it’s my last chance.”

  “Why did you bring Magpie? Am I allowed to know?”

  “You’ll see. Easier than explaining.”

  They parked Mark’s mother’s car in the same lot Aunt Mary had parked before. Evie put Magpie on the leash and bought a ticket at the machine.

  “Okay. Last time we were here, Aunt Mary and I walked that way.” Evie pointed west along Queen Street. “Then we had lunch in that little restaurant. When we came out my mother appeared from that alley beside it.”

  Mark shuddered. “Spooky. Do you want to try it again?”

  “Might as well. It worked last time.”

  They walked along the street. Mark seemed intrigued with the noise and pace of life in Toronto. “I’m glad we came,” he said. “Whether we find her or not, it’s great to hang out.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way. Okay, this is the restaurant and that’s the alley. Keep walking. She might be watching.”

  “What? That’s kind of creepy.”

  “Just keep walking.”

  Mark and Evie strolled past the restaurant. There were small tables set outside, full of people eating breakfast and enjoying their coffee. They stopped at the lights at Spadina.

  “Why don’t we check out a few stores and go another block?” suggested Evie. “If my mother is following, that’ll give her time to think about talking to us.”

  “This is really odd.”

  Evie laughed. “You think?”

  “I’ve never known anyone with a street mother before.” His words were meant to be jovial, but Evie heard his unease.

  “Just wait’ll you meet her,” warned Evie. “This’ll be a whole new experience for you.”

  “Look, I’m fine with it, really, but just say the word and we’re out of here.”

  “I know exactly what you’re saying. Trust me, I felt the same when Aunt Mary and I were here. But she’s really quite nice. I mean, she has some odd mannerisms, but I don’t want you to worry. She doesn’t bite. Except her nails.”

  “Good to know.”

  One block west of Spadina, Magpie began to wag her tail. She started to whine.

  “What is it, girl?” Evie knelt and rubbed the dog’s ears.

  Magpie pulled the leash out of Evie’s hands and dashed between two stores.

  “Magpie!” Evie called. The dog was gone.

  Mark started to follow, but Evie held him back. “Give it a minute, Mark.”

  They waited on the street. Sure enough, Magpie reappeared with company. Angela.

  She had her hand on Magpie’s back as they walked toward them. The cut on her head was oozing a little through the stitches, but her hair was brushed and it looked to Evie that she’d made a quick effort to look respectable. She was unsteady on her feet, however, and Evie wondered if she might be in need of food.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said, as if this was a daily occurrence, and picked up Magpie’s leash. “I’d like you meet a friend of mine. Angela Parson Gibb, this is Mark Sellers.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Mark.” Angela spoke softly. She scratched at her arm. Evie noticed a strong smell of stale tobacco.

  Mark was very tense. Evie nudged him.

  “Hello!” he shouted. “Nice to meet you, too!”

  Angela smiled. Evie saw the glint in her eye. Angela missed nothing. She knew how shocking this was for Mark.

  “I really need to talk to you, Mom. Do you want to have breakfast with us?”

  Mark glanced at Evie in horror. Evie grabbed his arm and pinched it hard.

  Angela tilted her head. “I’d love to.”

  They made their way back to the little café. Luckily, a couple was leaving and there was an empty table outside. Evie procured it before the table was cleared and tied Magpie to a chair.

  “Perfect,” she said. She gestured at Mark and Angela. “Sit down, please!”

  The waiter brought out a menu, gaped at Angela, and then quickly disappeared. Evie saw him speaking with animation to an older, stout man behind the counter. It was clear that they were about to tell them to leave.

  Evie considered how Aunt Mary might handle this. She would be friendly and respectful, but assertive. Most of all, she would not want Angela to be embarrassed. With her back straight, Evie stood up. “Excuse me for a minute?”

  Mark stared at her, asking for help with his eyes.

  “I’ll be right back. Promise.”

  She went into the restaurant and approached the two men. “That’s my mother out there. The faster we’re served, the quicker we’ll be gone.”

