5. Lola

The heat was oppressive. Lola wiped her forehead with her arm and squinted into the sunlight. It was still a beautiful day. She liked the dry heat of summer. She watched the horse wander around his pen, inspecting the corners as if he were taking notes. She kept mouthing his name. Virtuoso. Vic. It rolled over and over her tongue and spilled through her teeth to her lips, only to be scooped up by her ears. She liked the way it felt. The soft vibration of the 'v', followed by the percussive 't', the twisting 'u' and 'o', and the sibilant 's'. She also liked the perfunctory ease of Vic. Both monikers seemed to match his personality. His careful examination and consideration of his new home echoed the many-sided character of his given name. His comfort and curiosity mirrored the nickname.
He casually walked to where she was standing and flipped his head over the railing. She returned the greeting with a friendly tickle to his nose. He flipped his lips towards her fingers. He was half playing, half searching for goodies. She laughed at his adolescent earnestness.
She slipped the gate open and stepped inside. He turned his head to her and she scratched the bottom of his jaw. She moved her hands up to his ears and he flipped his head away, but quickly came searching for her hands again. She smiled again and ran her hands down the top of his neck, running her fingers down his mane as she went. She loved the greasiness in his coat. He'd been rolling in the dirt, and it was beginning to accumulate underneath her fingernails. She moved further down to the curve in his back and circled her arm across it, pressing her side against his. He curled his neck back to regard her and swished his tail. The end of it whipped against her side, and she laughed again. She smelled his horse smell and closed her eyes. It was like a drug for her, doping her into a sleepiness that only heat and horses could bring. This was why she'd returned to horses. It wasn't for the shows or the adrenaline. It wasn't even for the companionship. It was for the drug. She felt that Vic could give her everything that the doctors couldn't.