CHAPTER 14
Michaela meets Steven at the entrance of the stable late in the afternoon as he is taking Marcus back in.
“ You are quite skilled with him aren’t you?”
“ Yeah I guess.” He smiles shyly.
“ I never guessed you knew how to horse ride. I thought you just...”
“ Am a miserable chef.”
“ No. I meant....sort of.”
They both laugh at her silliness.
“Can you teach me?”
“ Horse riding? Do you want to really?”
“ Duh. Why else would I be asking?”
“Okay. Well you know not everyone is built for it. So I’ll have to see if you’ve got the aptitude for it, you know.”
“ Sure thing.”
The chatting continues as they walk Marcus inside.
Michaela pats him lightly.
“ How old is he?”
“ Ten this month. I’ll bake him some grass.” He laughs saying it.
Michaela chortles.
“ So have you been writing anything new?”
“What are you talking about?”
“ Well you know a new poem or something.”
“ I am always writing. It turns out to be good sometimes if I’m lucky. Lucky mistakes I call them. That’s what the good ones feel like to me.”
“ You are too critical of yourself.”
He shrugs her words off as a complement.
“ Why don’t you read me a verse?”
“What would you like to hear? Shakespeare? Robert Brown? William Blake?”
“No. Something of yours. Read me something of yours.”
“Well. I don’t remember half the things I write and the other half is all disorderly. But I can utter a few words dedicated to this very moment.”
She grins like a Cheshire cat.
“ Don’t do that, that’s creepy. “ Steven jokes.
“ Haha.. Sorry.”
“ I was kidding. You only look more beautiful.” He asserts.
Her eyes meet his. He knows how to make a woman happy. The look in his eyes shifts.
“I behold in my arms, the most beautiful creature of God. The only tragedy is that I love her and she loves everything.”
The words flows out of his mouth and roams in the air like a fragrance.
“ That’s beautiful.” Michaela says.
“ But whom are you referring to?”
“ Someone you don’t know.”
“ She is lucky. You have transfigured her nonchalance into poetry.”
“ You've got it all wrong.” He says as if stating fact. And Michaela choses to leave it there. Even though she wants to know more she knows that would be trespassing. After all that’s the beauty of poetry the verses, the illustrations, the translations, and the after math are often times quite different than what the poet intended to set forth in the first place.
Steven pats Marcus lovingly.
“ He is named after my father.” Steven tells Michaela.
“ Oh! So I guess Cassy named Rose after your mother.”
Stevens face hardens.
“ No. She named her after Rosemary Walsh.” He speaks, clearly in disagreement with her act.
“ After Jon’s mother. “
He was disappointed by her choice , that is clear to Michaela. Whatever was to be the reason behind it.
“ So when can I expect to get my lessons?”
“ I thought you were kidding.”
“ You know I wasn’t Steven. The contract is reaching its end. I want to leave a different person.”
“ Don’t be dramatic. You aren’t even halfway there. We will start your lessons as soon as possible, don’t worry about that. But you can’t miss lessons. And you don’t get to ride Cherry. “
“ Why not? She’s the only one I can handle. Please. Let me ride her. “
“ Okay. But you’ll at the very least give Marcus a try. He’s more free.”
“Okay. I can do that. Try. Sounds good to me.”
“Okay then. I’m going to go make some preparations for dinner. I’ll inform you about the timings.”
She grins eye to eye.
“ You are the best.” She says, be doing her body towards him slightly.
He returns her the smile. The sweetest, kindest, and widest smile. She feels grateful to be on the receiving side of it.
“ Bye Mickey. See you later.”
“ Bye Steve.”
He waves his hand in a good bye and she waves him back.
Nate silently observes the interaction from far away. For as long as he has known Steven, he has never been this free and chatty, that too to a woman. For the first time Nate can see him smiling, laughing , being goofy. And even though he wants to tell himself it’s not a big deal, he knows it is. Because each time he sees any sort of exchange take place between them, his heart sinks. He is aware that the end of this relationship that he shares with Michaela is nearing with time, but as long as she was with him he isn’t going to allow whatever thoughts Steven is brewing inside his head.
“Are you jealous?” Cassy soaks from behind.
He is startled by her voice.
“Since when have you been standing over here? You should have made your presence known.”
“ I just came. I’ll leave if it's bothering you.”
“ Not at all.”
“ Look Jon I’m sorry .....”
“ It’s in the past Michaela. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. It’s over and done with. You did what you thought was right. And since you were just a child , I have accepted you must have seen some reason in it then. You accepting your mistake is enough for me .”
“ Cassy.”
“. What?”
“ You just called me Michaela, it’s Cassy.” She corrects him.
Nate stares straight ahead, a deep sigh escapes his lips. He nods in a slow motion before passing Cassy a freaky smile.
“ Well... I’m fucked.”
He walks away towards the trailer, clenching his jaws.
I'm fucked.
I'm fucked.
I'm fucked.
He repeats the words over and over in his head. And any man who would have watched would have known if not pointed out.
He was fucked.