The Coffee Shop Pt. 05

"You can still take lessons, if you want to," Andy said to me a few seconds after he was standing in front of me.

"Say what?" I asked puzzled.

"When you left, Lee told me that he thought you had spunk. I think you impressed him. He's agreed to take you on as a student, a paying student," Andy answered.

"I lost my temper with Mister Carson. I called him a horse's ass, and then I walked away from him. How does any of that add up to impressing him?" I asked, clearly not understanding Andy's or Mister Carson's thinking.

"You were not afraid to stand up to him. You got angry, but you kept your temper in check and stayed focussed on the main point which was the riding lessons. When he needled you about your inexperience, you admitted it. You were honest and straightforward, in your shortcomings and in your desire to learn. You walked away when you knew you couldn't win the fight, but you did it with dignity and pride in yourself," Andy answered.

"I still don't understand, Andy. Why now does Mister Carson say he is willing to teach me?" I asked more perplexed than ever.

"You showed the qualities that a cowboy respects, Paul," Andy said with admiration in his eyes.

I had seen a lot of expressions on Andy's face, love, trust, tenderness and kindness, but never admiration. I still didn't understand it. I thought I'd blown it, and here Andy was telling me the exact opposite. It didn't make any sense. "Okay, Andy," I said to him doubtfully.

"You'll understand in time, Paul. For now, just accept that he's agreed to teach you, more or less," Andy said in a reassuring voice.

I looked at Andy and did a double take as I digested the last few words of what he'd just said. "More or less. What exactly does that mean?" I asked.

"Mister Carson won't be teaching you himself. One of his instructors will be doing it, but you'll still be paying the riding ranch," Andy said calmly.

"That seems fair," I responded. "Who's the instructor?"

"Me," Andy said with a grin.

"You work here? Part time, I assume?" I asked.

"I help out when I have time and when the ranch gets very busy with students. Lee thinks I'm ready to take on another student.," Andy answered.

"So I'm not your first?" I asked playfully.

"No, you're not," Andy answered. "I've given lessons before. Are you sure you want me as your instructor?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked.

"Our relationship will be different here. I am the teacher. You are the student. To be blunt. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, and you don't question my orders. Is that clear?" Andy fixed me with a stern no nonsense gaze. It took me a second or so to realize he wasn't kidding. He was dead serious about this. I gulped once.

"Crystal clear, sir," I answered softly but firmly, looking him dead in the eye.

"Good. Now I have a few things to take care of for the next half hour or so. Meanwhile you can wander about the ranch, but stay out of everyone's way. Got it?" Andy's tone of voice suggested that he strongly doubted I'd be able to do that.

"Yes, sir," I replied, keeping my voice cool and controlled. I didn't like this sudden 'superior' attitude that Andy had taken on. I felt like I was being verbally 'put in my place', yet again. As Andy walked off towards one of the barns, I realized that this is exactly what Andy had done. He had firmly established our relationship at the riding ranch. He was in charge. I was not. If I wanted to learn to ride, and I wanted Andy to be my teacher, I was going to have to go along with this. It was a difficult pill to swallow for one who was used to being the dominant one in our relationship.

I walked about the ranch looking around at the various fenced off pens and areas. I had no idea what the cowboys were doing, or why. Across from the general parking lot was a large open field with a small herd of horses wandering about in it. They looked content. Several of them trotted about briefly, moving about the field in no particular pattern. I walked up to the fence to get a better look a them. They were beautiful animals, a wide mixtures of colours and patterns on each animal. Don't ask me to tell you the breeds. I don't know much about horses, other than I find them graceful, strong and powerful. I also find them a bit scary too, if the truth be told, but I wasn't about to admit that to anyone, much less Andy.

