Dream Horse

He lowers the menu and smiles at me. “Get whatever you want. Don’t worry about the price.” 

Thing is, there isn’t much here I would like. It’s all fussy stuff with lots of fancy ingredients I don’t even like. What I really crave is a Five Guys burger with a chocolate shake. I skim the column fast and just pick something so Mindy will go away. She spins and takes off. 

A sip of Coke and I stir the straw to set the ice cubes spinning. “So, did Ashley’s team win at least?” I don’t really care, but ask anyway because no one is talking.

“Yes, they pulled it out in overtime. Ashley was brilliant. She pretty much carries the team. You know, she’s being recruited for a couple of big schools already.”

“That’s great.” Spin ice. Sip. “So, what did you think of Octavia?” 

He sets his drink down and scowls. “Which one’s Octavia?” 

“My horse I was riding.” A huge sigh bursts out of me before I can hold it back. I grapple to control my voice—to make it even, light, conversational. “ The horse you promised I could lease if I did well on her.” 

Mindy appears and pushes plates of food in front of us. Dad has half a dozen extra requests for things like another napkin, another drink, and some extra salad dressing on the side. When he turns back to me his face is blank. 

“What about the horse?” 

He doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t remember promising that if I stuck with it and got good enough to show, he’d pay for me to lease Octavia. I look at the food on my plate and feel my stomach curl up on itself.