Issie and the Christmas Pony (8 page)

She wondered where Mystic was right now. Then a shiver ran down her spine as she imagined the worst. Issie wished she could have saved him. She wished Mystic could have been her horse.

“If he was mine,” Issie said out loud, “I would love him so much, he would be my horse forever, and he would love me too and stay with me and never, ever leave me.”

Some kids believe in magic at Christmas time, but Issie Brown was not one of them. As she turned over in bed that Christmas Eve and switched out her light,
she felt like the whole Christmas thing was over for her. She was ten, after all, and maybe that meant Christmas had lost the power to surprise her.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Issie's family had always opened their presents the moment they woke up on Christmas Day, a tradition that made both Stella and Kate extremely jealous.

“My mum makes us all wait until my cousins arrive before we open ours,” Stella had grumbled when Issie told her this.

“Ohmygod! My house is even worse!” Kate complained. “We have to eat lunch first!”

Well, that wasn't how they did Christmas at Issie's house. The rule was that you opened your presents as soon as you got up. And so, when Issie woke at 7 a.m., still feeling kind of Grinchy, she decided the best thing to do was to put on a brave face, try and cheer up and kick the day off by unwrapping a few presents.

“Actually,” Mrs Brown said when Issie came into the kitchen, “we're not doing the presents yet.”

Issie's face fell. “What?”

“Since it's just you and me this year, I thought it would be more fun to wait until the others get here,” said Mrs Brown.

“What others?”

“Tom is due before lunch.” Mrs Brown paused. “And I've asked Stella and Kate to pop over here, so we need to wait for them too.”

Issie was surprised by this. “You asked Stella and Kate? Aren't we just going to meet them down at the beach like we normally do?”

“I thought you'd be pleased that your friends are coming over,” said Mrs Brown.

“I am, but…”

“Good! They're due at ten. You can watch TV until they get here while I finish my mince pies.”

More bad Christmas TV! Issie turned on the telly. There was another Muppet special. And several movies featuring Santa. She settled on
Miracle on 34th Street
, which she hadn't seen before, and lay on the sofa while her mother clattered around in the kitchen. The film was almost finished by
the time Avery turned up. He was holding two presents, one under each arm, and for the first time since Issie had met him, he was wearing ordinary clothes instead of his usual cheesecutter cap, boots and jodhpurs.

“Merry Christmas!” he said, passing Issie her present. Issie took the package and gave it a squeeze. It was soft and quite light. Her first present of the day! She was about to open it when Avery suddenly reached out a hand and snatched it back from her.

“On second thoughts,” he added, “you can't have this yet. I'll give it to you later.”

It was bad enough having to wait to open your presents-but now they were being taken back again! Issie was totally bemused by this, but she didn't have the chance to ask Avery what was going on because at that moment Stella and Kate arrived.

“Ohmygod! I don't believe it! Issie! Isn't this exciting?” Stella squealed. Avery and Mrs Brown both froze and Avery shot her a look that made Stella immediately shut up. “Ummm…I mean it's so exciting all of us being here and opening our Christmas gifts together. That's all I was saying,” Stella added, looking uncomfortable.

“Wow!” Issie looked at Kate. “Is everyone going to act super-weird today?”

“There's nothing weird going on,” Kate said, looking nervous. “What do you mean weird? It's not like we've all got a big secret or anything. We're all just here to open our presents, OK?” Issie wished she had never said anything. Kate was acting even nuttier than Stella.

“Right, everyone into the living room!” Mrs Brown led the way with a big plate of Chrismas mince pies and fudge to snack on and they all settled around the tree ready to hand out the presents.

“Here's one for you, Kate, and one for you, Stella.” Mrs Brown passed a gift to each girl. “And for you, Tom, and Issie!”

It didn't take them long to work their way through the pile under the tree. Most of the girls' presents, as always, were pony-related. Issie had bought a fancy hoof-pick for Kate and a book for Stella about horse breeds of the world, which the girls pored over, picking out the ones they liked best. As usual, Issie had been stuck for something to buy her mum and in the end she had got her a bottle of perfume, which Mrs Brown seemed pleased with. The two boxes from
Issie's dad turned out to be exactly what she had expected: a board game (Monopoly) and a make-your-own jewellery kit.

