The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-52

Walter was chopping vegetables when Louise walked into the kitchen. His loosely hanging blond hair obscured the sides of his face.

"Hi!" she announced. "I didn't know you were home already."

"Well, I'm home," Water responded dryly. Louise sensed the tension in his voice. She walked over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Did you finish your work early?"

"No, I have more to do. I brought it with me. I just wanted to come home and see you."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Louise cooed in the way that women do when they're trying to cheer someone up.

"Where were you?"

"I met up with Jo for a quick drink after work."

Walter was agitated. Louise usually called before she went out with her friends.

"You smell like sweat. Did you stop at the gym, too?"

"No! I didn't have time to go to the gym, silly. I left the office at the normal time."

He flashed a scolding look from under his hair. The anger was visible in his piercing blue eyes.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" she apologized again. "I didn't know that you were going to be home so soon.

"I called Jo earlier. I wanted to tell her about last night. - She says that you were 'heroic', by the way. - Anyway, she suggested that we go out for a quick drink after work. I thought you'd be working late, so I said yes."

"Where'd you go?"

"Avalon."

"Really? That place?"

"It's a nice place, Walter."

"It's a meat market."

"Okay, but I wasn't meeting anyone. We stopped by for one drink, and then we left. I came straight home."

"One drink?"

"Yes, one drink," she insisted. "While we were there, the DJ played a song that Jo liked, so we got up and danced for, I don't know, five minutes. That was it!"

He responded with a carefully emotionless "Okay." 

"You're not mad, right?"

"No."

"Okay, I'm gonna go change. Do you need help with the vegetables?"

"No, I've got it."

Louise left the kitchen and walked to the stairway.

Walter sensed that there was more to the story than she was telling him. Something seemed off. It wasn't her tone of voice, exactly, but the way that she was selecting her words. She seemed cautious, standing like a statue as they talked. That, plus the smell of sweat... 

Last year, when they were having trouble, she used to come home smelling sweaty. When we went to the gym, she always came home freshly showered. The smell triggered bad memories.

They'd been so passionate together the night before. The adrenaline of the incident with Terri seemed to get to Louise. She made love with a freedom and a ferocity that he hadn't seen before. 

Walter had thought about Louise all day, about how loving the night had been. He packed up his work and raced home hoping to find her lounging on the couch in one of her short nightgowns. He wanted to be with her again. He wanted more of that fire.

Unfortunately, she wasn't home when he got there. She hadn't called or texted, so he had no idea where she was. The last thing he expected was for her to walk in and say, "Hi, I just went out to a bar. Do you need help with the vegetables?" 

It was aggravating. "This whole week had been aggravating," he thought to himself."

First, there was the confusing encounter with Susan, after which she blew him off completely. Then he came home to find Terri's stalker ex-boyfriend in his front yard. After that was resolved, Louise raced him upstairs and fucked him like he'd just won the Tour de France. And then, the very next day, she's back to her old sneaky habits. 

He bit his lip and slammed the knife down onto the cutting board. Louise heard the sound all the way upstairs the bedroom. 

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" he answered.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute!"

Walter picked up the knife and continued to chop the vegetables. He was angry, but he said nothing. His inner voice said it for him. 

"That was the sound of me not being in the mood for a bunch of bullshit."

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-51

Jo panicked when Louise turned into the parking lot. "We're going to Avalon?"

"Yes, it's right here."

"I can't go into Avalon looking like this!" Jo protested.

"What do you mean 'looking like this'?"

"I'm seriously underdressed!"

"You look fine!" Louise assured her. "Your outfit is fancier than mine."

"They're not going to let me in with jeans! I need to go back home."

"Relax," Louise assured her. "We're just going to stop by for one drink. My colleagues are there, and they're not dressed up, either."

Jo wasn't appeased. "This is going to be a disaster!" 

"Come on! You're just looking for an excuse to go shopping."

"No," Jo argued. "I don't need an excuse to go shopping."

"Well, we're going in just like this. Take Steve shopping tomorrow. He's probably eager to get another one of your dressing room blow jobs."

