‘Just fed up with being stuck in this pokey pothole of a town,’ she said and felt a sharp pang of regret as Isabella’s eyes widened. ‘Sorry, Issy,’ she said immediately. ‘I’m just frustrated by my leg. I want to get back to real life.’
‘Not long now, although I’ll miss not having you just down the road,’ Isabella said, throwing her arm around her cousin. ‘It will be months before I get to see you again.’ Gabi’s chest hurt. What the hell was the matter with her? Why was everything feeling so weird?
‘In fact, do you think you might be able to get back at Christmas?’ Isabella pulled up a chair. ‘Mamma and Papà are finally coming home from travelling. They’ll be here for the holidays.’
Gabi had a sudden longing for her zio and zia. She hadn’t seen them since the opening of Tutto Mio last year.
‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘Depends if the film wraps on time.’
‘Hopefully it will,’ Isabella insisted. ‘Then you can come and spend Christmas with us.’
Gabi threw back her drink, watching as Walker and the girl at the bar pulled up stools to talk.
‘Who’s that girl?’ Gabi asked, nodding in their direction. Isabella craned her head.
‘Not sure,’ she said. ‘But I think she’s a firefighter.’
‘Wonder if she’s sprinkled his hose?’ Gabi sniffed. Isabella hugged her again but said nothing. ‘Honestly, Issy, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’ She watched Rosie head over to Walker and he got up to give her his stool. Pretending to be a gentleman but probably just using the opportunity to stand closer to the other woman. Sure enough, he leaned on the back of the girl’s chair as the three of them talked. Gabi had an urge to launch her crutch at him.
‘I just need to feel like me again, Issy,’ Gabi said. ‘The old me.’
Isabella passed her a shot.
‘Maybe this will help?’ They downed them. Gabi shuddered. Isabella pulled a face.
‘Much better,’ Gabi agreed. Etienne put his arms around Isabella from behind and she turned away to face him.
Gabi sighed. On her own again. She stood, awkwardly alone for a minute that felt like an hour, before noticing a circle form around the rodeo ride. She hobbled over to watch. The first rider, a young man wearing sunglasses inside, put on his preferred cowboy hat and jumped into the saddle. Gabi overheard his friends taking bets on how long he’d last; it didn’t sound like they had much faith in him. The bull started turning, slowly at first and then twisting and bucking faster and faster. Gabi smiled to herself as the guy went from showing off with a hand in the air to hanging on for dear life within twenty seconds flat. And then he slid slowly out of the saddle and down the side to the padded floor, his friends jeering. The subsequent one jumped on and lasted even less.
Gabi recognised the next rider as Walker’s girl, who strode laughing up to the bull and took the hat. Walker leaned against a table nearby, clapping her on, much to Gabi’s annoyance. The girl leapt athletically onto the bull’s back and held her hat in the air, looking like she meant business. She started off well and Walker whooped with encouragement. Gabi clenched her teeth and counted the seconds, secretly happy when the girl was thrown quite dramatically to the ground just before she hit a minute. Despite the fall, the girl got up laughing, did a curtsey and the crowd cheered. Dammit. Cute as well as adventurous. But now, she was the one to beat.
Gabi swung forward and dropped her crutches to the mat, mounting the bull by swinging her boot over its back in one easy move. The crowd whooped. Someone threw her the cowboy hat and she caught it in one hand, waving it in the air above her head. The machine jolted into life. The first turn was slow and jerky. She clamped the sides of the saddle with her inner thighs. The second turn included a little backwards buck and she rode it with ease. The faster the machine got, the more the club lights spun. Gabi hollered and laughed and heard the crowd yelling. Then the lights were streaming and she still held her hat in the air, bumping and rolling in the saddle, unable to keep track of where she was, or predict a next move, until she was being thrown physically side to side, back to front, still grasping the rein with one hand. The movement knocked the breath out of her lungs and she could only hold on, silently, desperately. Suddenly Gabi was off the bull and being dragged away. But she wasn’t falling. She was being yanked off physically and carried forcefully from the ride– by Walker. At the edge of the crash mat, he threw her unceremoniously over his shoulder in a very stereotypical fireman’s lift and marched her through the crowd with her bum in the air. She could hear hoots of laughter and wolf-whistles.
She slammed her hands against his back, shouting at him, but he didn’t put her down again until they were outside The Bolthole and the crisp night air hit her like a truck. He threw her crutches beside her and they clattered to the floor.
‘What the actual fuck are you doing?’ Gabi stormed, mortified to be bundled out like a sack of spuds.
‘My question entirely,’ Walker fumed back. ‘What about your leg?’
She banged his chest with her palms, and he stepped away.
‘My leg is fine. I was fine. I do this for a living, you know?’ Gabi shouted, exasperated beyond belief.
‘You won’t do if you break your still-broken leg again.’
She groaned in frustration and staggered to gather her crutches, suddenly feeling dizzy as she bent down. Maybe the motion of the bull had not quite worn off.
‘You should apologise to Rosie too before you leave,’ Walker said. ‘You really hurt her feelings with all that shit you were spouting about fathers.’
She gasped. The nerve of him.
‘You should start making your own proper relationships before you criticise other people’s,’ he added.
‘I got my monthly message today actually so I’m up to date with my oh-so-meaningful relationship with my dad.’
‘It’s not just his message to you, though, is it? You reply the same shit every time. You’re an adult too, you know. Apparently.’
Gabi glared at him. How dare he? She pulled herself up to her full height and tucked her crutches under her arms.
