Friendships Ch. 05

Daisy said, "Adults, this is 'Sky', she is very healthy. 'Angel' was about this age when I started riding her. 'Sky' would make a great first horse."

One parent noticed 'Sky' was choosing to spend far more time with his five-year-old daughter than any of the other children.

The parent walked over to Daisy and said, "Doc, everyone knows about your story with 'Angel'. As you can see, 'Sky' is sensing something is wrong with my daughter. She is hurting more than she is telling me. She is caught in the middle of a nasty divorce; do you think she could be taught to ride?"

By this time, the woman who owned 'Sky' joined the group.

Dr. Daisy said, "Sir, riding takes only a very brief time to learn. However, we need to get the best welfare for your daughter. I have an idea that may help you with your daughter and your divorce. Would you like to hear it?"

"Anything Dr. Daisy, I am missing work because of the stress I am under."

"Miss Dawn and Miss Sarah went to court to take in two babies that were in a fire. The court decided in their favor. My thinking is your family support is weakening. We could use 'Sky' as a therapy horse for your daughter and have child support paid proportionally to visiting rights. Child support would be paid to Miss Sarah. Your daughter would live at 'Image of God', just like I did and my best friend did."

"Oh, good, incoming call in ten seconds." In ten seconds, everyone heard the 'You got a friend in me' ringtone, "Hi Molly, you are on speakerphone. We got quite a handful here, let me try to summarize."

"We have a lady who is being transferred and there are no stables near where she would work. She has a beautiful animal. All the boys and girls came out to play, but 'Sky' paid much more attention to one little girl than the others, just like 'Buddie' would."

"The parents are going through a divorce, which is tearing up this little girl. I thought she could live at 'Image of God' and Sarah gets child support, proportional to visiting rights. Dad could buy 'Sky' which would help his daughter and this woman who is getting transferred."

Molly said, "And split all the horse costs through an independent source."

"The woman said, "That's sounds like a good beginning of a plan. Now tell me how did you knew that phone was going to ring?"

Molly laughed, "We are both empaths to each other. We feel what the other one feels, and you guys gave me a strong signal. It drove our teachers nuts in high school and college. They finally gave up and just concluded it just did not matter if it was Daisy or Molly they were talking to."

The parent said, "You went to the same high school and college?"

Daisy said, "Heck no. We were several thousands of miles apart. Their format was almost the same. We had graduation the same day. When I received Molly's honorary degree, Molly fainted at her ceremony; I got one from her school as well. Apparently, they considered us so close we were the same. During an event with Molly's Dad, we both had life threatening fevers that broke as soon as we saw each other."

Two days later, everyone was in the courtroom: the four divorce lawyers, the two case lawyers, the father, mother and daughter.

When the hearing began, Daisy handed the bailiff a ream of documents for the judge.

The Judge said, "Council, I see on both of your witness lists you mention unspecified, can you explain?"

"Yes, 'Your Honor', the main person will be Daisy, but there will be others that will be needed to clarify the case or for just you to get clarification. We both have agreed with this. We just ask if the witness is for the clarification of the case, that we can treat the witness just as any witness."

"This is highly irregular, but if you agreed, I will permit it. I have a feeling I will have to permit many things in this case, you may proceed."

"I call Dr. Daisy to the stand."

"Hello, 'Your Honor', I would like to ask your permission and add some comments before I start my story. 'Your Honor' I do not know anything about legal stuff, I just know common sense. I would like to ask the court to assume that 'Your Honor' has discretion in all things. I will answer all the questions I am asked truthfully, as will any of my friends."

"Granted"

"My story begins with a distressed woman who had a beautiful animal by the name of 'Sky' into my clinic. I gave you a picture 'Your Honor'. The woman knew I knew Miss Sarah who owns 'Image of God' ranch, the best place for her horse. She was being transferred elsewhere and there were no stables nearby."

"As I was giving 'Sky' a good once over, all the kids flocked to her as the parents watched. 'Sky' paid much more attention to a little girl than all the rest combined. 'Your Honor', I have a friend who is a pet therapist handler. Her dog always goes to the one who is most in need, sometimes several times in one day." Daisy said,

"During our discussion, I found out there was a divorce involved, but nothing beyond that. For you to understand what I say later, I want to comment, 'Whatever is going on with the parents, the parents must be all in for their kids."

