Greener Pastures - Alyssa Brugman [43]
'Everyone makes mistakes.'
Lydia's head was down so her hair covered her face. Shelby couldn't see her expression.
'I did so many dumb things with Blue when I first got him. It's just luck that nothing happened to him – and there was this other pony called Brat. She looked a lot like Chance actually. That was a disaster! Remind me to tell you about that some time.'
They walked silently around the bend in the road. Shelby could see Lydia's house at the end of the street and she was glad. Lydia still hadn't said anything, and Shelby squirmed. She was pretty sure what she was saying wasn't helping.
The truck came along the street behind them. They couldn't see much – just a lump under a tarp strapped to the tray of the truck. The driver raised his hand to them and Shelby waved back. Tears had started rolling down Lydia's face again.
Shelby slipped her arm around Lydia's elbow and led her along the street towards her house. She changed the subject.
'When you're feeling up to it you could come up to the stables and hang around with us. We do trail rides on the weekends, and also there are lessons, or you could come along to Pony Club. There's always stuff happening.'
'I think I killed him,' Lydia whispered.
Shelby looked away. She thought so too. She thought Lydia did the wrong thing – not because she was mean and nasty, but because she didn't know what she was doing.
'There's a lot to learn,' Shelby said. 'Heaps. You could spend your whole life learning about them and still have something like this creep up on you.' She squeezed Lydia's elbow. 'Horses are a really dumb design. Did you know they can't vomit? How dumb is that?'
'I think I read about that,' Lydia said.
They had reached her driveway. Shelby's father drove up behind them. Shelby pointed out Lydia's house and he parked outside.
'You want me to come in for a bit?' Shelby asked, handing her the bridle.
Lydia shook her head. 'It's OK.'
Lee came through the front door. 'What's happened?' he called out. 'Where's Chance?'
Shelby's dad crossed the lawn and climbed the stairs. He carefully propped Lydia's saddle against the wall of the house.
Aunty Jenny walked over to the two girls. Shelby wrapped her arm around her great-aunt's waist.
The two men shook hands and spoke but Shelby was still too far away to hear what they were saying. Shelby's dad turned to where Shelby was standing in the street and grimaced.
Shelby looked at her friend. 'Are you sure you don't want me to come in?'
Lydia's face was white. Shelby thought she was going to faint.
'No, I'll be OK.' Lydia trudged up the front steps and inside. The flyscreen door slammed behind her.
24 Boxes
'Do you really think you will see a lion?' Connor asked.
'I hope so,' Aunty Jenny answered.
Aunty Jenny was helping Connor and Blake build a fort out of packing boxes. Shelby's mum was wrapping the for-best china in newspaper on the dining room table. Shelby's dad was slipping books off the shelf and into boxes in the lounge room. Several boxes were already packed and stacked by the door.
Shelby was trying to use the computer, but all the noise was distracting. She had hoped that Chad might be online, but he wasn't. She thought she might be a bit more coherent if they weren't face to face.
'Are there lions in London?' Blake asked.
'Only in the zoo, sweetheart,' his mother answered.
'Can we go to the zoo in London?'
'If you'd like to.'
'Yay!' Blake ran around the lounge room with a box over his head.
'What is the thing you are most looking forward to?' Connor asked.
'Ooh. That's a hard one.' Aunty Jenny rubbed her chin. 'I've always wanted to see Machu Picchu.'
Blake lifted the box off his head. 'Manchu Pinchu?'
'Manchu, pinch you!' His dad said, chasing Blake and holding his fingers out like pincers.
Blake shrieked.
'Do you have to be so loud?' Shelby said.
Where were U today? came a message from