'The Horse Farm' - Part Seven

The water felt warm and exhilarating as it sprayed onto the back of Louise's shoulders and ran down the length of her blond hair. She stood motionless, eyes closed, cleansing body and soul and letting her concerns wash down the drain. She knew that she wasn't innocent, but she wanted to be, and for a moment it felt possible.

From the day that Antonio arrived in her office the chemistry was obvious. His soft voice and gentle nature put her at ease and intensified the impact of his sculpted features. Louise was cautious; she realized that any woman could be attracted to a man of Antonio's appearance, his looks, his confidence. But when he began to hint that he had feelings in return, the signals became impossible to ignore.

At first they interacted as colleagues. They attended meetings and engaged in brief moments of small talk. Occasionally, they met for lunch, but not often. Regular lunch dates would have caught the eye of the office gossips.

It was a Thursday when Antonio first suggested that they go out for a drink. Louise refused the invitation; she had made plans to see Walter that evening. They rescheduled for the following Tuesday, and that's when she and Antonio first kissed.

'Oh, that was a mistake!' Louise recalled. She was a wreck for a week. She couldn't look Antonio in the eye and actually concocted an excuse to avoid a meeting where he was to give a lengthy presentation. Eventually they had a candid discussion, and things returned more or less to normal.

Walter was out of town when Antonio proposed dinner at the Argentine steakhouse. It sounded nice, a taste of authentic South American culture. The dinner was cordial, but when they danced to the sad, sweet music of the bandoneon, Louise was transported to another place and time.

Antonio held her tenderly as they glided across the floor. She felt herself melting into his embrace. Minutes turned to hours, the songs blended together, evening stretched until morning, and there was no going back.

It wouldn't last. Antonio returned to Uruguay when his assignment was completed. There was no discussion of continuing the affair. They were from different worlds and they knew it. He called twice and they shared some emails, but it wasn't the same. At Christmas, she received an impersonal e-card and never heard from him again.

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

'The Horse Farm' - Part Six

"Hi! I'm home!" Louise let herself in.

"Hi. You're early," Walter remarked. 

"Not really!"

"How was your dinner?"

"It was nice. The food was delicious!"

"What did you guys talk about?"

"Ah, the usual gossip." Louise replied. "Jo's always stressing out over Mr. Wrong, and Terri has to beat the men away with a stick."

"Good old Terri!" Walter exclaimed.

"Hey, don't start with that again!" Louise insisted. "You made me upset last night."

"I'm sorry." Walter was genuine this time. "Did you talk about me?"

"We talked a lot about you, and how much I like you."

"I don't believe that."

"Well, believe it," Louise reassured him. "It's true."

"Well, that's a nice compliment - IF it's true."

"Very true," she said, moving in closer to him.

They hugged and stayed in each other's arms for longer than usual. Louise took a deep breath and relished the feeling of being in Walter's embrace. He was trim and athletic, but he knew how to hold her softly.

Louise realized that she was very lucky to be with Walter. He was fun, and spontaneous, successful - 'and rather sexy for an engineer,' she thought with a mental chuckle. She had been lucky after the infidelity. She wasn't going to make another mistake. Her friends would have to accept that.

She gave him a kiss and went over to look through the day's mail.

"I called the Ferrari dealership today," Walter mentioned, "to ask if we could order replicas directly from the company. The receptionist said that she remembered talking to us."

Louise's heart sank. "That's strange!"

"It IS strange. She said that she remembered a man and a woman asking about toy cars. Were you with someone when you were there?"

"No, I was alone!" Louise insisted.

"That's funny," Walter reasoned, "because they probably don't get that many people asking about toys."

"Oh, crap!"

"What?" he demanded.

"I know what it is," she said. "There was this guy in the showroom. I asked about the toy cars, and he started laughing out loud, like it was some stupid idea.  I got mad, and I told the guy off.  He must have been surprised, because he apologized."

"And that was it?"

"That was it! I left."

"He didn't invite you out to lunch or for a ride in his Ferrari."

"No! Nothing like that."  She paused to calculate his response.  "Actually, he gave me his business card, but I threw it away."

"He gave you his business card?"

"Yes.  Men do that sometimes - especially when they're desperate losers who insult women in public places."

Walter looked incredulous.

"Look, I'm telling you the truth.  Not only did I throw the card away, I was so angry with the jerk that I shredded it.  The honest truth!"

"What did your friends say when you told them?" Walter concluded correctly that this incident would be a topic for discussion.

"There were mad at me. They said that they wanted a ride in a Ferrari, and I blew their chances by telling the bozo off. - Look, I am telling you the absolute truth.  The guy was a jerk, I told him off, he tried to play nice and gave me his card, and I shredded it. End of story."

"Except you pissed off your friends."

"My friends will get over it," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

Louise felt a sense of relief in discussing the incident with Walter even if it meant complicating the plan that Terri and Jo were hatching. Maybe this offered her a graceful way out of calling Frank.

"Okay, now it's my turn to take a shower.  Do you want to join me, Mr. Adventurous?"

"I would love to, but I need to make some serious progress on this presentation. Rain check?"

"Okay."

"See, you should have joined me last night!" Walter protested. "An opportunity lost."

"Not lost," Louise said calmly. "We'll catch up when you finish your work."

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

'The Horse Farm' - Part Five

"We need a plan," Terri insisted.

"I don't know," Louise said, still shaken from earlier in the conversation.

"What's there to know?" Terri asked.

"Look," Jo said. "He's a nice man with a nice car who owns horses."

"Lots of horses," Terri confirmed.

"And you're just going to get to know him - socially, not sexually - and just for a little while," Jo continued.

"Just until we get a ride in a Ferrari," Terri suggested.

"And get invited to some horse races," Jo added.

"Ooh - we can wear hats!"

"Yeah!" Jo confirmed. "It'll be fun!"

"And we might meet more guys with Ferraris there," Terri added. "Just for fun, of course!"

"Just for fun," Jo assured her.

"Nothing that would even get you in trouble with Walter."

Louise was hesitant, but it did sound like a good social opportunity.  She had to make certain that she could keep her feelings in check. 

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

"Call him!" Jo offered.

"Not now!" Louise protested.

"No, of course not now!" Terri reassured her. "It's after eight."

"Yeah, I'll sound like a stalker if I call him in the evening," Louise added with disgust in her voice.

"Hmm, let's see," Jo chimed in. "Wealthy, drop dead gorgeous Latin lover with a Ferrari."

"Yeah, she's got a point," Terri added. "When can we start stalking?"

"Shut up!" Louise was agitated.

The others laughed.

"That's is! Forget it!" Louise got up and backed away from the table.

"Wait, we were kidding!"

"Just kidding!"

"No, that's it!" Louise was visibly upset. "You guys have no idea what I went through last time. You're just making a big joke of it." 

"We're not making a joke, Lou," Terri insisted. "You just seem to be the one who attracts these mystery men."

"Yeah. You have a gift," Jo added.

"More like a curse," Louise muttered.

"Look! We just want you to introduce us," Jo clarified. "We want to meet his horse and Ferrari friends. Nothing serious. No monkey business."

Louise remained unconvinced.

"Hey, if you don't want to," Terri offered, "that's okay. We know that things got out of control with... that other time."

"And we promise not to breathe a word to Walter," Jo said. "We'll be VERY careful."

"We ARE careful," Terri added. "It's been, what did you say - a year and a half. And we never once slipped up about that shit-head from, where the hell was he from?"

"Buenos Aires," Jo answered.

"Montevideo," Louise corrected them.

"Yes, the shit-head from Montevideo."

"La Cabeza de la Mierda," Jo added.  Jo could make Louise smile at the oddest times.

"It's gonna be okay, Lou," Terri insisted.

Louise wondered how Terri could convince herself so thoroughly that nothing could go wrong. Then again, Terri was like kryptonite for men. If you need help with a sticky man problem, it's good to have Terri in your corner.

"Hey, I have an idea," Jo offered. "Let's call him together."

"That's a great idea!" Terri added.

"When?" Louise demanded incredulously.

"Tomorrow at lunch," Jo suggested. "You can use your speaker phone."

"Call him on speaker phone?" Louise asked.

"Yeah," Jo confirmed. "We'll sit in the car so there's no noise."

"Isn't that kind of - tacky?"

"Just tell him that you're out in your car driving," Terri suggested. "After all, you will be in your car."

"And you won't sound desperate," Jo noted. "It'll just be like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm in my car running errands, and I thought I'd give you a call.'"

"Yeah, it won't sound like you sat around planning this with your friends."

Jo smacked Terri on the shoulder.

"I'll think about it." Louise answered. She still wasn't sure that she could go through with it, but she'd have her friends there for support. Sink or swim, they'd be together.

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

'The Horse Farm' - Part Four

Jo broke the silence.

"Walter never found out, right?"

Louise could only shake her head.

Jo continued, "And how long has it been since...?"

"Uh! We don't say that name, remember." Louise was relieved that Terri had jumped in when she did.

"Right!" Jo agreed. "That was the deal."

