Jockey Girl

by Shelley Peterson

“Safely in his stall with a guard. The CEO of Woodbine assigned him stable five and ordered security.”

  “How did he get here?”

  “I drove him here as soon as I got your message.”

  “Why didn’t you or Jerry call me back?” Her tone was impatient.

  “I tried a few times, but had no reception. Plus, we were a little busy, getting all this together in less than an hour, including a stop at the bank.”

  Evie stared at her. “Oh, Aunt Mary! Thanks so much!”

  Tears fell from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Mary hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, dear girl. It’s okay.” She pulled a tissue from her purse and wiped Evie’s tears away. “I have to say, I’m really impressed with you. You found your mother and got what we need. You’re going to race on Sunday, after all!”

  “Angela knew exactly what to do.” Then something her aunt had said registered. “The bank? Why did you have to stop there?”

  “To get $10,000. I knew Angela wouldn’t have it.”

  “But she wrote a voucher.”

  Mary shook her head. “They wouldn’t have accepted it. Jerry and I were going to have to find the money anyway, to enter you. Luckily, I just received my latest royalty cheque for my books.”

  “Thank you, Aunt Mary! I’ll pay you back!”

  Mary hugged her niece. “Let’s worry about that another day.”

  Mark stepped between them. “No prom for you, girl.”

  “Do you mind about that?” Evie had forgotten all about the prom again.

  “Are you kidding? This is much more exciting than a prom! I’m dying to know what comes next.”

  As Evie looked across the room to where her father stood with Les Merton, she wondered the same thing.

  Mary smiled as Jerry approached. “Jerry ‘J.J.’ Johnston, you are the man of the hour.”

  “True. Man of this hour. Who’s the man of the next hour?” He joked in an effort to appear modest, but he looked mighty proud. “Mary, is No Justice looked after?”

  “Yes. Twenty-four-hour guard.”

  “Good. But after Grayson’s reaction, just to be extra sure I’ll get someone to sleep in his stall.”

  Evie was shocked. “Kazzam will hate that, except if it’s me. I’ll stay with him.”

  “No, you will not,” countered Mary. “You have your last exam tomorrow. You’ll study for it tonight and then get a good night’s rest.”

  “But who, then? You know Kazzam. He can be....”

  “Yes, I know,” said Jerry. “I have someone in mind who the horse knows and likes, but I can’t tell you who that is at the moment. Trust me.”

  “Don’t I have a say in this?” grumbled Evie.

  Jerry was direct. “No.”

  Mary said, “Hush. The start-position selection is about to begin.”

  Jerry nodded. “We choose last. We get what’s left. My guess is you’ll be running next to the rail.”

  “Let’s get out of here before your father kills you,” said Mark hastily. “Look. He’s coming this way.”

  23

  The Leather Box

  At exactly eleven-fifty-five on Friday morning, after an early half-mile training session with Kazzam at Woodbine and immediately after their math exam, Mark Sellers drove Evie through the imposing gates of Maple Mills Stables in his mother’s blue compact car.

  “Holy,” he said. “Quite some digs.”

  Evie was too tense to answer. She would not relax until she had Angela’s leather box in her possession and kept her fingers crossed that her father wouldn’t show up. Evie had called Yolanda right after the draw, and she’d been very helpful. Together they’d devised a plan.

  Just as Yolanda had predicted, nobody was around.

  The horses were finished working, the stalls were all cleaned, and the grooms were on lunch break.

  Yolanda met them at the tack-room door and ushered them in. “We have to hurry. I’m shipping Thymetofly in half an hour,” she said to Evie. “I never know about helping you. Am I helping you get out of trouble or into more?”

  Mark laughed. “Fun, though, eh?”

  Evie didn’t laugh. She was all business. “Yoyo, guard the door? Mark, let’s do this fast and get out of here.”

  “Remember our signal?” asked Yolanda. Evie nodded. Three short knocks meant that something was amiss. She closed the tack-room door behind them, and the two teenagers ducked under the long, wooden table that was used to soap and oil the saddles and bridles.

  Evie tapped along the wall where her mother had instructed and quickly found the hollow area. Mark broke the plaster with the hammer and reached around until he found the box. “Got it!”