"The father came over after he saw the interaction with 'Sky' and told me he was going through a divorce and it was tearing up his little girl. He also remarked he was missing out on workdays."

The Judge looked at the mother and said, "Is this true?"

"Yes, 'Your Honor', it is getting nasty and at a stalemate. My daughter is caught up in the middle, not knowing what is going to happen next. When I heard about this event from my husband, I started to have some hope."

"That is why I asked all the divorce lawyers to be here to perhaps progress past some problems. It is a crazy 'Out of the box' idea, but all the 'In the box' ideas have only made matters worse. The one I feel for is the owner of 'Sky', she is losing something precious to her."

"Daisy, you can continue."

"Thank you, 'Your Honor', I first have to say that myself and my best friend Molly grew up on 'Image of God'. Molly could not be here due to her responsibilities on the ranch. I was a very slow learner, they made things fun, like every time I found a new bird I put it on my life list and I had to write the name in my bird book. The extinct bird we found was the hardest to write because it was in Latin. We did math in the Academy of Natural Sciences by counting animals."

"Everything I learned was because I could relate to it. The books I collected were all about nature. I learned to ride horses, so we went on many rides. My horse is 'Angel', my very first friend ever. She just turned one and she was just my height, I love her. I don't know what I would do if I had to give her up."

"My thinking was for the daughter to live at 'Image of God' and send Miss Sarah child support proportional to the visitation rights that you would deem fit. For example, if one only could see the daughter two days a month then they should only pay 1/15th of the child support. I must say at this point that this court has given approval for two babies Miss Dawn saved in the flames of a fire on the mountain to live at 'Image of God'.

"The Judge said, I see there is a black mark here."

Miss Dawn and Miss Sarah stood up, "'Your Honor' may we address that?"

"Yes, you may, who are you?"

"I am Miss Sarah and this is Miss Dawn. The court awarded us custody for these two babies. I guess we are next of kin until a relative is found. The babies had to have names and the women thought it would be amusing for the men to name them.

"Mr. Moe took all the guys to the bunkhouse to talk about it. Apparently, Adam was selected quickly. Mr. Moe is a very fair man who values opinions from everyone. He asked the non-Christians about a name, they came up with Mashal. I am told it means 'Light'. I feel that is the reason because I know she can't doubt the love and caring we have for the babies."

"Can I see the babies?"

Penny and Mama were permitted to come to the front of the courtroom and the judge came down to handle each baby. She gave them back to Penny and Mama.

The judge then spoke to the case worker, "What was the reason for this black mark in this file? Were they mistreating the children? Were things substandard or dangerous?"

"No, 'Your Honor', they asked me many questions about what they had to do or get for the children; you should see the cradles, a work of art. When I came back they did everything I told them to do and in many cases, they made it better and safer. They have at least two people keeping an eye on them always. To my shame, I think it was just the non-Christian name.

"'Your Honor', Miss Sarah told me if I ever did any harm to the children she would take me to court. She will fight for her kids, I doubt that I would win."

"The court decrees that all black marks for this case shall be expunged, in its place I will write a letter of excellence. The case will be transferred to another worker and they will be told why it is being transferred to stop further problems."

"Continue Daisy."

"Parents need to be supportive of their kids, they should not force it on a child. In this case, it appears we are forcing a sport on her. 'Sky' already gave her say, she wants to heal her. It is my belief that they will form a great bond, 'Sky' will heal her, shrinks will just be a money pit with no results."

"Yes, it will be more expensive than baseball or tennis. My guess is the tennis racket will be thrown into the corner of the room as soon as a dog walks into the room. We are a tactile animal, you just can't beat interacting with a living being."

"It's why I love my job, why I let the little ones help me find out what is wrong. When they hear their pet will be OK in time, they just have a great smile."

"I think all those other bills should be split right down the line so your child would know you both supported her equally and you saw her as the court deemed. We would teach you how to ride, boots are a good thing. In addition, the owner of 'Sky' would know she was going to the premier horse ranch and is helping to heal a child."