  The man behind the counter twisted his mouth. His eyes repeatedly glanced to their table and back. “We don’t serve street people. Bad for business. It’s policy.”

  Evie pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill, then scanned the menu on the wall. “One cheese omelette, three assorted sandwiches — chicken, ham, tuna — and three chocolate milks. Plus one coffee with milk to go and three orange juices.” She placed the hundred on the counter. “Keep the change.” Then she added politely, “And get those dirty dishes off the table now, please?”

  Evie sat down again with Mark and Angela, and stroked Magpie’s silky ears. “Breakfast is on the way.”

  The waiter quickly followed her out. He hurriedly removed the dishes and wiped the table clean.

  “Nice work,” said Mark with admiration.

  Evie nodded her thanks and inwardly thanked Aunt Mary for her inspiration.

  “Mark was just telling me that Grayson refuses to enter No Justice,” said Angela. She coughed her smoker’s cough.

  Mark nodded. “She got right down to business and asked me why we came today.” He looked at Angela with respect.

  “He’s a smart young man, Evangeline.” Angela returned his approving gaze for a second, then looked away.

  Evie raised an eyebrow. “You two hit it off rather quickly!”

  “Seems so,” Angela agreed.

  Evie leaned forward. “And yes, that’s exactly the reason I needed to find you.”

  The omelette came, soon followed by a platter of sandwiches. Angela began eating the omelette. “Go ahead, Evangeline. Tell me all about it. I’ll listen while I eat. I’m very hungry. Mark? Please join me.”

  Angela finished her eggs and began working on the sandwiches with Mark. Evie was pleased that her mother’s appetite was so good and told her the entire story.

  “So that’s it, Mom.”

  Angela sat back, cradling the hot coffee in both hands. Her colour was much improved, and she seemed to grow stronger by the minute. “This is simple.”

  Evie sat up straight. “Really? I’m all ears.” She waited unti
l Angela had lit a cigarette and taken a deep pull.

  “There’s a brown leather box containing my legal papers, my will, and other important things. It’s in the stables at Maple Mills. It’s plastered in behind the wall of the feed room, under the table along the eastern wall.”

  “The table where we clean the tack?”

  “Yes. Knock low on the wall. You’ll hear the empty spot. But do it privately and don’t get caught. Don’t stay to fill the hole. It’s under the table and nobody will notice right away.” She chewed on a nail and then took another puff.

  “Okay.” Evie wasn’t sure that she could sneak in and out with the box, without detection. But she would try.

  “In the box are the ownership papers for 703556 Ltd. Listed are all the assets, including the horses.”

  “Is No Justice listed?” asked Evie hopefully.

  “No. The company was formed long before he was born, but Grayson still keeps all the racehorses in this company.” She scratched her head and ground out her cigarette. “Take the box and all the contents to Aunt Mary’s house for safekeeping.”

  “I will.”

  “Now find some paper for me to write on. Please.”

  Evie jumped up and ran into the restaurant. The owner and waiter were still peering at them through the window. She came out with paper and a pen, and placed them on the table.

  “Give me a minute, kids.”

  Evie and Mark watched while Angela fidgeted and squirmed. Then she carefully wrote out her intention to enter No Justice in this year’s Queen’s Plate. Her jaw worked constantly and her foot tapped relentlessly. Finally, she signed it. “This should do. Get J.J. on this right away. I’ve named him trainer. You’ll likely get a fight from Grayson, but disregard him. I’ve overridden his authority.”

  “Thank you so much,” said Evie. She was astonished at how capable her mother was. And how knowledgeable. “Do we take this to the stewards?”

  “Give it to the stewards at Woodbine the Thursday before the race. In the morning, before the draw.”

  “Today is Thursday!” said Evie, aghast. “Is it too late?”

  “What time is it?”

  Mark checked his watch. “Quarter to ten.”

  “Go now. Right to Woodbine. Remember, this is a legal document. It will allow Jerry to enter No Justice.” She pointed to the last paragraph. “And this serves as a voucher for the $10,000 entry fee from my company, 703556 Ltd. Do it now.”