Cinderella...Ish

8

John's truck has a back up camera. So nice, I wish I had that.I just got to the park and got Gypsy all ready to go. There are a few other people with horses here. It's nice.

"Alright Gypsy. Time to go for our annual hike" I said

I made sure John's truck was locked, which I can do from a distance, and we set off. I have a backpack on my back that has an emergency things I need and also my lunch, since i'm going to be here most of the day. I also have a plastic bag full of hay for Gyp here for lunch. Gotta feed my bubba too. It's about 10am. I left the barn a little before 8 and I'll probably be here till 3 or 4. Maybe. I'm also going to stop and get dinner on the way home.

"Oh look deer" I said

I see deer all the time and every time that is what I say. It's just how I am as a person. We kept on our trail and I said hello to the people I passed. I enjoy coming here. It keeps me from sitting at home and crying all day. My dad was always happy and smiling when we came. He told me him and my mom would come here all the time. They met here actually. He was with his buddies and she was with her family and they met in the picnic area. My mothers parents went to the bathroom and his buddies dared him to go over to say hi to her and her sister. So he did. And they got to talking. Her sister, my aunt, was into girls so he gave my mom his number and the rest is history. Hmm, maybe i'll meet my husband here. Maybe.

"Hi, you look familiar?" A lady said as I was passing them

"Do I?" I asked

"Yeah. Have you been here before?" She asked

"I come here every year. On this date" I said

"Anniversary of something?" She asked

"Yeah" I replied

"Me too." She said "If you don't mind me asking, what is it for. I come because this was the date I was cancer free"

"It's the anniversary of my parents death" I said

"Oh hunny i'm so sorry" She said

"It's fine. My father was 4 years ago from cancer, and my mother was 10 years from cancer as well. Some how happened on the same date" I said "But congrats on being cancer free"

"Thank you hun. 5 years strong." She smiled

"I have a tattoo for my parents. It's this one" I said pulling up my sleeve

"Oh my gosh. I love that. Do you mind if I take a picture?" She asked

"No problem. I designed it myself" I smiled

"That is amazing. I have a survivor tattoo on my shoulder. Only tattoo I have" She replied

"This was my first one. Then once I got it I wanted more and more." I said

"I want another but, I think one is fine for me" She replied "I should get on my way, and let you do so too. It was nice talking to you... I'll see you next year"

"See you next year" I smiled

We both continued on and that made me smile. I do remember seeing her her a few times. I kept riding, and arrived to the picnic area. Tying Gypsy to the post, I gave him the hay and sat down at one of the tables to eat. There's a group of guys sitting a one of the tables. Maybe on of them is my future husband. Wouldn't that be funny. I ate my lunch and talked to Kate. Then she called.

"Hey" I said

"Hey, how you doing" Kate said

"Good. I got to the park" I said

"Really? Did you take Colin's truck?" She asked

"No.. I took Johns" I replied

"Wait.. Like two years older then us and boards at your ranch John?" Kate said

"Yup" I said

"How did that happen? I mean that's amazing. But how?" She replied

"He was at the ranch. And I had come back from going to a trail ride on Nifty before I lost my s**t. I cried on the trail ride cause I didn't think I could go. This kid likes to catch me when i'm coming back and my eyes are red and puffy. After him pushing, I told him why. Then I had to bring a bull down and when I was about to leave, he came over and said I can use his truck. So hopefully my shock isn't worse tomorrow." I said

"Did he drive yours?" She asked

"Yeah. He was shocked it was stick but said he knew how to drive manual. Hopefully my transmission isn't shot" I laughed

"That's true. So how's the park going?" Kate asked

"Pretty good. Chatted with a really nice lady, who also comes here once a year." I said

"What does she go for?" Kate asked

"Her anniversary of being cancer free. She took a picture of my parents tattoo cause she really liked it" I said

"Aww that's really cool" Kate said

"Yeah. Made me smile" I replied

"That's good. How much longer are you there for?" She asked

"It's a 2 hour ride back to my- John's truck. But I might go a little further then turn back. I don't know yet" I said

"Well, let me know when you get home. But i'll see you tomorrow. And give you a big hug. Like I do every year" She said

"Okay. I'll talk to you later" I smiled

We both hung up and I threw my trash away. Walking over to Gypsy he, of course, ate all the hay. I patted the boys neck and hopped into the saddle. Guess none of those guys are my future husband. Shame.

"Hmm, let's go farther" I said

I went to the right and started down the trail. I go this way every now and then. My father liked to go down this trail when we would go. After riding for an hour and I half, I realized it's going to take me 3 and a half hours to get back to the trailer. And it's winter so it gets dark early. I might be slightly screwed. Turning around, I brought Gypsy up to a trot then a gallop. This part of the trail isn't too bad so I know he won't get hurt. I slowed back down to a walk or light trot on the rooty parts and curves but he booked it.

"Alright bubba. We should hopefully get back before dark." I said

He huffed and we kept riding. And there's a group of people up a head. They all looked back and I slowed Gypsy down.

"Why are you racing?" One kid asked, it was the group of guys that was at that table.

"I wanted to get back to my trailer before dark" I said

"Oh yeah. We have a hour left right?" Another kid said

"Yeah. And the sun is starting to go down. We'll make it" Another said

"Weren't you sitting by yourself earlier?" The one kid asked

"Yeah. I came alone" I said

"Well would you like to ride with us?" Another asked

"Sure why not." I shrugged.

They nodded and I followed behind. You can fit two people on the trail so I rode next to the kid who was in the back.

"So, your horse can just race through woods?" He asked

"Yeah. I slowed down for tight curves and bumpy parts, but we are used to tight corners. Right Gyp" I said patting his neck

"What do you mean used to tight corners?" He asked

"I barrel race" I said

"No way." He said "Yo boys. She's a barrel racer"

"Really?" They asked

"Yeah. I ride in the rodeo. Our last one of the season is tomorrow" I said

"Are you any good?" One yelled

"Well my friend and I are the top two. I won last week. She won the week before. Another girl one the week before that. And then I won the week before that. I had a s**t day that day too" I laughed

They all said something along the lines of cool. Then they stopped.

"Hey do you guys want to stop here to take pictures?" The guy at the front said

They all agreed and looked at me.

"Sure why not. I'd like to get some sunset pictures." I smiled

We all went over to the opening and took pictures. One of them brought a tripod. So we took a group picture. We also followed each other on social media. They are all really nice. It's a mixture of my age and a year older. One kid is two years older. One of them took some pictures of me and Gyp in front of the sunset and they look amazing. We eventually hopped back up and got back to the trailers, it's dark out. I said bye to the group of boys and loaded up Gypsy. After untacking and brushing him out of course. They live an hour and a half away from here. But not my way, the opposite way.

"Okay. Time to make the drove home." I said

I started back to the barn and stopped about half away to get food. I'm exhausted, I gave Gypsy a treat through the opening on the side of the trailer and grabbed my food from in side. I ate it in there too since I didn't want John's truck to smell like chicken nuggets. Scarfing down my food and throwing out my trash, I booked it out of there. Well as fast as I could with a truck and trailer. Getting back to the ranch it was 8:00 and I just parked the trailer next to the barn and headed home. Today wasn't that bad. It went okay.