CHAPTER 2 - BRAGGING AND DRAGGING

JUSTIN’S ROOM - TEN MINUTES LATER

JUSTIN

“Hello, are you still there?” Mr Sexy Voice demands as we are both in shock.

“Yes, yes we are. Um, a foal, really? He’s going to be a dad?” Mel grins at me. “We have to tell Gus!” 

NO!” I hiss at her, then put him on mute. 

“Why not?” She frowns. I wring my hands and try to marshall my thoughts. “Hold on…” She unmutes him. “I am so sorry, Brian, can we call you back in about half an hour?”

“Nope. I am not going to be available. Call Daph, give her your address and shit like that. I want to get this resolved as quickly as possible…” He rustles some papers. “...he’s a purebred, and so is she.”

“What kind of purebred?” I ask, finally pushing the image of him whispering in my ear out of my head; what is wrong with me?!

“Akhal Theke. Her name is Odin.” I hear the love when he says that. 

“What colour is she?” I ask.

“Daph will send you a photo of her…” He goes quiet for a few seconds. “...you feeling a bit better?” 

“Who are you talking to?” Mel and I exchange looks.

“Justin.” The way he says my name sends ripples down my spine...seriously, what is this?!

“Me?! I am, well I…” I stammer to a halt.

“So why were you crying?” 

“I wasn’t…” I glare Mel into silence.

“Okay, the first rule for me is not to lie. I heard you sniffing when she asked if you could call me back. It’s too early for hayfever season, you didn’t sound like you had a cold, ergo you were crying. So why?”

“I know he hates me. I hurt him, and…” I whimper before breaking down entirely, Mel holds me whilst I weep, and if he is saying anything then I can’t hear him over my tears. It must have been a good fifteen minutes until I stopped. “...I think he’s gone.” I take the tissue from her.

“Yes he has. Hi, Justin, this is Daphne. Feel better having gotten that a bit out of your system?” I loudly blow my nose. “Eurgh! And that bit! So can we come over?” 

“Yes, yes you can.” I smile at a teary Mel. “Can we call you in the morning?”

“Sure. Have a lovely evening, both of you.”

“You too!” We chorus before dissolving into giggles after hanging up.

“I should go.” Mel sighs as she looks out the window.

“You should, but we both know you don’t want to.” I point out.

“No I don’t.” She admits.

“Then don’t. Call her and say I have had a ‘turn’ and you’re staying to keep an eye on me.”

“But what about…” She begins.

“He can come over first thing. It’s time for her to be the mother that she schemed to be!” I fume. 

“She didn’t…”

“Oh please! He’s her ‘ride or die’ bestie, remember?!” I exclaim. “But she knew he would not provide in the long run! I am sick of being a piggy bank for those two…” I have no idea where this is coming from! “...like Brian said, don’t lie, especially to yourself! For years, fucking years, whilst I was ‘compis mentis’, they were the epitome of charm of sophistication, well as much as he could be! But after the accident happened, slowly but surely their true colours started to show! For them to ruin Gus’s day today, considering they haven’t seen him for two weeks, was really shitty! She’s his mother!” 

“You’re right, it was…” She reaches for her phone. “...you’ve done a couple of big things today, I am so proud of you. And they say three is a charm, so…

“You’re going to order in, right?” I interject quickly. As much as I love her, she cannot cook!

“Yes, I am going to order in!” She laughs. “I was going to suggest a glass of wine with dinner.”

“Please. Now gimme the cookies!”

MEL AND LINDSEY'S HOUSE - LATE EVENING

LINDSAY

Gus hasn’t said a word since we got in the car. I am finding it wearisome that one of the traits he has picked up from Justin is his ability to power-sulk as Michael calls it, which, quite frankly, he’s been doing ever since he fell off that horse! Steeling myself, I head up to his room. Pushing open the door, I find him going through his ‘horse box’.

“Hi.” He stares for a few seconds then goes back to rummaging. “I did knock.”

“No you didn’t, because I would’ve said you can’t come in.” He retorts.

“Your Momma is…”

“Mom is staying with Dad tonight, who is sending a car to pick me up first thing. I know because she already texted me.” 

“I see.” I step further in. “What are you doing?”

“Fixing the day you ruined. Have your feet recovered from the trauma?” The doorbell going surprises me. “I’ll get it.”

“It’s very late. I will…”

“It’s for me!” He shouts back as he bounds down the stairs. “Hey!”

“Hello, darling!” I frown on hearing my Mother’s voice. 

“Mother, what are you doing…” I ask from the landing. 

“Picking our Handsome up.” Daddy answers as he shuts the door behind them. “How are you, how was Cabo?”

“I am a bit tired, and Cabo was great....”

“So great she wanted to spend another day there.” Gus tattles.

“I see.” Mother sighs. “Well, Handsome you go and pack. Lindsay, your father and I would love a coffee.” She heads to the kitchen. Daddy follows, shaking his head. “Lindsay! The coffee, now please!”

KITCHEN

NANCY

I despair of that child! I flick the switch on the kettle, as it takes her forever to join us. Here she is with a lovely home, wonderful wife, our Handsome in Gus, and she treats him like an inconvenience! Ronald is drumming his fingers, a sure sign that he is going to lose his temper in a few seconds.

“Please be calm, let’s at least hear her out.”

“Have you ever known Gus to text us? Us?! He knows us and technology. Thank goodness, he prefaced it with ‘find the instructions on opening a text now’!” His countenance softens briefly, but switches once she finally joins us. “Well, do you want to explain, or should I take a guess and you nod?”

