Riding Chance Page 12

  “Well, I hope Niki’s pops ain’t like Winston,” I said, trying to make a joke about the whole thing. I thought Foster would pick up on it and do his Winston imitation.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I can handle it if he is.” He just said it flat like that. The thing is, I knew Foster could handle whatever came his way. Foster’s quick on the uptake. He’s totally like that.

  FOSTER SAID HE wasn’t a horse. I never said he was. I asked Chance about it the next morning when we were out on our ride.

  “First off,” I said, “Foster only has two legs and you have four.” I knew Chance was listening ’cause she had one ear cocked. “And you have more muscles than he does.” I said that even though Foster had filled out from all the work he’d done earlier in the summer. “But maybe he’s mad ’cause you’re a girl, just like I could get mad ’cause he’s all wrapped up with Niki.” Chance just kept going. I didn’t expect her to answer, but it still felt good to tell her everything. “Well,” I said, “I’m not gonna worry about it. Like he said, he’s got his own stuff.”

  I was totally into my training after that. Winston finally moved me up from the wooden horse to practicing polo swings on Chance. Then, one morning, Winston brought Willie and Little Keith to watch me practice.

  “I wanted these guys to see how well you’re doing,” Winston said, nodding to them. I’d never been around the other polo players without Jerome, so I didn’t know what to expect.

  Little Keith was quiet but Willie was straight up. “You got big shoes to fill,” he said. “Marcus moving away and now Jerome, well, you know.”

  “When’s Jerome coming back?” I asked. Willie exchanged a look with Little Keith but they didn’t answer.

  “That’s still an open question,” said Winston. “His ankle’s coming along nicely but the shoulder is going to need more time.”

  “Yeah, screwing up your shoulder ain’t funny,” said Willie. He lifted his right arm and swung it over his head. “I definitely don’t want anybody messing with this.”

  “Let’s just see how it goes,” said Winston. “But you’re right, Willie. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. We were already one man down.”

  “Well,” Willie said, looking at me, “let’s see what you got.”

  I already had Chance tacked up, so I swung myself up into the saddle. I was holding the reins in my left hand, you know, like you do in polo, and Winston handed me the mallet on the right side.

  “Good, good, you’re doing everything right,” he said. He’d spent a lot of time talking about how dangerous polo was. It was real important to do things right.

  “Okay, warm her up like I showed you,” he said. Me and Chance made slow canter circles to the right. “Start your circle taps. I wanna see you tap ten times without missing the ball.”

  So, there I was, riding Chance and tapping the ball with half-swing shots to the right. There was a lot of stuff to remember. How to move up and down in the saddle, squeeze your knees, turn your shoulders, keep your head over the ball, and look at it before you swing. Winston had me practice stuff like that over and over. Even had me riding without stirrups so I could learn how to stay on Chance without them.

  Willie said something I couldn’t hear to Winston and Little Keith. Winston nodded, but Little Keith still didn’t say anything. “Right, Keith?” Willie said. Little Keith just shrugged.

  I finished my little routine and dismounted.

  “Not bad,” said Willie.

  “I told you he was good,” said Winston, smiling as I walked toward them. “I’ve never seen a beginner take to this so quickly.”

  “Reminds me of Jerome,” said Little Keith. “He took to this real quick, too. I sure hope he’s all right.”

  Nobody said anything. You could’ve cut the silence with a knife.

  “I’m gonna take care of Chance,” I said, walking her around to the hose. Winston nodded. I was glad to get away. Felt like they knew I was the cause of Jerome’s getting hurt. And there were two of them; I was alone.

  “CAN YOU GIVE ME A HAND with these boxes?” Dre was standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to his apartment. Looked like he’d thought he could carry both boxes himself but, after just one step, realized they were too heavy.

  “Sure,” I said, taking the top one and following him up to his place.

  Most of the horses were outside the barn, so we didn’t have them right under our feet but you could still hear their sounds coming through Dre’s open windows.

