and when I win, you’re going to have to give up something for me. Have you considered what that might be?” Heather asks, with a decided twinkle in her eye. I suspect she gave her big brother a run for his money when they were growing up, so I consider my options carefully.
“Maybe you would prefer it if I offered you an opportunity not to do something for a prize instead?” I tease.
“Well, if you ever want me anywhere near these horses then you better play this game hard.” She continues “You just gave me a powerful incentive to play the most accurate game of lawn bowling ever played. I could make the Olympic team of lawn bowling just to avoid getting near your horses.”
It’s too bad Heather’s so afraid of horses. Otherwise, I could see her as the quintessential rodeo queen, with big curly hair, audacious makeup, gaudy rhinestone shirts, skin tight Levi’s, and shiny boots. She has the personality and the vivaciousness to pull it off in a heartbeat. I’ve watched her with Mindy and Becca. I’ve seen that she is tender and caring. I know she would have a wonderful affinity with animals if only she can overcome her fears.
“Heather, are you going to give this a chance? I think that I can help you with the horses if you let me. But I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want to do.”
“I honestly don’t know how I’m going to react. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to any horses, ever. I would like to say I totally trust you to keep me safe. But, to be honest, after all I’ve been through with men in my life, I have issues with that. So I don’t know what to tell you, other than, ‘I’ll try’.” Heather says with a helpless shrug. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to disappoint you.”
“Hey now, stop that,” I cajole. “Remember what I said about this being a people pleasing free zone? It applies to me. You can’t disappoint me just by having an opinion or a hang-up. Everybody’s got hang-ups. I have a whole truckload of them. We would need a day and half to catalog all of mine.”
Heather blinks back tears. “Thanks for being so understanding; not everyone would be.”
Her response baffles me. I wonder what type of relationships she’s been through before to make her feel like she doesn’t have the right to an opinion. Even when I was in a dark place with Stacia, we each had our points of view and voiced them quite loudly and often. As far as I know, Stacia was never apologetic for anything she ever did, even if she was wrong. I can’t imagine my former girlfriend apologizing for making me slightly uncomfortable. She would’ve probably just laughed at me.
“Gidget, it’s no big deal. Trust takes a long time to build, and I need to earn your trust.”
“Really? Because I would totally get it if it’s a problem. Don’t worry, I’ve had lots of people tell me I’m not worth their time. You wouldn’t be the first.”
“If you think I’m stupid enough to let a woman like you slip through my fingers, think again.” I declare as I take Heather’s hand and lead her to the lawn bowling course I set up.
I don’t think I’ve looked forward to something quite so much for a long while. Now, I just need to decide if I want to win or lose. Given our wager, it might be hard to tell the difference.
“Are you sure this course is regulation?” I ask skeptically. “Everything seems very far apart.”
“Well, I followed the directions and measured it off myself,” replies Tyler as he surveys the course with a confused expression on his face.
It doesn’t take me long to figure out what happened. All you have to do is look at Ty and look at me. “Let me guess, you measured it off with your strides, didn’t you?” I ask, confident I already know the answer.
“What’s wrong with that? It’s a legitimate way to measure things,” he protests.
“If you’re average size, perhaps. However, you border on being a giant. Your strides are
“Maybe you would prefer it if I offered you an opportunity not to do something for a prize instead?” I tease.
“Well, if you ever want me anywhere near these horses then you better play this game hard.” She continues “You just gave me a powerful incentive to play the most accurate game of lawn bowling ever played. I could make the Olympic team of lawn bowling just to avoid getting near your horses.”
It’s too bad Heather’s so afraid of horses. Otherwise, I could see her as the quintessential rodeo queen, with big curly hair, audacious makeup, gaudy rhinestone shirts, skin tight Levi’s, and shiny boots. She has the personality and the vivaciousness to pull it off in a heartbeat. I’ve watched her with Mindy and Becca. I’ve seen that she is tender and caring. I know she would have a wonderful affinity with animals if only she can overcome her fears.
“Heather, are you going to give this a chance? I think that I can help you with the horses if you let me. But I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want to do.”
“I honestly don’t know how I’m going to react. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to any horses, ever. I would like to say I totally trust you to keep me safe. But, to be honest, after all I’ve been through with men in my life, I have issues with that. So I don’t know what to tell you, other than, ‘I’ll try’.” Heather says with a helpless shrug. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to disappoint you.”
“Hey now, stop that,” I cajole. “Remember what I said about this being a people pleasing free zone? It applies to me. You can’t disappoint me just by having an opinion or a hang-up. Everybody’s got hang-ups. I have a whole truckload of them. We would need a day and half to catalog all of mine.”
Heather blinks back tears. “Thanks for being so understanding; not everyone would be.”
Her response baffles me. I wonder what type of relationships she’s been through before to make her feel like she doesn’t have the right to an opinion. Even when I was in a dark place with Stacia, we each had our points of view and voiced them quite loudly and often. As far as I know, Stacia was never apologetic for anything she ever did, even if she was wrong. I can’t imagine my former girlfriend apologizing for making me slightly uncomfortable. She would’ve probably just laughed at me.
“Gidget, it’s no big deal. Trust takes a long time to build, and I need to earn your trust.”
“Really? Because I would totally get it if it’s a problem. Don’t worry, I’ve had lots of people tell me I’m not worth their time. You wouldn’t be the first.”
“If you think I’m stupid enough to let a woman like you slip through my fingers, think again.” I declare as I take Heather’s hand and lead her to the lawn bowling course I set up.
I don’t think I’ve looked forward to something quite so much for a long while. Now, I just need to decide if I want to win or lose. Given our wager, it might be hard to tell the difference.
“Are you sure this course is regulation?” I ask skeptically. “Everything seems very far apart.”
“Well, I followed the directions and measured it off myself,” replies Tyler as he surveys the course with a confused expression on his face.
It doesn’t take me long to figure out what happened. All you have to do is look at Ty and look at me. “Let me guess, you measured it off with your strides, didn’t you?” I ask, confident I already know the answer.
“What’s wrong with that? It’s a legitimate way to measure things,” he protests.
“If you’re average size, perhaps. However, you border on being a giant. Your strides are
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