"A year and a half," Louise confirmed. "He left in November."

"Oh, honey," Jo reassured her. "We understand how hard that was for you and why you have to be careful."

"It was different," Terri assured her. "You worked with the guy."

"Shit head!" Jo added.

"You worked with the shit head. You saw him all the time."

"Yeah," Jo said. "It took a while for those feelings to develop."

"Yes," Louise agreed. "I mean, I knew him for a while before anything happened."

"Exactly!" Jo agreed. "It wasn't like you saw the guy once and went crazy. You were in control."

"Until he took you out dancing," Terri recalled.

"I was an idiot." Louise couldn't continue.

Jo, scolding Terri: "Why did you have to say that?"

"I'm sorry, Lou!" Terri put her hand on Louise's shoulder.

"You are NOT an idiot, Louise," Jo reassured her. "You fell for an attractive colleague. It happens."

"It happens to a lot of the guys in my office," Terri gloated.

"Shut up!" demanded Jo. "You're being a bitch today!"

Their testy exchange inspired a fragile smile from Louise.

"Sorry!" Terri knew that she'd stepped over the line. "But what you went through, Lou, it was a completely natural thing."

"Yes, it's completely natural to fall for a man that you can't have and get your heart broken," Louise concluded. "I don't want to go through that again."

"No!" Jo protested. "This situation is entirely different."

"He's just some guy with a fancy car," Terri added.

"A RICH guy with a fancy car!"

"And a horse farm," Louise completed their thought.

"A horse farm?" Terri asked.

"You mean like race horses?"

"I think so," Louise offered. "I don't know."

"Of course," Terri thought out loud. "Ferraris and horses!"

"He doesn't own the farm," Louise assured them. "He just works there. I think."

"What's the name of this place?" Jo had her smart phone ready.

"El Corazon," Louise responded. "El Corazon Stables. C-O-R..."

"I know how to spell 'Corazon'," Jo insisted. "Oh, I found it!"

"Anything interesting?" Terri asked.

Jo squinted to read the page. "Is this guy's name Francisco Mela?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because he's GORGEOUS!" - Jo held the phone up.

"Let me see!" Terri demanded. "Oh my goodness!"

"Right?" Jo responded.

"That man...wow!" Terri was at a loss for words. Terri - vixen conqueror of men - was speechless. 

"He can give me a ride in his Ferrari anytime," Jo offered.

"Mm-hmm!" Terri added.

"You guys are NOT helping," Louise scolded them. "NOT HELPING!"

"Well, maybe we can be of some help," Terri offered. "It says here that they do raise race horses. So, that's something."

"And they give riding lessons," Jo added cheerfully.

"Oh! And your friend, Francisco, here," Jo continued.

"What about him?" Louise wasn't sure that she wanted to know what Jo had discovered about Frank.

"He does own the farm."

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

'The Horse Farm' - Part Three

"So, anyway, I met this guy."

"Let me guess! Latin Lover type?" Jo had to throw that in.

"I thought you were done with guys!" Terri protested.

"Yes," Louise replied. "And yes."

"I knew it," Jo snapped back.  Her impishness could border on the obnoxious.

"You and Walter..." Terri interjected. "You're doing fine, right?"

"Yes, we're doing fine. There's no... Walter's great."

"But?" Jo, digging for details.

"No buts," Louise reassured them. "Everything is good between Walter and me.  It's just an interesting story."

"Okay, so tell us your story," Terri demanded.

"Yes!"

Jo seemed just a little too excited about this.

"Thank you. Anyway, my nephews, they have a birthday coming up."

"Oh, that's right. They're twins." 

Thanks, Jo, for stating the obvious.

"Ooh, God bless your sister-in-law," Terri added.

"Yeah!"

"If I may continue..." Louise was beginning to feel annoyed.

"Ooh, sorry!"

"Anyway, the boys love cars," Louise continued. "And not just any cars. They like exotic cars."

Terri: "Oh, me too!" 

Jo nodded with approval.

"I thought that I could get them, I don't know, like little models or something," Louise added. "So, I went down to the Ferrari dealership."

"Ferrari!" Jo squealed.

"No way!" Terri responded.

"This story just got a lot more interesting," Jo noted.

"Yeah, we have to meet this guy now!" Terri insisted.

"We want rides!"

"Ferrari rides!"

"And we want to meet some Ferrari guys!" Jo added.

"Yeah!"

"But not your guy!" Jo clarified as Terri nodded cautiously.

"I can't believe you!" Louise said with shock in her voice. "A minute ago, you were all concerned about Walter. And now that fast cars are involved, it's as though he doesn't exist."

"Oh, that's right. Walter's her guy," Jo noted.

"Walter of doesn't-own-a-Ferrari fame."

"So sad!"

"Hey, maybe your new friend could let Walter drive the Ferrari, too!" Terri suggested.

"Yeah, good idea!" Jo added. "Take it for a spin!"

"That way he won't mind so much when you come home late."

"Oh, my God! You guys... are impossible!"

"We're not impossible. We're your friends," Terri asserted.

"Yes, friends who want to know when you're going to call this intriguing gentleman."

"I am NOT going to call him," Louise insisted.

"Because she loves Walter so much!" Jo mocked her.

"A Latin lover with a Ferrari? Oh, she's going to call him," Terri added.

Louise was deciding whom to kick first.

"I am NOT going to call, because..." Louise composed herself. "I'm not going to call, because I threw his number away."

"What?" Jo gasped.

"Why did you do that?" Terri begged.

"Are you nuts?" Jo piled on.

"Yeah, some friend you are!"

"Bye, bye, Ferraris!"

"Look, I felt bad," Louise confessed. She sat back in her chair and swallowed back tears.  Her friends realized that they had pushed her too hard, and their demeanors changed to show concern.

"I just..." Louise was sobbing now. "I don't think I can go through that again."

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved

'The Horse Farm' - Part Two

"Well, you look comfortable!" Walter entered Louise's study and refilled her wine glass.

"I was going to put on a bathrobe, but I didn't get around to it." Louise smiled and looked up at Walter with sparkling green eyes.

"I understand," he said. "Those puzzles can be addictive." Walter glanced at her well-toned body. "I see that your yoga classes are paying off."

"Shut up! Jerk!" she said playfully. "And besides, maybe you should come to class sometime."

"Never gonna happen!" Walter countered, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Louise demanded. "You could lose a few pounds, tighten up those abs."

"Oh, zing!" he said, clutching his heart. "And here I has just about to compliment your slippers ... since that's all that you seem to be wearing."

"That's fine. You may compliment them." Louise dangled one foot out in front of him exposing a smooth leg.

"Yuck! You need a pedicure!"

"Oh, get out of here!"

"No problem! I was just about to take a shower." Walter loosened his tie and shirt collar. "Want to join me?"

"I think I'll just finish my puzzle and relax," Louise replied. "Thanks for the refill, by the way."

"Okay..." Walter replied playfully. "You're missing out!"

Louise sat back and studied Walter as he removed his shirt.

"Oh, I'm getting together with Jo and Terri after work tomorrow," she added.  "Is that okay?"

Walter noticed Louise's fait accompli - the plans were already made. She was asking for his approval only as a formality.

"You mean Jo and Terri, your girlfriends? Or some guy named Joe and some guy named Terry?"

Louise glared back at him.

"What?" Walter countered. "I can never tell."

"Jo and Terri, my girlfriends, you idiot! You know that they're women," Louise protested.

"I know that Terri's a woman," Walter clarified.

"Why do you say that?"

"Her boobs are amazing!"

"Oh, you're disgusting! She's my friend!"

"I'm sorry," Walter confessed. "I shouldn't have said that."

Louise's disapproving stare became increasingly stern.

He added, "I should have said that your FRIEND'S boobs are amazing."

"Oh, get OUT of here you PIG!" She threw her pen at him but missed.  Walter let out a taunting chuckle as it bounced off the wall.

"Okay, I'm going!" he said. "Last chance!"

"Yeah, you're on your last chance all right!" Louise muttered to herself.  Even if he were kidding, Walter's comment was not acceptable.

"And no thinking about Terri's boobs in there!" she shouted.

"Too late!"

Louise was genuinely upset now. She knew that Walter was joking, but Terri's power over men could be unnerving. She could charm a roomful of guys with single glance. Terri didn't abuse her power, not very often anyway, but it was amazing to watch her in action when she wanted to turn up the heat. She could make men melt like ice cream in July.

Walter thinking about Terri on his way into the shower - that just wasn't right. She wasn't comfortable with him thinking about any woman in that way, but especially not one of her friends. Louise trusted them both, of course - Terri was her best friend in the world - but trust can be only be stretched so far. Under the wrong circumstances, loyalty can be tested.

Louise looked down at her hand. She had pulled Frank's business card out of her wallet again without thinking about it. A tinge of guilt made her shiver. 'Under the wrong circumstances, indeed!' she thought.  The irony was bitter.

Louise slipped Frank's card back into her wallet.  Tomorrow at the office, she would shred it.

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2013 Daniel R. South

All Rights Reserved