Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

Aaron wouldn’t take no for an answer so here I was the next morning, being helped onto the saddle atop a horse for the first time in my life. I patted the horse’s neck before I took hold of the reins and spoke sweet nothings into his left ear, hoping we’d become fast friends. Aaron mounted his horse and stayed close by on my right as we sauntered off onto the trail.

“I chose Dusty for you to ride because he’s a mature gelding with a calm temperament who’s experienced with beginners like you,” noted Aaron as I bounced softly up and down in my saddle to the gentle four-beat motion of Dusty’s slow gait.

“Gelding? You mean he’s been…”

“Ah, the old fella hardly misses them. He seems totally unaffected by the mares in the stable. He’s better off really. The opposite sex can make a man do crazy things—”

“Man? Are you talking about Dusty or yourself?” I teased.

“The way you look, Lindsey, you must be aware of the effect you have on most red-blooded males. Take that kid Jeremy, Mrs. Ross’s grandson. If his eyes got any bigger, they’d pop out of his head.”

“He’s really nice, Mr. Felder. We’re just buddies. He and Elena have been so welcoming to me and Dad ever since the day we arrived at the Lodge.”

“It’s Aaron. Mr. Felder is—”

“Your father. My grandma always told me to be respectful to my elders. But if you want me to call you Aaron, I guess I can make an exception to the rule in your case.”

The sun was slowly climbing in the sky as mid-day approached and a warm breeze seemed to swoop down from the surrounding hills as we ambled through the valley. I was starting to rather enjoy the gentle up and down, side to side motion of my ride. I think I must have sighed at one point loud enough for Aaron to hear above the clop-clop of hooves. He measured me with his gaze and I started to blush uncontrollably. As I turned my head away, he resumed our conversation.

“Mrs. Ross used to vacation at the Lodge with her late husband several weeks every summer until he passed away. Since then she’s spent entire summers here. Jeremy’s accompanied her the last two summers.”

“It’s a nice getaway spot from the city. Quiet, lovely scenery, good food and entertainment…and gentle horses to ride.” I patted Dusty’s neck. He whinnied in response, I believe.

“Mrs. Ross never rides. Actually, she stays in her room mostly. I feel bad for Jeremy,” Aaron declared, surprisingly. “There aren’t ever that many kids his age staying at the Lodge. At least not for more than a week at a time. Hard to make buddies. It makes sense he’d fall hard for the first girl his age that looked to be around for a while…”

“So you think he’s just lonely? I mean he can drive. He’s only an hour and a half away from the city. Could be he has a girlfriend back there.” I steadied my gaze on Aaron as we rode side by side, even as unsynchronized as we were in our saddles, moving up as the other moved down. “I’m not interested in dating Jeremy. I’m only here because my dad has an eight-week engagement at the Lodge. Come September I go back to school in New Jersey.”

“That’s smart. It’s alright to hang around with Jeremy to pass the time between shows but you really should avoid getting involved with immature young boys. They have no idea how to treat a woman properly.”

“Your cousin, Dr. Rosenberg, told me you’re a real player. And advised me to avoid you at all costs,” I laughed. Aaron’s face clouded over.

“That schmuck! First of all, it’s not true about me and, secondly, he’d be unemployed if I hadn’t done him a big favor and hired him as our in-house doctor. He got his MD degree from a school in Trinidad.”

“But you told me he was the best doctor in the region!”

“He is! He is! Don’t get hysterical. I’m just saying he’s wrong about me. Forget about his medical qualifications. I mean, listen to his medical advice but disregard anything he says about me. He was always jealous of me growing up. He claims I got all the best-looking girls. Not true at all. I’m not timid and shy like he was. He was always afraid of rejection. I told him you’ll never find out unless you try.”

“Hey, Dusty’s turning around by himself. I didn’t pull on the reins or anything…”

“He knows this trail like the back of his hoof. He doesn’t need us to direct him.”

“Oh, okay. I was about to panic there. Runaway horse on my first ride? That’d be embarrassing.”

“It’s too bad you won’t be around next summer.” I snapped my head around when he said that.

