Page 105 of Waiting for Ru
“It was brilliant. Joni was brilliant. Oh, you should have seen her go. She was so quick and turned so well. I was so proud of her and I loved it all and when the mallet struck the ball in the perfect spot it was magic, the sound it made, the way it flew. I loved it. I absolutely did.”
Jasim laughed. “I believe you.”
“It was so exciting, galloping down the field and reaching for the ball. And Joni never flinched. Feeling her shift when I wanted her to, before I asked her to. She was brilliant.”
“Not just Joni. I asked Paolo to teach you. I said to let you choose between Joni and Cookie because you’d be more comfortable riding a horse you know. Since neither horse has any polo experience, I also thought you’d be able to show us what you can do. A lot as it turns out. Paolo is either a fabulous teacher or you’re an incredible student.”
Ru felt his cheeks heat.
“You know what Paolo said to me? That you’re the best beginner he’s ever seen. And he’s seen a lot. He also said that you’re kind and willing, and work harder than anyone else. You never complain. The bridles have never looked better—I take a small amount of credit for that.” He chuckled. “Paolo likes you. That’s high praise. He’s not easy to please.”
“I enjoyed myself.”
“You were a terrible distraction.”
Ru gulped. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m teasing. You distracted everyone. No one could believe how good you were.”
“There’s a big difference between stick and balling, and playing in a match.”
“I know, but you’re good, Ru. Really good. Raw talent like yours is rare.”
Ru basked in the praise. “It helped that Joni does everything that’s asked of her. I think she knew what I wanted before I did.”
“I’m going to train her with the other beginners. She could make a good polo pony. What about Cookie?”
“She doesn’t have the speed or the ability to turn on a sixpence, so no. Have you bred polo ponies or do you buy them all?”
“I’ve bred a few from Argentinian mares. Tia is one. Dream another.”
“I loved it when we had mares in foal.”
“Did you lose any?”
“A few. Broke my heart every time. It was hard to convince myself there wasn’t something I could have done.”
Jasim squeezed his knee and Ru put his hand over Jasim’s and clung on for a moment.
“So what are we going to see?” Ru asked.
“A techno thriller called eXract. With a capital X.”
“I’ve never been to the cinema before.” Ru sighed. “A lot of things I’ve never done before.”
“Such as?”
“I’m not giving you a list. It’s just about everything.”
“Did you have counselling?”
“No.”
“Because you didn’t want it or was it not offered?”
“I didn’t want it. I wasn’t abused, not really, and though I was being held captive, I didn’t know that. I didn’t feel deprived of much because that was the way my life was. Not that different to my aunt and uncle. When you don’t know what you could have had, you don’t miss it. I was lucky I was never ill enough to need a doctor and my uncle was obsessive about me cleaning my teeth. I hate to think what he’d have done if I’d needed to see a dentist. Probably pulled my tooth out with pliers like he did with the horses.”
“Shit!”