  “Beauty,” whispered Evie. “Let’s go!”

  Mark crawled out and placed the dusty box carefully on the table. He brushed himself off while Evie tried to conceal the plaster chunks and dust under a mat.

  They heard three quick knocks on the tack-room door and froze. “Oh, no,” gasped Evie.

  They listened intently. Yolanda began talking loudly in the hall. “Good afternoon, Mr. Gibb. Lovely day again today!”

  “Thymetofly should be ready to ship to Woodbine.”

  “Yes, sir. He’s ready now.”

  “Mistakes will not be tolerated. No sloppy errors.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “Who’s here with you, Yolanda? In the stable?”

  “Just me, sir. Getting Thymetofly ready to ship, sir.”

  “There’s a blue car at the door. Is it yours?”

  “No, sir,” Yolanda said a little hesitantly.

  Grayson Gibb’s tone intensified. “Whose is it, then, if nobody’s here? It’s a security issue.”

  “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of, sir.”

  “It’s be gone immediately.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Yolanda,” he snarled, “you know better.”

  “Uh, yes, sir.”

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “Uh ... no, sir.”

  “You know better than to let your boyfriends visit you at work. Ever. But today? With the Queen’s Plate on Sunday? Shame. Mistakes will not be tolerated.” With no warning, he threw open the tack-room door.

  Mark stood with his back to the table, hiding the box and the hammer as best he could. His mouth hung open in astonishment. Under the table, Evie stayed as still as a mouse.

  Grayson eyed him from head to toe. He growled, “What have we here?”

  All Evie could see were Mark’s feet, glued to the floor.

  Yolanda tried to make things seem normal. “Uh, Mr. Gibb, this is, uh....”

  “Mark Sellers, sir.”

  “And who are you exactly?”

  Evie prayed that Mark would play along. If he said he was Evie’s friend, her father would go crazy. And if he knew of its existence, he’d surely confiscate Angela’s leather box.

  “I dropped over to say hello to, uh, Yoyo, on her lunch break. I didn’t realize it’d be a problem, sir. I apologize.”

  “Yolanda neglected to tell you the rules?”

  “I didn’t tell her I’d be coming. Sir. I just got here and she told me I couldn’t stay. I’m leaving now. My error, not hers.”

  “Do I know you from somewhere?” Grayson asked, sounding very suspicious.

  Evie clenched her jaw and hoped that Mark would not reveal that they were in the same room as Grayson just the day before, and a witness to Grayson’s humiliation at the draw.

  “I don’t believe we’ve ever been introduced,” answered Mark truthfully.

  Evie relaxed. By now she should know to trust Mark. Grayson Gibb harrumphed, then spoke to Yolanda.

  “Drive Thymetofly to Woodbine. Leave the trailer there. Leave the truck, too. Disobey at your peril. You’re fired. Empty out your apartment and be gone by the weekend.”

  He stalked out of the stable. Seconds later, an engine started with a rumble. Evie, Mark, and Yolanda listened until the long, blac
k limousine had fully departed.

  “Oh, Yoyo,” said Evie, crawling out from under the table. “I’m so sorry, I can’t even begin to tell you how much.”

  “You’re not as sorry as I am, believe me.” Yolanda looked wretched. “It’s surprising I’ve lasted this long. I’ve been here fifteen years. He’s firing people left and right.”

  Evie felt terrible. Mark looked embarrassed. Evie said, “We’ll help you load Thymetofly. Then we’ll get out of here. I’ll think of a way to help you, Yoyo. I promise.”

  “Better you just leave. No hard feelings. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “Oh, Yoyo. I’m really sorry.”

  “Please go quickly. I’ll be in even more trouble if he comes back and finds you here.”

  “Thanks, Yoyo. I’ll call you later. And again, I’m sorry.”

  Yolanda nodded sadly and continued preparing for her trip to Woodbine Race Track. “Bye, Evie. Good luck Sunday.”

  “You heard about me riding Kazzam?”

  Yolanda nodded. “I babysat him all last night for Jerry.”

