Four

Keith had stared at his blank computer screen for nearly an hour trying to solve his dilemma. Should he tell the world everything he had found out in the last few days, or would it be better to keep some things quiet?

Exposing Drew/Gaby would undoubtedly spark his career. He'd suddenly be a star in the journalistic world for digging up such a sensational story, but at what cost? Was it worth harming that wonderful young person who only wanted to figure out who he was? The more he thought about it, the muddier his thoughts became. Meanwhile in Warsop, the Bond household was stewing over these same questions, though from a slightly different perspective.

Jenny had more or less resigned herself to the fact that the truth concerning her cancer was going to come out. While she didn't like the idea of the whole world knowing, she knew she'd live through it, whatever happened.

Drew on the other hand was completely terrified of what might happen if his story was exposed. Once everyone knew about Gaby, would he ever be allowed to be just plain old Drew again? Or would he be forced to become Gaby full time, whether he wanted to or not? Maybe it wasn't logical to be thinking this way, but that didn't prevent him from doing so nonetheless.

And beyond the personal issues an outing was bound to bring up, there was the question of both of their cycling careers. Would he ever be allowed to compete again? Or would he be shunned forever by his sport before he had a chance to make his mark? And lastly, would Drew's predicament harm his mum's riding career? These were all questions that swirled around the household as they anxiously awaited word of what was to happen.

It's not that the thought of exposure had never occurred to either of them. It had always been a vague concern in the back of their minds before Keith Davis had shown up asking questions. His appearance served to crystallize those concerns and bring them to the forefront and even though they knew they couldn't really blame him for their predicament, there was in the back of each of their minds a little voice that whispered, “What if…?”

For his part, Keith was in turmoil himself. He found that he cared for this family more than he expected he would and didn't want to do anything to harm them. But he also had to balance that desire against his obligation to his boss, the magazine, and at least in his mind that vague monolith ‘journalistic ethics'.

As the hours ticked away he found he was no closer to an acceptable resolution and briefly contemplated scrapping the whole idea. However, each time his mind wandered in that direction he reminded himself why he started this project in the first place. He just hoped he could find a way to do it without doing too much harm to the Bonds.

Eventually he said, “I suppose I'd best get started. There's no way to know how it's going to turn out otherwise.” Once he finally started typing the story came out almost faster than he could think. Although he admitted the story had to be written, he regretted being the author before it was done. Even with multiple re-writes trying to hone the story both for journalistic and personal reasons, he was done in a matter of hours.

Cycling Royalty

By Keith Davis

In America, cycling doesn't really have much of a personality beyond our king, Lance Armstrong. That's not to say we don't occasionally embrace other athletes when they do something to capture our attention.

Such was the case in Atlanta this past February, when a young British rising star stayed pedal stroke for pedal stroke with Armstrong, even going so far as to ask for an autograph mid race. For Americans this was our first exposure to this youngster's antics, though it turns out that in Britain they had already started to recognize this young genius in the making.

The offspring of reigning World Champion Jenny Bond had in the same season that mom won not only that World title but also the Women's Tour de France, collected Youth National Championships in Circuit racing and Hillclimb, thus prompting some European journalists to dub them ‘Cycling's Royal Family'.

This might make you think that the Bond family was just one of those lucky ones that everything works out for and nothing ever goes wrong. The truth is, nothing could be further from the truth.

The very week she won that World Title, Jenny Bond was diagnosed with cancer, which nearly took her life a scant few months later. She is now said to be cancer free and is working her way toward a return to racing. When asked about the whirlwind her life has been since, Mrs. Bond replied, “It's been a bit of a roller coaster.”

There is more than title defenses driving Jenny Bond to push herself toward a return to racing. Her husband Dave has recently taken a job as Youth Development Program Director for Apollinaris, the team Jenny raced for last season, and is currently commuting between the family's home in England and the team headquarters in Bad Neuenahr, Germany.

When asked about living apart she said, “I'm anxious to return to cycling, plus I'm looking forward to living in the same house as my husband again.”

For his part, when asked about the difficulty of living apart from his family Dave Bond responded, “More than you can imagine. Last year Jen was the one living in Germany while I stayed with the kids in England. We decided that wasn't something we wanted to live through again, so I took this job thinking we'd be able to be together. And the truth is, long term it will be better for that very reason. Unfortunately in the short term we're still separated by the Channel and half of Europe.”

Another part of the Bonds' roller coaster ride this past year is due to the youngest member of the family, Gaby. The aforementioned dual National champion cyclist, Gaby became famous overnight in America as the result of her performance in the Atlanta Winter Classic, where she finished with the lead group, comprised of the world's best professional riders including the king of American cycling, Lance Armstrong.

When asked about the young Bond, Armstrong offered, “Now you've got my attention… she rides a lot like her mom, very aggressive. Doesn't hold anything back. I admire that. And on top of that, she's spooky smart on the road, like she reads other riders' minds or something.”