  “Do you ever have parties up here?” I asked. Didn’t seem like it’d be a good idea to have pumping music and folks dancing so close to the horses.

  “Just get-togethers,” he said, setting down his box and motioning for me to do the same. “I used to have the polo team over, but not so much this summer.” He didn’t have to say why that was. “You and Foster should come and sleep over before school starts. You know, see what it’s really like to live out here in the park.”

  “I don’t think Foster would dig it,” I said.

  “Hmm.” He’d opened the refrigerator and held up a pitcher of lemonade, asking if I wanted a glass. I nodded and he poured some for each of us.

  “Me and Foster aren’t really hanging out,” I said, taking the cool glass from his hand. “You know, he’s not riding anymore and he’s into that girl, Niki.”

  “And you?” Dre said between gulps of lemonade. “Are you hanging with anybody?”

  “I’m into the horses,” I said, shrugging. It was real easy to talk to him, so I added, “Me and Alisha were getting tight but, I don’t know, something happened …”

  “Are you cool with that?” he said.

  “Not really, but, you know …”

  “Don’t let it slip away, man,” he said. “I know you’re down with the horses and all, but you need human friends, too.”

  I put the glass on Dre’s table and picked up one of his horse magazines. “I was with Jerome’s boys today.”

  Dre’s eyes widened. “Willie and Little Keith?”

  “Well,” I said, “I wasn’t really hanging with them. Winston brought them around to watch me practice.”

  “And …”

  “It was okay, except I get the feeling everybody’s mad about what happened to Jerome.”

  “I’m not gonna lie and tell you they’re not,” he said, “Winston’s real disappointed. You know, he’s all about the polo.” Dre hesitated for a second. “Sometimes a little too much, but things happen.”

  “Jerome fell,” I said, looking down at the floor.

  “That’s not hard to do at Winston’s place.” Dre gathered some papers off the table. “I’ve slipped over there myself. He needs to replace those bricks.”

  “When’s Jerome coming back?” I said.

  Dre shrugged. “Nobody knows for sure.” He rolled the papers up and put a rubber band around them. “You cool?” he said, looking at me. I nodded and put the magazine back on the table. “Let me come down with you,” he said. “I need to check on everything before my buddies come over to watch the game.”

  We walked back down to the ground floor. Dre didn’t lecture me any more about what he thought I should do. He’d already said his piece and, being cool like he was, he left it at that.

  GRANDMOM MAKES A real good mac and cheese. We had it for dinner that night and Uncle Ronnie came over with some cherry vanilla ice cream, my favorite. Usually, I’m all over it, but I stopped after I ate the two scoops Grandmom dished out.

  “Uh-oh,” said Uncle Ronnie, looking at Pops, “something’s up. Troy’s not fighting me over this ice cream.”

  “I’m in training,” I said, pushing back from the dining room table.

  “That never stopped you before.” Uncle Ronnie leaned on his right elbow, waving his spoon in my direction.

  “Elbows off the table,” said Grandmom before adding, “Maybe he’s had enough. Nothing wrong with that.”

  I wanted to excuse myself from the table and go up t
o my room, but they would have questioned that, too. I’d started thinking on my way home from the park. What would happen if I told the truth to just one person? Like Pops or Mr. Glover. I thought about it some more. Pops wasn’t a good choice. He’d make me tell Winston for sure and who knows what would happen then. I’d probably get suspended or even kicked out. Mr. Glover wouldn’t work, either. He’d just make me feel bad about lying. Foster was the one. He wouldn’t tell anybody. Well, I don’t know, maybe he’d tell his girlfriend, Niki. I definitely wasn’t feeling that. Plus, I’d have to go find him. I still wasn’t ready to do that, either.

  “The exhibition match is coming up. Maybe it’s just jitters,” said Pops. He’d been looking almost like his old self the past few weeks. He was back into his music and telling everybody about me.

  “I might bring a date,” said Uncle Ronnie. “You should see the attention I get from the ladies when I tell them my nephew plays polo.”