"That's not funny, Lou!"

"Just kidding!"

"Well, I mean, I do give good blow jobs."

"I know!" Louise exclaimed enthusiastically. "Everybody says so!"

"Everybody does say so..." Jo agreed before she thought through what she was saying. "Hey! That was mean!"

Louise was laughing out loud now. "Oh, man! I got you on that one!"

"That was really mean!" Jo was feigning anger, but eventually she started to laugh as well.

"Well, good news!" Louise offered. "If the bouncer stops us, you can take him into the coat room and show off your special talents."


Louise parked the car and walked in through the front doors. The bouncers made no mention of their attire.

Louise explained to a young woman at the front desk that they were attending with a corporate group. The admission fee was waived, and they each received a voucher for a free drink. "I'll take yours if you don't want it," Jo offered playfully.

Antonio spotted Louise and walked toward them. He was wearing a loose-fitting, gray European-cut suit with a black shirt and tie. "Louisa! I did not think that you were coming!"

"I changed my mind," she explained after receiving his kisses on each cheek. "Wow! You got dressed up!"

Jo stared angrily at Louise but said nothing.

"You remember my friend Jo, right?"

Jo wasn't happy to see Antonio. This guy had all but wrecked Louise's relationship with Walter. When he left the country suddenly, she was heartbroken. Jo managed to squeeze out a quick "Hi" from a forced grin. 

"Ah, mi bella! You are more beautiful than I even remember."

Jo wasn't charmed by his line. She kept grinning and maintained eye contact, but she refused to reply.

"I'll be back in one moment," Antonio promised. "Please! Help yourself to some drinks. The first one is on the house."

Antonio walked into the crowd to mingle with other colleagues. Jo was visibly upset.

"Oh, you have some explaining to do!"

Louise was taken aback by the comment. "What do you mean?"

"You never told me that HE was going to be here, or I wouldn't have agreed to come."

"I said that this was with colleagues from the office," Louise recalled.

"Yes, but you failed to mention a certain person who intentionally screwed up your life and then left you behind depressed and crying for two months."

"I wasn't depressed," Louise argued. "I was just really sad."

"You were depressed," Jo argued.

"But I got over it," Louise said. "It's all good. Antonio and I are just colleagues now." 

"Lou, you should have told me." 

"Okay, I'm not going to fight. I should have told you. But we're here and this is my thing. I don't want to hang out all night, just say hello, get a drink, and leave." 

"Alright," Jo agreed. "One drink."

"Thank you for looking out for me," Louise said. "I wouldn't have gotten through all of that without you and Terri by my side." 

"You're welcome, Lou. Just be careful with this guy. He just tried to charm me, and I didn't appreciate it."

Antonio appeared again. "Louisa, may I have one dance with you."

Louise glanced back at Jo as Antonio led her away by the arm. "He wants to dance."

"He wants to dance," Jo said softly to herself once they were out of earshot. "Dance, my ass!"

She watched as Antonio took Louise into his well-practiced embrace. They moved together effortlessly, as though they had been dancing forever. Their movements were slow at first, but the passion and complexity of the steps increased as the music rose to its crescendo. 

Louise had never taken a dance lesson in her life, but she looked amazing. It was a gift, but she obviously had a very special connection with Antonio. No wonder she had fallen so hard for the guy. Their stars were most definitely aligned.

Louise was smiling broadly and appeared to be slightly out of breath when Antonio led her back over to the table. 

Jo faux-clapped with appreciation. "You guys looked amazing!"

"Thank you!" Louise acknowledge between deep breaths.

"No, seriously! It was like something that you'd see on TV!"

"Thank you very much!" Antonio responded, his head held proudly.

Louise confessed: "I'm really out of practice."

"Well, you looked beautiful!"

Antonio reached a hand gently toward Jo. "Would you do me the honor, Joanna?"

Jo looked horrified. "You mean dancing?"

"Sure!" he replied with confidence and a smile.

"Oh, no! I can't dance!" 

