I reached the edge again on Tuesday. A twelve hour day, hamburger for lunch and then nothing until...well, nothing. Until we got home from the Local Pub where we'd gone straight after work and I'd boycotted dinner and gone to bed. The logic being I can eat, but not sleep, in the morning.
The Polo Player had spent the day stressed about money issues (ie. severe lack of it), Matty was stressed from having to ride 21 horses in a day while the Polo Player sorted said money issues out. I was stressed from the stress of being around a stressed teenager and a 32 year old who was increasingly acting like one.
"What's wrong with you today anyway? You've hardly said two words" I'd asked Matty that morning, as his silence while I tacked up horses while he rode had begun to grate.
"Nothing. I'm just having a quiet day."
"Well as long as it's not a bloody stroppy day." I'd replied over my shoulder as I threw a saddle on yet another horse.
"Yeah. Stop sulking. Only women get PMT, buddy" the Polo Player chipped in helpfully.
Tensions had risen with the alcohol levels later in the pub. Hungry, tired and failing to win any argument we had, whether the subject was horses or celebrities, I sat in the back of the Ute at 11pm on the way home, with silent tears streaming down my face. This was it. Finito. The End. I don't need this shit on holiday.
I took myself to bed and cried while doors slammed outside. The Polo Player drove off to collect the new groom, an Irish girl who was to replace me when I left in a few weeks time. Perfect timing, I thought. I'm outta here.
The next morning, my mood low, I was down on the yard as usual sorting out the horses. The Polo Player pulled up, and out got him and the new groom.
"Hi, I'm Annie", she said.
"Hey. I'm Jo. Nice to meet you" I replied, shaking her hand.
"Right, JoJo will show you how we do things, I've got some stuff to sort back at the house. Go and, err, chat or something."
And we did. We chatted, and chatted, and chatted. And I thought, this girl's quite cool. We talked boys, we talked horses, we talked nails, make up and Home. We talked about her frankly horrendous experience on another farm which made my time here look like playgroup. I realised it was the first good female conversation I'd had in a long time and that potentially, this friendly Irish girl could keep me sane.
By the end of the day, we were back down at the pub; the two of us curled up on the sofa, laughing while the boys played pool and making plans for our next day off.
"I think me and you are going to get on well, Jo" she said, as we ordered another G&T each on the Polo Player's bar fund.
And so the pattern continued, and my abusive relationship with Polo Grooming took yet another turn for the better.
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8 comments:
I like Annie, she sounds cute. I have good feelings about you two.
It's not easy hanging out with boys all the time, sometimes you just need some good girly chat time.
I suffer similarly at work sometimes - out of 15 people on my floor - 3 of us are women, and thats a high proportion compared to other companies of this type..
That story is a perfect little metaphor for life itself. It ebbs and flows. The wheel turns. (Insert your own tired cliché). I believe that despite all the grief, you're going to look back on this with a great deal of fondness.
I was about touse a tired cliche, so shall now not do so!
How long were you originally planning on staying there for anyway?
Sometimes, even non-girly girls need female company, for that, I dunno, sisterhood thing. Seems like you found it at the right time.
Watch it ... the boys are going to encourage you to have late night pillow fights. ;-)
All these weeks, I just knew you were trying to work in a "stable-girls" storyline.
Continue.
Brennig - She's a nice Irish girl. Very bubbly. They all seem to be.
Kirses - Thats just it. You don't realise how much you miss having another girl around until there's one here.
Unbearable - I agree with you completely.
Perp - Initially, 3 weeks. Since I flew back, I was thinking April til I realised my visa would run out while I was still here in May. So now end / mid end of March.
weenie - She definitely cheered my day up.
Ellie - Massages, showers, pillow fights, bed sharing, you name it, they've already suggested it.
not twitter - Damn...you're one step ahead of me. Would rolling in the hay in the barn be too obvious?
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