“I'll call him later to say thanks,” Issie told her mum. It still felt weird not having her dad here, but her mother was right-present-opening was better this year with lots of other people around.

There were still a few gifts left. “We can open them later,” said Mrs Brown. “Right now, I think it's time for you to open your main present, Issie.”

Issie looked under the tree. “No, it's not under the tree,” Mrs Brown said. Then she pulled something out of her pocket. It looked like a long black scarf.

“Is that my gift?” Issie was puzzled.

“No,” said Mrs Brown. “It's a blindfold. You've got to put it on before we lead you to your present.” Issie looked at Stella and Kate who were both grinning from ear to ear.

“Do you know what it is?” Issie asked them.

“Uh-huh,” Kate nodded, “but we promised your mum we wouldn't tell.”

Issie felt her heart racing. So that was why Stella and Kate had been acting so strangely! They knew about the secret present-whatever it was.

“OK,” Issie said, reaching out to take the blindfold, “I'll put it on.”

“No, you won't!” said Stella. “You could cheat. Let your mum do it so we know that it's on properly and you can't see.”

Issie stood up and her mum wrapped the black scarf around her eyes, securing it tightly with a knot at the back of Issie's head.

“Can you see?” asked Kate.

“No,” Issie said. It was a weird feeling: everything was pitch-black and although she couldn't see anyone, she could feel their eyes on her.

“Let's spin her round!” Stella said. Issie felt Stella and Kate's hands turning her, and heard the girls giggling as they span Issie round and round.

“Are you dizzy yet?” asked Mrs Brown.

“We are!” Kate laughed.

“I think I'm going to fall over!” Issie shrieked.

“OK, that'll do. Lead her through,” said Mrs Brown.

By now the blindfold had slipped just a bit. Issie could see a tiny bit out of the gap at the bottom, just enough to glimpse her feet and figure out where she was going, as Stella and Kate led her through the living room and out into the back yard.

“Look out, there's a step coming up,” Kate cautioned her as she led Issie across the paved courtyard and on to the back lawn.

Then Issie heard Avery's voice ahead of her. He must have been in the back yard on the lawn waiting for them. “Are you ready?” Mrs Brown asked him.

“Yep,” Avery answered. “You can take off her blindfold now.”

Issie's heart was pounding in her ears. What was so amazing that everyone else was in on the surprise and she needed to be blindfolded and escorted outside to see it?

Could it be what she thought it was? Issie had given up hope of a pony, but maybe she had given up too soon? She was so excited she just wanted to rip off the blindfold. Instead, she took a deep breath, trying to stay calm as her mum untied the knot.

“It won't come undone!” Mrs Brown said.

“Mu-uum!” Issie squeaked. She was so excited now she could hardly stand it.

“Wait a minute.” Mrs Brown's fingers fumbled with the knot. “Wait a minute. I've got it…there!”

The blindfold fell away and Issie blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. Everything was blurry at
first. She could make out the shapes of Avery, Stella, Kate, her mother. And then next to them, on the lawn, another shape. She blinked and looked again.

It was a bike.

A bike. A brand-new, bright blue bicycle, tied up with a big bow on the handlebars. “Surprise!” said Mrs Brown.

Issie was so crushed she couldn't believe it. In that instant, she knew she had been utterly stupid to expect Mystic to be there waiting on the back lawn for her. She was an idiot. And yet she couldn't help how she felt now, the bitter sense of disbelief as she stood there, unable to speak, staring at her new blue bike.

“Do you like it?” asked Mrs Brown.

Issie didn't know what to say. She felt sick inside. She should never have got her hopes up like that! What was she thinking? For a brief moment, when that blindfold had been put on and Stella and Kate had spun her round and led her outside, Issie had managed to convince herself that her pony would be waiting for her. Now, as she looked at her mother's kind, expectant face, she knew she had to be a good actress and pretend to love the bike. She couldn't be ungrateful and ruin the surprise that her mum had
planned so carefully for her. There was nothing else for it. She had to lie.

“It's great, Mum.” Issie managed a smile. “Thank you so much.”

“Are you sure?” asked Mrs Brown expectantly. “Because if you don't like the colour, we can always swap it. I was worried that you might not like the colour.”

“The colour is great, honestly. Blue is my favourite colour.” Issie's fake, cheery smile was beginning to slip, but she was determined not to let her mum know how heartsick she was feeling right now.

