Читать книгу Brigadier and the Spirit Pony - Marga Jonker - Страница 5

Uncle Jimmy’s numnah

The big horse calmly followed Gabi to the horsebox.

“Oh dear, Gabi, I completely forgot,” said Uncle Jimmy. “Carla borrowed your numnah this morning. Hers was sopping wet for some reason.” He pointed at her friend’s pink saddle blanket, drying in the sun. “I don’t know what happened – one of Chris’s practical jokes, I think. But don’t worry – you can borrow my favourite one.” Uncle Jimmy passed her a woven red numnah, which was meant to be used with the cowboy saddle he normally rode with.

Gabi suppressed a sigh. She didn’t like borrowing gear.

“Thanks, Uncle Jimmy. Please tell Chris he owes me,” she said.

Together they loaded her saddle, bridle, riding boots and hat into the left-hand compartment of the horsebox. Gabi liked having her stuff neat and organized – she took after her mom in that way.

“What about food, Gabi? Should we load some?” asked Uncle Jimmy. “Or does the stabling in Plett include food?”

Gabi looked at Ben, who shrugged.

“I don’t have a clue. Our guest house is self-catering, but I have no idea if their stables feed the animals as well …”

“Well, there’s enough space in the trailer, so let’s take some from here. I don’t want to take the chance and end up with a starving horse,” said Gabi.

Gabi and Uncle Jimmy fetched a few bales of lucerne and Brigadier’s special oat mixture from the feed room. Hesitatingly, Ben began to help them load the feed into the horsebox just as Alex appeared beside the horsebox, a glint in her eye.

She’d got changed in the car, and had swapped her jeans for black leggings with designer slashes in them and a tight-fitting denim miniskirt that was frayed at the seams. Her school drama-club T-shirt had been reduced to a crumpled heap on the Land Rover’s roof, and the bright-purple Guns N’ Roses T-shirt she now wore was cropped short, showing off her belly button. Her tackies had been replaced with knee-length black-leather boots with shiny silver toecaps.

“Wow, Alex, those boots could kick down a door,” teased Uncle Jimmy.

Alex laughed, revealing her dimples. “They’re Aldo boots, Uncle Jimmy.” Her bad mood seemed to have cleared like mist before the sun.

“Nice. Turns out I have a bit of a soft spot for Alda boots,” said Uncle Jimmy.

“Aldo, Uncle Jimmy. And at least you have taste, which is more than I can say for my mother. She’s so stingy, she calls designer clothes ‘economic commodities’! I had to pay for these myself.”

“Your mom’s always been good with money. That’s her job, after all,” said Ben mildly.

“Maybe, but is it really necessary to treat your own children like bank clients?” Alex asked sourly. “I had to save for months to buy these.” She spun proudly on her heels.

“Legend top there, Alex. Axl Rose, Appetite For Destruction, 1987?” Ben asked.

Alex was impressed. “It is. But Chinese Democracy, 2008, is actually my favourite.”

“Cool. Hang on while I get my camera – I gotto get a few pictures of the start of my holiday with my girls!” said Ben.

Alex was delighted as she turned to her sister. “See, I told you! He’s nothing like Mom – he even knows Axl Rose!”

“You’d better make sure Mom never sees these photographs …” whispered Gabi.

Ben returned with a camera and a long zoom lens.

“Now that’s a camera!” said Uncle Jimmy admiringly. “Looks like you know your business,” he added as Ben started clicking away. He’d noticed the logo on the side of the Land Rover: Multimedia Photography.

“My dad’s travelled all over the world. He’s been working as a photographer in England for the last ten years, but now he’s back in South Africa,” Alex explained, posing with a tilted head and hands on her hips.

“You were named after Axl Rose, Alex, you know?” Ben said from behind the lens.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. Luckily it was also the name of some Russian princess, so your mom and I didn’t have to argue about it. But I knew the real story …” Ben grinned.

“Cool! I never knew that. Did you fight over Gabi’s name as well?”

“Gabi is named after your mom’s mother – your grandma Gabriella – so no, I was happy with that. Nice lady.”

Gabi had always known who she was named after, but it was news to her that Alex had been named after Axl Rose. What took her even more by surprise was that Ben actually knew the stories behind their names – when it came to her and Alex, Gabi had always had the impression that her mom had made all the decisions.