The Gift Horse

Chapter III

Meredith gets into the passenger seat of Pam's car, kicking around the plastic bottles on the floor.

"My car is a mess. I need to get it washed," Pam warns. She hasn't changed from her lesson but her face has a fresh coat of powder across it. She spends the twenty-minute drive to Argyle Saddlery talking about the women in the charity committee who annoy her and her twins' science project that made a mess of paint in her living room. Meredith tunes half of this out, nodding and letting out monosyllabic answers when it feels appropriate.

Pam pulls into a lot and parks in front of a building made entirely of stone. The wooden sign above the door has "Argyle Saddlery" carved into it and painted over in gold. When Meredith walks inside, she catches her breath. It's like a toy store for equestrians.

She follows Pam past a display of helmets, down an aisle of sweat-proof shirts, button-downs, and zip-ups in every color. She rubs the fabric of one shirt between her fingers.

"Can we help you with anything today, Mrs. Jennings?" The retail assistant asks, leaning over the counter.

"Yes," Pam motions to me. "She needs absolutely everything!"

They are in the store for over an hour. Meredith is in the changing room watching her thighs jiggle in the mirror as she peels off breeches after breeches. She hates her body in every pair but when Pam insists she walk out to model them, she clasps her hands together and says, "You look like a Grand Prix champion!" Meredith has no idea what it means, but it sounds good.

As Meredith is buttoning up the fifth shirt she's tried on, she hears the assistant outside the curtain say to Pam, "We have a lot of great items on the sale rack too, if you want to take a look."

Meredith hears Pam snort and, in a stage whisper, say, "No, that's not necessary. She's got her husband's credit card."

Meredith's cheeks burn with embarrassment. She's never been comfortable with people pointing out her privileges.

"She could buy the whole store," she hears Pam add.

Meredith gasps, but then she looks at her reflection—dressed like a true equestrian right before her eyes. The sight makes her cover her mouth. She looks exactly like the women in those catalogs she would sift through as a girl. She'd rip out the pages of women in their riding attire next to horses with matching polo-wraps and saddle-pads and pin them to her wall.

Her parents couldn't afford anything from those catalogs but now, Pam is right—she really could buy the whole store.

Meredith waits for the cash register to explode after ringing up all the items but neither Pam nor the retail assistant seem shocked by the total price. Meredith has bought a lot of clothes but she also bought grooming supplies, a bridle, and matching royal blue accessories.

"I'm lending you my old saddle until the fitter comes to measure Thor," is the last thing Meredith hears Pam say as they pack up the car before her mind drifts and she gives out mechanical responses again.

It's nearly one o'clock when they arrive back to the Hunt Club. Pam suggests lunch but Meredith isn't hungry, her stomach is full of taut knots from the excitement. Pam calls to Diego and the young groom, who Meredith finds out is named Carlos, and asks them to help pull Meredith's new tack trunk from her car. They sidestep like crabs to the barn and put it in the tack room.

Meredith thanks them, and then Pam adds, "Gracias," in her butchered accent so it sounds like "Grass-ee-us". The grooms both give unamused half smiles.