Page 11 of The Only Seconds that Matter
The dark corrals away from the huge arena lights were flooded with men in cowboy hats, tight jeans, and fringed chaps, and they parted and greeted Johnny with the admiration due a local celebrity, slapping him on the back and jostling his hat while he batted them away playfully.They drew him into giggling conversations and then thrust another can of beer into his hands, which of course he took without complaint.Sarah was completely ignored, but after a few minutes she decided she needed to sit down, so she sank to a sit beside a bull pen and threw an arm across her eyes.
A group of women showed up just then, some wearing the bedazzled clothing from the barrel race hours prior.Among them was a blonde woman in a gold vest that Victor recognized, but before Victor could step in to drag Johnny off, she made her way to the front of the gaggle and planted herself only a few feet away.
“Well ain’t you in some kinda condition,” she said, arms akimbo.She was what Victor’s mother would have called “apple shaped”, or as apple shaped as you could be when you only weighed a hundred and fifteen pounds.She had skinny legs but a chest bursting at the seams of her black button-up, at least when she puffed herself up.She had a twisted little smirk on her glossy lips, as if this situation were exactly to her liking.
“Aww, Daisy,” Johnny muttered, grasping a corral panel as he wobbled.“This ain’t no time for you to start somethin’ with me.”
“I’m not startin’ nothin’.It’s just not shockin’ to me that you’re drunk at a rodeo.”
“It ain’t like I’m ridin’.”
“You got boys here who look up to you.Maybe try to keep your shit together for once.”Daisy turned a critical eye from Johnny to Victor, and her pinched expression immediately flipped from derision to courtesy.“Why hello there.You a friend of Johnny’s?I ain’t ever seen you before.”
“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Johnny muttered, turning away from them and bending over.Daisy ignored him completely, keeping a smile trained on Victor.Victor wasn’t sure what to do, so he offered her a strained simper back.
“I’m—my name is Victor.”
“It’s nice to meet you.I’m Daisy.Did you ride tonight?”
“Oh, no.I don’t ride rodeo.I’m a trainer.I only came here for Johnny.”
“You’re a trainer?What do you train?”
“Um.”Again, Victor glanced at Johnny, but he seemed otherwise occupied in attempting not to vomit.“Reining.”
“Oh, wow.Where you train out of?”
Victor was a terrible liar, especially on the spot.So he told the truth.“Cr—Creekside.”
“Really?I think that’s where my cousin used to board her horse.Back then it was run by a nice lady… I think her name was Judy?”
“Yeah, she was my aunt.She’s, uh, dead now though.That’s why I’m running it now.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.My cousin really liked the place before she got her own farm.Said Judy was a nice lady and the place was kept nice.How you know Johnny?”
“I sold him a horse.”
“Ain’t that sweet.Thank you for lookin’ after him.He can be a real mess of a man sometimes.”Her eyes narrowed at the sound of Johnny retching, but the smile returned when her focus fell back on Victor.“It’s nice to have a new face ‘round here.I’m tired of all these bozos.”She gestured vaguely at the others, who had now formed their own little conversation groups with the women who had appeared with snacks and booze.
“Don’t,” Johnny grumbled as he swayed upright, adjusting his hat and wiping at his mouth with a sleeve.“Don’t you dare, Daisy.”
“Don’t I what?I’m being nice.It ain’t my fault you’re jealous.”
“I didn’t bring him for you to flirt with.”
“I ain’t flirtin’.”At this, Daisy threw a wink at Victor, who felt himself go red.It was a very strange experience to go from a life of being invisible to women to now being the subject of their flirtatious attention.Even if he weren’t gay, he wouldn’t know how to deal with it.Years of being catcalled by men in their cars had not prepared him for this much more subtle adventure in being perceived.
“Anyway, I got a two-year-old that needs starting soon, so maybe I’ll bring her to you, hmm?”
“Goddamn it, Daisy, I am standin’right fuckin’ here.”
Daisy had no reaction, just stared at him like she was bored.“What are you gonna do about it, hmm?‘Cept vomit all over my boots, that is.Sober up and stop embarassin’ yourself, Johnny.”
Daisy then walked off.Johnny’s bleary-eyed gaze followed her until Victor cleared his throat.
“Uh, I’m going to go find Sarah.”
Without Johnny’s acknowledgement or approval, Victor slipped off to find Sarah.Eventually he spotted her leaning up against the tailgate of some guy’s truck, smoking a cigarette.When Victor asked her if she needed a ride home, she gestured toward the hefty, bearded man wearing a baseball cap leaning against the truck.
