Sundancer

by Shelley Peterson

  “Take that off! It’s miles too big!”

  Bird peeked around the doorframe at her mother. I knew it, she thought. Eva wore a much-too-tight halter top, and overly snug pink jeans, just like Julia’s. She pulled the white T-shirt off Julia before her daughter could protest. It caught one of Julia’s earrings and she winced in pain.

  “What right do you have to dress my daughter?” Eva demanded of Hannah.

  “I didn’t dress your daughter. Your other daughter did.” Hannah glanced in Bird’s direction and Eva swung around to look.

  Here we go, thought Bird.

  “Bird?”

  Bird stood back and looked her mother over. Her dark eyes scanned Eva from her pink barrettes to her navel ring, to her high-heeled sandals. Then she looked coolly into her mother’s face.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” whined Eva. She was disconcerted, and turned on Hannah. “Fine welcome. I haven’t seen her in two years and that’s all I get? A gross stare? What have you been doing to her, Hannah? She wasn’t this bad when I left her here.”

  Bird’s stomach began to ache. Her mother hadn’t seen her at all. The only thing she cared about was how people saw her.

  “Let’s have tea, shall we?” Hannah said lightly, ushering them out to the porch. “Then we’ll get outside and enjoy this nice day. We’ll go for a ride through the woods.”

  Bird could not imagine sitting down for tea with her mother. She waited until the group made their way onto the porch, then slithered back up to her fridge-top lookout as Randy joined the others at the table. He looked like he was dressed for a part in a western movie. New black cowboy boots, new jeans, white cotton shirt with buttons undone to show off his chest, all topped with a black cowboy hat.

  “Howdy, Randy,” Hannah said. Bird giggled quietly.

  “Hannah,” said Randy gruffly. “You’re making fun of me.”

  “Not at all,” answered Hannah. “You look ready for our ride. I’m glad, because there are horses out in the barn getting tacked up. As soon as we like, we’ll head out to the range. I mean, out for a ride.”

  IN THE STABLES, CLIFF had prepared horses for the guests. Sir Galahad had been brought out of retirement for Randy. Stately and slow, the old foxhunter with his regal bearing and glossy mahogany coat pleased the eye and boosted the confidence of any rider.

  Lady Sadie was the perfect choice for Eva. The beautiful and dainty quarter horse with her bay coat and black points was elderly now, but in her prime had been a ribbon winner for the barn. Hannah had even asked Cliff to put pink leg wraps on the mare to please Eva. She squealed happily when she saw them.

  Bird lingered at the stall door, watching Sundancer graze in the field. He was tense, still. She could tell by the way he moved. I wish I could ride you again today. Bird imagined how they would sail over the fields farther and farther from Eva and Randy. She waited for a response, but none came. Reluctantly, she turned her attention to Eva and the others.

  Cliff was having a hard time taking his eyes off Eva, who was posing for him shamelessly as Randy glowered.

  Even Julia looked angry. She caught Bird’s eye and frowned, then focused on her pony instead of her mother. Sturdy and dependable, Timmy did his job with no complaints, and pulled no fast ones. Cliff had braided pink ribbons into his black mane and wrapped his legs in pink. Timmy was somewhat grumpy to be dressed in such a silly manner.

  You still look masculine, Timmy.

  Easy for you to say, girl. You don’t have pink ribbons in your mane. And if you did you could take them out.

  “Why can’t Julia ride this one?” asked Eva, puckering her lips. She was standing at the stall of Sabrina, a delicate chestnut Welsh pony with flaxen mane and tail, and a white blaze down her feminine face. “It looks just like the pony I rode when I was Julia’s age. Gingerbread Man.”

  Here comes trouble, thought Bird.

  “Uh … because … uh,” stammered Cliff.

  Hannah answered for him. “Because Sabrina is not for beginners, Eva. She’s really feisty.”

  “And really pretty,” cooed Eva. “Her mane is the exact shade of our hair! Wouldn’t Julia look bee-oot-iful on her?” Eva stroked the little Welsh mare’s upturned nose, and ran a finger along her shiny chestnut coat. “Wouldn’t she, Cliff?”

  Yes, Bird thought. Julia would look bee-oot-iful on Sabrina. For one minute, max.

  “Timmy’s a handsome guy, too,” said Hannah, throwing a cold look at Cliff. “And he’ll get her home safely. Sabrina, on the other hand, might decide to turn around and run back to the barn.”