  Grandmom rolled her eyes. “Leave it to you to find new ways to get dates.”

  Pops was laughing down at his end of the table. “Is that why you were so eager to loan me the money for Troy’s gear?” He caught my eye and winked.

  “No,” Uncle Ronnie said, staring down at his plate. He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I knew this would be a good thing for Troy … for all of us.” We looked at him. He wasn’t being funny or talking about ladies.

  Pops leaned across the table and touched Uncle Ronnie’s arm. “You were right about that and I thank you. I’m only sorry Troy’s mom isn’t here to see him now.” This was the first time in a year he’d mentioned my mom without looking real bad.

  “Well, I’m proud of all of you,” said Grandmom, getting up from her chair. She walked around the table and kissed Uncle Ronnie on the forehead.

  All of this because of me. I licked my lips and took a deep breath. How could I tell the truth now and mess everything all up again?

  ALL EVERYBODY WAS talking about was exhibition. Winston’s team won last year and he wanted to do it again. He was totally obsessed with it.

  Me, I was practicing every day with Willie, Little Keith, and Marcus since his parents let him stay in Philly with his aunt until the end of the summer. He’d be our fourth player if Jerome wasn’t back in time.

  Two weeks had passed since I thought about telling the truth to somebody but, I don’t know, Pops and everybody were happy. It didn’t seem right to spoil that. That’s what I told myself. Anyway, I was up in my room after dinner one night when somebody knocked on my bedroom door. I thought it was Pops or Grandmom.

  “It’s open,” I yelled.

  I didn’t get up off the bed ’cause I thought one of them would just stick their head in. It was Foster. We always used to get together at his house. I don’t remember how that got started; it just was. This may have been the first time he was in my room in like five years.

  “Yo, man, come on in.” I sat up and put down the book I was reading.

  “Don’t tell me,” he said, walking over to see what the book was. “You’re reading about polo.”

  “Yup, gotta be on my game, cuz.” I swung my legs off the bed and pointed to the desk chair behind him. He pulled it out and straddled it.

  “Well, that’s what I came to talk to you about,” he said. “Jerome’s coming back to the stables.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Miss T told me.”

  “Miss T? How does she know?”

  Foster looked down at the floor. “You were right about Miss T and Winston.”

  “What?” I fell back on my bed.

  “Yup,” he said. “He calls her every night and he’s taking her out this weekend.”

  “Where? Where are they going?” I don’t know why, but I wanted to know where Winston hung out.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “They’re still working on it.” Foster’s shoulders slumped. “It’s weird to have my mom going on dates,” he said.

  “Maybe she won’t like him or maybe she won’t be able to stand his homies.”

  “My mom can handle herself with anybody … if she wants to.” That was true. Foster got that from her. He shrugged. “We’ll see how you feel when your pops starts going out.”

  I wasn’t ready for that. I changed the subject so I wouldn’t have to think about it.

  “So when did Miss T tell you about Jerome?”

  “Today. Winston’s gonna talk to you tomorrow.” He hesitated before adding, “I figured you could use a heads-up.”

  I fiddled with the book I’d just put down. Everybody thought I was the cool one but it was Foster who had guts. He was still looking out for me and he wasn’t afraid to let me know it.

  “Yeah, thanks, man,” I said, but I knew that wasn’t enough. He took a big step in coming over here. “Thanks for watching my back. No horse can do that.”

  “What?” he said. “Chance can’t do everything?”

  “I’m not saying all that.” I held my hands up. “But, you know, we go way back; nothing’s gonna change that.”

  I didn’t say anything else for a minute ’cause I didn’t want to get all sloppy, but I knew I had to tell him what really happened at Alisha’s party.

  “Jerome may still be mad about the party,” I said.

  “Then he should be mad at that girl with the big shoes.”

  “No, he shouldn’t,” I said. “I’m the one who tripped him.”

  Foster’s mouth fell open. “For real?” he said.

