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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ray&amp;Donna" data-source="post: 107347" data-attributes="member: 42">September 12, 1998Margaret had just spent another wonderful week at Southfork—and frankly, she was starting to feel a little bored. School was fine, but she had both the want and need to do something interesting, something a little bit different this weekend.Miss Ellie had noticed that Margaret seemed a little less spirited over the last day or two, but she had a surprise. She and Clayton had been planning a short trip for this weekend, and since she was staying with them, it only made sense to bring Margaret along. They had told her about it Thursday evening, but other than telling her it was only a daytrip they had revealed precious few details. They planned on leaving in the morning and returning at night, and as a result it would only take up a Saturday. She had to admit that she was intrigued by the idea, so she said yes to the offer.It was Saturday morning now and they were in the jet, floating along in the sky. Margaret didn’t mind getting up early—she was usually up this early every weekend, out riding her horse. However, being in the air made her anxious to find out where exactly they were going.“Grandma, I’ve waited long enough. Can I ask again where we’re headed?”Miss Ellie looked up from her book. Clayton sat next to her, reading the newspaper. “What do you think, Clayton? Think she’s waited long enough?”He peeked over the paper and smiled. “I think so.”Miss Ellie began. “We were thinking we might buy a pair of thoroughbred horses, as a kind of welcome home present for your mother and father. They’re not expecting it.”“Where do you get thoroughbred horses?”“Well, from several places, but the best ones in the world come from Kentucky.”“I don’t think I’ve ever been there. Actually, I take that back—I’ve been to the airport there during a layover.”Clayton smiled. “You’ll like it. It’s a beautiful place with lots of friendly people. I’ve been there several times on business.”Miss Ellie nodded in agreement. “I’ve been a few times, myself. I think you’ll really enjoy yourself.”“I hope so.” Margaret thought about it and wondered what awaited her as she stared out the window at the wispy clouds.***Their plane had arrived in Lexington, and the limo they were riding in was now circling the perimeter of the city. After driving for several miles, they turned off the highway and the city began to give way to the rolling hills and farms. It was too chilly to roll down the window, so Margaret pressed her face to the glass and looked at the countryside beyond them. The roads were lined with miles and miles of fencing, some wood and some stone, and she spotted horses grazing peacefully, seemingly immune to the world around them. One left turn, and they pulled into the driveway of a farm. The house was thoroughly modern, seemingly dropped into the middle of several older barns and stables. The driver pulled up to the front door and stopped. Margaret got out first and held the door open for Miss Ellie and Clayton.Miss Ellie smiled. “Margaret, you should’ve waited for the driver to do that.”“I couldn’t wait—I was too excited.”The front door of the house opened and a man walked out to greet them.“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Farlow. I’m Ben Thompson, the owner of Long Pond Farm. We spoke on the phone.”“Yes we did,” Clayton replied. “It’s a pleasure to be here.” They shook hands.Miss Ellie looked at him. “It’s a nice to finally meet you. This is our granddaughter, Margaret.”He held his hand out to her, and she shook it. “Hello there, little lady. Is this your first trip to a thoroughbred farm?”“It is, sir.” She looked around impatiently. “So where are the horses?”He laughed. “A woman who knows what she wants. I like that.” He pointed to the left with his thumb, away from the house. “They’re in the stables, over this way, so if you’ll just follow me, I can show you around.”They walked among the stables, looking at each horse and its breeding information. Ben had twenty horses, and he articulated details about each horse, how long he had had them, which ones he had bred himself, where the others had come from. They stopped in front of the next-to-last stall. “This is one of the horses I thought would be perfect for you,” Ben said. “Her name is Morning Star, and she’s two years old.” He pulled something off a hook and held it out to Margaret. “Young lady, how would you like to brush her mane? You look like you might know a thing or two about horses.”“Thank you.” She smiled at him. “I know a little bit about them.” She took the brush and began to smooth out the horse’s mane as she whinnied. She finished and they walked over to the last stall.“Okay, here’s the other horse I wanted to show you. His name’s Spirit of the West, and he’s a three-year-old.”“He’s beautiful,” said Miss Ellie. “Reminds me of a horse we used to have many years ago.”Clayton looked at him. “Ben, I think these two horses would be the perfect gift. I couldn’t have picked out two better ones myself.” “Okay then, Mr. Farlow. I’ll contact your bank on Monday, take care of the transaction, and I’ll have them shipped out to you the next day.”“Thank you, Ben. That would be great.”He smiled at all of them. “You all weren’t planning on heading back straightaway, were you?” he asked.Clayton looked at both Miss Ellie and Margaret. “No, we definitely have some time to spare.”“Great,” he said, his face lighting up. “Because you haven’t lived until you’ve seen this country on horseback.”***Margaret drifted off to sleep that night, the stuffed horse Clayton had bought her at the airport clutched next to her. She was probably too old to sleep with a stuffed animal, she thought, but tonight she didn’t care. She dreamed about the day she had just spent, and looked forward to the days she had left to spend at Southfork.</blockquote>

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