Bloodless Day

Win Some, Lose Some

"Oh, no you don't," Jack said, tugging sharply on Lilac and I. "You're not falling asleep on me. Go groom your horse, I have to attend to jockey stuff."

"Such a professional," I commented wryly, sipping at my coffee and willing the caffeine to kick in. It didn't.

"Just go." There was a final shoving sensation at my shoulders and then Jack was gone, the truck roaring into motion.

Lilac looked blearily at me. "Never again."

"I concur."

We stumbled into the shedrow, greeted by a noisy fanfare of whinnies- BD, and the Holiday Break greeted us. "Hey, bud," I patted Holiday as I passed him by, too tired to feel guilty for not giving him the attention he deserved lately. But BD needed me.

"Okay, I'll get the... box... for grooming, and..." Lilac followed me into BD's stall, where the stallion sniffed her warily but did not antagonize her.

"We have... five? Hours before his race. It's alright if we just relax for a second," I said, and we sank down into the straw together. BD snorted loudly at us, but I didn't reprimand him because

"Anna! Lilac! Wake up!"

My eyes flew open and I jerked awake, my head striking against something hard. Then my vision focused and I saw Jack reeling away from me, rubbing his forehead. "Geez, Anna, you're as hard headed as your horse."

I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the straw beneath me and Lilac besides me, waking, and the massive form of BD above me. "Did... did we fall asleep?"

"Did you ever! Post time is in half an hour!"

He could not have devised a more abrupt wake up if he'd thrown a bucket of ice cold water in my face. "What! He's not groomed yet!" I scrabbled to my feet, pulling an abruptly awake Lilac with me as we stood, spooking BD with our sudden motion. He rushed to the safety of the corner of his stall, shooting us dirty looks.

Fully alert now, I laughed despite myself. "A half hour isn't too bad. We'll have him ready in ten, okay?"

Jack nodded roughly and turned on his heel, storming from the stall. But there was something in his posture that told me he wasn't as pissed off as he seemed. "I think he's just worried because...."

"It's my last day?" Lilac guessed ruefully. She wiped her hands off on her shorts and offered one to BD, who touched it lightly with his muzzle and then shook his head. "Thanks for not killing me in sleep, big guy."

Uncomfortably aware of how true that possibility could've been, I ushered Lilac out of the stall and sent her to get a grooming box. Everybody gone, I grabbed BD by his shiny new halter! and pulled his face down to me. His dark eyes met mine solemnly as I traced the whorl on his forehead. "You're going to give us a race to remember, okay? Give Lilac something to think about when she goes to California."

He blinked, once, and then pulled away from my hold, tossing his head once, ears pricked. He knew it was race day. I grinned as Lilac approached with the grooming box. "Let's get you ready."

*****

"He looks amazing!" Lilac whispered to me as we milled nervously at the railing.
"Jack looks mad," I whispered back. Lilac smirked.

"He told me that he got a lot of heckling from the jockeys when he ran Shamrock with flowers in her mane, but at least she was a mare."

We giggled, and I waited for the acute pain I felt at the sound of Shamrock's name, but instead all I felt was regret that this was our last day. How rare it is when we do know it's the last. I didn't know which I preferred. On one hand, there were awkward goodbyes, the impeding sense of forever. On the other...

"They're at the post!"

BD loaded nicely. He'd drawn first, something that greatly displeased Willifred. His first race had blocked him back badly, but he'd come brilliantly from behind. In first position, he'd have to surge to the front immediately, or be blocked by the rest of the field and risk not having an opening, or not being strong enough to pass the rest of the field too far into the race. We didn't know his limits yet and didn't want to find out.

"Imagine, this is the track where Secretariat ran, where Barbaro and Affirmed crossed the finish line first," Lilac said dreamily.

The other horses loaded. Delayed Flight, a bay mare a good hand and a half taller than BD, had me nervous. She was undefeated with two races so far and had some impressive times. Along with her height and focused personality, she was a true contender.

"So did and so will BD," I answered, wringing my hands.

I shouldn't have worried. The bells rang, the gates flung open, and BD was first out and along the rail, humming against it with thrilling speed. The other horses were half a length behind as they charged down the track, heads bobbing in their haste to catch up.

"Way too fast," Lilac grabbed onto my arm, nails digging painfully into my skin. "No way can he maintain that pace."

"Don't insult my horse," I snapped, but my heart hammered in my heart. If he spent himself too soon...

Nobody told BD that he was going too fast, and Jack didn't bother informing him of this either. As they rounded the bend, I saw him sneak a look under his arm and at the opposing horses. Then he looked back forwards and began pushing BD even faster. They absolutely tore up the track, but the race wasn't quite over.

Delayed Flight began picking up speed. She surged through a hole in the pack and hugged the rail, flying forwards. Jack didn't notice her approach, but BD sure did. His ears flicked back and his gallop faltered.

"Nonononononono!" I screamed, clinging onto Lilac as we jumped up and down.

The large filly bore down on him, passing his hip, his shoulder, and then...

Before she could get her nose in front of him, BD found his ground again and leaped forwards, clicking into a different gear. He roared ahead, flying past Delayed Flight, past Lilac and me, past the finish line.

"He lead it! Wire to wire! He won!" Caught up in the victory, we jumped up and down, screaming. Adrenaline rushed through my body as though I had just run the race. It was the best feeling in the world.

Lilac let my gaze and let out another laugh of helpless disbelief. "We have a picture to take! In the winner's circle!"

"And a horse to cool down," I added, but each step brought a little bit more emptiness into me. Each step brought Lilac closer to leaving.

But, really, happiness wouldn't be so valuable if sadness wasn't there to remind us of the alternative.

*****

Hey guys!

My last update was complete crap. I'm sososososososososososososso sorry. I could come up with all the excuses in the world, but, really, it sucked. Hopefully this one makes up for it!

And another thing, I haven't been getting many comments lately. I'm not going to be that cruel person that refuses to update unless I get a certain amount of comments/updates, but I'm also not going to deny that comments are super duper encouraging! I love connecting with fellow readers and writers. :3

Anyways, I'm about to go to the barn! Well, bookstore and then barn, haha. So, gotta go! Love y'all!

~Iggy