"Just try it," Louise suggested. "If it doesn't work, we'll just keep drinking martinis until it does."

Jo looked at Louise and gave in to the peer pressure. "I guess!"

Antonio led her onto the dance floor. They weren't as smooth together as he was with Louise, but Jo didn't do badly at all for a first timer. She closed her eyes and let him lead, and he took very good care of her. 

Jo had a smile on her face before the first song was half over. Her fear of dancing had been conquered.

When the set ended, Antonio and Jo shook hands, smiled, and exchanged a few words that Louise couldn't make out from the distance. 

Jo walked back to the table in slow, relaxed strides with a disposition of contentment and some sweat droplets on her face.

"How was it?" Louise asked.

"Aaaah!" Jo sighed as she dabbed her forehead with a napkin. "It was interesting."

"Interesting good or interesting bad?"

"Interesting nice."

Louise was relieved. "Well, that's good!" 

"And I think you should get your coat," Jo said cryptically. 

"I didn't bring a coat."

"Well then get your bag, 'cause we're leaving."

"Leaving?" Louise demanded. "Why?"

"Because my panties are wet, and I don't even like the guy."

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-50

Louise waited for Jo in a cramped but tidy, two-person booth at the salad place.

Jo seemed agitated as she pushed through the glass front doors. Her tight black curls bounced like a pom-pom as she marched in high platform shoes past a queue of customers. Her matching black jacket and skinny jeans outfit sported little silver zippers that shook as she walked. 

Louise didn't know quite how to receive her friend in this state. "Why are you so frazzled today?" 

"Oh, my God!" Jo exclaimed as she slammed her oversized brown leather handbag onto the table. "These people are driving me crazy!"

Louise looked around the room quickly. The walls were bright white with ten-inch chocolate and orange stripes painted horizontally just above table level. 

"They're just waiting in line."

Jo looked back over her shoulder. "Not THOSE people, silly! The people in my office!"

"Oh."

"God, I need to get another job!"

"I thought you LIKED your job," Louise argued.

"Well, I do, sometimes, but not today!"

"Okay," Louise said calmly. "Take a breath. You're here. You're going to be okay."

"Oh, crap!" Jo snapped while waving a hand in front of her face. "Somebody's wearing perfume. Do you smell perfume?"

Louise looked shocked. "I ... I don't smell it."

"Well, it's horrible!"

"I'm sorry, Jo. I can't remember when I've seen you this agitated."

"I am not agitated! Oh, God, it's that smell again!"

Louise slid to the edge of her seat. "It's okay, hon! We can move to another booth."

Jo settled down a bit as she considered the option. "No, it's okay. We can stay here."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"It's okay!" Jo said while slipping her sunglasses into the enormous purse.

"Don't worry," Louise assured her. "We've all had those days. Tell me what's going on!"

"Hmm!" Jo sat back and collected her thoughts. "Well, first of all, the IT department is a bunch of idiots. None of them can fix my computer."

"What's wrong with your computer?"

"It keeps crashing," Jo explained, "and I have a big deadline today."

"That's bad."

"Yeah, and then, my assistant is totally worthless."

"The new one?"

"Yes! The idiot!"

"Does this idiot have a name?"

"Lauren. Lauren the Idiot."

"Okay."

"I just wish that my old assistant would come back," Jo lamented.

"Jason?" Louise asked.

"Jerome. Jerome was the best!"

"Didn't he move to London or something?"

"Barcelona. But I still want him back."

"Okay, so your new assistant is worthless?"

"Yes, Lauren is worthless, and I wish that my boss would put me out of my misery and fire her already. And then there's the art department."

"Oh, what happened there?"

"There's this one chick who does nothing and takes a million days off and gets away with it because she's doing her boss."

"She's doing her boss?"

"We all think so."

"Well..."

"Yeah, well, anyway, that's my life."

"It sounds pretty sucky," Louise said in a ridiculously cheery voice.

"Definitely sucky! So, enough about me, darling! How's your day?"

