“They’re called javelinas,” I correct her.
“Have what?”
“Javelinas,” I repeat patiently.
“Well, can I have one? I’d look after it. Can you ask Daddy?”
I chuckle. “What do you think Grunt would make of that, Amy?”
“They could sleep together,” she suggests with a stubborn expression. For a second I have an image of a wolfhound-cross and javelina snuggled up together, it makes me laugh. Something I’ve been doing a lot of today.
“They live outside, Amy, and they smell.” I pinch my nose and grimace to make the point, and she sniffs the air.
“Ew,” she exclaims as the smell hits her and she realises it’s coming from something completely unsuitable to be a pet. Just like that she forgets about her unreasonable demand.
Our day is made complete by the consumption of ice cream. I had a cone myself. If I’m honest, this is the first time in my life I’ve felt completely free from everything my seventeen years had thrown at me.
So when I return home, Amy so tired she’s dozing beside me, it’s easy to think this won’t be the last time, and we’ll go on a few more outings in the future.
* * *
[Drew aged 19, Amy aged 9]
“That’s right. Hold the reins…” I lean over the small pony and position her fingers and thumbs correctly, then I take a firm grip of the lead rein.
“Heels down,” I remind her, and click my tongue to get Patch, the elderly eleven-hand pony whose temperament is ideal for teaching a child, plodding sedately forward.
She squeals, half in fear, half in delight, as Patch begins to move.
“How’s she doing?” a loud voice calls.
“Look at me, Mouse!”
“I’m watching, sweetheart. You’re looking good up there. Straighten your back and let go of the saddle horn now.”
“Hey look at that. You’re doing great.” I encourage her when she bravely does what Mouse said.
Mouse, a great horse lover and rider, had taken over a ramshackle riding stable when the owner retired. That’s where the three of us are currently living, and I’ve learned to find my way around a horse and while my skills are nowhere near Mouse’s, I’m not a bad rider myself.
I thought Amy might enjoy meeting the horses and ponies and learning to ride, and I hadn’t been wrong.
Two weeks later I’m proud as punch as she trots in a circle around me, and not long after that, she progresses to the more energetic palomino named Sunny who she soon comes to adore. She loves the experience so much she now wants to go to the stables all the time. I compromise, and we end up going weekly.
* * *
[Drew aged 24, Amy aged 14]
“Iwant to go.” She stomps her foot.
“Amy, you can’t.”
“It’s not fair. You’re taking Sabrina to the movies, and I want to come too.”
Not only do I now possess my Master’s in Computer Science, I’ve completed my prospecting time for the club and have been patched in. With my up-to-date knowledge, Mouse has to admit occasionally, I can make programs behave which have been dancing circles around my brother-in-law, which has earned me a reputation as a computer wiz. It was no surprise really that my road name was settled on as Wizard.
To Amy, I’ll always be the youth called Drew who took her out everywhere. Nowadays, she’s the only person who calls me by my legal name. Old habits, it seems, are hard to break. I often wonder if it’s a way to remind me of our past, before I joined the MC and have more on my plate than entertaining her.
It’s hard to accept that our relationship is changing, she’s no longer a cute little girl, but a teenager who thinks she’s more mature than she is. She can no longer monopolise my free time, and this isn’t the first occasion when I’ve had to turn her down.
