Below them lay gold and silver horizons, hazy in the heat. The nursery was peaceful, no customers yet. Careful to keep Dreadnought to the middle of the path, Ronnie led her daughter among ornamental plants, fountains and birdbaths, mahogany trees, and boxwood hedges. The air smelled like an herb cabinet.
An access road led behind neighbors’ houses to the back door of Nev’s horse barn.
Brushing down Dreadnought in the barn after dismounting and unsaddling the animals, Ronnie asked, “Has your mama been nice to you?”
“I hate her.”
“Why? What happened?”
“She doesn’t pay me to do chores, she won’t let me sleep over at Lizzie’s, and she doesn’t let me watch R-rated movies.”
“You’re nine.”
“So?” Rainbow lifted her horse’s front foreleg to scrape the mud out of the horse’s hoof with a pick. Ronnie watched, still brushing the bay mare, whose coat shone.
“Sounds like a normal strict parent. Gentle with that.”
“Your mum let you do whatever.”
“Look how that turned out.” Necessity could force her to see her ex, but no one could force her to see her mum. “Other than that, is she nice to you?”
Rainbow appeared to be focused on her task. A glob of manure fell out of the cleft of the soft center of the horse’s hoof. She shrugged. Another glob of mud fell out under the hoof pick, hitting Ronnie’s leg before landing on the barn floor.
“Careful,” Ronnie said. “Gentle with his hoof. Is she patient? Does she yell?”
“Not at me. She yells at the dog.”
“Does she help you with homework?”
“Homework’s easy.” Lucky girl. Rainbow hadn’t inherited that from her. “Besides, Nev helps me.” That was true. Ronnie’s annoyingly brilliant boss helped Rainbow with her homework every other weekend.
“Does she cook? Do you eat at the table?”
“Weekdays I stay with nan.”
“Are you safe there?”
“Mum...”
“You would tell me if someone was hitting you or making you do icky stuff?”
“You sound like the social worker. You’re not my coach or my social worker. You’re just my mum.”
“What do you think a mum is? You’re awfully precocious.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. Where had she learned that? At school? She was acting like a teenager already.
At night after the nine-year-old fell asleep in the guest bed at Reg and Blaise’s house, Ronnie texted Maude.
(Ronnie) Why does Rainbow have a social worker?
(Maude) The school gave her one.
(Ronnie) Why? What’s wrong with her?
(Maude) I’m not having this conversation with you over text.
(Ronnie) ?