  And leave Julia on the ground, Bird finished.

  “Let’s let Julia decide,” Eva persisted. “Julia, which pony would you like to ride. That fat one, or this gorgeous one?”

  Julia said, “I’d rather ride the fat one today, thank you. When I’ve practised a bit, maybe I’ll ride Sabrina.”

  Smart choice, thought Bird, impressed with her sister’s good sense.

  But Eva was upset. “No! I want you to ride Sabrina. You’ll look so pretty on her.”

  “Just do as Eva says, Hannah,” grumbled Randy. “She’ll be mad all day if you don’t.”

  Hannah spoke clearly, and Bird could hear anger creeping into her voice. “Eva, Julia will be safer on Timmy for a hack outside, and her safety is my responsibility. I’ll make you a deal. When we get back, I’ll tack up Sabrina and Julia can ride her in the arena.”

  “Why not now?” Eva said to Cliff, totally ignoring Hannah.

  “Because Timmy’s tacked up.” Hannah stepped between them. “Let’s get outside and up on our horses.”

  Eva sulked. “I don’t want to go now.”

  “I told you,” Randy snorted. “If you don’t give her what she wants, she’ll be mad all day.”

  “I can have Sabrina ready in two seconds,” Cliff piped in. Hannah glared at Cliff. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

  Randy took charge. “Put Julia on Sabrina in the arena. If they get along, we go outside for a ride. Easy.” He folded his arms. “If you know what’s good for you, Hannah.”

  Hannah was ready to burst, but it was the look on Julia’s face that upset Bird the most. She stood meekly, expressionless. All life and energy was gone.

  Hannah saw it, too. She knelt beside her niece. “Julia? Are you feeling okay?”

  Julia trembled slightly. “Yes, Aunt Hannah. I’ll be fine, but I’m scared. I don’t know how to ride. Should I get on Sabrina?” She glanced over at Bird, who nodded.

  “I’ll stay right with you, sweetie. You’ll be fine.”

  “Sabrina’s ready!” shrieked Eva. “Darling Julia, you’ll look so pretty on her. Randy, did you bring the camera?”

  “It’s in the house,” he answered. “I’ll go get it.”

  “Hurry! This’ll be too cute! I’ll frame this picture and set it next to the one of me on Gingerbread Man when I was nine. Julia, come!”

  Bird gave Julia a small wave, then climbed up to the hayloft, which looked over the arena. The perfect place to watch.

  Hannah and Julia walked into the arena where Cliff was holding Sabrina. “Honey, stand over there. I’m going to lunge Sabrina until Randy comes back with the camera. It’ll get some of the pep out of her.”

  Hannah attached the lunge line and clicked. Sabrina raced into a bucking canter. Around and around she tore like an animal possessed, while Julia stood outside the kickboards and watched in horror.

  By the time Randy returned, Sabrina was already tiring. Hannah merely said, “Whoa,” and the pony slowed to a halt.

  Hannah rolled up the lunge line and called to Julia. “Come in, sweetheart. She’s good and tired. Let me pop you up into the saddle.” Bird felt sorry for Julia. Her sister was stiff with fright as Hannah lifted her up. “There you are. Don’t worry. Grab the front of the saddle. Good. Now just relax. Take a deep breath. Very good. I’ll lead her. You just sit there, okay?” Julia nodded stiffly.

  Hannah led Sabrina around the arena at
a walk. Slowly Julia began to relax. “That’s better, Julia. This weekend, when your mother and Randy are busy doing something else, why don’t you and Bird and I go for a ride together?”

  Julia smiled brightly. “Yes, let’s! And I can ride Timmy.” She looked up at the hayloft. Bird give her the thumbs-up.

  “Randy’s got the camera!” Eva yelled. “Hannah, get out of the picture!”

  “I’m not letting go until Julia’s ready,” Hannah called back to Eva.

  “Doesn’t she look just like me, Hannah?” Eva enthused. “The spitting image? Daddy used to call me his sugar pie, remember?”

  Hannah nodded.

  “What did he call you, Hannah?” Eva asked. “Julia, you know. What did Gramps call Auntie Hannah when she was a little girl?”

  Julia didn’t answer.

  “Something sweet?” Eva prompted. Julia remained silent.

  “Julia, you can say it,” Hannah said softly. “I don’t care.”

