A CHANGE IN THE OFFING?... Hope, at least (Part 57c)

The following week continued to be calm around the stable area. My birthday was on that Wednesday and Elle and Marie had a small party for me. The older kids enjoyed it as it meant ice cream, something they didn't see very much of. I'd gotten a small Polaroid camera from my grandfather at Christmas but I couldn't afford the film. My present from him was a couple of boxes of film but the tacit understanding was that I was to use it to take pictures of the kids. After Jean Paul and Marie left I started playing with the camera and Elle was playing with the kids. I experimented and took a couple. As I watched her I saw an opportunity to get a panty shot. Because we could see the result in just a minute she wanted to see what I'd taken. She wasn't overly pleased but because it was my birthday and she didn't really have a present she said I could keep it. Not satisfied, I persuaded her to let me take a more risque picture. The selling point was that no "processor" would see it. It was for my eyes only. Until now that was true.

As Jean Paul and I continued to talk the one topic that seemed to be repeated was where we hoped to end up in the business. He was happy to have the type job he had (contract trainer) because it gave him security. However, the owner was a cheapskate and that caused him to have to work extra hard. Utopia for him was to have the same type job only with an established stable. For me it was to have a job at one of the city racetracks. I knew I didn’t have the background to be a head trainer but if I could be an assistant trainer at a city track it would be a great ”add” to my resume. Early in the week Jean Paul came over to the stable and was really excited. He was good friends with another French Canadian who was racing horses at the city. He’d just talked with him and had found out that he was looking for an assistant trainer and Jean Paul wanted to know if I was interested. I couldn’t believe my ears. Of course I said "yes". I was so excited that I had a hard time focusing on the work at hand for the rest of the day.

That night I had a long talk with Elle where I pretty much “sold” her on the idea. It would mean more money and we’d be much closer to home. I knew that I didn’t have the job yet but I had this really good feeling. Jean Paul set it up for me to meet with his friend, Benoit (Ben) on Friday night in the city at the track. Then, if that went well I’d go back to the track and train some of his horses with him on Saturday. When I’d agreed to go to work for Dan I had told him that my grandparents were in ill health and that if either had a downturn that I would need to go home. Even though it was a lie I told Dan around noon that Friday. We’d pretty much finished up the training for the day and all that was left were the horses scheduled for Saturday. Dan had originally planned on heading back to the farm Friday but told me to get on my way. It was about four hours to the city which would get me there in plenty of time.

For some strange reason, I'd ended up eating breakfast at the track cook house that morning. It was about the time I was leaving the track to go to the apartment that I felt some mild cramping in my groin. When I got there Elle was gone. She’d left a note that she’d gone to the doctor with Marie. I changed my clothes and was about to leave when I had a real serious cramp. It was enough to double me over. I’d had this a few times before so decided to wait until it subsided. I ended up sitting on the toilet for a while and soon felt a bit better. Then another “wave” came over me and this time I felt nauseous. The sink was right next to the toilet so I leaned over to it and “exploded”... from both ends. From there I really don’t have much memory of the situation. I do remember having the dry heaves and lying on the floor holding onto the pedestal while in the fetal position. I also remember feeling something stick me in my arm and then being lifted into a bed.

Long story short... I had food poisoning. When Elle got home she found me on the floor of the bathroom cramping so bad that I was hardly able to breath and unable to communicate with her. She had Marie call the doctor who came over immediately and gave me a shot of a muscle relaxer. If there had a been a nearby hospital I would’ve been taken there. As it was the doctor said I could be treated right there. That night he stopped by and on Saturday made two more visits.

Jean Paul tried to get in contact with Ben but, because he was racing that night, was unavailable. On Saturday Jean Paul tried again but because he had horses to train wasn’t able to make contact. So, in a matter of 24 hours, my “dream” job was gone though no real fault of my own. On top of not feeling well physically, mentally I was feeling just as bad. As the French say “C’est la vie!”

To be continued...