“What do you mean? Are you dissatisfied with my Dad’s act? The Supper Club’s been packed for every show. We even got a review in the local paper. Shirley, the girl at the front desk, says we’re getting a lot of locals making reservations, not just Lodge guests—”

“I love the act, Lindsey. Especially with you as your dad’s new assistant. If I could, I’d book you and your father every summer until kingdom come.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“It’s complicated but it looks like I might have to sell the Lodge by the end of the summer. There’s no way to avoid it, I’m afraid.”

“But why?”

“Debts. A lot of debts. I hate to say it but my parents mismanaged the Lodge for years before they retired and handed it over to me. The business has been dwindling since the mid-60s. The younger generation doesn’t love The Catskills. They’re not too enthusiastic about seeing Shecky Greene or Alan King do the traditional Borscht Belt comedy routines—”

“Or magic acts like my Dad’s?”

“Yeah, times have changed and there’s little we can do to keep up with them. I don’t see arena rock acts clamoring to play Grossinger’s let alone our little hideaway here in the mountains.”

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky but things had turned dark for our morning ride. We glumly made our way back to the stables. Even Dusty’s whinnies seemed tinged with sadness.

Between shows that evening, Elena and Jeremy dropped by our dressing room to visit. I told them the bad news I’d heard from Aaron that morning. Dad was inconsolable and the anxiety and stress showed on his face as he paced the room.

After putting on a robe, I settled into a corner of the sofa. I peered over the rim of the glass of orange juice I held in my right hand at my father as he talked animatedly with Elena. They were standing by the door. Elena was helping Dad out of his tuxedo jacket.

“I can’t believe the year I’m having. First, the accident…” Dad paused, bowing his head. After a few seconds, he resumed. “The weeks out of commission recovering from my injuries. The new girl I hired as assistant up and left without warning. Lindsey takes over and the act is better than ever with overflow crowds. Now, it’s like the rug being pulled out from under me…again!”

“I don’t understand, Jack. I’ve been staying here for a decade of summers. Business is as good this year as it was during the Kennedy administration. Mismanaged? Aaron’s parents built the second most popular resort in the Catskills. Only Grossinger’s is bigger. What debts could he be talking about?”

Dad pulled the chair out from my vanity table and slumped into it. Elena sat down on the sofa next to me while Jeremy stood with his back leaning against the door. Elena took my left hand in hers.

“Maybe I should call his parents. I have their number in Miami. If there’s anything I can do to help. I’d hate to see the Lodge torn down and replaced by something like a shopping mall or whatever. Such a beautiful location that holds so many wonderful summer memories for so many families…”

“You could buy it from the Felders, grandma,” offered Jeremy.

“Oh, boychik, what would your grandmother do with a resort hotel? All I know is the dry goods business that your grandfather and I learned from the gonifs on Orchard Street. Resorts? No, if they need a loan, that I can do.”

“Grandma knows about money,” laughed Jeremy.

“You could hire people to run it for you, Elena,” I suggested. “Then you could book Dad all year round. He wouldn’t have to travel all across the country. And I’d be going to school close enough by to see him most weekends.”

“What school do you go to?” asked Jeremy.

“Kushner Academy in Livingston,” I answered proudly.

“I thought that was an all-boys school,” Jeremy countered.

“Well…uh, it was…until recently. It’s co-ed now. Otherwise, how could I attend?” I nervously asked.

“It’s very expensive too,” Dad interjected. “Now, how am I going to be able to pay the tuition? The money’s not just going to magically appear out of thin air…”

There was a knock on the door and Jeremy had to jump aside as Dad asked who it was.

The door swung open and Dad and I almost fell onto the floor, we were so gob-smacked by the sight of the person standing there.

“Mother!” Dad shouted out, startling Elena and Jeremy.

It was grandmother, alright. She was wearing her ‘traveling outfit.’ A burgundy velour pants suit. Despite it being the middle of July, she had thrown a sweater over her shoulders. She stood there, her right hand twirling a long string of imitation pearls hanging from her neck. Her eyes scanned the room before she spoke.

“Where’s Lindsey?”