The Bonds were shown into the doctor's office by his nurse, who told them, “You can wait in here for the doctor to see you. He shouldn't be more than a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” both Dave and Jenny said at the same time, then as the nurse left the room they looked at each other and smiled. They each took a chair facing the doctor's desk, and had barely settled into them when the door opened and the doctor arrived.

“Good to see the two of you.”

“Thank you,” replied Dave.

The doctor shook each of their hands, then circled around his desk and took a seat. “I imagine you're anxious to find out the latest?”

“You could say that,” Jen blurted out, making no effort to disguise her anxiety.

“Well, Mrs. Bond, you can relax. While only time will tell the complete tale, it would appear from your latest round of tests that the surgery was successful. Once you're fully recovered, you should be able to do anything you did before.”

“What about cycling?” Jen asked, as Dave's face visibly dripped with disappointment. “I'd like to return to riding as soon as possible.”

“Yes, I imagine you would. I'm afraid it will be some time before you are ready for something that strenuous, but assuming everything goes according to plan, I can see no reason to keep you from competing again.”

“About how long?”

“I'd say at least a couple of months.”

“That long?”

“Well, I suppose you could start some light riding in a few weeks, but nothing for at least another fortnight.”

“But I can start training seriously again…?”

“As I said, not for at least a couple of months. It will take some time for you to build up your strength and endurance enough to seriously ride. You've been on minimal activity for some time now, and in that time your muscles will have decreased in mass somewhat, limiting both your strength and endurance. Rebuilding them takes time and work…lots of both.”

Before Jen could continue her cross-examination, Dave jumped in, “Thank you doctor for giving us the good news. When should she come back for her next follow up?”

The doctor now addressed Dave for the first time since he came into the room, “In two weeks. We'll do another MRI, and some blood work. Assuming everything is still progressing as expected, you should be able to increase your activity level some after that.”

“Thank you,” Jen offered as a way of preventing Dave from jumping back into the conversation.

As the doctor stood up from his chair, Dave and Jenny did likewise, and after circling around the desk, the doctor shook both their hands and said, “Then I'll see you again next week. Remember to take it easy this week. You will heal much more quickly if you don't wear yourself out.” He led them to the door and ushered them through, saying, “Have a good day,” after which he closed the door behind them to enjoy a moment's peace before moving on to his next patient.

They left the hospital in a silence that lasted until they were both inside the car, ready for their trip home.

“We'd best get back to the house,” Dave said as he slid in behind the wheel. “Your mum will be leaving for home this afternoon, and I think she was planning on preparing one last meal for us before she goes.”

“Yes, we daren't miss that. It wouldn't do at all to incur her wrath now,” Jen said in jest before continuing in a somewhat more serious vein. “It's been good having her around. I imagine she's been quite a big help to you, looking after me.”

“I will admit that yes, she's been a big help, but there's just something about living under the same roof as your mother-in-law that tends to get a bit frustrating after a while. I think it has to do with her having certain ways she likes to do things, and we have certain ways as well. Unfortunately, they aren't always the same, so…”

“I think I understand, luv. It's been a long time since I've lived in the same house as my mum, and while I was weaker, I was very appreciative of her being there to help. Now, I'm quickly reaching a point of looking forward to her going home myself.”

As they entered the house, they were greeted by first the aroma of the meal being prepared, and then by Josie as she came out of the kitchen. As soon as she saw them, she said, “Well, it's about time you two got back. Any longer, and all my hard work would have gone for naught.”

“Gee, mum, it's good to see you again too,” Jenny said as she walked up to her mum and gave her a hug. “We weren't really gone that long, were we?”

“I was considering sending out a search party, but that would've required leaving my roast unattended.”

Dave jumped in, “At least good sense prevailed then.”

Josie halfheartedly swung at Dave's head before saying, “Have a seat, it'll be out in just a moment.”

After enjoying a wonderful meal, Dave carried Josie's bags out to her car while Jen said her farewells to her mum. When they joined him in the drive, Dave came up to Josie and gave her a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for coming to help out. I'm not sure how I would've managed without you.”

“Oh, I suspect you'd have found a way, David Bond,” was her response. “I had best be on my way, if I want to make it home before midnight.”

“Be careful, mum, and thank you so much,” said Jen.

“Be sure to ring us when you get home,” Dave added.

“I will,” Josie said through a mist of tears. “Love you both. Talk to you soon.” With a wave, she climbed into the car, pulled out of the driveway, and was on her way home. Dave and Jenny stood waving until she had driven out of sight, then headed back inside the house.

As they entered the front room, Jenny said, “I'm knackered. Mind if I have a bit of a snooze?”

“Not at all, luv. I'll just go out to the garage. There are a couple of little projects I've been meaning to take care of. I'll wake you in a couple of hours, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said, then stretched out on the sofa for a nap.