  Of course, Evie thought. Only Yolanda could sleep in a stall with Kazzam and not get bitten or kicked. “Thanks, Yoyo. Thanks so much.”

  Tears streamed down Evie’s face as they got into the car.

  “Get in the back seat on the floor, Evie,” said Mark. “With that box, better safe than sorry.”

  Evie did as she was told. She was crushed at what she’d done to her old friend. Yolanda had always helped her, including today, and that had cost her her job.

  Mark drove silently for a few minutes, then said, “I’ll bet Jerry will have a job for her.”

  Evie got off the floor and sat up on the back seat. “Jerry doesn’t have a job himself.”

  “Well, maybe your aunt Mary?”

  “She doesn’t need any help. Maybe she’ll let Yoyo stay for a while, though. There’s an apartment over the garage.”

  Evie watched out her window and noticed that they were almost at Parson’s Bridge. “I have to do some chores this afternoon. You’re welcome to hang around and help.”

  “Uh, love to, but I have some errands. I promised my mother she could have her car back this afternoon. Groceries and all that.” He chuckled. “Can’t monopolize this baby forever.”

  “Sure. Anyway, thanks for, well, everything. Going to Toronto with me to find my mother, the Woodbine coup, the Maple Mills caper. Everything.”

  “So I’ll swing by later? After dinner, around eight?”

  “That’d be great, because I won’t see you tomorrow. And don’t forget to try to get a ticket to the Queen’s Plate. It’s on me. I really want you to be there. For good luck.”

  Mark nodded and waited. “Aren’t you getting out?”

  “The child-lock is on.”

  “Oops. Now try.”

  Evie got out of the car carrying the leather box, then she leaned in Mark’s window. She kissed his startled lips.

  She started to pull her head away, but Mark’s hand held her head. He kissed her again, a longer, slow kiss.

  He released her and she straightened up. “Holy. I think I’m dizzy.”

  Mark smiled. “Me, too. Gotta go now or I never will. See you later.”

  Evie watched Mark drive down the lane. She was still very upset that she’d caused Yoyo to get fired, but she was elated at the same time. Her lips felt hot from Mark’s kiss.

  “Evie!” called Aunt Mary from the house. “Come in!”

  Evie was greeted by Magpie as she rushed to the house.

  “What is it, Aunt Mary?”

  “I just got a call from Jerry. Two things. First, Yolanda was fired.”

  Evie took a quick breath. “I know. It’s my fault. She was helping me get this from the tack room,” she explained, holding the leather box for Aunt Mary to see, “and my father came in. She covered up for me, and he fired her.”

  Mary stared at the box. “That’s Angela’s.”

  “Yes. It’s got all her documents in case we need them.”

  “How did you find it? It’s been missing for years!”

  “My mother told me where it was and said to give it to you for safekeeping.”

  “Let’s open it and see what’s there,” said Mary.

  “What’s the second thing?” asked Evie.

  “Oh, yes. No Justice is acting up. The grooms say that he’s making a fuss and upsetting their horses.”

  “Is Yoyo at the track yet with Thymetofly?”

  “I think so. She called Jerry for a lift home and he’s on the way.”

  “Can you ask her to stay with Kazzam until I get there? I can pay her from my race money.”

  Mary nodded. “Good thinking. We should hire her for the duration of the race.” She called Yolanda and then Jerry. “Done. We’ll drive over to see what’s up with your horse, but first, let’s get this box open.”

  The lock was rusty and bent, and the hinges were welded together with disuse. Mary got out her toolbox and pried it open as carefully as she could with a flat screwdriver.

  Evie stared in wonder as the lid opened. Covering the contents of the box was a piece of multicoloured silk. She reached in and pulled it out. As it unfurled, Evie could see it was some sort of garment. Bright pink polka dots on a white background with periwinkle-blue stripes on the sleeves. She gasped as she held it up. It was a silk shirt.

  “Her racing silks!”

  Aunt Mary’s eyes misted. “I remember like it was yesterday, Angela winning her first race in those very silks.”

  Evie held it up to her chest. “They’ll fit, too. Can I wear them?” She had a lump in her throat.

