Mia murmured, “It just felt weird.”
“I asked what we had to do first, Mom.”
“What felt weird?”
“Just going.”
“Going where?”
“Swimming.” Mia paused. “I hadn’t done anything yet.”
And there it was.
A sentence so ordinary I almost missed what was wrong with it.
Denise led us away from the lake.
***
At the stable, a counselor was brushing a brown horse.
“I hadn’t done anything yet.”
She spotted Mia.
“Workhorse!”
Mia covered her face.
“Everyone needs to stop.”
The counselor laughed.
“Your mom?”
“Unfortunately!”
“Nice to meet you,” the woman told me. “Your daughter cleans tack better than half my staff.”
“Apparently that’s becoming a concern,” I muttered.
“Your daughter cleans tack better than half my staff.”
The woman hung the brush on a hook.
“Mia talked about horseback riding from the first day.”
Mia interrupted, “Can we please go?”
I ignored her.
“What happened?”
“First week, every time we had an open riding slot, she’d give it away.”