When asked what he meant by that, Armstrong replied, “ Her whole autograph seeker routine was just a delay tactic. She knew even before we got to the feed what we were planning, and did that to keep us from carrying out the plan.”

“It was an inspired bit of tactics. Not that it'll ever work for anyone again in my lifetime.”

Apollinaris team director George Muller concurs, “Gaby rides like Jenny. They both have this ability to see things during a race that they can use to their advantage. If anything Gaby's even a better tactician than Jenny. And along with her youth Gaby brings a certain amount of recklessness to her riding.”

When asked to compare the two, Dave Bond said, “Jen can be reckless at times, but she usually rides a more controlled race. Gaby goes at it wide open all the time. Sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn't.”

With all this talk of Gaby it may be surprising to learn that the beautiful young lady seen riding alongside Lance in Atlanta is not all that she seems. Prior to a year ago, Gaby didn't exist. She began as a costume worn by the Bonds son Drew for a charity race he participated in with Jenny a year ago last Christmas.

The costume was so convincing no one even had a clue they were seeing a boy. Later, the Gaby character was again given life for another costumed event and eventually through a series of chance circumstances Gaby became a well known figure in her own right.

Drew, who looks far more like a young lady than a young man, is in fact the holder of those championship titles, though in many circles even those accomplishments are credited to Gaby. As for his looks, Drew suffers from hormonal problems, which are causing his body to develop femininely rather than male, and as a result he finds it easier at times to present himself as a girl publicly.

The student exchange trip, which brought young Bond to America, enabling him to ride in Atlanta, was one such instance. As a member of a cheerleading group that as part of the trip participated in and actually won the East Coast Cheer and Dance Championships, Drew decided that, though harder on him, it would be easier for Gaby to be the one making the six week trip rather than risk exposure through changing back and forth between personas. And that's how it was Gaby and not Drew riding in the Atlanta Winter Classic.

Having seen Gaby both during the race and at various functions after, I found it difficult to believe what the facts were telling me was the truth. Because put simply, you would expect that a boy pretending to be a girl would look like a boy pretending to be a girl. Such is not the case in this instance.

Perhaps it's a result of the aforementioned hormonal condition, but even when presenting as a male, Drew Bond looks like a lovely young lady trying to look like a boy. This has no doubt on occasion worked to his advantage in leading opponents to underestimate him on the road, but that in no way undermines the considerable talent he possesses.

Jenny Bond had a season for the ages a year ago. With luck, maybe she'll be able to enjoy more successes of her own. But whether she can or not she can trust that in the person of her child, her legacy in the sport of cycling is secure. Whether ultimately that child is known to us as Drew or Gaby makes no discernable difference, because boy or girl, young Bond is a brilliant athlete and more, a caring, sensitive human being.

The reigning queen may or may not be able to continue, but the sport of cycling can rest assured that the Bond clan will be represented. Whether we should call the heir Prince or Princess is of little import, so long as we can continue to enjoy the ride.

As he was editing what he'd written, Keith fought back wave after wave of guilt. He'd never intended to ruin anyone's life, but given the content of this article that seemed inevitable.

When the phone rang he quickly looked at the clock and realized he'd been up all night working as it was nearly 7am. He picked up the receiver, “Hello?”

“Davis? Tompkins here.”

“Yes sir? Is something wrong?”

“You could say that. We need all hands in the office in one hour. Be there,” before Keith had a chance to respond, his boss had hung up.

“I wonder what the problem is?” He asked. “Did I get scooped?” He ran in and took a shower, dressed in mere minutes, and was on the streets of Manhattan on his bike before 7:30.

Just before eight he opened the main doors into the magazine offices and was greeted by a throng of nervous staff members. He looked toward Tompkins' office and could see his editor in the midst of a heated telephone conversation.

Not intending his question for anyone in particular he asked, “What's going on?”

The receptionist, a girl named Carly for whom Keith had forever harbored a bit of a crush replied, “I heard a rumor that we've been sold.”

“Sold?”

“From what I've heard, one of those huge publishing houses is buying out our publisher. It's safe to say everyone's a bit on edge.”

Turning his attention away from Carly, Keith looked in the direction of Tompkins' office just as he was coming out.

The room suddenly became silent as the mass of employees waited to find out why they'd all been called into the office early.

Tompkins began, “Some of you may have already heard that our parent company is being taken over by Time Warner. I've called you all in to let you know that it's true.”

There was a spattering of applause rise up from the crowd, which Tompkins quickly squelched. “You may not think that's such great news when I tell you the rest of my news.” He paused for a moment to let the ominous nature of that statement sink in before continuing, “It seems we are to be merged with Sports Illustrated.”

The applause sprung up once again with that tidbit. Tompkins raised his hands in an effort to quiet the crowd. “Some of us will be offered positions with SI, while others may be given jobs with other publications. And there will be some who unfortunately will be let go.”