"Better than yours!" Louise replied with relief. 

"You seem okay," Jo observed. 

"Amazing, isn't it. I'm usually the one with all of the drama."

"See that?" Jo quipped. "I saved you the drama!"

"Oh, well! Speaking of drama..."

"Uh, oh! What happened?"

"Well," Louise explained, "yesterday, Terri picked me up after work..."

"You rode with her to work?" Jo asked.

"Yeah," Louise didn't want to confide that Terri had slept over, so she embellished a bit. "We were thinking about going shopping, and it just worked out that way."

"Okay." Jo suspected that there was more to the carpooling arrangement, but she decided not to push it.

"Anyway," Louise continued, "we stopped by my place so I could drop off my briefcase."

"Yeah?"

"So - and this is where it gets weird - she parks in front of my house. We both get out of the car, and ..."

"Douglas!" Jo gasped.

"How did you KNOW?"

"Because he's the only person in the world who's that conniving," Jo explained.

"Oh, you've got that right!"

"And that CREEPY!" Jo added.

"Seriously creepy!"

"So, what happened?"

"Oh my God! That moment was so surreal!"

"I bet."

"But you know Terri. She's all business."

"What did she do?"

"She told me to go into the house and call Francisco."

"Wow!" Jo exclaimed. "That IS dramatic!"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it."

"Did he come over? Racing in heroically with his Ferrari?"

"Not exactly," Louise clarified, "He came, but later. A lot of other stuff happened first."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jo said, apologizing for the interruption.

"It's okay. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to do," Louise went on, "so I also called my neighbor, Jay."

"Marine Corps Jay?"

"Marine Corps Jay."

"Oh, my God, he's hot!" Jo gushed.

"He's in good shape for an older guy," Louise agreed.

"He's in good shape for a YOUNGER guy! - So, what, he came over?"

"No. Walter got there first."

Jo raised a hand to stop Louise. "I'm really confused." 

"I know. I'm not doing a good job of explaining this. Here's how it went. We pulled in. We got out of the car."

"Creepy Douglas was there."

"Creepy Douglas was there," Louise confirmed.

"Terri sent you inside."

"Terri sent me inside, and I called Frank..."

"...who didn't show up."

"Who didn't show up until later," Louise continued. "And then I called Jay. And then Walter came back from his business trip."

Jo brightened up. "Oh, how did THAT go?"

"Let's stick to one story at a time," Louise suggested.

"Oh, yeah! Right."

"So Walter shows up and starts to talk to Douglas."

"Oh, man! Was it tense?" Jo asked.

"Not really," Louise said. "Walter was very calm. I think he was just trying to keep Douglas distracted."

"Oh, good idea!"

"Yeah, and then Jay came over."

"Oh, wow! So like, two against one!"

"Kind of."

"Oh, my God! I can smell the testosterone!"

"Jesus, Jo! Terri's at the mercy of her stalker ex-boyfriend here, and all you can think about is testosterone?"

"Sorry! I mean, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking about - you know. I was just thinking that there could have been a conflict."

"Well, luckily not," Louise went on. "Somehow, Jay smooth talked Terri into following him into the house."

"Really?"

"Yeah - I'm not sure exactly how he managed that, but it was slick."

"I bet! And SO heroic!" Jo swooned. 

"Totally."

"Oh, wait! You mean that Walter was left there with the psycho?"

"Yep."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, really," Louise said. "Walter was very calm. He kind of talked Douglas down, and after a few minutes, he just walked him over to his car."

"And the guy just left?" Jo asked incredulously.

"He just drove away."

"So, when did Francisco arrive?"

"About two minutes later!"

Jo became frantic with excitement. "Oh, my God!"

"Yeah, it was a tense afternoon."

"Jesus!" Jo exclaimed. "Poor Terri! She must be a wreck."

"Jo, I have NEVER seen her so shaken. When Frank walked in through the front door, she cried like a frightened toddler."

"Oh, no!" Jo was suddenly overcome with emotion. With the back of her hand, she quickly wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye.

