Matchmaker

“Promise,” he said without hesitation.

“She has a thing for Jontak” Mary smiled

“Really?” Tenac smiled as well.

“Yes, I thought that when she comes back and we start our training, we could arrange for us all to do something together,” Mary said.

“Are you trying to play matchmaker?” Tenac laughed. Mary shrugged.

“Maybe, I just don’t know how else to get Firlea in a place with Jontak”

“I like the idea. We will make it happen. If we need help, we can ask Sinhera. She loves playing matchmaker,” he continued to chuckle.

“Great, let’s just skip the whole midnight mud bath thing,” Mary said, making Tenac laugh even harder.

“I’ll make sure of it,” he promised once he calmed down a bit.

At the stables, Tenac had Mary do most things on her own. He was always close by if she should need a hand. But, to Mary’s pride, she remembered every step of grooming and saddling Buttercup.

The riding also felt better than the first time. Tenac didn’t lead Buttercup at all. He used the long line and let Mary have most of the control from the start. When Mary felt secure and relaxed, Tenac asked her to stop. He walked up to Buttercup and took the rope from her.

“What are you doing?” Mary asked.

“You don’t need this. You understand enough to handle it on your own. Don’t be afraid, it changes nothing. You know Buttercup, and you know she won’t do anything dangerous. I’ll be standing right here by the side, watching, if you need help,” he told her calmly.

“O-okay,” Mary agreed.

Once Tenac had moved to the side, Mary asked Buttercup to walk, and soon they were going about it as usual. After the first few minutes, Mary forgot Tenac had taken the long line off.

Tenac asked Mary to make Buttercup take different routes through the paddock. They walked on the diagonal; Mary and Buttercup switched directions; they turned in small and large circles and in figure eights. That’s when Mary understood why Tenac had needed to take the long line off.

With him using it, they would always walk in a circle with him in the centre. Now Mary could practice steering Buttercup in the direction she wanted her to go. Mary had become less of a passenger and more of the one that was in charge.

“Doing good Mary!”

Mary was so focused on what she was doing she hadn’t seen Sinhera walking up to Tenac. She was now sitting on the fence, watching Mary.

“Thank you Sinhera,” Mary said.

“Don’t make her lose focus,” Tenac berated Sinhera.

“Chill Tenac, she got this,” Mary heard Sinhera say.

A while later, Tenac asked Mary to ride up to them and halt. Mary did as she was told and then dismounted. As last time, her legs were shaky when she hit the ground.

“Are you okay?” Tenac asked.

“Yes, just give me two minutes and I’ll be fine,” Mary smiled. She loved riding. It gave her a feeling of being in control and being free at the same time. She was still astonished that she could make a horse do what she asked it to do. It boosted her confidence that maybe she could do other things as well.

As she led Buttercup into the stable and took off her saddle and groomed her, Tenac and Sinhera walked alongside her, talking.

Before putting Buttercup back in her box, Mary took out the apple and carrot and gave it to her. Buttercup happily accepted the offering.

“You are going to spoil her,” Tenac warned.

“She deserves it,” Mary said, rubbing the horse’s forehead. Buttercup looked like she was in horse heaven as she chewed on the apple and got her forehead rubbed.

“Truly, I don’t see your attachment to her,” Sinhera told Mary. “She isn’t that beautiful. She is lazy and from what I saw today, you could easily handle a better horse.”

“Another horse?” Mary said, sounding as shocked as she felt. “I don’t want another horse,” she exclaimed, looking at Tenac.

“It’s okay, Mary, you don’t have to change horses. But Sinhera is right, you could handle a horse, that’s a bit more…” he searched for the right word.

“Alive” Sinhera deadpanned.

“Oh hush, Buttercup is still very much alive. And I trust her, we work well together,” Mary said defensively, giving her two friends the stink eye.

“Fine,” Tenac said, raising both his hands in a sign of surrender. “But sooner or later, you will need a better horse,” he added.

“Well, then it will be later, much later,” Mary decided before putting Buttercup into her box and getting her food.

“Sinhera, why don’t you join us as I walk Mary home? I think we have something to talk about,” Tenac said with a smile as he looked at Mary.

