Free Sapphic Cowboi by K'Anne Meinel

looked at her as though she had
lost her mind, she gestured at her attire “do I look like I’m here
to muck out horse pens or brush them?” she said sarcastically in
her annoying voice.
    Maggie could see the horses didn’t like the
woman’s voice. Something about it made her just as skittish. She
decided, like her horses, she didn’t like this woman. “Oh, okay”
she said timidly as though she didn’t know. “Do you want to work
out something then?” she asked.
    “ Well we need to get them in
line for my act” the woman informed her.
    Her act? Maggie wondered at the wording. “What did you have in
mind?” she asked almost afraid to ask.
    The woman began gesturing as she talked about
what she would look like and wear and what she wanted the horses to
do. She had caught the last of Maggie’s act the previous night and
liked the standing on the horses back and thought she could do the
same…in heels. She went on and on, oblivious to her rising voice
but the horses began moving decidedly away from the noise. Her
ideas became more grandiose and her gestures as wild as her hips
came into play from her enthusiasm. Maggie wanted to tell her that
at least half of what she was planning wasn’t practical and the
horses wouldn’t stand for it but the woman hadn’t stopped talking
and Maggie was raised to never interrupt. By the time Martha wound
down they were both exhausted, Maggie from listening, Martha from
her enthusiasm. “So whatcha think?” she asked chomping on her
gum.
    “ Well…” Maggie didn’t want
to cause waves, she was still new at performing, new to the circus,
and didn’t know what to expect or what she could demand but she
hadn’t liked any of the woman’s ideas. They were all about her,
about showing off her, none of it was about the horses, or their
beauty, or their safety for that matter. “We will have to work on
it as the horses don’t know you and will have to learn to work with
you…” she could see by Martha’s expression she hadn’t thought of
actually working with the horses.
    “ You know how to control
them dontcha?” she was chomping her gum faster as she asked in a
tone that implied Maggie didn’t have a clue.
    “ Of course” Maggie defended
herself not realizing she was being set up.
    “ Then control them” Martha
said in a flounce as she turned to leave.
    Maggie stared after her
wondering at the exchange that had just happened. Wondering how
they would ever be able to work together. The woman hadn’t even
wanted to meet the
horses and to her it was obvious the horses didn’t want to meet her
either. She didn’t blame them; she didn’t like the woman
either.
    “ Man, you gave them a show
last night!” Perry enthused as they ate at a picnic table set up in
the chow tent. Everyone came and went as their duties allowed them
and they had just sat down to a hearty meal of beans, bread, and
something that looked like stew.
    The others at the table, mostly clowns
without their makeup like Perry gave her compliments as well.
    “ Tell me, were they really
out of control and wild like they looked?” one of them asked
her.
    She laughed and shook her head “they were
excited, this was their first show, but they were behaving
themselves” she answered honestly. She was sure if she told anyone
how out of control they actually were she would lose her job and
she needed the money. Cecil had brought her, her first paycheck,
handing her cash and she had stared at it in wonder before hiding
it in a secret compartment within her saddle, under the pommel,
made to look like part of the saddle.
    They discussed various shows they had seen,
the entire table except for Maggie were old hats at this, they had
been in various circuses over the years and seen many things. They
loved that they had a new audience in the form of Maggie.
    “ You aren’t going to want to
hang around with this wild bunch” a new voice teased.
    “ Oh Ari” was heard
exasperatingly and equally