HARD TIMES... change, not for the better (Part 55e)

Hank did just as I’d told him to do and I could see his whip strike Crestwyn’s rump right at the start. By the time they got to the quarter mile pole he was about 5 lengths in front. He stayed that way all the way to the finish line. Seeing him cross the line first was a great feeling... and it wasn’t because of the approximately $85 that Eddie and I each won. I caught up with Hank a little later and he told me that he really hadn’t needed to hit the horse at the start. He was probably right but Eddie and I wanted our ”plan“ to be carried out just the way we’d designed it.

It was a good night for Eugene as well as he won his first race. Even though Faith was asleep when we got back to the apartment he woke her up to tell her. She’d been sound asleep and when she walked out into the living room she was rubbing her eyes. More important, (to me) was that she was wearing a fairly short flimsy nightgown. I could see her panties through it as she walked over to the table. Even though it was only for a short time it was a thrill just the same.

The next night Hank was to drive the 2 year old. I was not happy about that at all. He was still very skittish around other horses especially near the starting gate. As Hank was leaving the paddock for the race I warned him to keep the horse back from the starting gate even if the starter yelled at him to get him up closer. He didn’t respond. I had more horses to warm up so couldn’t go over to the grandstand to watch the race. With the paddock at the head of the stretch it was possible to see the start. To put it bluntly, it was a disaster. I could see the 2 year old swerve to the right and then watched as two horses went down. It’s always a sickening sight but especially after the experience I’d just gone through. Long story short... Hank had tried to take the two year old right up to the gate and the horse had shied to the right, running into that horse who, in turn, ran into the horse next him. No one was hurt but Hank was called into the judge’s booth to explain what had happened. The result was that the 2 year old was barred from racing the rest of the meet. I was really mad and it was at Hank. I’d told him about the horse and what to do with him but in his eyes I was just a ”kid“ so he ignored me. He wouldn’t talk to me about it. It was just another in the growing list of things that was upsetting to me.

Eugene didn’t have any horses racing that night so I didn’t have anybody to let off steam with. I lay awake for a long time and was praying that Dan would come through with a concrete offer when we would talk on Sunday. It was still three days away and since Eugene and Faith had made arrangements to spend that afternoon and evening with another young couple it was going to be my chance to finally peek at Faith’ panty drawer. To say I was eagerly looking forward to Sunday was an understatement.(12)

I’d only casually mentioned Dan to Elle when she was visiting. I only had slivers of information from him but the one thing I did know was that he’d built a half mile track at his farm in Pennsylvania and was planning on spending the winter there. If there was one concern that I had it was about that. I didn’t want to say too much to her until I had all the information hoping that there would be enough good things to overcome the fact that we would be basically all alone at the farm.

AJ returned on Saturday with what seemed like good news about his trip. The owner had purchased five yearlings including the most expensive filly (female) sold at the sale. He was not only excited about that but also that he and the owner would be going to the Harrisburg auctions to buy some race ready horses. The auction coincided with the close of racing at Boston and I knew we were going to New Hampshire at that time. I also knew that his friend, Hank, who’d driven AJ’s horses while he was in Lexington, wasn’t. My first thought was that maybe I’d finally get a chance. Actually, I was counting on it. The problem, for me, was it clouded my thought process as far as Dan was concerned.

When Sunday morning arrived I remember being as nervous as I was right before my first race. I had to go through my usual Sunday morning chores and was to wait at the cook house public phone for Dan to call. I was about 15 minutes early and those 15 minutes seemed like an hour. Dan actually did have an offer... and I could hardly believe my ears. I would get a $20 a week raise to start with. He would pay for my electric and heat (kerosene) for the trailer. All the food that we would buy at a local market would get a 15% discount. When it came time to go racing in the Spring I would be given a group of horses to race on my own. It was like my dream coming true over the phone. I didn’t have much to ask but did say that I needed to talk it over with my wife. At the end of the conversation he said I had to let him (or his wife) know within the week. Even though I was ready to say ”yes“ right then and there I told him I would. When I hung up the receiver I was shaking.

To be continued...