The judge said, "I must admit when I read this brief, it did sound like a crazy idea. Then you started to build your case, always being respectful. I must say you threw me some curve balls along the way. I could see the babies are well cared for. Giving hope to the wife was a plus mark."

"My child would race to the dog to make sure he got more pets in than anyone else."

"I suggest all lawyers hammer out a deal immediately. You should be ashamed of yourselves for taking so long; this girl needs stability."

"While the owner of 'Sky' and the husband and wife are here, you should get into negotiations and to get any useful tips from 'Sky's' owner."

"I see no reason why the child couldn't stay at 'Image of God'. I suggest that both Miss Dawn and Miss Sarah should be made guardians, if the parents agree. I think contact information should be exchanged so 'Sky's' owner can still be in the loop and see how this child is being healed by 'Sky'."

Daisy said, "'Your Honor', is it possible for both parents to have full visiting rights? It is a neutral site and if I was a kid who needed to see my Dad I don't think making an appointment or waiting for a special day would cut it. I would want to see him now."

The judge said, "Daisy, you seem smarter than most of the lawyers in this town. It is a good thing you are a vet. If you were a lawyer you would cut through all the crap in a case and not have any billable hours," All the lawyers chuckled at the comment.

"Miss Sarah, in a few weeks, could I come out to the ranch, to see 'Sky' and the others?"

"Yes, 'Your Honor', I suggest an off day, and around our noontime meal, so you can see the whole ranch. Just wear appropriate clothes, at a ranch you can get mud on you at just about any moment. Please bring inside and outside footwear.

"Just know, just because you are a judge, you would not be immune to being handed a shovel, rake or a paring knife, we eat lots of potatoes," Sarah had a big grin on her face.

The court erupted into laughter.

All the divorce lawyers, the husband and wife and owner of 'Sky' just found an open room and closed the doors. The divorce lawyers were ashamed they were just piling up billable hours; they didn't even try looking for common ground. They agreed to stop billing hours back to when the stalemate started.

Soon there was a large chart on a white board that listed all the very big problem areas. Then questions were asked as why they were problem areas.

One of the case lawyers came over and asked, "Are you blind? Why are you asking about all this small stuff and not asking 'What do you agree on about Amy'? She is the key to the whole problem."

He then spoke to the parents, "I would take Miss Sarah and Miss Dawn up on the offer to be guardians for Amy and have her live at 'Image of God'. I would make sure 'Sky' was by her side always. I would make sure both of you visited often, and learn what she did so you can do what she does."

"You say it will cost too much, if you are not saving your money for your daughter, exactly what are you saving your money for? Could you not go to Daisy and ask her what the annual cost were for all the standard vet costs for a horse, then ask her what she might set for problems above that, for accidents or sickness."

"Then do the same for Miss Sarah, ask lots of questions. Add all the lower numbers up and divide by four to get the median of the lower range then do the same with the higher numbers to get the median for them. You will then have a promising idea of how much it will cost you to own a horse. Then ask yourself how much do you want to pay for a child's happiness. The answer better not be a monetary figure."

The wife thought that was a low blow. All she and her husband were doing was pressing each other's buttons to see who squirms the most. They were being so vindictive to each other they did not even think about Amy.

The wife wailed, "You know it was not about the money; that is just an excuse. We both have very good jobs and our Christmas bonus alone will pay for most of it."

Once that was settled, both cases were hammered out before the day was out.

Later in the week, Daisy and Amy were walking 'Sky' to her stable, Amy was holding 'Sky's' reigns. Daisy got some wood and showed Amy how to carve the word 'Sky' into it, then nailed it to 'Sky's' gate.

"Amy do you know why I wanted you to do that?"

Amy shook her head.

"Well, you do not know 'Sky' very much now, but you will love her soon, just like I love 'Angel'. Now we have a lot of fancy name tags around here, they are all made by heartless machines. You made that sign all by yourself. You are showing the entire world that you love and respect 'Sky', you put your heart in making it. It is the most loving sign here."

Amy's countenance brightened and her eyes twinkled at that comment.

"Now let's see what Mr. Moe and Mr. Larry are doing to your room."

As they arrived, Mr. Moe and Mr. Larry were just finishing.