  “But it’s not nice.”

  “It’s not bad. I don’t mind one bit.” When Julia clamped her mouth shut, Hannah called out, “I remember, Eva. He called me lemon pie because I was so sour.”

  “And I was sooo sweet! And Julia is just like me.”

  “And Bird is like Hannah,” added Randy. “That’s what Eva always says. Where is Bird anyway, Hannah? We haven’t been officially introduced.”

  I’ve been here all along, Bird thought. Randy was just like her mother — he didn’t see what was right in front of him.

  “I want to be like Hannah and Bird, too,” said Julia so gently that it was hard to hear what she’d said. She looked up at Bird for support.

  “What did she say?” Eva asked Hannah.

  “I said, I want to be like Hannah and Bird,” called Julia strongly. “I don’t want to be a sugar pie!”

  “Julia, that’s enough!” exclaimed Eva.

  “I want to be a lemon pie if Bird and Hannah are!”

  Eva seethed, “I said that’s enough!”

  Sabrina didn’t like the anger or the noise. She lifted her head and stiffened her neck.

  “Easy, pony,” soothed Hannah. “Julia, stay calm.” Sabrina tossed her head. “Easy, girl,” said Hannah as she patted the small mare’s neck and walked her away from the tension. “Grab her mane with both hands, Julia, just in case. It won’t hurt her.”

  “We have to take the picture!” Eva insisted. “Hannah, come back here. Julia is my daughter, not yours. You can’t just walk away like that.”

  This is getting ugly, Bird thought. I’ve got to do something.

  Hannah spoke in as conciliatory a way as she could muster. “Can this keep until Julia is on the ground? Sabrina is reacting to your tone of voice.”

  “I can speak how I want, when I want!” Eva opened the heavy wooden gate into the arena and marched in with her pink high-heeled sandals flapping dirt up onto her tight pink jeans.

  The feisty mare put her weight onto her back legs and began to lift her fronts. “Sabrina, no!” Hannah gave the pony a stern reprimand.

  Eva continued her march toward them. Hannah spoke firmly, “Eva, please. Stay back until I get Julia down.”

  “Not until the picture is taken. And never, ever, turn away from me when I’m talking.” Eva was red in the face. She didn’t seem to notice how close she got to Sabrina. The skittish pony took a small sideways hop and landed squarely on Eva’s left foot.

  Eva howled. “Randy! Randy! I’m crippled!” She doubled over. Tears flowed as she sobbed and hobbled toward the arena gate.

  Randy opened the gate and grabbed her arm. “See what you’ve done?” He shot a nasty glare at Hannah. “This is not rocket science. You should just let her have her way.” He held Eva as she limped away dramatically.

  Hannah stood holding Sabrina. Little Julia sat in the saddle, completely deflated. “Mommy’s going to be mad for a very long time,” she whispered. Then suddenly, her face brightened.

  Bird led Timmy into the arena. She handed his reins to Hannah and helped Julia down from Sabrina. In less than a minute, Julia was on Timmy’s back and Bird was on Sabrina and the two of them were walking quietly around the arena.

  Bird had Sabrina walking over poles on the ground, spaced for ponies’ strides. Julia followed, mimicking Bird perfectly. Everything Bird did, Julia tried to copy. Julia would make great progress in just a few days.

  Bird dismounted and opened the doors to the outside. She shot a questioning look at Hannah, and Hannah smiled. “Just an easy ride today, Bird, okay?”

  Bird nodded. She led Sabrina out and Timmy and Julia followed. Bird was up in the saddle in a second, and the two girls grinned and waved at Hannah as they rode away for a pleasant hack in the woods.

  This is the way it should be, Bird thought. Julia and me together, growing up as sisters. Not sisters like Hannah and Eva. She wondered for the first time about her mother as a child. Had she always been this selfish and spoiled? And why was Hannah so different? Sugar pie and lemon pie.

  As they rode past Sundancer’s field, Bird saw Cliff walking out with a halter and lead rope. Sundancer saw him, too.

  Lookee here, Bird girl. I’m getting another baby session.

  Has she been on your back yet?

  No. She’s still making me obey ground commands. Whoop-de-doo.

  Today might be the day. Behave yourself, Sunny.

  I can’t promise.

  Yes, you can. You have control of your actions, Sunny.

  Not always. Sometimes I lose my temper.

