“Your company sends people to work in Dallas sometimes, right?” I asked, already knowing the answer. That’s why he had been in Dallas years before—he was training for the job that he had now. They regularly shipped people back and forth, but people with families were given latitude to stay put if they wanted. Dad’s long tenure in North Carolina was his choice.
“Your mom couldn’t let go of that house,” he said. “She inherited it and it’s never going to be worth as much as she thinks it is.”
He was right that she overvalued the house, but I didn’t think that she was as attached to it as he thought.
“What about the Sevilles? I heard they’re getting their mortgage and then some.”
The Sevilles lived a few houses down. Their place had been upgraded quite a bit compared to our place. All the houses on the block were built at the same time, but some of them had been improved over the years. The Sevilles probably had the best one around with two extra bedrooms and a big kitchen. Mom always said that they had ruined the classic lines of their house. Nobody else agreed. I was making up the part about them renting it out for more than their mortgage. They had rented it when Mr. Seville was relocated, but someone told me that they weren’t making back enough to cover the loan.
“That’s true,” Dad said. “That’s a good point. That would be all profit for us, minus what we paid for in Dallas. Prices were low in Dallas in the right neighborhood. We could actually be better off.”
“I wonder if they have horses out there,” I said. Mom always talked about living somewhere she could afford to keep a horse. There were places around us, but she always found an excuse why they were no good.
Dad gave me a sideways look—I think he figured out that I was playing him, but he didn’t call me out on it. He liked the idea too much so he decided to think of it as his own.
“I’m going to talk to her,” he said, finishing his sandwich. He stood up and went back inside.
# # #
“Let’s walk,” Amber said.
She rolled up onto her feet and put a hand out so Ricky could get up too. They brushed sand off of their clothes and then started to walk down towards the crashing surf. Ricky thought he understood why she wanted to move around. The story was getting too uncomfortable for her to remember and that was making her antsy. He was beginning to feel the same way. The story wasn’t particularly scary yet, but there was something looming in it.
Whatever plagued the house and her family, it seemed like it was watching them from out in the darkness. Maybe it had been called by Amber relating her tale, and maybe it was always there, trailing just behind Amber.
Ricky wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but a part of him also wanted to simply run away and leave her and her problems behind. That notion died a quick death in his head. In a few short months, she had become important to Ricky. Whatever was still following her, it was going to have to deal with him as well.
“This is the longest story ever,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m telling you the whole thing.”
“No, it’s the right thing to do. Context,” he said.
“I guess I’m trying to explain it to you in a way that doesn’t make me sound like the bad guy.”
“Amber, you were a kid. Come on.”
“I’m done making excuses for myself, Ricky. If I want to feel guilty about what I did, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Okay.”
They had seen the horses several times, but the shape looming in the dark still surprised Ricky. He stopped in his tracks. Amber moved forward, speaking in a soft voice as she held out her hand and touched the horse on the nose. It jerked its head back from her fingers, but held its ground. Amber turned her body to the side a bit so she wasn’t squared up with the horse and it seemed to relax a little. It let her touch its face.
“You should see him in the daylight,” she said. “He’s beautiful—dark black and shiny. I’ve known him since he was a little colt.”
“That’s amazing. I didn’t know they had wild horses here.”
“They don’t. I mean, technically, they’re not really wild. They were castaways from Spanish explorers I think. That means that they’re feral. They escaped domestication, but they still have roots in animals that worked with people.”
“Is that why they’re so tame?” Ricky asked.
“I have no idea,” Amber said. The horse nosed around near her pocket, looking for more treats, and Amber laughed. At the sound, the animal bolted back towards his herd. Amber stood there, watching them trot off into the night.
“There’s a bench over here,” she said. “If you’re not too cold.”
“I’m from Maine. This is t-shirt weather for me.”
“Really? You looked a little chilly earlier.”
“Yeah, actually. I was trying to be a tough guy but this isn’t my warmest jacket.”
“Let’s go back to the car then. It’s not far.”
They walked side by side along the edge of the wet sand until they reached an access road. It led them back to the car. When they climbed inside, Ricky was relieved that Amber didn’t start the engine right away. He didn’t want their conversation to be over yet. It felt like they still had important things to talk about.
# # #
So, Dad talked to Mom. He started out sweet and then she began picking apart his plan so he turned nasty. They fought and the house got angry. I thought I smelled gas and I interrupted one of their fights to tell them so.