"It was rough."

"Louise, I hate to ask," Jo added.

"Walter?"

"Yeah."

"He's fine," Louise confirmed confidently.

"Thank goodness!"

"We're all fine, except for Terri. She's still a mess."

"I'll bet."

Neither woman spoke for a moment as they pondered the seriousness of the situation. Eventually, Louise broke the silence.

"There's this thing after work with my colleagues. Would you like to go?" 

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-49

Francisco inspected the property warily as he guided the Ferrari slowly up the private road. There were no suspicious vehicles on the premises, just the groomer's Subaru, the trainer's Toyota SUV, and the Ford and Chevy pickups that the farm hands drive. 

He parked the bold red car in front of the white doors of the five-car garage. He left it facing the road in case Terri needed him quickly.

Francisco climbed up out of the Ferrari and walked with a mild limp toward the front door of the house. He had strained in his hip the other day while helping the farrier examine one of the two-year-olds. "I need to call the chiropractor," he thought to himself, "after this problem gets settled." 

He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket, unlocked the front door, and entered a code into the alarm system. He set his jacket down on a decorative wooden table and walked through the house to see if anything seemed out of place. The air smelled dusty, but the help had gone for the weekend. Francisco opened two windows and made a mental note to speak with the cleaning lady on Monday.

He followed the white plaster hallway toward the kitchen but stopped to use the toilet near the side coatroom. The smell of leather from his boots and work shoes permeate this shadowy end of the hallway. He dried his hands on a paper towel and closed the door gently. Francisco preferred paper towels; they left his hands feeling cleaner than cloth. 

In the kitchen, he slid an unopened carton of lemonade out from the refrigerator and opened it. He poured a glass and drank it, then poured another. He placed the carton back into the refrigerator and walked toward the office. Pausing for a moment in the large front hall, he looked out over the rolling green hill that sloped gently toward that main road. It was a beautiful day. It was about to become a momentous day.

Francisco headed into the office and eased into the desk chair. He moved some loose mail off to the side of the desk: a bill, a glossy magazine, a community newsletter, and several fundraising requests. He reached downward toward his left and felt a twinge of pain. He swiveled until he found a more comfortable position. 

Unlatching the wood cabinet, he exposed the door to a metal safe. He dialed the combination, opened the safe's door, and removed a gray folder and a somewhat out-of-date-looking mobile phone. He placed the folder on the desktop, reviewed the contents carefully, and dialed a number into the telephone. A woman's voice answered and asked for a customer ID.

Francisco replied: "Three - four - six - five - nine - zero"

The voice was cold and emotionless. "PIN Code?"

"Nine - three - nine - two - seven - one."

"One moment, please."

The voice was warmer when it returned a few seconds later. "He'll be right with you, Mr. Mela. Thank you for waiting."

"Thank you."

Francisco looked at his watch and checked the time against the clock on the wall. The wall clock was one minute behind. He stood and walked over to reset it.

A gentleman came onto the line. His voice was calm and stately with a breathy quality that suggested old age. "It's been a magnificent morning in Devonshire."

Francisco completed the cypher. "The valleys are fragrant with lilac."

"How may I help you today?"

"Did you receive my proposal?"

"We did! Most intriguing."

"Are you amenable to this transaction?"

"We have considered it carefully," the voice replied, "and we feel that it would be in our best interest to accept."

"Do you agree to the terms?"

"We are in full agreement."

"Excellent!" Francisco exclaimed, albeit in a restrained manner. "It's urgent that we move on this promptly."

"The necessary arrangements will be in place no later than tomorrow at noon your time."

"Thank you very much!"

"Do give our best wishes to your father."

"I shall."

"Cheers."

"Goodbye."

The stately voice dropped the line. 

Francisco closed the file and placed it back into the safe along with the telephone. He stood and walked to the window again. All seemed calm.

Francisco pulled another phone from his pocket and dialed a pre-programmed number. When the person on the other side of the call answered, he simply said, "They're ready."

Francisco listened for a moment, then continued.