"This is where Miss Molly and I grew up. She lived here before me, so that over stuffed toy box has been neglected. I think a girl around the age of five could give them some love."

"Why don't you try out the bed."

Amy crawled up on the bed and said, "It is real comfy."

"What are you doing laying on the bed Amy? I thought you were going to test it out."

Amy thought she did something wrong, "I am."

"Mr. Larry, is that how little girls test out beds?"

Mr. Larry, not knowing where this was going just followed Daisy's lead, "No ma'am."

Daisy said, "Little girls test out beds by jumping up and down on them."

Soon, giggles, laughing and squeals filled the house.

Sarah said, "Now there is a sound I have not heard in a long time; just what this house needs."

The three-bedroom apartments were very popular. In some cases, three two-bedroom apartments were converted into three-bedroom apartments. Many of the young couples from Meadowbrooke moved in.

Now that Northfield had a complete school system, not as many families would be leaving town. The town will start having school aged kids when they graduate; master programs can be set up at NFU and SHU.

Kindergarten through third grade would be like a one room school house, adding teachers slowly, and some moving with their students until they got to the grade the town wanted them to be at.

One day, Amy went with Dr. Daisy to the clinic, a school teacher came to the ranch.

Sarah said, "Ma'am, Amy is going to be living out here at the ranch. She will be riding 'Sky' and learning what goes on in the ranch. It will be the things that she will relate to best. Daisy was a very slow learner when she came here because she had no friends to help her develop, now she is the town's vet.

"Here are the books I read to Daisy. She loved to watch birds, so we got her an identification book and if she found a new bird she had to check it off in her life list, but also, we gave her book that you had to write the name of the bird down and date it. It helped with writing, reading in the book along with decision making."

"I take education very seriously. Just because you don't go to a school does not mean you skip schooling. We will teach her lessons when she least expects it. Falling behind in schooling is unacceptable."

"We can try books as well, but I hope you are also open to a parallel course to cover the same lessons. "

"Well Sarah, I am an old-fashioned teacher, but I know people learn best by doing things. I am open to unusual ways to learn. I think we can work together, but she must hit those benchmarks.

"Ma'am, I think you will find she will be two levels ahead; she seems like a bright kid."

Amy came racing in from outdoors already to tell Miss Sarah about what she saw at the clinic that day.

Miss Sarah was not pleased and pointed to the corner.

"I am so sorry Miss Sarah."

"It is ok Amy. When you get tired of mopping the floor, you will remember to change your shoes when you come in or go out the door. After all, you do not want to clean who knows what off your inside shoes when you went outside with them."

Amy said, "Oh, yuck, I sure don't."

Sarah said, "So tell me what you were so excited about to tell me."

Amy said, "All the animals! A bunny rabbit, she has soft fur, a snake, I did not like him, a big pretty bird. There was a pig.

"I just had to make a deal with Dr. Daisy that if a little boy or girl came in with a sick animal, I couldn't help her. They had to know right from Dr. Daisy that their pet would be fine.'

"Then at the end of the day, Miss Joy and 'Buddie' came in for his check up, he just got some shots and some pills."

At supper time Dr. Daisy brought up am interesting topic, "You know Miss Dawn, I never got my teaching license and Amy needs to learn. I was hoping you could use your unique way to teach people that Mr. Hank likes to see. I thought, maybe just like Miss Cathy or Miss Zoe."

Dawn looked at Sarah.

Sarah said, "Well Miss Dawn, Amy needs to learn to ride. I think she is smart enough to give Mr. Hank some surprises."

Miss Dawn said, "OK Amy, I will teach you. No fooling around. 'Sky' is a big animal and the ground is hard and you could get stepped on. If you don't know something, tell me and we will work on it until you do know it. It is the only way to learn how to ride safely. Deal?"

Amy, not having any wish to be stepped on by anything said, "Deal."

Two days later. Miss Dawn and Amy stood by 'Sky'. "Amy, try to throw that blanket up on 'Sky'." The blanket floated onto the back of 'Sky'. "Now pick up the saddle so you know how heavy it is, then try to put it on 'Sky'," Amy was stronger than Dawn gave her credit it for; she got the saddle on, but just barely.