The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-32

Francisco turned off of the main road and guided the Ferrari up the long driveway to the farm. He amused himself with some quick accelerations along the straight sections.

"The place looks beautiful!" Ilsa cooed in a deep, breathy voice. The words dripped with confidence and sensuality. Even the way that she sat in the car seat was beguiling. Francisco did his best to ignore Ilsa's charms, but he realized in that moment why Terri had reacted so strongly to her presence in the house.

"It's a nice time of year," Francisco noted. "And we've put a lot of work into it."

"It shows!"

Francisco parked the Ferrari in front of the garage and walked around to help Ilsa out of the low seat. She rose to her feet in one elegant motion, poised and self-assured, as though she were about to charm a roomful of ambassadors and prime ministers. 

"Do you have everything?" Francisco asked.

"Everything that I can pack into a Ferrari," she replied playfully in that steamy voice. "Which isn't much!"

Francisco escorted Ilsa through the main entrance and called upstairs to his son. "Francisco! Your mother is here!"

"Coming!" answered a distant voice.

"What can we get you to drink?"

"A mimosa, if you have champagne," Ilsa responded, her green eyes surveying the furnishings.

"Coming right up."

Young Francisco jogged down the stairs and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Hi, Ma!"

"Hello, Sweetheart!" she gushed. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine!" the young man answered. "Thanks for coming!"

"Thank you for asking me!"

Francisco, Sr. emerged from the kitchen with a tray of drinks. "Here we go!"

"Well, what a talented bartender!" Ilsa remarked playfully.

"I gave the staff some time off," he reported. "Shall we sit in the study?"

"Okay," Ilsa agreed.

"Francisco, you take the big chair," his father suggested as they walked into the room. "This is your meeting."

Young Francisco approached the desk sheepishly but began to look more comfortable as he took his seat. His parents sat on opposite ends of the antique leather couch.

"Ma, Dad - thanks for coming!" His parents remained silent as he collected his thoughts.

"For a while, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to college. I thought that maybe I wanted to take some time off, to travel or something."

"Do you still feel that way?" his mother asked.

"No!" Francisco replied emphatically. "I'm definitely going."

"Well, that's good news!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks!"

"What made you change your mind?" his father asked cautiously. "That is, if you want to tell us."

"Well, I always wanted to go," the young man explained. "I always knew what I wanted to get my degrees."

"In veterinary medicine," his mother confirmed.

"Yes," Young Francisco confirmed. "Probably pre-med first, and then veterinary medicine with an emphasis on research."

"And that's still what you want to do?" the elder Francisco asked.

"I never changed my mind," the young man explained. "I guess when the time came, though, I started to think about other possibilities."

"That's normal!" his mother added.

"What changed your mind?" his father asked.

"I was training Barney one day," Francisco said referring to his favorite horse, "and I started to think about getting ready for a race," Young Francisco continued. "If you lose time at the start, you only delay your finish."

"That's a good way to think about it," his father added.

Ilsa chimed in. "Why do I think that this has something to do with that girl that you've been dating?"

"We're not dating, Ma!"

"Who are you dating?" his father asked.

"No one! I..."

"I'm sorry," Isla said. "We shouldn't pry in your personal affairs."

"I don't have personal affairs, Mom. She's just a friend."

"OK!" Ilsa exclaimed. Her tone of voice indicated that she didn't believe him.

"Who are we talking about?" asked his father.

Ilsa exploded: "What kind of father are you? You don't even know who his friends are?"

"I know his friends," Francisco said defensively. "Some of them."

"Mom, Dad," Young Francisco interrupted. "It's okay. And it's Isabella, by the way."

"I thought she was going out with your friend," his father said.

"She is!" Young Francisco exclaimed. "We're just friends."

"I see."

"Well, I may be wrong," Ilsa stated, "but I have a feeling that this friend of yours is a very wise young lady, and maybe she helped you with this decision when you saw her yesterday."

"She did talk to me about it," Francisco admitted.

"Ah! You see!" Ilsa taunted her ex-husband. "I live halfway across the country, and I know more about his friends than you do!"

"It doesn't matter, Ma!"

"I'm sorry, Darling! Please continue."

"I just... Dad, I just want to make sure that it's okay for me to go since we talked about that other thing."

"What other thing?" Ilsa demanded. "What is he talking about."

Francisco ignored Ilsa's query. "It's fine, son. We'll work it out."

"Work what out?" Ilsa demanded. "What's going on?"

"Just some farm business, Mom."

Ilsa stared at Francisco, Sr. "What is he talking about? What farm business?"

Francisco looked Ilsa in the eye and flashed his most charming smile. "I'm please to announce that your son is now the proud owner of El Corazon Stables."

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2015 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved