The Fire

A cell phone ring broke the silence that had descended upon the group. It sounded like a trumpet call that was sounded as the horses were brought out to the track to race. Sabrina slide her phone from her hip and flipped it out in a practice motion. "Yea?" she spoke into the phone. "Okay Chris, I'll be there in a few minutes. See you there." With a another flip of her wrist the phone snapped shut.

"Okay, I have to go to the foaling barn for a few minutes. Anyone who wants to see the baby horses follow me." With that Sabrina turned to walk out of the gym building and towards one of the many barns located within walking distance of the house. The group followed the horse woman as they walked to the foaling barn. When they got closer to the barn, they heard a shrill whinny of a horse in pain. Sabrina broke into a dead run at the sound and she rounded the corner to enter the barn through the large open door.

They watched Sabrina run down the main aisle to the stall door where the whinny had come from. She threw open the door, took one look inside and ran over to another door. She went into a room and within a minute she came out with a large bag and headed back toward the stall. Upon arriving to the stall they saw a mare lying on the ground covered in sweat and thrashing around. Sabrina glanced up to the group and saw Ramona and Stella looking scared.

"Girls, come here and help me. Go to the mare's head and talk to her. Hold onto her halter and don't let her thrash around, sit on her head if you need to." The girls hesitated and looked at their parents.

Without looking up, Sabrina spoke again, "I promise that they won't get hurt, I have been doing this for almost 30 years, I know what I am doing and this mare needs to hear a calm voice which I can't do at the moment. All the girls have to do is talk in a quiet voice to her, Her name is Sugar Plum. They can talk to her about the weather if they want to, it just needs to be in quiet voice and she will calm down, I promise. Please. It will help Ramona and Stella not to be scared, Please."

Sabrina took a moment to look up at Tre, Lisea, Mike and Ana. They saw the look in her eyes she was all business about what she said. Tre nodded to Ramona and Mike whispered to Stella. The girls walked into the stall and knelt down next to the mare's head. They looked to Sabrina for guidance.

Without looking up from what she was doing Sabrina said, "We call her Sugar for short. Talk to her in a quiet voice. Tell her about your new rooms, tell her a little about yourselves, repeat to her Green Day lyrics. It's not what you are saying but the tone in which you say it that she will respond to. She will start to calm down with your voices, trust me."

Ramona looked at the woman and took a deep breath and started to softly talk to the frightened mare. Sabrina glanced up as Ramona began to speak in a low quiet tone. The mare immediately started to calm down at the young girls voice. Sabrina saw the young girl smile and Ramona seemed to blossom right in front of her. It was like the young girl found her calling in life. Sabrina smiled as she turned her attention back to the foaling at hand.

Chris soon arrived on the scene and he and Sabrina helped the struggling mare deliver her stubborn foal. A wet lump that was all legs plopped out from the mare and landed on the straw that covered the stall floor. Sabrina nodded at the girls to let go of Sugar Plum so she could start her job as new momma. She opened her arms to bring the girls to sit on the floor with her with their backs against the wall. The older woman put an arm around each girl and kissed the top of their heads and told them that they did a great job helping.

Sabrina leaned her head against Ramona's and thought about a time long ago, when Sabrina was just a little older than Ramona was now and when horses became a part of her life. Ramona smiled at hew new step momma and watched as Sugar Plum whinnied at the wet mess of legs also known as the new foal, as the mare rose to her feet.

The group watched Sugar Plum start to clean the mucus off of her new baby. Within minutes the wet bundle struggled to get up. After a few attempts, the wet baby was on his feet and trying to move over to suckle his momma. The females sitting on the floor laughed at the foals' attempt to walk. Finally the baby found what he was looking for and soon the quiet was broken by loud, wet sucking sounds and a little tail swishing back and forth.

"So girls, what are you two going to name your new horse?" Sabrina said as she hugged Stella and Ramona.

"What do you mean MomBee?"

"Exactly what I said Ramona, what are you two going to name your new horse. I could have not done that without your help. Keeping Sugar Plum quiet was the most important job, and you two did it right."

Both girls looked at each other as Sabrina continued talking. "Normally you would take a combination of the Dam's name and Sire's name."

"Dam, Sire is that like Mommy and Daddy?" Stella asked.

"Yup, dam is the mommy and sire is the daddy. This dam's name is Sugar Plum and the sire's name is Hopeful Midnight Dreamer. You girls have a bit until you have to figure on a name. Nothing is official until I register the new foal in the Thoroughbred Book. You girls will be the owners of record; Ramona Wright and Estelle Desiree Pritchard," Sabrina said as she ruffled each girls hair when she said their names. "Though I hope that you both will allow me and Chris to train this little. You never know, in three years he might be running in the Kentucky Derby."

"Come on girls," Tre said as her reached out his hands to the females sitting on the floor of the stall. "Let's get you three cleaned up." Tre looked at his wife with pride. 'She was an amazing woman who had so many different sides to her. You would just figure her out and another facet of her would come to light. I am the luckiest man in the world,' thought Tre to himself as he hugged his wife with one arm and his daughter with the other, Tre thought to himself as he hugged his wife with one arm and his daughter with the other.

Mike watched Tre help Sabrina to her feet. He was jealious at the drummer and the older woman. Stella grabbed her father's hand and smiled up at him. Mike's thoart became choked up as he saw his daughter beaming from the job well done and horse she now owned. The bassist felt a little more closer to Sabrina since she just made his daughter's day, night, week, and propablly best year ever when asking for her help. 'How could you not fall in love with a woman like Sabrina,' Mike wondered to himself

The group walked back to the main house so the girls and Sabrina could get cleaned up. Everyone parted ways to relax from the exciting day and to get ready for dinner that they could smell upon entering the house.

The next few days passed with everybody enjoying the vacation. True to what Sabrina had said, her farm was much like a vacation resort where everything they needed was at their fingertips. During dinner one night a few days before New Years Eve, the group was discussing plans.

"I have an idea for New Year's if anyone wants to hear," Sabrina spoke up. Heads nodded with an invitation to continue. "My favorite local band plays every year at the Holiday Inn in Elmira, we could go there. Its great; room, buffet, music, open bar and breakfast. I know the owner of the place, so getting rooms wouldn't be a problem this close to new years. Its about maybe 400 people at most, so its pretty laid back. The kids can be in a room by themselves and adults in their own rooms. What do you all say?"

"Well if you don't mind, Ana and Lisea and myself thought we would have a girls night in and stay home," Claudia said.

"Well hell, that sounds like fun Sabrina, what do you said Mike?" Billie chimed in as he turned to his long time friend.

"You know me, I love to hear other bands," Mike responded.

Sabrina smiled as she flipped open her phone. Quickly scrolling through the numbers she found the one she wanted and hit the send button. Within seconds the line was answered since Sabrina spoke. "Hi, Good afternoon, may I speak with Al Fusco please. Yes, tell him it's Sabrina Wright, wait Sabrina Sanders-Wright." She said with a chuckle. "Hi Al, how are you doing? Me, I'm great. I called for a favor. My friends and I are in town for New Years and want to come down there. Sam Pallet is playing right? Great, I need 4 rooms, one of which needs to have 2 beds and a extra bed. Yes, that room is for the kids."

Sabrina shifted in her seat to lean forward. "Another favor, can these rooms be as close to the ballroom as possible. I would love to be in that hallway but I know that band is right there. Hell you know Mike would have a shit fit, if he had to move rooms, but shit do it. Don't tell him its me doing it though, I want to surprise the guys. Yes we can take the rooms on the one side and he can have the rooms on the other side and around the corner. Great. Thanks Al, do you need names for the other rooms? Okay Armstrong, Pritchard, and Wright with a W for the other 2 rooms. Oh, yes, I got married and Wright is my new name. Well thank you Al. I got married on December 26th in Vegas. Yup, really newlyweds." She laughed. "Also can our table of 6 be near the band? Great Al, thanks for squeezing us in. Wonderful, see you in a few days. Bye," Sabrina flipped her phone closed and smiled at the adults sitting around the table.

"You know, you continue to amaze me woman," Tre whispered in his wife's ear.

"I'll amaze you again later on when we go to bed," Sabrina purred back

Tre grinned at his wife and stood up so fast that his chair flipped backwards and crashed to the floor. He grabbed his wife and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You will amaze me now," he growled as he walked toward their bedroom leaving his friends laughing at the table in his wake.