The pub was noisy at this time of day. His cattle dog lay snoozing close by as Allen sat listening to his mate’s conversation.

He rolled another cigarette. His old scared hands moved with automatic precision.

Allen had worked with cattle all his life but his greatest love was horses and as the subject was about a new stallion in the district, he was all ears.

Although being of medium height, Allen’s barrel chest and muscled arms showed he’d spent many long hours doing hard work.

He was from a big family and from the moment he could walk, his dad had him up on his first horse. Riding and breaking horses, good and bad, had taken its toll on Allen’s legs and like all horsemen of his era, he was bow legged and walked with a limp.

It was getting hotter and although they sat in the shade, Allen was feeling it and took off his wide brimmed hat to wipe sweat from his bald head.

He had been a fine looking man in his day and that was still evident in his weathered face.

“Do you feel like another beer Joe? My shout?”

Allen limped to the bar. His old knees were playing up today and for some reason, his boots were hurting his feet. There must be rain coming he thought. His feet only ached on those occasions and especially on the foot where there was no big toe which was the result of a sawmill accident.

As he made his way back with the beers, he noticed his mate staring off into the distance and knew he was probably reliving the early days when they were just young colts kicking up their heels on a Saturday night. They’d had some good times in those days and both fancied themselves as flashy dancers.

Allen remembered how he liked to impress the ladies and would always dress in his best jeans and shirt and steal some of his Dad’s after shave to complete the picture. That habit hadn’t changed, only nowadays, the after shave was his own.

The sun was almost setting as they finished their beers and Allen decided it was time he made tracks.

He waved to his mate as he headed towards his horse, dozing in the shade.

Painfully Allen climbed into the saddle and sat for a moment.

He looked around for his dog and caught him eyeing off some cattle nearby. The dog was seriously thinking of giving them a hard time till he heard the boss’s voice.

“Get back ‘ere blue dog!”

Author: Donna Halcoop
Country: Australia
True story: Yes
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