“Daddy…”

“So, according to Handsome up there, you tried to change your flight to today. When that didn’t work, you spent the entire time with Mikey, complaining about the heat. Did it rain in Cabo? I thought it was supposed to be sunny this time of year! Or maybe the terrible jet lag made you grumpy. It’s funny how you managed to go straight to dinner in the Hamptons after a nine hour, with two changes, flight. But a seven hour flight with one stop knocks you almost flat. And then there were the crowds. The smell….” He breathes deep. “....you were at a horse fair, they are his favourite animals in the world…”

“Ronald, this is not calm.” I admonish before putting the mug of coffee down.

“I know, darling, but for fuck sake...which was directed at Lindsay, not you...get your act together!” He takes a sip and grimaces. “And better coffee!” He heads to the sink and pours both mugs out. “Can you check on him? I will be in the car." 

"No, you will go and check on him, Granddaddy…” I relish his small smile at the use of Gus’s moniker for him. “...while I have a little mother-oh-I-so-want-to-be-a-mother chat with her." 

“Fine.” He mutters darkly as he leaves.

I sigh deeply and look at her, asking myself for the umpteenth time, what we did wrong?! 

"So!" I drawl sarcastically. "Care to elaborate how you got nominated for the 'Mother of the Year' award for putting your son's needs before yours? Oh, wait! You didn’t, because that's what real mothers are doing. You, on the other hand, seem to think it was enough to push him out of your twat!” I enjoy her flinch. “Which you didn't do, you had that planned c-section, 4 weeks early, so as to be able to attend that friend's wedding. Anyway, please try to explain to me why you think giving birth and then treating your child like an inconvenience or a bargaining chip makes you a mother! Also, please stop crossing your arms like that. You remind me of the twerp you choose to remain friends with. So explain!"

"Mother, I see once again, you are taking the wrong side.” Lindsay sits down then fluffs out her hair. “Not for the first time, Mel has lit a fire under you, and only told half truths and twisted them through jealousy... “

“Jealousy?” I can feel my dander going right up!

“Yes, she panders to his every whim, just like she does for Justin, who is pining over a…”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” I explode. “He suffered great trauma! He’s had Zeus since he was a foal! Can you, for once, imagine how it felt to see that? To see Gus reacting to seeing then both like that? And let me guess, this jealousy of Mel’s is because you can carry, but she can’t? Well, guess what, being able to carry does not make you a mother! Acting like one does! And if anyone has pandered to anybody, it is me to you! You have had your way from the day you could speak. Well, that bullshit stops now! Either you buck your ideas up, or I will sell this house from under you, you know since we, not you, own it. Naturally, Mel will live in that massive mansion with Justin. You know, Justin, her best friend and Gus’s father who has not given up his rights; and who just loves you and the way you treat Handsome! So you would end up with Mikey in a two bedroom fleapit, listening to him get fucked or wank! Now the question is, do you want to test my mettle, Lindsay? But before you answer, bear in mind that you will be cut off from everything. There will be no Mel, no Gus, no Justin, and no us! So again, want to try me?!”

LINDSAY

I can feel the blood draining to my feet. Judging by that expression on her face, she is serious.

“Mother, I apologise…”

“Of course you do...” She rises from the table. “...but only when pushed into a corner, and only a financial one. It's getting late, we need to take Handsome home.”

“He is home.” I point out.

“Oh, I think not.” She rifles in the fridge and finds some wine. “This will do. I need something to smack that godawful taste out of my mouth.” She gargles and swills, before spitting it into the sink, then stalks out. I follow, and we are both surprised to see Daddy. “Ronny, what are you doing here?” She laughs. “She is not worth jail time, now go and get Handsome. I will be in the car!”  

GUS’S ROOM

GUS

I chuckle at the familiar sharp rap on my door. “Come in, Granddaddy!” I call out before barrelling into his arms, almost knocking him into the wall. “Thank you! I just can’t...I was so angry, but enough about that. Guess what happened today with Dad?!” 

“Well…” He gasps. “...if you let me get my breath back and stop jumping around, I could hazard a guess.”

“Sorry, Granddaddy, come, come sit.” I drag him to the bed and wait for him to get comfortable before taking out one of the bridle badges that I bought and placing it in his hand. He looks confused. “I bought that and showed Dad.”

“Great, and…”

“No, not great, excellent! I bought it today and showed Dad!” He gapes at me. “And he ate cookies!”

“Cook...cookies? Justin ate cookies? And how did he react to the badge.”

“He was really interested in them! And before you say it, no, he hadn’t had a pill…” I settle next to him. “...when I got to his room, he was sketching. Okay, sketching is stretching, it was more of a doodle, but he’s not picked up a pencil in almost a year, which wasn’t used to say what he wanted when he was not talking to us!” He wraps his arm around me before kissing my head. “But, he kinda hid it, so I haven’t told Mom, so…”

“She would not be interested anyway!” He snipes.

“She would! She’s his best friend!” I start to pull away but he holds me tight.

“Gus, how long have you been referring to Mel as Mom?” 

“In my head, a while, but today was the first time I’ve ever said it out loud to my other Mother.”

“I see, well, I think you need to speak to Mel about that. You don’t want her to blindside her with it and make it her fault do you?”

“No, I hadn’t thought of that.” I scramble off the bed to get my rucksack, smiling when I find the cookies. “These are so good. We can have them with hot milk when we get home, maybe?”

“Not maybe, definitely.” He grins. “Now let’s go. Grandmammy is in the car, I couldn’t hear much, but as eviscerations go, it was up there.”

I giggle as I grab my rucksack and overnight bag. “So when do I actually get to see this happen?”

“When you are 21!” He ruffles my hair before taking me to my second most favourite home in the world, after my dad’s….my grandparents'!