Potato's colt had clearly inherited his sire's gorgeous palomino coat, but we'd been assured by the vet that he'd grow to be a full size horse, having not been born a runt. "And he's very smart, like his sire," the vet assured us. "You might be able to teach him the same tricks you taught his father, if you wanted, of course."
I shook my head in wonder as Pedro made friends with the colt who, at two months old, already seemed to show the same almost human like intelligence as his sire. He even had one brown eye and one china blue eye, just like Potato, and I smiled through my tears as I gently rubbed his nose. "I think you and I are gonna get along real fine, Spud," I said, deciding to turn my old nickname for Potato into a proper name for his son.
Spud whickered in response, and my smile grew wider as I gently ruffled his flaxen mane. Pedro clapped his hands in delight. "Spud, spud!" he shouted, before toddling off at a run through the grass. Spud whinnied and set off in pursuit, his long legs easily covering the distance between him and Pedro, and Pedro shrieked in delight as Spud - very gently - tipped him off his feet. Castillo smiled as he joined me.
"Well, here we are," he said, putting an arm around my waist and gently squeezing. "Potato's left a little spud, and our little spud is going to have the same friendship you did with yours."
I nodded as I watched Pedro playing with Spud, tugging on his ears and mane as they rolled in the grass together. Spud didn't seem to mind at all, much to my relief. "I've a feeling Spud is going to be more Pedro's horse than mine," I admitted. "And honestly? That's all I could ever want. I do love Spud, but not in the same way I loved Potato."
Castillo nodded. "I miss him too," he said. "And you're right; it's only fitting Spud and Pedro carry on their own story. Does this mean you're hanging up the costume for good?"36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVyNTPcvCm
I'd given up performing after Potato's passing, and the question gave me pause. "Potato was a one of a kind," I said at last. "And truth be told, you still owe us that cabin."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86iEXlbrEo
"I am a man of my word," Castillo agreed, turning me in his arms and kissing me soundly. "I've already spoken to Harry," he added, once we'd come up for air. "He's happy to take over the management of the circus, and I've already secured that cabin. It's not quite as remote as I thought, but it's far enough off the beaten path that we can quite happily tell the world to fuck off till we're ready to interact with its denizens."
I closed my eyes, listening to the familiar sound of his heartbeat. "Sounds like a wonderful idea," I murmured.
And it was.
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To make it even sweeter, Castillo went to town a few weeks after our second wedding anniversary, and when he came home, he presented me with an unexpected second gift - a deed poll, showing he'd legally changed his name to Jesse, the name he'd used while on the plantation with us. I hadn't expected that, and after kissing him into near catatonia, I then informed him I had a second gift of my own; a positive pregnancy test. It was Castillo's - no, Jesse's turn to kiss me into near catatonia, and we then decided it was only right and fitting to celebrate with a vigorous round of lovemaking. Another round soon followed once we'd gotten our breath back, but Maria, our housekeeper and general all round good egg, gently knocked on the door and told us it was time for supper. Jesse and I groaned in mutual disappointment, dragged ourselves out of bed, and made ourselves presentable, though not without sneaking in a few kisses here and there. We did keep them chaste; Harry was coming over for supper, and while we were sure he wouldn't mind a bit of a hold up, we didn't want to keep him waiting too long. "Visit to the lake afterwards?" Jesse asked with a smirk as we got ready to face the world again. 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfCOpQmCDR
"Visit to the lake afterwards," I agreed with a matching smirk.
We did, after all, have a very servicable lake nearby, and why waste such a golden opportunity?
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END
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