“Of course, I love watching. It is the most incredible thing to see. These big and graceful horses striding around with such refined and precise steps through the tests.”
“Do you know how long they train the horses?”
“I don’t know. Years I guess?”
“Yep, it may take up to eight to ten years to reach the elite level for the special breed. It could be fifteen to twenty years before they reach the level of showing at the Olympics level. There are guidelines requiring a horse to be at least seven years old before showing at the Grand Prix level. So it takes so long to reach reliable and consistent performance.”
“That is incredible. The riders make it look so easy.”
“That is the art of effortless mastery. Before you get to that level, there is a lot of toil. Lots of hard work and repetition to get the muscle memory right and develop the sharp reflex. Golf is the same. To hit a tiny ball hundreds of yards isn’t rocket science. But to hit it with precision and accuracy is where the trick is. When you step over the ball, you have done it so many times that you can almost visualize the future. It is an awesome experience. I am not in awe of a lot of things. But to have that ability to glimpse into the future and know exactly what is going to happen because of your actions, it is great. Not to bore you with my discussion of practice and getting back to the important topic at hand…”
“Which is…?” Caroline asked, enjoying the ease and comfort.
“About the long game and delayed gratification.”
“And how is it related to this moment?”
“I hope I am not disappointing you by not being and doing what you expected. There is a lot you will learn about me. And looking through the prism of those two expressions: the long game and delayed gratification, everything should make sense.”
Was he trying to tell her to be patient? Was this what he did with all the girls? What sort of long game is he thinking about? So many questions had come to Caroline’s mind, but she decided not to ask. It was better if she could let herself enjoy the moment as she was invited to do so.
“If I could ask you for your permission, I would like us to be friends,” Jack said, continuing where he left off.
“Friends?”
“If you don’t mind, it would be great if we could hang out. I can show you my office space. Plenty of clean air and beautiful scenery and green spaces for refreshment.”
“I think I might like that.”
“In that case then, imagine how many first kisses we will be sharing. Some many places and moments awaiting in the future…”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“I swear I would have never guessed this was what we would do when we hopped in the taxi.”
“And are you disappointed?”
“No way. This is beautiful and romantic. I love it.”
If Caroline had thought Jack was handsome before, he was now a full-fledged god worthy of adoration.
“But, why all the rumors about you out there?”
“I have a secret I will tell you another time.”
The evening had ended soon after with his urging of their need to get a good night of sleep. He offered to ride the taxi back to her apartment, which Caroline refused in keeping with the self-restraint she had seen him practice. They agreed on walking to the outside together and ran into Nancy Smith in the lobby of the hotel. She seemed to be alone and rushing to head out of the hotel. It took Jack’s pointing out for Caroline to notice her. After one last long kiss, she hopped into a taxi and was off to her apartment.
Now she was sitting in the crowd looking at the stage listening to Jack talk about his experience of turning a professional and a less personal version of what he shared with her. It struck her that he was a serious man. Goal oriented, purposed driven, and committed to excellence.
Whatever secret he was keeping from her, it had made for a wild expectancy until she could meet him in private. Because her father had insisted on having dinner with her before going back to Washington, D.C., she wasn’t going to see Jack tonight. And he was going to have to leave for a tour event in Illinois early morning the next day. So Caroline savored the moments they spent together from a distance. Searching each other out in the crowd and smiling to one another. She was self-conscious the whole time he was giving the address.
In the ruffled gathering of students rising to say goodbye to one another knowing this was the end of a journey they had shared together, Caroline didn’t notice the crowd at the stage disperse. She turned around to look and saw her mother, Debbie, her stepfather, and Alex walking in her direction. They were busy exchanging hugs, and she didn’t think much of it when Alex held onto her for what seemed like a long time. A tight embrace she could feel was squeezing her breasts into his chest. She tapped his shoulders as a way to ask out of the choke hold.
Caroline hadn’t gathered her breath before the Senator showed up hand in hand with Jack Reiner.
“I thought I would introduce you two,” said the Senator wrapping one arm around Jack’s shoulder and leading him on. “What a fantastic speech that was. If you weren’t expensive, I would hire you to be my speech writer.”