The silence that greeted that last statement was deafening. “On your desks you should find envelopes which will contain either your new assignments or your severance. This is all effective immediately. They want us all cleared out of this office by five o'clock today.” Once his announcement was done, Tompkins turned around and went back to his office, where he set a box on his desk and began packing up some personal items.

Keith looked around the office and saw the stunned faces looking back at him. He couldn't really explain it, but for some reason he wasn't sad about the news. Maybe it was because he felt he'd been given a second chance concerning the Bonds' story. Since he hadn't turned in his draft, as far as SI was concerned the story didn't exist, which meant he didn't have to ruin those poor peoples lives after all.

When he made his way to his desk he instantly found the envelope and upon opening it learned that he was to be assigned as a copywriter for Parenting magazine. He found a box under his desk but disregarded it as it would be too difficult to take on his bike. He got his backpack out and started packing up his personal items. Less than an hour later, he was ready to leave when Tompkins called out his office door, “Davis? Got a minute?”

Keith made his way toward his former boss's office and before he'd had a chance to sit down was asked, “So, I guess you won't be getting that big chance after all. Sorry son. That's just the way things go sometimes.”

“I know sir. Thanks for the opportunity.”

“I hadn't gotten to ask you when you got back. Find out anything interesting?”

Keith thought for a moment and decided this would be an easy way out of his predicament, so he replied, “Didn't really pan out, sir. Just a bunch of unsubstantiated rumors that turned out to be false.”

“That's what I figured,” said Tompkins. “Too bad, I thought you might be on to something.”

“Me too, sir. So what's next for you?”

“I'm being offered early retirement with fully vested pension. My wife would kill me if I said no,” he began to laugh.

“I'm being assigned to ‘Parenting',” Keith said as the laughter, which he had joined in with subsided.

“Kid, I know you're a little down about things right now, but trust me. You're a good writer. You'll get another chance. I'm sure of it.”

As both men stood up Keith extended his hand toward Mr. Tompkins, who took it as they shook. “Thanks for the opportunity sir,” Keith said as they parted.

“Don't forget, you'll get another chance. Just hang in there. Now go get your crap packed up before they start throwing us out on the curb.”

Keith left the office and returned to his desk, where he picked up his now full backpack and headed out the door toward the elevator. Once in the lobby, he went to the security guard's desk and was allowed into the locked closet where he had always stored his bike.

“Looks like I won't be back,” he said to the guard.

“Why's that?” he asked.

“We were sold and they're shutting down ‘Sports World'. Merging with Sports Illustrated and closing our offices.”

“Sorry to see ya go. You folks were good to everybody in the building. We'll miss ya.”

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Keith said as he rolled his bike out the door onto the street. Once outside he mounted up and pedaled his way home.

Twenty minutes later, he was pushing his bike through the door to his apartment. Once the door was closed behind him he took off his backpack and set it on the sofa, then headed over to his desk where his computer was still displaying his story about the Bonds.

He momentarily considered just deleting the story, along with all his notes and research documents, but then decided against that idea. He saved the file first on his hard drive and then to CD, then opened Outlook and clicked on the ‘Write Message' button. He put in Jenny Bond's email address and started trying to figure out what he wanted to say:

Jenny,

I have what for you may be considered good news. I was informed today that my magazine has been sold and is being merged into Sports Illustrated. I had not completed the story yet, and now have no intention of doing so. I just wanted to let you know that you have nothing to fear from me.

I will warn you that much of what I found in preparing this article was easily found. You and your family might want to consider preparing for the inevitable.

I've made a CD backup of my research and the draft of my story. I've attached to this email a copy of said story so you can have some idea just exactly what you can expect to eventually come out, because with a story this big, it's not going to be a matter of if, but rather when.

Good luck to you in your rehab and impending return to racing. To your husband Dave, who I immensely enjoyed speaking with, and to Drew, whoever he ultimately decides to become, my best wishes.

Keith Davis

Jenny read the email three times and the article twice before she managed to unglue her eyes from the computer screen. She was visibly breathing a sigh of relief upon discovery that her family's lives weren't about to be turned upside down by the contents of that story.

As she closed the document and got up from the screen, she looked around the empty room. Yes, they had dodged the issue this time, but how long would that luck hold out? Like he said, there's no way this doesn't come out eventually.

She called Dave and informed him of the news, and when Drew and Juliette came home they were filled in as well. On the surface, things in the Bond household more or less returned to normal. But in the back of each of their minds was forever more the thought that it was now only a matter of time before their world would be turned upside down for real.

Monday morning Keith pedaled his way to the offices of ‘Parenting' magazine to begin his first day of work. With each pedal stroke, he hoped he might possibly be wrong this time and the Bonds might never have to worry about exposure. But each time, reality would shove it's way back in and remind him that it would in fact only be a matter of time before their lives became the cover story they seemed destined to be.

The End

Jillian 08.02.08 © 2008
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