Big Billy

Big Billy

"You can't sleep out here in his stall, Meghan. He might step on you."

"But," her eyes pleading, "he's lonely."

"He can visit over the fence with a half dozen other horses all day, the answer is no. It's always no. It's for your safety." Her father walked out toward the house.

Meghan sighed. "I tried, Billy."

Billy bobbed his head. He understood. Meghan gave him one more carrot and patted Billy one last time. "See you tomorrow, Billy." She kissed his velvety nose.

She pulled the switch to close the electronic barn doors and walked up to the house, letting the screen door bang as she came in the kitchen. She peeked into the study where her father was working on his computer. "G'night Daddy."

"Mhmm, night Meghan."

The next morning Meghan woke, hearing car doors slamming outside. She could hear her father talking to Luke, the barn manager. He sounded upset. She rolled over and looked at the clock, 5 a.m., wondering what was going on. It was barely light out. She slipped on her pink fluffy robe and went to investigate. She listened to the men from the bottom stair.

"Call the police. And walk down and warn them if they trespass, I'll have them arrested. Have Jeremy sit near the barn with a shotgun. I want it clear to them that they will not get my horse."

As Luke left, Meghan came into the kitchen and asked, "What's going on Daddy?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Pumpkin. These people want to try and take Big Billy away."

"But why?" Meghan started to cry. "Billy is my best friend!"

Dr. Serache hugged his little girl. "Well honey, they think he should be destroyed. I know that sounds scary, but some people don't understand the genetic modification I'm researching. They're afraid." Dr. Serache brought Billy to the farm to prevent his being destroyed. Most animals used in research don't get to retire to a farm. His daughter had a hard time dealing with his wife's death, six was too young to understand cancer and she missed her mama. Billy filled the void and kept Meghan from being buried in grief.

"But he's been here a long, long time. He loves our farm."

"He's been here five years. And he was at my facility three years before that. We did a lot of tests on Billy and it was time to retire him from all the stress." Dr. Serache recalled the day Billy was shipped to his farm. "The stress made him nearly uncontrollable, he would have hurt someone in the lab. He took a little while to recover but the peace here did him some good. I think all your love and care helped him a lot." Dr. Serache had transported Billy during the night so the picketers at the lab wouldn't find him. It took them a long time to discover Billy at the doctor's farm. Now they were spilling out of their cars with signs and a bullhorn, ready to blockade the farm.

"What are those people gonna do?" Meghan stood next to her father on the porch, watching the police activity at the end of the lane.

"They'll shout and march for a while, I'm not sure how long. Then, I have a feeling they'll try to steal Billy. And the police will have to arrest them." Dr. Serache sighed. "We may have to move Billy to a different barn for a while."

"No!" Meghan cried fresh tears.

"It's for his safety, Sweetie."

It went on for three weeks. The early morning wake up, the shouting and sign waving. Meghan convinced her father to keep Billy at home and spent a lot of time exercising him bareback in the paddock and caring for him. She curried the dirt from his coat and brushed it away with a dandy brush. Billy gently lifted his feet so she could pick the mud from his hooves. She whispered in the horse's ear and told him not to worry. Luke helped her and kept an eye on the road. He even took coffee down to the police car in the morning, never responding to the picketer's taunts. One morning the police didn't arrive. The protesters gathered their nerve and starting running down the lane. Luke tried to stop them, shouting and pushing the men. He was knocked down and spit on.

They ran into the barn and started checking the stalls. "You can't miss him, he's huge!" All the other horses whinnied and kicked at their stall boards in fear. Not finding Billy in the barn, they ran out the back door onto the concrete barn apron. Spotting the big horse in the far pasture, they ran down the exercise lane. Luke and Dr. Serache ran after them.

The men thundered up to Big Billy, and stopped dead in their tracks. Up close the horse was huge. He stood twenty-five hands tall. Much taller than an eighteen hand Clydesdale. Billy probably weighed twice as much. He had large, muscular shoulders and hindquarters, built like a Mack truck. He sedately watched the men gather around, the only clue of his temperament was his laid back ears. Stretched out on his back lay Meghan, her arms around his neck. She grabbed his mane and swung down, dropping to the ground.

She walked over to the group, her hands on her hips and shouted. "Which one of you thinks you're going to take my Big Billy?" Luke and Dr. Serache listened from the back of the group. Jeremy arrived with a shotgun. "Big Billy has had a hard life. He needs peace and quiet! Not your shouting. Your signs and noise isn't going to change Big Billy. He doesn't know he's just a 'speriment'" She rubbed Billy's muzzle. "Why do you want to kill him? What did he ever do to you?"

She stared at the men until they started shifting on their feet. "I love my Big Billy. You people need to go home." She pointed toward the road.

The men looked around. The police were arriving and they spotted Jeremy with the shotgun. "Let's roll, boys." The leader said. The men started walking back up to the road.

Big Billy nudged Meghan's shoulder. She kissed his nose. Dr. Serache hugged Meghan. "You did a good job there, missy. I'm proud of you." He looked at Luke. "I think we'll install a good security system. Billy's earned his keep here."

Big Billy stayed another eleven years on that farm and every day, Meghan would ride him bareback in the back pasture. He even carried Meghan to the altar on her wedding day.





Word count: 1113
Entry for August 2013 "Short Shots: Official WDC Contest"