I looked about and noticed that off to the left a few yards away from me the pasture was fenced off, and in it was a lone brown horse. This animal was more like the colour of rust, than brown. I didn't know if the horse was male or female. The animal had an air of sadness about it as it moved slowly about the pasture. I did know that horses are social animals, and it was unusual to have a horse isolated. Walking over to the fence I noticed that it was in fact a double fence with about three feet of empty space between the two fence lines. I walked over to the double fence and carefully climbed up on the fence that held the single horse. I did not want to spook any of the horses and it seemed safer to me to sit on the fence that corralled the single horse rather than the herd. I sat with my back to the single horse, looking out at the herd of horses, watching them move. I started studying each animal, wondering which one I would pick to learn to ride, that is if I had any say in the matter. Watching them move was mesmerizing. It certainly helped to pass the time as I waited for Andy. I started to swing my right foot about, as I watched the horses move.

Suddenly my butt start to move downward as I felt myself starting to slip. A half second later I lost my sense of balance and fell over backward. I felt my back thump into the dirt, a pain in the back of my head and then everything went black.


The next thing I knew is that my face was wet and I could feel two big warm lips moving across my face. I cracked my eyes open slowly, and blinked a few times, trying to figure out what I was looking at. It was big and sort of brown coloured, but I wasn't sure what it was. I took a deep breath and the unmistakable smell of unwashed horse filled my nostrils. I jerked back in fright as I realized I was looking up at the head and neck of a horse standing above me, running its lips over my face. While I admit, it is an effective way to wake a person up, it's not very pleasant. It was also a bit scary.

The horse bolted away from me. I guessed that my sudden movement had startled it. I rolled over and got to my hands and feet, looking quickly about. The horse, and it was the rust coloured one I'd noticed earlier had moved ten or fifteen metres away from me. In only a few seconds? Boy could that horse move!

I decided that a speedy retreat out of the pasture was in order. I climbed to my feet. I never made it all the way up. When I tried to stand, I discovered that my right ankle would not bear my weight. I could not walk! This was going to make things difficult. The fence was only a few feet away. I hoped over to it and placed my hands on it as I steadied myself. My head wasn't spinning and my vision seemed to be normal, so the blow to my head wasn't too serious, I guessed. I looked at the fence, and discovered that it was intact. It took only a few tries for me to determine that there was no way for me to climb over that fence. I looked about. I couldn't see a gate in the fence anywhere. I knew there had to be one somewhere. Hoping to spot a ranch hand and get some help, however humiliating that might be to me, I looked all round me. I didn't see anyone. All I saw was that rust coloured horse looking at me. It was standing there just looking at me, ears perked up. It was about ten metres away from me.

I started hobbling down the fence away from the pasture with the herd of horses, as there was no gate in that direction, that I knew of. Right now, one direction seemed as good as any other. But why did I suddenly feel so sad? Sure I was in pain, and hurting, but I shouldn't feel this sad. The hobbling was going very slowly. Every step with my right leg, was a new adventure in pain. One never truly appreciates the absence of pain, until one is faced with having to deal with a mountain of it. After a few more minutes of hobbling (if you could call it that), I stopped for a breather and stood next to the fence leaning up against it with my left leg. This let me put all my weight on my left leg and let me rest my right leg as much as I could. I looked about. I froze. The rust coloured horse was less than two feet from me. It had walked up behind me, while I was hobbling, and I hadn't even noticed. I had been paying attention to the task of trying to walk, rather than to my roommate in the pasture. Horses are big strong animals. Generally they are gentle, but they can easily kill a man. I was alone, injured in a field with a strange horse, whose temperament and tolerance of strangers, I knew nothing about. In other words, I was in deep shit, and I'm not talking about anything the horse might have deposited in the field.

I stood still and did my best to remain calm. The horse looked as cool as a cucumber. The ears were still up. The horse moved slowly towards me, one step at a time. It didn't seem upset or nervous about being so close to me. (Well that made one of us.) When the horse was less than a foot away, it slowly reached out its head and placed its mouth on my right hand that hanging down my right side. The horse ran its lips over my hand slowly and gently, as if it were feeling me out.


