Back in his hotel, Keith started sorting through the notes he had taken during the day's interviews, comparing them with his earlier research. It was while looking at the notes from his time with George Muller, the Apollinaris team director that it struck him.

“He said that Dave had tried to convince him that Gaby was actually a boy named Drew, but he didn't believe him. So, my suspicions were correct.” After going through the rest of the day's notes, he picked up the telephone and dialed Mr. Tompkins' direct line.

After a couple of rings, someone picked up on the other end. Keith started, “Mr. Tompkins? Davis here.”

“Davis! Found anything Earth shattering?” he said with more than a little sarcasm in his voice.

“I want to make sure my suspicions are correct before I say anything sir,” Keith stated.

Tompkins shot back, “You damned well better! This isn't some trashy tabloid where you can get by with half-truths and speculations. This is ‘Sports World' magazine for Christ sakes. We set the standard in this industry.”

“Yes sir, I know. And before I put anything in writing it will be absolutely confirmed.”

“Sir, if I can prove what I suspect, it will be the biggest story of the year.”

“In the morning. I'm flying into Manchester, then taking a rental car to a little village called Warsop for my interviews with the Bonds.”

“I won't sir, I promise.” Keith listened to the line click and go dead on the other end before hanging up himself. He then returned to going over his notes, then got out his recorder and listened to the tapes of the day's interviews once again to make sure he didn't miss anything.

It was nearly midnight Bonn local time when he finally turned in to try and get a few hours sleep before his flight in the morning.

The next morning, Keith barely made it to the airport in time to catch his flight. After landing and making his way through the maze of security checkpoints one must navigate when entering another country, he fumbled his way to the car rental kiosk and after some forty-seven kilos of paperwork, was eventually on his way.

It took him a while to get the hang of driving on the wrong side, but eventually Keith had managed to pilot his rental car from Manchester airport to the village of Warsop. Having arrived a couple of hours before his scheduled time with Mrs. Bond, he decided a visit to Warsop College might be a good idea.

He made his way to the Headmaster's office, where he asked if he could speak to the person in charge, who he found out was a gentleman by the name of Woods. After a few minutes he heard, “Mr. Davis, is it? Please come in.”

Keith stood up and followed the voice into the office where he met Mr. Woods. They took seats on opposite sides of the desk. “Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Woods. I'm Keith Davis from ‘Sports World' magazine.”

“I'm doing a story about the Bonds, sir. Since you are so familiar with the family, I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions?”

Keith took out his recorder and notepad. “I hope you don't mind if I record. I wouldn't want to mess up a good quote,” he chuckled.

“Yes. It seems she wanted something to keep her busy while she works on regaining her strength. We had an opening and were thrilled when she was willing to help us out.”

“Yes indeed. They've brought a great deal of honor to this old institution.”

“Not too closely, but whenever either Jenny or Drew has faired well in competition, we make sure to acknowledge it in assembly. I believe they deserve the recognition for their talent and hard work.”

“You mentioned Drew, but what about Gaby? Do you mention her performances as well?”

Flustered, Mr. Woods took a second before he could come up with his reply. “But of course. Did I fail to mention her? I'm sorry, old age, memory the first to go and all that,” he tried to brush aside the interrogation, hopefully rescuing everyone's reputations. “Actually, she was just mentioned this morning in association with our cheerleading squad's appearance at a competition over the weekend.”

Trying not to get too excited about what he thought he had just learned, Keith calmly replied, “Yes. I think we all know what that's like from time to time.” He looked at his watch and feigning surprise blurted out, “My goodness, I didn't realize the time. I have another appointment soon. I hope you won't mind if I cut things short here?”

Breathing a sigh of relief of his own, Woods said, “Not at all. I understand perfectly.” He stood up and offered his hand to the journalist, “Feel free to contact me again should you have any other questions.”

Rising to shake his hand, Keith replied, “Certainly. Thank you for your hospitality.” He turned and walked out, deliberately trying not to show his excitement as he did so.

Once out in his car, he got the recorder out and listened to the portion of the tape where Woods had failed to mention Gaby. He seemed most shaken by the mention of her name. “I wonder why?” he said to himself as he sat there thinking.

