Page 66 of That Weekend in Paris
“Klein sings,” I say. “He’s being modest, actually. He’s a pretty well-known country music star.”
Klein starts to shrug that off, when André says, “Really? I love country music. I was in Nashville last year. You are Klein Matthews,” he says suddenly, making the connection.
I smile, while Klein looks a bit uncomfortable. “Yes,” he says.
“Amazing,” André says. “I listened to your music when I was in your country and put it on my Spotify playlist.”
“Thank you,” Klein says. “That’s actually very nice to hear. And while we’re busy handing out accolades, Dillon here is a very well-known songwriter in the country music industry.”
André sends me a smile and says, “Incredible that the two of you found us here, and I am now such a country music fan. You played in Paris recently, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Klein says. “Actually, that’s how I ended up in France.”
“Lucky for us,” André says. “Will you be staying at the château tonight?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Then you must let me take you out to our most popular dance club. You would like to go?” he asks.
Klein glances at me, and I shrug and nod.
“Sure,” Klein says. “That sounds like fun.”
It is clear that we have made André’s day, and he spends the next half hour or so of our ride giving us the history of the estate and telling us about his family members. We wind along through another valley until we reach the edge of the orchard. The smell of peaches is fragrant in the air.
We take our time heading back to the barn. I can see that Klein has thoroughly enjoyed himself. “So much for you not being able to ride,” I say, with the barn just visible in the distance.
A whinny sounds from the field near the barn. We see a few horses start to prance around the pasture at the sight of us. Klein’s horse raises his head, nickers back, and then starts to trot in place.
“Just sit back, Klein and take your reins,” André says.
But the horse has other ideas, and all of a sudden, he leaps in the air and takes off at a gallop for the barn.
“Sit in the saddle, Klein! Sit back and take your reins!” André yells out.
Klein attempts to do so, but there’s no stopping the horse now. He has decided he’s going to the barn. I can only pray that Klein will be able to stay on.
The horse is going at a dead gallop, sending up clouds of dust behind him so that it is difficult to make out whether or not Klein is still in the saddle. At André’s direction, we trot along the path, trying to balance running after Klein’s horse and making it go faster with getting to him as quickly as possible.
I literally feel sick thinking of how I had talked Klein into riding today. I imagine a dozen different horror scenarios in which Klein is being dragged along behind the horse, one foot still in the stirrup, or that he’ll be bucked off into one of the nearby trees. We begin to catch up with them, though, and I can see that Klein is still in the saddle.
“Wrap your legs around the horse!” André yells again at the top of his voice, and I see Klein do precisely that. He’s sitting in the saddle like someone who has been riding their entire life. My nausea starts to be replaced with pride for Klein’s ability to handle something I am sure I would not have managed.
We’re still pretty far back when I see the horse stop at the barn entrance. Klein reaches out and rubs the horse’s neck. I am again filled with pride for his ability to not be angry at the horse.
We trot up behind them less than a minute later, and André says, “Thought you didn’t know how to ride, Klein?”
Klein has climbed out of the saddle by now. He looks at both of us, shaking his head with a smile.
“Well, it’s one of those things where you learn on the job, I guess.”
We all laugh, even if mine is mostly in relief. But at some point in the not-too-distant future, it probably will be a funny story to tell.
The assistant from earlier appears to take the horse from Klein. Klein walks inside the barn, retrieves a couple of peppermints from the jar, and opens one to give his horse. He then walks over and hands one to me for mine.
“I’m so sorry,” I say.
“Hey, I’m not,” Klein says. “That’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a long time, and I lived to tell about it. That’s not too bad, huh?”