Suddenly the feelings of sadness intensified. Mixed in with those feelings was loneliness. I could also feel longing and a sense of profound loss. The feelings were not coming from me. They had to be coming from the horse. Somehow, I was picking up on what the horse was feeling. I wasn't in contact with any other person, gifted or otherwise. The only physical contact I was experiencing was with the horse. I was dumbfounded. Mary had never told me that my mental powers would ever work with animals. I had handled lots of cats and dogs since developing my super hypnosis powers during the past several years, and I had never had any type of a reaction with any animals. But then I had never been in contact with horses before.

I concentrated. Maybe if I could tune in more clearly on what the horse was feeling, I'd be able to figure out if I was in any danger. I took a few deep breaths and calmed my mind. Loneliness. Sadness. Loss. A longing for company. The horse moved one step closer and place its head against my chest, nuzzling me. It was a gentle push, but it nearly knocked me over, since I was standing on only one leg. Hesitantly I reached up and softly patted the horse's muzzle between its nose and it's eyes. Now I felt the loneliness fade away and a warm feeling replace it. At first I wasn't sure what the new feeling was. I had to examine it for a minute or so before I realized it was a sense of belonging of purpose of partnership. This poor horse was aching for companionship, and had reached out to me, maybe because it knew that with my sprained ankle, I couldn't get away, and I wasn't much of a threat. Not a comforting thought on my part, but it seemed to fit the facts.

"Easy old girl," I said soothingly. I knew this horse was female. No, I did not 'check under the hood', I just knew. I could feel it. The horse pressed closer to me. She seemed to draw calmness and peace from contact with me. An idea sprang into my mind. This horse might be able to help me, as I was helping her. The question was, would she agree to it? You have to understand that I was going on my gut feelings. I knew nothing about how to handle a horse. I was scared and I think the horse knew it. Each time I admitted to myself how scared I was of her, she nuzzled me softly, as if she was trying to calm my fears. I couldn't help but think that she was treating me like I was her injured colt. It was a dumb idea, but again it seemed to fit the facts and the feelings I was experiencing.

"Listen, old girl," I said softly. "I'm hurt and I need your help. Can I hang on to you, while I hobble to the doctor?" Boy, that sure sounded dumb. I was talking to this animal like she was fluent in English. She didn't seem to mind. If anything, the sense of calmness and peace increased as I talked to her. I hopped over so I was standing her on her left side. She didn't move a muscle, or make a sound. Carefully I put my right arm about her strong neck and shifted all my weight to my right shoulder. Gingerly I put my right foot down on the ground. As quickly as I could I took a big step with my left leg and move about two feet forward. The horse took a half a horse step and kept pace with me. The pain in my ankle was intense but blessedly brief. I hobbled forward a few more steps, the horse keeping pace with me as if we had practised this manoeuvre for years.

"Thanks girl," I said, trying to offer her praise for doing this for me. "You're a real lady." Stupid thing to say to a horse, I admit, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. It's not like I had an apple or carrot to offer her.

The next half hour or so, to judge by my watch, was spent making my way down to the gate at the far end of the field. (Why is it that, the gates are always far away when you are injured and in pain?) The horse, was with me every step of the way. When I stopped to catch my breath and wait for the pain in my ankle to subside to bearable level, she was right beside me, nuzzling me, as if she were offering encouragement to me. I don't recall what I said to her, though. It was probably something stupid, which I'd probably not want to remember anyway. Somehow I got the gate open and the two of us walked out of the field. I closed the gate after we passed through it, since leaving it open seemed like a very bad idea to me. The horse didn't seem to care one way or the other. We headed up the deserted road towards the cluster of buildings near the main entrance and parking lot. I figured that I'd run into someone along the way who could help me. I didn't know where the local first aid station or doctor was (heck I'd even take a vet right now). It seemed logical to assume that someone in the main office would know.


Half way down the road I looked up to see a cowboy standing about ten feet away from me. He was looking at me, as if he'd seen a ghost. "Could you help me, please?" I called out to him. He stood there, just looking at me and the horse, and then he took a step backward. He wasn't going to be of much help it seemed. The horse seemed to find his reaction puzzling. She wasn't upset by it, though. "Could you at least point me in the direction of the doctor or first aid station?" I asked the cowboy.