A little later, when he pulled up outside the Bond residence he sat there in the car for a few minutes collecting his thoughts. This was the most important moment of his journalism career, and he was going to do his darnedest to make sure he didn't screw it up.

Keith grabbed his trusty old backpack that served as his “briefcase” and made his way to the front door. After ringing the doorbell and waiting the longest thirty seconds in history, the door opened and there stood Jenny Bond.

“You must be Mr. Davis. Welcome. Won't you come in?” she asked as she swung the door wide open for him to enter.

As he stepped across the threshold he said, “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Bond. And please, it's Keith.”

“Oh, please call me Jenny,” she replied as she led him toward the sofa before taking a seat in the chair facing him. “I've never known ‘Sports World' to pay all that much attention to cycling. How exactly did you wind up doing this story?”

“By choice actually,” he started. “I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I've been with the magazine for three years and this is my first feature assignment. I'd been working on the copy desk, sprucing up press releases for print and proofing various scores and such. When I realized my best chance of getting a good assignment involved having some expert knowledge that was unique, I started looking for a sport that had been more or less ignored in the past that we didn't really have anyone covering. It didn't actually take all that much to figure out that something like cycling would be my best bet.”

“And you chose to come talk to me? I'm flattered. I doubt there are many of your readers who would even have a clue who I am,” Jen commented.

“Well, you and Gaby. It seems her little stunt with Lance in Atlanta has garnered a fair amount of interest in the sport,” Keith admitted. “I thought it might be good to take a look at two generations of cycling stars. Speaking of which, will she be joining us any time soon?”

“Good, that'll give us a chance to talk awhile about your career then,” Keith began. “It's my understanding that the road to becoming a champion has not been what you'd call a straight path. How did this all come about?”

Jenny chuckled again, this time more sincerely before replying, “When I was younger, I rode for the National team. I thought I might actually have a chance of turning pro, but when the kids came along it was better for them that I not be out traipsing around the globe. I took a teaching position here at Warsop College and raced weekends, mostly local.”

“Once the kids were old enough I started training harder and eventually attracted some professional interest. After I signed with Apollinaris, I found myself being pushed beyond anything I'd ever done before and I loved every minute of it. Then I won the German title and after that the Tour Feminin. All of a sudden I was the one everyone else was chasing after. I was lucky to have won the Worlds.”

“I think your opponents would probably tell a different story. They'd probably say that you ride like a madwoman possessed.”

“You could say that, yes. That child is more reckless than I am though. Over the years I've figured out my limits and try to stay within them, if just barely.”

“As opposed to Gaby, who pushed herself so far past her limits in Atlanta that she passed out at the finish?”

In an obviously sarcastic tone, Keith added, “And of course, you've never done that?”

In as angelic a tone as she could manage, Jenny responded, “Why, of course not.” She barely got the words out of her mouth before she broke out laughing.

“You obviously still deeply love the sport and yet, you're not currently racing. Why is that?”

Keith looked at Jenny for a moment as if trying to decide something, then proceeded, “There are rumors about that suggest this illness is actually cancer. Care to comment?”

Jenny turned very pale for a moment, sitting there unable to speak or move. When she finally regained the ability to produce intelligible sound, she said, “I suppose it was bound to come out eventually, wasn't it? Yes, that's true. I was diagnosed during the World Championships, had surgery at the New Year, and have just recently been declared cancer free. It's been a bit of a roller coaster.”

“My doctor might say it is, but I'm anxious to return to cycling, plus I'm looking forward to living in the same house as my husband again.”

“I spoke with him yesterday at Apollinaris racing HQ. It's my understanding that he took the job with Apollinaris for that very reason. Is that correct?”

“Definitely. We've lived apart the majority of the time for the last year or so, and neither of us care much for it to tell you the truth. When I'm ready to return to the team, the kids and I will be moving to Germany. But don't for a moment think he doesn't deserve that job. He's easily the best there is at race setup.”

“That's exactly what Maria Pinger and Tina Porsche had to say as well, so I'm inclined to accept it as fact. The impending move has to be rough for the kids though.”

Keith paused for a moment to jot down some notes in his pad and checked the tape recorder, deciding to swap out tapes. Once everything was back up and running, he continued, “Sorry about that. If I don't bring home recorded evidence my boss might think I'm taking a vacation on the company dime,” he laughed at his own joke. “Now then, any regrets?”

