Tattoos and Horses Part 1

Sweat dripped down his face and hit his arm. It was warm, no hot.

The heat was oppressive and the humidity was deadly. It also didn’t help that he was in a barn; the smell was overpowering.

He had abandoned his shirt a while ago, not caring what others thought.

He was working as a stable boy at a Horse show; his job was simple, keep the barn clean. He had been doing this for three days now, and he smelled like barn.

He took a shower before he went to bed, but it was no help; he still stunk.

Now being a stable boy was not his job, his family ran a farm.  They had cows, sheep, goats and chickens but no horses.

He liked them as much as the next guy, but they gave him funny looks. His father was the one that volunteered him for the stable boy position.

Thankfully, this was the last day of the horse show; meaning that he could go back to his farm and not have to play with horse manure anymore.

A few of the horse owners walked by and gave him nasty looks.

To them, he must have looked like a hoodlum. He was 18 years old, 6’1”, blonde hair, pierced ears and covered in tattoos.

He got those looks a lot, but didn’t care. His tattoos were part of his family’s history; all men in the family were covered in nature tattoos.

They symbolized the family’s connection to the earth and animals. He was proud of them; they were like medals of a war veteran.  But at the current moment, his tattoos blended in with the horse manure and dirt that covered him.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but someone was watching him. It wasn’t one of the horses or a rich owner.

 He just blew it off, but it still bothered him.

The show was slowly coming to an end and the sun was setting. Leaning against one of the stalls, he looked at his reflection in a bucket of water.

Every inch of him was covered in dirt and manure; as the sweat ran down his face; its path could be seen.

A few yards away, a horse owner was talking with a young woman. Judging by their body languages, they were father and daughter.

“Theresa, that performance was sloppy, you need to be better,” the man stated.

“But Father! I got second place!” the young blonde commented.

“That is not good enough,” the man commented.

The blonde looked ready to argue but kept her mouth shut.

And other man walked up to the two of them.

“Dr. Argeo, the award ceremony is about to begin,” the man said.

“Of course, Theresa tend to the horses,” the doctor said as he and the man left.

The blonde placed her hands on her hips and turned to the horse stall next to her, “sloppy….I want to see him do better,” she commented.  

Whoever she was, she was beautiful, her long blond hair was tied back in a braid and her eyes where a light turquoise. She had eight earrings in each ear and a satin ribbon tied in a bow around her neck.

She was out of his class, the daughter of a wealthy doctor. He was just a farm boy.

Turning away he focused his attention on the job he had to finish.

Just as he was about to pick up a pitch fork, someone grab his hand.

He turned around to meet the eyes of the young blonde that he was been watching moments earlier.

Tightly griping his hand, she stood up on her tip-toes and gave him a kiss on the lips.

He was completely lost, she just walk up and kissed him!

He was covered in dirt, horse manure and who knew what else.

She pulled her lips away and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Theresa Argeo,” she said with a smile.

“Zosimus Renkia” he answered unsure of what was happening.

She gave him and other smile and leaned in for another kiss.

“Miss Argeo!” a man’s voice called.

Theresa didn’t let Zosimus go.

“What?” she asked slightly annoyed at the man.

“What are you doing? Your father asked you to tend to the horses, not to fraternize with stable boys,” the man commented bitterly.

Theresa glared at the man, “I am 16, I know what to do and what not to do,” she commented.

“You are still a child!” the man commented.

“You’re not my father,” she stated.  

“But what would your father say!” the man cried.

She gritted her teeth, “I know what he would say, but I could really care less,” she commented.

Zosimus just stood there, not sure if he should say anything.

The soft neighing of a horse pulled Theresa away from the young man.

Would her ever see her again?