  I know, but try. I overheard Dr. Paul and Hannah talking and you’re on probation. If you’re bad, they’ll put you to sleep. Permanently.

  Is that what you wanted to tell me earlier?

  Yes, Sunny. But you were too grumpy to talk.

  I feel better, now. I’ll behave myself for Hannah.

  Good. It’s important.

  Bird and Julia walked on, waving to Cliff as he slipped the halter over Sundancer’s head. She grinned broadly. Hannah had no idea what she and Sundancer were up to. Hannah believed that she was training him from the beginning, one step at a time. Bird didn’t want to upset her plans, and anyway, Hannah’s work was complementary to Bird’s. The more this horse was worked the better he would become.

  7

  THE NEW LOOK

  I like two people; the one and the little one.

  Bird and Julia came in from the barn flushed and happy, covered in mud and all wet from hosing down the squirmy ponies, and each other. As they were taking their shoes off at the door, Bird noticed her mother and Randy across the room.

  Eva was sitting on Randy’s lap in the armchair near the kitchen fireplace. Bird realized that this was the first time he’d really seen her. She gave Randy a level look and allowed him to study her. He seemed nervous — the way some people get around animals. I knew it, Bird thought. He’s no different from all the others.

  Hannah carried in giant old towels to wrap around the girls. “Randy, this is Bird,” she said as she passed a towel to Bird. “Bird, I’d like you to meet Randy.”

  Randy nodded at Bird. “Hello.” He was definitely uncomfortable. He looked at Eva, then Hannah, unsure of what to do or say.

  Bird smiled sweetly. She waited until Randy started to smile back, then made a sudden lurch toward him. Randy jumped out of his skin, causing Eva to leap off his lap. Bird laughed loudly. Julia snorted then covered her mouth.

  “Bird! Behave yourself,” warned Hannah. Randy looked like he was going to speak then decided against it. He gathered his pride and resumed his seat with a loud sniff. Eva glared sulkily at Bird as she nestled herself again on Randy’s lap.

  Hector had waddled into the kitchen on the girls’ heels, tracking in a line of muddy paw prints as he headed to his blanket.

  “That smelly old dog has no place in a house,” sniffed Randy, grumpily. “Doesn’t anybody groom him?”

  Bird tensed. Nice. Taking out your frustrations on a poor dog, she thought.
r />   Hector knew he was in trouble. His ears drooped and his eyes looked bewildered as he slunk to his bed.

  Julia ran to the sink, grabbed the dishrag and began to follow Hector on her hands and knees, erasing his prints as fast as he made them. Bird stared at her sister, amazed. A minute ago, she had been carefree and happy. Now she was anxious and upset.

  “Yes, we groom him, Randy,” said Hannah as she dried Bird’s dripping hair with a towel. “He gets dewormed, defleaed, and all his yearly shots, but he’s not fancy. He’s a farm dog. We love him just the way he is.”

  Eva smirked and rubbed Randy’s neck. “How you show love to a dog is in how you care for him. That’s what Randy says. Randy treats Bartholomew like a prince. He would never allow him to get like that.” She pointed at Hector. “All tufty.”

  Bird sat down on the floor beside Hector. You didn’t do anything wrong, Hector. She rubbed his ears as she glared at Eva and Randy.

  Tell that to those two.

  They don’t know anything.

  I’m so embarrassed, girl.

  They should be embarrassed, not you. I bet we can think of a way to make that happen.

  “You can rest easy. We take care of all our animals, including our dog,” said Hannah staring warily at Bird. She had long since learned to be extra sensitive with the animals that Bird loved. Eva and Randy weren’t so aware. “But it’s a little different on a farm with all the mud and burrs.” Hannah tried to get Bird’s attention. “We take good care of Hector, don’t we, Bird?”

  “You should see Bart’s wardrobe.” Eva ran her fingers through Randy’s hair as she spoke. “He has a coat for all occasions. A winter coat, a rain coat, a light sweater …”

  “Even a Burberry coat that matches mine,” Randy added. “For spring and fall. With a belt.”

  You’ve just given me an idea, Burberry man, Bird thought.

  “And his bed is tartan. Black Watch from Scotland. He’s a Scottie dog, you know,” boasted Eva.

  “Wonderful. Together you must be quite the sight.” Hannah changed the topic. “Did you girls have a good ride?”