THE END OF SUMMER... and maybe normalcy (Part 35c)

I hate to admit it but the ”angel“ won. I did give in to one request and that was for her to let her kiss me. I don’t specifically remember the kiss but I remember having both my hands on her hips and feeling the silky texture of her panties. I also remember that I had no trouble staying awake for the first hour of the trip back. The crossroads that I had mentioned earlier was a four way stop. I went whizzing right through it and probably another quarter mile before I woke up. The realization that I had fallen asleep while driving was enough to wake me up enough for me to make it safely the rest of the way back.

It was around 3am when I climbed onto the bed, still dressed. I couldn’t get to sleep, rehashing not only the situation with Vicky but also the one with Pat. I couldn’t believe that things like that really happened in real life... and to me, to boot.

It was to be a very busy day because AJ was shipping six horses to the track in the city. The owners had been complaining that the purses (the money horses raced for) at the track were too low as well as it was too far to travel to see them race. Two of my grandfather’s horses were among them. When the track closed at the end of the month, AJ was planning on shipping the rest of the stable to a track in New Hampshire. By October a lot of the racetracks closed for the year and only a few stayed open. That meant there were more horses than there were stalls so the track allotted them by the ability of each horse. AJ had been given 10 stalls which meant there were 5 horses that had to be turned out to pasture. AJ didn’t like that because if he wasn’t training them he didn’t get paid for them. On top of that, he was sending Ed, his best groom and the man who had done my job before I got ”promoted“, to the city along with two of the best grooms. I added to the problem because I had to register for classes the next day and, once they started, would only be available for part time work. To say he was stressed was putting it mildly. It was one of the longest days of my life.

I’d pre-registered but still had to go to the campus to make sure that the classes that I’d chosen had filled and to confirm my schedule. I told AJ, worst case, I’d be back in time to warm up the horses we had racing that night. On campus I found everything in order so, basically, I was off until 5:30pm. I’d made arrangements for one of the other grooms to feed and water my horses. Looking at my watch it was around 1:30pm. I did a quick calculation and, figuring on 2+ hours for traveling, I’d have about and hour and a half with Elle if I drove down there immediately.

The look on her face was priceless. Even if I’d only had 10 minutes with her, it would’ve been worth it. Even though she wrote (I didn’t) and we talked at least once a week on the phone, there was a LOT of catching up to do. I’d committed to continue working for AJ until he shipped the horses to New Hampshire but, upon seeing Elle I was kicking myself in the butt for having done so. On the trip back to the track I remember praying that AJ would ship out early.

I know I didn’t have my mind on my job that night. The emotions from having just seen Elle were in control and, when I messed up the warm up of one of the horses, AJ was all over me. That sure didn’t help my state of mind but I didn’t do or say anything rash. I’d indicated to the B’s that I’d come up and visit with them by the end of the week but, after the situation with Vicky, I really didn’t want to face her so I didn’t. I think it was on Friday night that one of the horse owners that the B’s had befriended up in the clubhouse tracked me down in the paddock. He indicated that Mr B really wanted to see me. Out of respect for the B’s I decided it would be best if I bit the bullet and went over to see them.

To say that I was nervous while approaching them is putting it mildly. But, as I did I noticed that it wasn’t Vicki who was waiting their table. That was why Mr B wanted to see me. The B’s hadn’t seen her since the night I’d taken her home and were worried that something was wrong. I couldn’t help them on that matter, assuring them that I’d delivered her safely home. I was a bit concerned, as well, but relieved that she wasn’t there. (What we later found out was that the trailer park owner (Harry) had found out that she wasn’t married and she (and her boyfriend) had been kicked out of the park. None of us ever saw or heard of her again.)

My wish came true! AJ decided to ship out early. He’d heard that the New Hampshire track wasn’t honoring their verbal commitments as to the number of stalls they were allocating. Even though they hadn’t yet started racing he felt it was best to get there early and stake out the stalls he'd been promised and needed. I’ll admit that I was happy about the decision as it applied to Elle. But, from an economic sense, it hurt. As I was now a Junior at college I was allowed to have a car. That was an added expense that I was going to be faced with all the expected visits to see Elle that I was planning. AJ's decision meant about $100 less for my budget. Bittersweet!

To be continued...