  Mary nodded. “Yes. Your mother would want you to. It’s her horse you’re riding. You’re her jockey.”

  “Perfect.” Evie sniffed back her emotions as she looked for whatever else she might find. She picked out a much smaller piece of silk, half pink polka dots and half periwinkle-blue stripes.

  “That’s a helmet-cover for your hard hat. It fits right on.”

  Evie nodded and reached in again. Manilla envelopes and legal papers were mixed in with a birth certificate, social insurance card, and other personal papers.

  “We can look at all that later, Evie. I’ll sort out what we need. But now, we must get to the track and make sure No Justice settles down.”

  Evie had an idea. “Is there another stall available?”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Christieloo. He loves her. I think she’d calm him down if we could take her there.”

  Mary nodded with enthusiasm. “Great idea. I’ll call Jerry and see if it’s at all possible.”

  While Mary tried to organize a stall, Evie looked through the papers in her mother’s box. They were yellowed from age but quite legible. At the very bottom was an envelope with Evie’s name on it.

  Very carefully, she unsealed it. Inside were photos. Evie as a baby. Evie in her mother’s arms. Taking her first steps. Laughing at the beach. Eating ice cream. In a smaller envelope was a lock of silky, red, curling hair. Evie got a tissue to be sure none of her tears stained these precious things.

  As she looked at herself as a baby and at her mother’s face, a great realization dawned. She’d been loved by her mother. Adored. Not discarded and despised as she’d always believed. This was a big moment, one that she couldn’t take in all at once.

  “Jerry arranged for a stall right beside No Justice,” Mary said, “and Yolanda is there now, waiting for us. Let’s go.”

  Evie placed everything back in the box except the silks and helmet cover. Aunt Mary promised to wash them and get them pressed for the race on Sunday, just two days away.

  As quickly as possible, they got Christieloo loaded onto the trailer. The dogs understood by now that they should stay to guard the place, and Bendigo and Paragon were happy to keep munching on the early-summer grass.

  Forty minutes later, Mary’s rig passed through the east gate of Woodbine and headed for stabl
e five. Christieloo hadn’t stirred the whole way.

  Evie looked at all the racetrack sights and activities. They were beginning to look familiar. She was starting to feel like she belonged. Even so, her heart beat faster and she could feel her excitement grow. She wondered if the pros still got excited.

  Horses being led, farriers tapping on shoes, grooms hosing horses down, trucks delivering hay and feed. It was such a wonderful world, Evie thought. She was part of it now.

  At stable five, Mary parked the truck and trailer. Jerry and Yolanda emerged from the doorway together.

  Evie jumped out and found herself apologizing yet again. “Yoyo? I’m so sorry about what happened. You were only helping me and —”

  “It’s okay, Evie,” said Yolanda. “It’s for the best. I haven’t been happy there for a long time.”

  Jerry added, “There’s always a job for a person as good with horses as Yolanda is. It’ll work out.”

  “Thanks, Yoyo.” Evie gave her old friend a hug. “And thanks for helping us out here.”

  Christieloo whinnied, followed by a loud thumping in the shed-row.

  “Let’s get her off!” ordered Jerry. “No Justice is causing a lot of trouble in there! That’s why they moved the horses around and made room for Christieloo. They weren’t just being nice.”

  They went into action. Mary and Evie dropped the ramp. Yolanda backed the mare out. Then they walked into the barn together with the mare pulling hard.

  “Christieloo knows where she’s going,” enthused Yolanda. “Right to No Justice’s stall!”

  It made them all laugh to see how excited the horses were to be reunited. Once again, Evie was reminded how their connection to others of their species was the same as people’s. Kazzam had been upset in a new place with no friends. Like she would be, herself.

  “Aunt Mary? Can we lead them around together for a while? Let them see what the place looks like?”

  Mary nodded. “Good idea.”

  Jerry agreed. “Hand-walk them. Let them graze a little, sniff around. It’ll do No Justice good. Might settle him a bit.”

  “I have nothing better to do,” joked Yolanda. “And nowhere else to go!”

  Mary spoke firmly. “You’ll stay with us, Yolanda. Move in today. Until you find something suitable, consider yourself part of the family.”