  I nodded. “He made me mad when he started laughing at me in front of everybody.”

  “Nobody could tell you did it,” he said. “It was too dark.”

  “I know, but Jerome felt it.”

  “What are you gonna do?” he asked.

  “I’m gonna watch him like a mug. What do you think?”

  “I mean, besides that.” He thought for a few minutes. “Nobody thinks we talk anymore. Maybe I can wear a recorder and catch him saying something bad about you.”

  My boy always was into that detective stuff. He had all these ideas about putting cameras in the tack room and even in the horse stalls. The thing is, he didn’t put me on the spot about not telling him about all of this before. I guess he missed me as much as I missed him. He was just more honest about it.

  We talked about Jerome until there wasn’t nothing else to say. That’s when I asked him about his girlfriend. He started grinning before I could even get her whole name out. I just said, “Ni,” and that’s all it took. Turns out, he did go to her crib. Turns out, her people were nice. Turns out, she was his girl. We talked about that until it was almost ten o’clock.

  “Yo, man,” I said, “I know you’re hooked up and everything, but Miss T’s gonna be mad if you’re late.”

  I was laying on my bed, looking straight up at the ceiling. Winston dating Miss T. I wondered if he would try to get her into horses.

  “Is Miss T gonna start riding?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Probably. She likes to try new things.”

  I lifted my head and arched my eyebrows at Foster. “Better watch out, man. Before you know it, you’re gonna be getting a horse for Christmas.”

  Foster had one hand on the doorknob, but he stopped and flicked dirt off his sleeve. He looked at his wrist like he was checking his watch. “Pony, never horse,” he said. Cracked me up.

  TRUTH IS A FUNNY THING. I mean, sometimes it’s okay to tell a little lie so nobody gets their feelings hurt. Like Grandmom’s mac and cheese was a little off that night she kissed Uncle Ronnie, but I still said it was good. And was it a lie to let Dre think Jerome fell because of Winston’s wet bricks? Dre said he’d slipped at Winston’s house before.

  I talked all this over with Chance on our ride the next day. She was glad I had Foster back in my corner even if he wasn’t all into her like I was. That was okay. Me and Chance both knew I was real lucky to have him as a friend.

  Winston called me into his office when I got back to the barn. “Watchin
g you with these animals reminds me of Jerome,” he said. “He’ll be back tomorrow, you know.”

  I didn’t let on that I’d already heard the news. “So, he’s okay?”

  “Yes, thank goodness. He’s fine.”

  “Well, I’m cool,” I said, “but I can’t speak for him.”

  “I’ve spoken with him several times since he’s been out,” said Winston. “He just wants to get back to his training.”

  I nodded to signal I felt the same way.

  “I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him.” He paused here so his words would sink in. “Any trouble and you’re out. You got that?”

  “I hear you,” I said.

  “All right.” He looked relieved that he’d gotten that out of the way.

  I was getting up to leave when Alisha knocked on Winston’s door. She came in without waiting for him to answer.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t know you had anybody with you.”

  “It’s okay,” said Winston. “What’s on your mind?” Alisha lowered her eyes. “Don’t try to act shy now,” he teased.

  “I just ran into Dre and he told me Jerome’s coming back.”

  “That’s right,” said Winston. “Me and Troy were just talking about it.”

  Alisha cut her eyes at me. “Well, uh … are you still going to need Marcus for exhibition? I know he was ready to substitute.”

  “Probably not,” said Winston. “He was willing to help us out, but his family’s already moved away.” Winston looked at his watch and stood up. “I have somebody coming for a lesson,” he said. “Is that all you wanted to ask me?”

  Alisha gave her uncle a weak smile.

  “Okay,” he said. “Don’t keep Troy too long. He’s still got a lot of work to do.”

  We heard him whistling as he walked out to meet his student. Alisha leaned up against the wall behind Winston’s desk.

  “What’s the good word?” I said.

  “That’s what I was going to ask you.”