"Okay, but we need to do this soon, tomorrow or Sunday at the latest. I have bought us a couple of days, but I want this matter closed by Monday."

"That's fine."

"Sunday will work. Yes."

"Okay, call me as soon as you are ready."

"Right."

"Understood."

"Oh, and by the way, Francisco will be staying at the Parisienne for two nights."

"No, he didn't want to go to his mother. I had to come up with something else."

"Yes."

"Yes. Have someone look after him there, two men at all times."

"That's right."

"Well, if this pendejo shows up anywhere near the hotel, they'd better do what they're paid to do. Otherwise, I'm calling the old man."

"No. Nobody wants that."

"Okay. Give me a call."

"I'm ready. The car is ready."

"That sounds good."

"Bueno."

"Arrivederci."

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-48

"My dad did something crazy last night!"

"Oh, really?" Isabella joked. "That never happens!

"Funny!" Francisco acknowledged.

"What is it THIS time?"

"I told him we were going shopping," Francisco explained.

"Okay?"

"So, he's like, 'Why don't we get you a hotel room so you won't have to drive back and forth?'"

"That's strange!" she observed. "Which hotel?"

"Grande Parisienne."

"No way!" Isabella's deep, breathy voice betrayed her astonishment.

"I'm afraid so."

"Wow! That place is like..."

"Expensive?"

"I was going to say opulent, but that, too."

"I've never been there," Francisco confided.

"You've never been to the Grande Parisienne?"

"Well, I've been in the ballroom for weddings and stuff. I meant that I've never stayed there."

"Oh, it's amazing! The décor in the lobby is all hand-crafted gold leaf. And they have a bunch of rare art on display and this really ritzy Swiss watch store."

"Well, I guess you're the expert!" he teased.

"Well, I've never stayed there either. My Dad's company used to hold events there. When they did presentations, the hotel would give them a room where they could store their materials."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"When I was little, he used to take me with him. I remember jumping on the beds."

"Really?"

"Yeah! He wasn't too happy about that."

"I can imagine! Anyway, since I have the room, I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner downtown after we shop."

"Yeah! Wow! That sounds nice."

"You don't have... plans?"

"No, he's away - baseball camp, lacrosse camp, something like that."

"Okay, then!"

"Okay, then!"

"Dinner it is!"

"Yay, I'm excited!" she exclaimed. "La Grande Parisienne! C'est formidable!"

"Wow, that's pretty good!"

"Eh, well, I try," she said playfully.

"Well, I am quite impressed."

"Thank you, dah-ling!"

"Are you making fun of my mom again?"

Isabella let out a quick chuckle. "How could you tell?"

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, smarty!"

"Okay!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

-

Walter walked past Susan's desk on the third floor; unfortunately, she wasn't in. The chair sat flush against desk as the cleaning people had left it the night before. 

Walter looked toward the lady in the next cubicle. "Is she in?"

"No, Friday," the colleague explained. "She's working from home."

"Oh, okay." Walter's voice sounded slightly deflated.

"You can reach her by email. She's working, just not here."

"That's fine," he said. "I just wanted to thank her for a restaurant recommendation."

"Oh, in Colorado! How was your trip?"

Walter was surprised that Susan's colleague knew about the business trip. He didn't even recall the woman's name.

"It was...busy," he recalled. "There's never enough time to do the fun things."

"Yeah, isn't that always the case?" the lady observed while beaming a broad smile. "If she calls, I'll let her know that you stopped by."

"That's okay," Walter countered nervously. "I'll... stop by next week."

"Okay!"

"Thanks!"

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-47

Louise waited for the woman in the next cubicle to leave for her 10 o'clock meeting before dialing Terri. She didn't want colleagues listening in if the incident with Douglas came up.

Terri's voice sounded weak and distant. "Hello?"

"Are you at work?" Louise asked. She had expected Terri to stay home under the circumstances.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure, but I decided to come in."

"Are you doing okay?"

"I am really freaked out," Terri said deliberately, "but there's an important meeting this afternoon."

