“I’d go sometime,” Maizie said. Capp took a seat next to her and gave in to his impulse. Taking her into his arms, he held her, stroked her cheek, her hair. Turning her face toward his, he ran his finger around her lips. She opened her mouth slightly. Suddenly he stopped, his heart racing. He sighed. “Come on. Watch me swim.”
“Kiss me first,” she said. Capp looked into her firelit eyes. They were so blue, so beautiful. He wanted to love her, hold her, kiss her.
“Capp, kiss me.” She waited for what seemed a long time and then stood. Capp could see the hurt in her eyes.
“I’m going for a swim,” he said.
He left Maizie by the fire and ran up to the edge of the small spring-fed reservoir. He could hear a bullfrog croak and a night bird call. Encouragement, he thought. He quickly removed his boots, his pants, shirt, and hat and ran to the water’s edge. “I’ll be just a minute,” he called, knowing a cold dip in the water would extinguish his desire. Maizie ran from the cave, and with the help of the moonlight she caught a glimpse of him as he went into the spring.
“Will you stay a minute, Capp? I want to come in!” Not waiting for his answer, she ran behind a bush and pulled off her clothes and shoes. Covering herself as best she could, she ran to the edge of the water, moonbeams lighting her way.
“Come in. It’s cold in here. Can’t stay much longer.” Holding her breath, she began taking steps into the pond.
“The bottom is slimy,” Maizie said as she slipped on the limestone and then regained her balance.
Capp swam toward her. “Come here. I’ll hold your hand. Let’s take a dunk.” Capp grabbed her hand and then counted to three and they went under, fully immersed. As they rose to the moonlit surface, Capp could see the beauty of Maizie’s breasts, the shape of her shoulders. He would steal that image, take it with him. He looked the other way as she stepped out of the artesian reservoir, the moonlight illuminating the reeds and ripples in the water. She ran to the cave, stopping briefly to get her clothes. Capp followed her, shivering. Picking up his clothing, he ran back into the cave.
Maizie was warming herself by the fire, her clothes on the cave floor beside her, her teeth chattering. Putting down his clothes, he joined her. He threw in another log. Maizie put her hand on Capp’s back. He turned and felt his desires stirring again. Embarrassed, he walked away and quickly put on his pants. “Get dressed, Maizie, before you freeze.” He picked up Maizie’s clothes and handed them to her. She began to climb back into her pants, not hiding this time. Capp turned his gaze back toward the fire, stirred the bed of coals, and added a new log, allowing her privacy.
The two took a seat on the flat rock at the edge of the fire. It was a good place to warm up and talk.
“You know I love you,” Capp said.
“I love you too.” Maizie was quiet as she looked into Capp’s kind face.
“That’s a big responsibility to love someone. I hurt Josie. If it weren’t for me, her life would be better. I didn’t love her and didn’t care if I hurt her. The sad thing, I realize now she loved me.”
“She’s doing better. Maybe you helped her.” Capp was silent, his head now in his hands.
“And Tilly. I played with her and then pushed her away. She nearly got herself killed ’cause of me. And I didn’t care.”
“Capp what’s wrong?”
Capp was trying to find the words. Worrying that he may never get it said, he pushed back his fear and let it out.
“I’m leavin’, Maizie.”
“I know. You are going to the Preakness and on to the Belmont.”
“Yes, but I’m not coming back for a long time.”
Maizie looked at him. Signaling disbelief, tears began to pool in her eyes.
“Why?”
“’Cause I just got to is all.”
“When?” she asked as she wiped tears from her face.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, my God, Capp. Tomorrow? I thought you were leaving later this week.”
“No, tomorrow. Leon is driving me to the train before dawn.”
“When will you be back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are you going after the races?”
“Glidewells want me to stay in New York to learn. They’re calling me an ambassador for Glidewell.”
“That sounds fancy.”
“Yeah, I know. Fancy. Mr. Glidewell says it’s a promotion.”
Maizie sat quietly looking into the fire.
Capp hesitated, rubbing his palms on his thighs, and said, “I have some things to figure out.”
“I will miss you,” Maizie whispered as she brushed tears from her cheeks.
“I don’t want you to wait for me, Maizie. I want you to have fun.”
She turned to him. “Fun? You want me to have fun?”
“I’ll only hurt you. Maizie, listen to me. We can’t get married. It’s against the law.”
“You want to marry me?”
“I think I do, but maybe I’d just leave you. Run off with someone else ’cause there’d be nothing to tie me to you.”
“You’d do that? You’d leave Glidewell, the horses and me? We can make our own promise to each other. Why do we need a legal paper saying we are married?” Capp had no answer.
The two fell into a prolonged silence, the firelight fading. An owl hooted from a sycamore tree, breaking the hush. Maizie lifted her head and extended her hand. He reached and gently touched her fingers and then, pulling her toward him, he hugged her. They kissed softly, small light kisses and then a kiss took hold and Capp wanted more than anything to love her. When they came up for air, he gently pulled away and sighed deeply. “We better get going, Maizie.”
“I love you, Capp. I want you. How can that be wrong?” Capp took off his hat and ran his fingers through his drying hair. He sat quietly, playing with the three feathers in his hat band as if