Jenny sat there for a long time thinking, not saying a word. When she finally did speak her voice was shaky, as if she was on the verge of tears. “You could say that. I've made so many mistakes in the last year, I've lost count.”

Seeing what he thought might be the opening he'd been waiting for, Keith decided to pursue the point, “All right, let's back up a bit, shall we?”

Jenny just looked unsurely at the reporter. Undeterred, he continued, “Is it safe to say that you in some ways regret not pursuing your riding career when you were younger?”

“I suppose, but then I wouldn't have had the privilege of raising my children.”

Keith then asked, “You were very anxious to make the jump when Apollinaris made their offer last spring?”

“Yes, but I'm afraid I may have rammed it down my family's throats. Until then, we'd always made decisions as a family, and I made that one by myself.”

“No, not at all. They were far more supportive than I ever had a right to expect.”

“So what you're saying is you feel guilty about having left them alone like that?”

Jen sat there thinking again, trying to determine if she really wanted to give voice to the things she had been contemplating for so long. Finally she started, “When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I tried to hide it from my family. I even made up a story about meeting someone new and leaving them so they wouldn't find out about it. It was so stupid, really.”

“I've been trying to figure that one out for the longest time now.” She took a deep breath and let out an audible sigh, then continued, “I convinced myself that I was trying to protect them from it, but in truth I think I was trying to ignore the problem. A bit like an ostrich when it buries it's head in the sand as a way of hiding from danger. If I didn't admit to the problem, I could ignore that it existed and carry on just like before. That was the theory anyway.

“I couldn't have done that had I been at home with my family, because they wouldn't have allowed it. What really happened though is that I nearly destroyed my family.”

“My doctor told me I had about six weeks to live. When he said that, the only thing I could think of was that I needed to come home and make things right with my husband and children. Until I came home and saw their faces, I was ready to die, or so I thought.

“When I came through that door and told them what was happening, the love and acceptance they showed me…love that I don't know that I deserved, frankly…made me want to live again.” As she paused, took out a tissue, and dabbed at her eyes to try to prevent crying more than she was already, Jen added, “Fact is, I know I don't deserve them. I can't let myself do anything that would hurt them ever again.” As she said that she finally lost control, crying openly for some time before finally regaining control of herself.

Just then the front door swung open and what sounded a bit like a herd of bison came thundering through the door toward the stairs. Jenny shouted at the source of the sound, “Gaby? That reporter is here, and I imagine he'd like to talk to you.”

The sound calmed noticeably as the teen came slowly into the front room to greet Jenny and the reporter. Keith stood and offered his hand, “Gaby? I'm Keith Davis with ‘Sports World' magazine. Would you have a few minutes so we could talk?”

Gaby looked at him, then at her mum before replying, “Could I get a quick shower first. We had a hard practice, and I'd like to remove a bit of the smell. I hope you don't mind.”

As Gaby headed upstairs to get cleaned up Jenny asked, “Would you care for some tea?”

Jenny went straight to the kitchen and put a pot on to boil, returning a few minutes later with the pot and three cups on a tray. “Here we go. I'm sorry I didn't think to offer sooner. Where are my manners?”

“That's all right,” he said. As he took his first sip of English tea, Gaby re-entered the room, this time in jeans and a top with still damp hair and in stocking feet. Upon noticing her return, Keith said, “Welcome back.”

Gaby took a seat on the sofa next to her mum and said, “Sorry for keeping you waiting like that.” She reached over and poured herself a cup of tea, then settled back into her seat as she took a sip.

“You know, I didn't realize the resemblance was quite that striking before. The two of you both present quite a combination. Beauty with a killer instinct.” Both Jen and Gaby blushed furiously at the compliment.

Jenny was the first to recover from the sudden attack of bashfulness to respond, “I'm fairly sure you're exaggerating quite a bit, but thank you nonetheless.”

Keith looked at the two of them sitting there for a moment before he continued, “Now, I'm sorry to have to do this, but I'm afraid it's time we got down to business.” He turned his attention to Gaby and said, “Tell me, do you prefer being called Gaby or Drew?”