"Oh, no!" Louise reacted.

"Yeah, and I didn't sleep well either. I kept thinking that the phone might ring and it would be him."

"Oh, my gosh! That's terrible!"

"Why did he just show up like that?"

"I don't know, Terr," Louise tried to assure her. "I don't know."

"It's not fair!"

"It's not."

"Well, anyway, I'll just keep busy and try not to think about it."

"Oh, that's so sad!" Louise noticed Antonio walking in her direction. "Hey, sorry! Can you hold on for one second?"

"Sure," Terri replied in a lifeless voice.

"I'll be right back!"

"Okay."

"Hey!" Louise said to Antonio as he walked past. It was the relaxed, sultry 'Hey' that only people who have been lovers can share, a word that drips with covert emotion.

"Hey!" he responded with a warm smile.

Louise looked up into his piercing eyes. "Um, I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to make it tonight." She bit her lower lip gently as she wait for his reaction.

"Sure! No problem!" he said. "We talked about this already, right?"

"Right!" she exclaimed. "Just checking."

Antonio looked at the phone in Louise's hand. "I'll let you take your call."

"Okay, sorry!"

"No worries!" he assured her with a smile.

"K - Bye!"

"Ciao! Ciao!"

Louise spoke again to Terri, "So sorry!"

"It's okay. I know you're at work."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Frank's gonna pick me up after work. Maybe go somewhere, out of town - not sure."

"I hope you can get away."

"Yeah, I'm sorry! I know I was supposed to go with you to the dance tonight."

"Oh, no!" Louise assured her. "I actually just... The guy was just here. I told him that I couldn't make it."

"I'm sorry I wrecked your plans," Terri said.

"Don't say that! You didn't do anything!"

"Are you sure?" Terri asked.

"Oh my God, Terri! What you've been through!"

"You could go with Jo."

Louise thought it over quickly. "Eh, I don't think so. Too weird!"

"Okay, well, whatever you decide, I hope you have a good time. I trust you."

"Thanks!"

"And thank you SO much for your help yesterday."

"Oh, of course!"

"And thank Walter..." 

Louise heard Terri's voice break. "Terr? Are you okay?"

Terri was crying now. "Thank Walter for being so brave."

"Oh, Terri!"

"I've gotta go!"

"Of course! I'll talk to you later."

"K!"

"K, Bye!"

Louise was more worried about Terri now than she had been before the spoke. It was so unlike Terri to break down like that at the office. She must have been horribly shaken by the unexpected encounter with Douglas.

Louise dialed Walter's office. "Hi!" he answered.

"Hey, there! How are YOU?"

"I'm doing okay. What's going on?"

"I just talked to Terri."

"Is she doing okay?"

"No, she's a mess! She started crying on the phone."

"Oh, that terrible!" Walter sympathized.

"I think she's still in shock."

"I imagine," he noted. "Do you want to go over and see her after work?"

"Mmm, maybe. She and Francisco might go somewhere, try to get out of town."

"Well that sounds like a good plan."

"How about you? Will you be working late?"

"Not too late. Eight, maybe."

"That's late!"

"It comes with the new job, I'm afraid."

"Can you ask them to un-promote you?"

"You know, sometimes I think about that."

Louise let out a laugh. His comment helped to relieve the tension she felt after speaking with Terri. "Okay, big shot! I guess we'll see you after eight."

"Okay, love you!"

"Oh, wait! I forgot!"

"What?"

"Terri said to thank you for being so brave."

"She said that?"

"She did!"

"Wow! That's really nice."

"I just wanted to pass that along."

"Thanks! I appreciate it."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight."

"See you then."

Louise leaned forward with one elbow on the desk. She scanned mindlessly through her phone directory as decided what to do next. She stopped on Jo's number and decided to call it.

"Hey!"

"Hey!" Jo responded. "What's up?"

"Would you have time for lunch today?"

"Mmm, 12:30?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Salads, or...?"

"We can do salad."

"Okay, I'll see you there."

"See you!"

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved