Part 6

So, Joe and I took a ride across the local countryside. God, it was gorgeous here, much like Yosemite.

Joe moved underneath me with ease. “What do you think Joe? Ready to go home to a warm stall?” He whinnied and shook his head up and down. “OK Joe, but first I wanna check out this lighthouse.”

I dismounted, throwing the reins over Joe’s head and tethered him by a short wall surrounding this building and the lighthouse. I followed the short stone wall. As it turned out, it only went part way around the far side of the lighthouse, leaving the cliff side exposed. Maybe someone thought this was a good idea. Of course, with me, it was curiosity killed the cat kind of thing.

I had my hand on the side of the lighthouse, feeling the cold, white washed stone under my fingers. I didn't notice how crumbly the edge of the ground was till I lost my footing and fell to my knees, almost going over the cliff.

All of a sudden I was jerked to my feet by a pair of strong hands.

“Och! Tourists! You need ta be careful with places ya dinna ken.”

That was a brogue stronger than Uncle Scott’s and I didn’t hardly understand a word. The strong hand was now under my arm and elbow, escorting me quickly back to Joe, making me walk two steps to every one of his.

“This isna a tourist attraction and not open to the public. Read the sign.” 

He dropped me by Joe. I turned to say there was no sign, but all that came out was a growl of frustration as I worked to push my stocking cap away from my eyes. Still flustered, I did manage to lift my chin only to look up into the bluest, longest lashed eyes on a man ever. Except maybe Paul McCartney.

“Um, I, um,” I stuttered, as I gazed into his rugged face. It was hard to tell him that I didn’t see a sign with my mouth hanging open.

He walked around looking. “Damn. Musta blewn away. Gotta get another one,” he mumbled in that crazy Scottish brogue, as he walked away, totally dismissing her.

I grabbed Joe and yelled out, “Hey! Please, can I get a leg up,” I asked, as I stood next to Joe with my leg bent waiting for a lift.

He stopped. Stood there for a second, then turned. I wasn’t sure he would walk back to help me, but he did. He cupped my lower leg in his hands. It was like a shock. His hands were warm and strong. He easily lifted me up. I settled into the saddle and watched him practically march back to his building next to the lighthouse.

He was shaking. It was his fairy pixey. All the way down to her short white blonde hair colored with purples and greens. The second he touched her he knew. He peeked out the window to see which way she went, but she had already disappeared. Looking down at his hands he was still shaking. Brows furrowed, he mumbled, “Damn females. I don't need this kind of trouble."

Part 5

I jumped awake. My heart racing. I had briefly forgotten where I was. Squinting through my tired grey eyes, I looked at the clock. 6 am. Wow. Wasn't that like yesterday 10 am in L.A.? Jet lag sucks. Well I am here for the long haul, I thought, as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and went to find my Aunt.

“Good morning my Aunt,” I said giving my Aunt a squeeze.

“Good morning, my love.”

“What's the day?” I asked, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

“Normal stuff,” she said, “Mucking. Feeding. You don't have to jump right in Sweetheart.”

“I'm good. It's what we do. Well, I'm off. I'll start with Joe first. You'd think he was still in L.A. Working that skinny look.”

Eileen couldn't put anything past her niece.

Wearing my light vanilla scent and whistling a snappy tune, I said good morning to Joe, as I opened his stall. A welcoming whinny was returned. “Alright Joe, here is your morning breakfast. I expect you to eat it all.” I found a wheelbarrow, a rake, and a shovel and started mucking Joe's stall.

“Ah Joe, such a good boy. Let's put you in your paddock and I can finish my work.”

I got to learn the names of the other horses my Aunt had at the ranch, as I finished mucking and feeding. A couple hours later, with my boots making a tapping noise down the middle of the barn, I went in search of my Aunt.

“Aunt Eileen. What’s up?”  I asked. “So, are all these yours for training or are some just boarders?”

“Two are for training and three are boarders.” Eileen spent some time going over each horse.

“I can work the boarders if you leave me a list of their needs. You know exercise, turnouts, etc.,” I said.

“The extra help will be great. Uncle Scott will be relieved not to help any more,” she chuckled.

With my chores done, I realized it was lunch and I was hungry! I went into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. Mmmm! After cleaning up, I went up to my room and changed into some trusty riding pants and short boots. To finish my ensemble, I grabbed a coat, stocking cap, my helmet and headed out to Joe.

“Oh, hey, Aunt Eileen, may I go exploring a bit?”

“Sure. Just mind the time and the weather. It can change quickly. I see that you have some warm clothing on just in case. I’ll see you at dinner,” Aunt Eileen said, giving Aileen a hug.

“Excellent,” I said, returning the hug and kissed her on the cheek.

I had a big smile on my face as I went to get Joe. I loved Joe. I whistled as I opened the paddock gate. I put my hand under his chin guiding him over to the tack room grabbing a slightly heavier saddle as opposed to a light dressage saddle. With Joe appropriately tacked up, I said, “Come on Joe, I need the fence to climb up onto you.”

Part 4

Vinent paced. He hadn’t slept in a few days, his nightmares chasing him. He had a new song idea, but couldn’t get it right, and now he was in his recording studio, which was in a decommissioned part of a lighthouse. He was allowed the space if he took care of the lighthouse, which was at located at the end of his property. Frustrated, he grabbed his pan pipes and made his way up the stairs of the lighthouse, to the light room and cat walk. He had put a chair up there so he could sit and play his flute without distractions.

He blew into the small instrument which created a musical sound that was melancholy and sad. As he played, he paced, making his way around to the cove side of the lighthouse and there he saw a fairy pixey with her horse. She was moving like a ballet dancer. He changed his tone just a bit to see if she was real. She stopped dancing and started to look around proving she was real. Damn. He moved back around to the other side through a small door, and made his way back to his studio. He wasn't in the mood to be seen and didn't need people snooping, even a fairy pixie. Stupid tourists.

By the end of the day, he managed a couple hours of some good work. He looked up out the window and saw it was dark. It was a good time to walk back to his small castle like house.

He didn't always have a lot of money, so he only used the front part of the house, where there was a fire place, small couch and a huge king sized bed. Yeah, one time he had a particularly bad nightmare and had fallen out of a smaller bed. He made use of a small bathroom on this first floor, and most of the kitchen worked. Oh ya, did he mention that his house was the size of a small castle?

He managed something to eat, took a quick shower, stoked the fire, and went to bed.

Part 3

We made it to Aunt Eileen and Uncle Scott’s ranch. Uncle Scott was a well-to-do Scotsman, and he indulged my Aunt’s every whim.

“Do you still wear that vanilla scent that I remember?” Eileen asked.

“I do. Just didn’t wear any on the plane,” I replied. We had pulled up near the house and you could see the stable and paddocks from there. I got out of the Land Rover and could feel wind on my back.

Aunt Eileen said, “Watch this. Go ahead and put some on.”

I followed my Aunt’s instructions and she pointed to the closest paddock. There was Joe in all his horse glory. Grazing. I walked slowly as my Aunt started video taping on her phone hoping for a viral video.

The wind was blowing my scent towards Joe,when all of a sudden he caught the light vanilla smell. His head came up sharply, his eyes searching his immediate surroundings. His tail shot up and he started whinnying. Then he saw me. Joe took off at a canter straight towards me as I opened his gate. His soft neighing turned into excited trumpeting. He stopped short of knocking me over. I stood there hugging him. His head was over my shoulder trying to hug me horse style.

“Ah, Joe, my big fellow. I’ve missed you,” I cooed. I looked at my Aunt and asked, “May I go for a short ride?”

“Sure. Just follow that trail. It leads to the ocean and a small spit of shoreline. Be careful and don’t be gone too long. It gets dark fast.”

“OK,” I said as, I climbed the fence to get up onto Joe. No bridle or saddle. Joe was the best either way. I took off with my Aunt’s admonishments a faint distant sound.

A man came up behind Eileen and asked, “Did you tell her he’s been off his feed?” He slipped his arms around her and hugged her.

“No,” Eileen said, “She’s very observant. I am sure she noticed his weight.” She turned to face the man and continued, “Thank you Scott for letting her come.”

“Of course Sweetheart. She’s my niece too. It’s going to be great having her around,” her husband said. “Come on. Let’s go see what we can do about dinner. I am sure she will be famished when she gets back.” Together they walked to the house.

Aileen rode Joe along the narrow trail. How beautiful it is here, I thought. Green. Magical. It brought up visions of fairies and pixies. Knights in shining armor upon their large destriers.

I finally reached the small shore, and stopped Joe to take in the majesty of this part of the world, and to listen to the water lapping at the shore.

“Hey Joe, how ‘bout we dance,” I asked, as I rubbed Joe’s shoulder and neck. The big animal started trotting in place, swaying back and forth. Confidant in myself and Joe, I lifted my arms straight out to my sides, swaying in rhythm. After a few minutes I slid off his back landing with ease in the sand.

“Joe, you are so tall,” I said, “it’s a long way down.”

I walked to the water’s edge and ran my hand in the water, amazed again at how magical it was here. The beaches in L.A. were more iconic, with skinny, beautiful, rich people and surfers.

The wind picked up, blowing harder, when all of a sudden she thought she could hear a flute. I stood up and looked all around, scanning the hills, cliffs, and beach. I then noticed an old lighthouse. The sound was strongest coming from that direction. I could actually feel the faint sound causing me to sway and move to the feelings it elicited. My body shifted and dipped. As lightly as it started, the music faded away leaving me slightly bereft.

“Joe,” I said, looking up at the sky, “We’d better get going.”

Aileen found a large stone to climb back up on Joe, and they both started back up the trail. I turned one last time thinking maybe I’d see a leprechaun or something. Oh well.

About an hour later I had Joe in his stall and left him munching his feed happily. I could tell he had been off his feed, being so thin. My Aunt thought she was so sneaky, Aileen smiled to herself. I knew. She knew. I came in the back door to wonder smells. Uncle Scott could really cook.

“Uncle Scott, that really smells wonderful!”

“Just some simple fare tonight.”

I grabbed a plate and dished up some food and sat at the table. “Do you guys ever hear like flute music or something like that? I swear I heard some down by the water, but chalked it up to the whole mystical Scotland thing. You know, fairies. Pixies. Knight in shining armor.”

Eileen and Scott looked at each other and said, “No, but I really don’t pay attention when I am with the horses,” said Aunt Eileen. And Uncle Scott agreed saying he didn't hear anything on his walks.

“Oh. OK,” I said, as I took my plate and washed it off. “Goodnight My Aunt,” I said giving her a kiss. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight Uncle Scott.”

“Goodnight Darling.”

“Goodnight,” her Uncle Scott said.

Part 2

After about 24 hours, I stiffly made my way off the plane. I managed to work out some kinks as I made my way to the restroom. Whew. How do I spell relief. Throwing my purse into my backpack carry on, I put it over my shoulders and walked to the luggage carousel. I couldn’t wait to see my aunt.

“Aunt Eileen!” I exclaimed, waiving to my aunt who stood the luggage carousel. I hugged her tight.

“Ah, Aileen, it’s good to see you,” my Aunt said. Touching my hair, she said, “Look at your hair.”

“I know, right?” I said. “I wanted a whole new change”

“How was your flight?” Aunt Eileen asked, as they waited for her luggage to come onto the carousel.

“Long," I said, as I saw my luggage come by and grabbed it. “My behind hurts,” I continued, “but it feels good to be up and walking,” as we made our way to her car in short term parking.

Once on the road, I turned to my Aunt and started to ask the obvious question, but she interrupted with a smile, “Before you ask, yes, Joe is good.”

I smiled.

Part 1

I sat in the back of the airport bus, staring out the window. I let my mind wander since what used to be an hours drive from Calabasas to LAX, now took like five hours.

I had nothing left to keep me here anymore. My parents had both passed away. My mom being the last to go. I also had put my house up for sale and, with the current California housing market, I made a tidy sum of money. Anything I kept had already been shipped to Scotland.

My Aunt Eileen, who was my only living relative, had married a wonderful Scotsman and had moved there a few years ago. Uncle Scott was wealthy in his own right. Kinda like the Auntie Mame character Beauregard Jackson Picket Burnside, but doesn’t die. He indulged her every whim. They operated a breeding and training facility.

And aside from my Aunt, the one thing that held my whole heart was my horse Joe. Now he did have a big ol’ long official name, but we all called him Joe for short. He had carried me through the L.A. Summer Olympics. Joe had already been shipped to Scotland a couple months ago, as taking care of my mom became a 24 hour a day job during the last few months of her life.

The airport bus stopped. Finally. British Airways. This is it. I didn’t have much with me, just one small suitcase for check in, my purse, and a carry on. Well, here I go, I thought. A new place. A new life. After making it through security, I made my way to the gate I needed and found a seat. Pulling out my phone from my purse, I texted my Aunt that I was at the airport awaiting boarding and departure, and that I couldn’t wait to see them. 

My Aunt replied saying that they couldn’t wait to see me, and that her and Uncle Scott would meet me at the luggage carousel.

I looked at the time on my phone. I had time to get a couple souvenirs, magazines, and snacks. I finally got to board the plane. I had splurged on a first class ticket. It was nice and spacious. The stewardesses and stewards helped me get all settled for roughly a 24 hour flight.

The plane started moving. I was getting excited. I had a window seat and lots of leg room. The flight crew started the safety film on the screens on the back of the seats. Then it was our turn. The engines revved, putting out some G force. Finally airborne! Yay! I watched out the window for awhile. Eventually I sat back and pulled out a magazine to read. It was a long way to my next stop. New York.