A Horse for Mandy (Chapter 6)
Mandy watched the stars come out in twos. fours, and then in clusters. They twinkled brightly and coldly down at her. Over and over, she iced down Solana's swollen forefeet. Her heart soared when the horse nibbled on a little bit of feed.
"Good girl!" she said encouragingly. The lights were out at the Callahan house, and Mandy lost all track of time. Then she heard a scraping noise from farther down the stables. She bravely stepped out of Solana's stall to investigate, and came face to face with Laura.
"What. . .?" she began.
"Oh, you startled me!" Laura exclaimed.
"Well, I'm spending the night here to keep an eye on Solana," Mandy explained. "I thought you were coming down here to check on us."
"I've been very busy. . .," Laura started lamely.
"Busy?" Mandy asked coldly. "I would have come to see you if it had been Diablo."
"Oh, for goodness sake," began Laura haughtily, "it's not the end of the world. Why, I heard your dad tell my dad tonight that he thought your horse would be fine by morning."
"I'll bet that really bugs you." Mandy was angry.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You'd just love it if Solana would be crippled! Even put to sleeep!"
"That's not true!" Laura shouted back.
"It is so! You've hated me having my own horse."
"And I always thought you were my best friend," Laura said, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Well, I'm NOT!" snapped Mandy. She was sorry immediately. But Laura turned and ran away before she could say anything else.
"Oh, Mandy. . .," she yelled at herself, "how mean and rotten you are!" She knew she was mad at herself for neglecting Solana and letting the horse get sick in the first place. And she also knew that she was really just hurt and angry at Laura for not being her friend when she needed her. How different this day and night would have been if Laura had been here nursing Solana with her!
She went back inside the stall with a sigh and repacked the ice around Sloana's feet. Mandy slept fitfully. the morning stars were beginning to fade shen she awoke with a start.
She was cold. The morning was gray and damp. Immediately she checked Solana's feet. The swelling was gone. the horse looked perkier, too. "Dad was right. You're going to be fine, girl."
Mandy's legs felt stiff so she decided to take a little walk. In no time she found herself down by the lake. The morning light made the water look soft and velvety.
"How's your horse?" It was David's voice.
She turned with a start. "I always seem to be scaring you," he said.
"Solana's better." She smiled. "It was a long night though."
Silence. Then, "You get any sleep?"
"Oh, sure. . .," she began, but tears started to slide down her cheeks.
"Hey," David said, putting his arm around her. "Everything's all right. Solana will be fine."
He felt so warm and comforting to her and he smelled like fresh soap. "It's more than that." Her voice was muffled into his chest. "I had a big fight with Laura. I said some things mean things."
"Oh." He continued to hold her and Mandy felt better. She was grateful he had come. The morning sun broke over the edge of the trees.
David started to say speak and his voice soothed her. "You know, Laura really is an interesting girl. She told me all about how you two worked to get Diablo ready for all those horse shows. She showed me all the ribbons and trophies she's won, too." He paused.
"You know, I've run track for three years now. It's tough to win time after time. Laura's done that. She's gone into the ring against lots of competition. And more times than not, she's come out a winner."
Mandy pulled away from him. She swallowed hard and said, "So you think she's pretty terrific?"
"In some ways, yes. But don't you see? She's had to not care about a lot of other things to stay on top, to be a winner, I'll bet you're her only real friend."
"You mean was her only real friend."
"Naw. You can patch things up, if you try."
"Mandy! Mandy! Her father's voice cut through the morning air.
"Here, Dad! I'm here!" She ran toward him. "Here I am, Dad! Is it Solana? Is she okay?"
Dr. Wilson caught her by her arms. "Honey, have you seen Laura? Diablo's not in his stall and Laura's bed wasn't slept in last night!"
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