Business Manager in a Barn

„Come on girl, steady. Steady. Stea- Fuck!” The screeching clink of broken metal was still ringing through the air when Ben ran over. “Oh come on, this can’t be. Fucking shitty old motherfucking...” every word was accompanied by a kick against the old wagon. The last one accompanied by a scream birthed by frustration and pain. “Fuck I broke my foot!” Howling, he sank to the ground, peeled his boot off and winced some more as he examined it. His toe was sensitive to pressure and made him curse even more creatively.

A pair of large nostrils appeared in his field of vision, curiously sniffing his toes. They were cream colored and sprinkled by a few dark brown spots. “Oh hey girl. Sorry did I upset you? Nothing wrong, just me being frustrated, you know?”

Sunflower Buttermellow or “Fluffy” as he had named her as a kid, was a soft, good natured Percheron mare with the heart and soul of a teddy bear. When she noticed that nothing seemed to be wrong with Ben, she proceeded to examine him, sniffing his red hair in great lungfuls of air. It felt almost as if she was using a blow dryer and the tickling sensation made him chuckle. “I’m okay girl”, he murmured again and reached up to pet her dark brown face with the cream colored muzzle. His fingers formed into claws and started to scratch her gently. She moaned and pressed her head against his hand and snorted loudly when he reached her ears, then drew away and shook her head like a wet dog.

“I’m okay”, he repeated as he watched Fluffy search his bag for carrots. His gaze wandered to the large construction of worm laden wood and old rusty metal that his grandfather had called a “wagon”. It didn’t even deserve the term if you were stumbling home at three in the morning, almost too drunk to know your own name, incapable of speaking and hallucinating that a bunch of dinosaurs was after you. Not even then did this fucking… He sighed and slammed his head back against the wood. He never should have come here. What was he, a farmer? Hah, not in ten lifetimes.

He was a fucking business manager. Had been for over ten years and he was bloody good at his job. Didn’t his boss tell him just last month that he was the best man in the house? The go-to-guy if you needed a business deal? The big one, the guy that looks dashing on the front cover of a magazine in a shoulder hugging Armani suit with a charming smile, a Lange & Söhne Saxonia watch on his wrist, drawing in deals by the dozen? That was him! Not this fucking… Ah it was a mess!

HE was a mess! Had been for two weeks now. Almost reached the top of his career and then, boom. Gone. Because of… reasons. Anyway, what did it matter to dwell in the past now. He was here on his grandfather’s old farm. There were animals, namely horses to care for and he was going to do it. He just needed to figure out how. Groaning, he buried his head in his hands, listening to the crunching noises of Fluffy who seemingly had found the pocket with carrots. She probably was eating the bag as well but what the heck. It was made from natural fibers anyway, would come out again, given enough time.

His foot was still throbbing, even when he didn’t try to move it. Probably worth another doctor’s appointment. At least he now knew how they went.

…

Credits

Special Thanks to:

Mayfryn who made the first pledge on 27. April 2018

Brandon who made the first pledge on 30. April 2018