“Really?” Sinhera seemed to pick up that there was dubious planning. “I would love to,” she said.

On the way, Mary told Sinhera of her plan to get Firlea and Jontak together. Tenac just nodded and smiled the whole time.

“Are you sure you would like to do that to your friend Mary?” Sinhera asked.

“What? Jontak is kind, sweet, and fun,” Mary said.

“Yes, and he is adept at taking orders and doing his job. But he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer if you catch my drift. And he can be overenthusiastic. Like a small dog with too much energy,” Sinhera said with a faint smile, making Mary laugh.

“I think that it’s up to Firlea to decide if she likes those traits or not. I’m not suggesting they get married. But since Firlea said she was interested in him, I want to make sure she meets him. He isn’t seeing anyone, is he?” Mary suddenly asked.

“No, he isn’t,” Sinhera answered. “Well then, we have plenty of time to come up with something, leave it to me. And don’t think I have forgotten about our swimming lessons, Mary. The water just needs to get warmer.”

“Okay,” Mary said, not liking the idea.

“Good, I think I’m going to head this way. I trust Tenac can walk you the last bit on his own,” Sinhera smiled at Mary.

“Thank you Sinhera,” Tenac said.

Mary and Sinhera said goodbye and Mary and Tenac continued towards Mary’s home. They walked a while in silence.

“Mary, are you okay with setting up your friend and Jontak?” Tenac suddenly asked.

“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Mary asked.

“Well, maybe you like him. I know you put others before yourself. If your friend told you she liked him, maybe you felt like you needed to take a step back.” he said, looking both embarrassed and worried.

“No, not at all. Firlea actually asked me if I was interested in him before she told me she was. I still think that he is a sweet guy, but I’m not interested in anything romantic, and he is definitely a friend and nothing else. But thank you for looking after me,” she said with a smile.

“Okay, well, that’s okay then,” he said, looking awkward.

They continued walking and talking about when they could plan their next lesson. Mary was still hesitant to let Tenac use both of his days off on her. But he insisted. Eventually, they agreed he would come pick her up on Tuesday. He would end his shift just before lunch.

“Why don’t you come by and eat lunch with mom and I?” Mary asked.

“I don’t know if Kopa is going to like that,” Tenac said, looking worried again.
“It’s fine. He has said I can invite any friend over anytime I want as long as I warn mom, so she knows to cook extra food,” Mary told him.

“I don’t think it included me,” Tenac insisted.

“You are my friend, therefore you are included. I won’t take no for an answer this time, Tenac. You have done so much for me, the least I can do is make sure you get to eat lunch,” Mary looked at him. It was rare that she insisted. She hadn’t let her stubborn side show for quite some time, but this time, she didn’t want to back down.

“Okay, if you insist. But let Kopa know beforehand. I quite like to have use of both my legs,” he caved in.

“If that makes you more comfortable, I will tell dad,” she smiled.

“Thank you”

Tenac waited for her to walk inside, and Mary headed straight for the garden. As she expected, both her parents were there.

“Hi sweetheart, how was the riding lesson?” Bettina asked.

“Fantastic. Tenac took the long line away, and I made Buttercup go in all kinds of shapes,” Mary said, smiling.

“That was a splendid effort for the second time on horseback,” Kopa said.

“Third time,” Mary corrected him.

“The first time really doesn’t count, little one,” he smiled at her. Mary could see his point.

“We have the next lesson on Tuesday. I invited him here for lunch before we go,” Mary said.

“That’s nice” Bettina said

“What?” Kopa asked at the same time.

“Dad, you told me I could invite my friends over without asking for permission,” Mary reminded him.

“Yes, but I didn’t mean male friends, obviously,” he objected.

“What does it matter if they are male or female?” Mary asked.

“It doesn’t,” Bettina said as she walked up to her husband. “Come now dear, it’s Tenac. We trust and like him, remember?” she said, patting his shoulder.

“I know, I know” Kopa muttered.

“Besides, it’s good practise for when Mary brings home someone she’s interested in,” Bettina added, making Kopas’ face redden.

“Just kidding dear” she laughed, making him bend down so that she could kiss him on the cheek.

Mary smiled. She loved how her parents acted around each other. It almost gave her hope in love, almost.