Standing next to her, Stella and Kate began to giggle. Her mum was grinning too. Issie's smile faded totally now. She didn't understand why her Christmas present was so funny to everyone.

“Come on, Amanda,” Avery said to Mrs Brown. “I think it's time you put Issie out of her misery. You need to tell her exactly why you've bought her the bike.”

Issie was confused. What did Avery mean by that? “Mum? What's going on?”

Mrs Brown put her arms round Issie. “This bike isn't just a gift for you,” she said.

“It's not?” Issie was even more confused.

“It's a gift for me too,” Mrs Brown said. “You
know how I hate being a taxi service,” she continued. “This seemed like the best solution. I won't have to drive you. You can ride your bike down to the River Paddock every day.”

Issie still didn't get it. “Why will I be going down to the River Paddock?”

Mrs Brown looked at her daughter. “Isadora! If you own a pony, you've got to feed it and check on it every day. I thought you knew that.”

“But I don't own a pony!”

Her mother smiled. “Yes, you do.”

“What?” Issie couldn't believe it. “Mum? You bought me a pony?”

“Not just any pony,” said her mother. “The grey pony from the auction, the one you wanted so much.”

“Mystic? Mum, you bought Mystic!” Issie was completely overwhelmed. “But how? I saw Christie take him…”

“It was all Tom's doing,” said Mrs Brown. “He finally managed to track Christie down and suggested a private deal to buy the pony back.”

“Let's just say I made a late bid,” said Avery, smiling.

“We didn't want to tell you about it in case we didn't pull it off,” Mrs Brown continued. “It took
ages just to hunt down Christie. When Tom came around yesterday he told me that he'd finally found him and made an offer.”

Avery nodded. “In the nick of time as it turned out. I gave Christie cash on the spot for Mystic and he accepted the deal straightaway. He let me take the pony home there and then.”

“Ohmygod!” Stella said. “I can't believe we all managed to keep this a secret from you. Your mum told us all about it yesterday and asked if we wanted to come over and see your face when she told you.”

“I'm sorry you were so miserable yesterday, sweetie,” Mrs Brown added, “but we didn't want to tell you about Mystic until I was sure I could buy him back. And then, by the time Tom had the good news it was already Christmas Eve. We thought, why not wait one more day and it would make a great Christmas surprise…”

Issie was still stunned. “So Mystic's really mine? For real? For good?”

“Uh-huh,” Mrs Brown smiled. “He's really yours.”

“Come on,” Avery said. “You can try out your bike another time. What say we all drive down to the River Paddock and see your new pony?”

It was in the car on the way to the paddock that Avery finally handed over Issie's present. “I was about to give it to you before,” he explained, “and then I realised it would give the game away.”

Issie took the squishy-soft gold-wrapped package for a second time, and this time Avery didn't snatch it back. She dug her fingers into the gold wrapping paper and ripped it open. Inside, she felt the soft rasp of wool against her fingers. She closed her hands around a navy blue wool knitted jersey and pulled it out of the gold paper.

“There should be something else in there too,” Avery said. Issie dug around in the gold paper and pulled out a red tie.

“It's your new club uniform,” said Stella.

“You'll need it if you're going to come away with us on camp,” Kate added.

“Welcome to the Chevalier Point Pony Club,” Avery said. He pulled the Range Rover up at the paddock gate and turned to her. “We'll wait here. You go and catch your horse.”

Issie couldn't actually see Mystic in the paddock. There were Toby and Coco, grazing together as usual by the river's edge. It took her a couple of moments to scan the field and find the third horse. He was facing away from Issie and his dapple-grey rump was all she could make out at first. Then, at the sound of the car door slamming, the grey pony raised his head and looked around.

Issie felt her heart skip a beat when she saw his face. It was really him! “Mystic!” she called out. The dapple-grey saw her too and nickered a greeting. “Mystic!” Issie instantly broke into a run, sprinting across the paddock towards her pony.

“Hey! You forgot your halter!” Stella yelled after her. “Issie? How are you going to catch him?”

Issie didn't care-she was in such a mad panic to reach her pony. When she was a few metres away from the grey gelding she finally stopped running. This paddock, the other horses, it was all new to Mystic. If she charged up to him, she might spook him.