The cowboy lifted up his arm and pointed down the road to the main building. "Thank you," I said. A lot of help he was. I absently noticed that he appeared to be a working cowboy, and not a guest like me. His faded jeans were dust covered, as were his chaps, and his dark blue denim shirt. The straw cowboy hat resting on his head had seen better days. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, but otherwise he was attractive. Certainly he was physically fit. I was in too much discomfort to pay him any more attention. He wasn't offering me any help right now. If anything, he was working hard at keeping his distance from me. I couldn't understand why, though. I wasn't much impressed by the staff at this riding stable, if this was an indication of how they treated their paying students. True, I had not actually paid any money yet, but the point was still valid.

The horse and I continued our slow journey down the road. We came across two more cowboys, again both were working cowboys and both were attractive. Neither offered me any help. They just pointed further down the road when I asked where the doctor or first aid station was. They too stared at me as if they had just seen a ghost, and when I started to walk towards them, they walked away from me. They too were keeping their distance from me. During one of my short pauses to catch my breath I reached down and checked that my fly wasn't open. It wasn't. I was getting a bit pissed off by their refusal to help me. I suspect that is in part what drove me onward. If they were not going to help me, then to hell with them and I do this myself. I'd show them! Silly and stupid thoughts, but they got me through the pain. If I hadn't had the horse to lean on and to bear my weight I knew I never would have been able to walk those thirty miles. (I know it wasn't anywhere near thirty miles, but it sure as hell felt like thirty miles. I was in a lot of pain. I'm allowed to exaggerate.) I thanked the horse for her help and support as we walked. I let her know how much I appreciated what she was doing for me. Even if she didn't understand my words, I was sure she understood the warmth in my voice. We made our way, painful step by painful step, to the main office of the riding ranch.

The scene at the main office was not at all what I expected. There was a group of cowboys waiting for us at the main office, all of them staring at me and the horse like we were visitors from another planet. I could see Andy amongst them. He looked as surprised as the rest of the cowboys. I looked over the cowboys a second time, and realized that they looked more scared than surprised. Surprised made a bit of sense to me, but scared did not. I noticed Mister Carson was there as well. Unlike the others he looked angry.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Mister Carson barked at me.

I looked up at him and blinked. "I'm looking for a doctor or a first aid station. I hurt my ankle," I answered.

"Never mind about that. I'm talking about the horse. Just who the hell do you think you are, that you can take one of our horses and go where ever the hell you want?" Mister Carson yelled at me. His temper was going up. This was not good. Any chance I had to take riding lessons seemed to have gone up in smoke.

"She offered to help me get here," I answered. "She seemed to enjoy the walk and the company."

"What the hell did you do to her?" Mister Carson demanded.

"Slow down. I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything to her. She walked up to me and woke me up when I fell off the fence and knocked myself out," I said with a blush. I figured I might as well come clean and admit my own stupidity, and take any ridicule Mister Carson was going to send my way.


"You're lying," Miser Carson said. "Horses don't do that."

"Well this horse did. Now, I need some medical attention. Would you be kind enough to get the doctor for me? In the meantime, could someone help this horse to a stall or something?" I asked as I stood there balancing on one leg, while looking at Mister Carson. Andy remained silent through all of this, which I thought was rather odd.

"Buck get a rope 'round Rusty and get her into the second barn. I want Doc to check her over," Mister Carson said without taking his eyes off of me.

A tall, slim cowboy slowly approached the horse and me. I guessed that his name was Buck. He walked up to the right side of the horse very slowly. I could see the fear on his face. He gulped once or twice as he approached the horse. He was acting like he was a member of the police Bomb Squad, approaching a ticking time bomb. In his hand was a rope of some kind. Carefully he placed the rope over the horse's head and down her neck. With a click of his tongue he gently tugged on the rope. The horse, whose name was Rusty I now realized, turned away from me and calmly let the cowboy lead her towards the barn. I didn't have any time to get a really good look at the cowboy, other than to register that he was kind of cute. I was more concerned with getting myself to a doctor.