As Dave set about the task of checking bike wheels to make certain they were all true, his thoughts overtook him.

_____________________

I suppose I knew all along at some level that she was going to want to return to racing, if at all possible. I'm just concerned that maybe she's being a bit premature at the moment. I mean, it's not that long ago she had major surgery, and as the doctor said, it's going to take months for her to get back into ‘racing' condition. Fact is, she might never make it back anywhere near her old level. Is it silly of me to not want her to be quite so anxious? Spend a little time enjoying life together, you know? Refresh your memory about what our life had once been like, that sort of thing.

But no, she can hardly wait to get back to her teammates in Germany, and back to racing. It's nearly enough to make you wonder if there were any truth to the ‘cover story' she had been feeding us before she came home. There's no sense in questioning that, is there? I don't suppose there's any harm in her trying to get back into competition shape, as long as she doesn't push herself so hard that she makes herself sick again. I mean, there's no guarantee she's going to be able to get herself back into that kind of shape, is there? And my guess is, if she can't be the best anymore, she may decide to retire, rather than lose. That doesn't make her desire any more palatable, however.

______________________

After a few hours of wrestling with bike wheels, Dave was certain of a couple of different things. One, that he was sick of wrestling with bike wheels, and two, that he still found Jenny's ambitions for returning to world class cycling not terribly comforting.

Later that evening, after finishing up with tea and cleaning up the mess it had created, he went to check on Jen, who was reading in the front room. As he sat down facing her, she looked up and asked, “Everything back in its place then?”

“For the most part, yes. I don't know about you, but I am absolutely exhausted. It's been one heck of a day.”

“That it has, and although I haven't done a thing, I'm about ready for bed myself.”

“Not all that surprising really, is it? I mean you are still in the early stages of your recovery. Your energy level is bound to be fairly low at times.”

“As usual, you're right. Maybe I ought to just turn in.”

“Sounds good.”

So after making their nightly call to America to check up on the junior Bonds, Dave and Jen headed upstairs to bed. Both were so tired that they barely managed to crawl under the covers before sleep overtook them.

_____________________

The dark, silhouetted figure stood once again between Dave and the bedroom window, emanating his evil giggle, which slowly grew from nothing to fill the room, finally getting Dave's attention. “Thank you for nursing her back to health for me!” said the evil stranger.

“I've done nothing for you! I told you before, she's not yours!” Dave shouted back.

“Pity you're so wrong,” said the stranger, whose voice oddly began changing. By the end of the next statement, it had taken on a German accent, and sounded strangely familiar. “She has always been mine, and will always be. You just haven't realized it yet.” That evil laugh filled the room once more, as it gradually faded into silence and the stranger dissolved to nothing.

______________________

Dave woke up from another one of his strange dreams, to find himself lying in bed next to Jen, who was still fast asleep. He rolled over, but after failing to once again find sleep allowed his thoughts free reign of his mind.

______________________

How on Earth did she pull this off? To come through what probably should have killed her, and now here she is, getting stronger every day? Amazing…there's simply no other way to put it.

Of course, that doesn't mean everything is rosy around the Bond household. I can't believe she's even considering going back to racing. How could she? After everything it cost us, she wants to return to that exact same situation? What is it about that life that fascinates her so? I wish I knew. Maybe then I could understand.

I don't know that I can tell her how I feel about her going away again. It might feel like forcing her to make a choice, and either way, we all lose. If she goes in spite of me saying I don't want her to, I'll feel as though she's chosen racing over me. Not a good feeling, I'm sure. And if she were to stay because of what I say, then I'd be afraid she'd resent me for forcing her to give up something she loves. A complete no win situation. So I'll probably keep my mouth shut and put on a brave face, like I always do. No sense putting hurt feelings on display for the world to see, is there?

I don't think she's said anything about this to the kids as of yet. I wonder how they'll take it, should it come to pass? I don't suppose Juliette will care for the idea at all. Of course, Drew won't either, but he's a little more understanding. I think he sees it more like a job than Jules does. She definitely took her mum's absence from home more personally before, and no doubt will again.

____________________

Dave finally managed to get back to sleep, troubled though it was. By morning, he was actually feeling more tired than when he went to bed the night before…not a good way to start off the day. He slipped out of bed, showered, and dressed, then headed downstairs to start the tea. Just as the teapot signaled that it was ready, Jen made her appearance in the kitchen.

“Morning, luv,” Jen said between yawns.

“Don't know that I'd call it good, but it is that. Sleep well?” Dave said, a little coldly.

“Not too bad, yourself?”

“I had trouble part of the night. Care for a cuppa?”

“Always. You off to work?” Jen took a seat at the dining table as Dave set a cup in front of her.

“Yes, I've almost caught up from when you were in hospital, but there's still a lot to do. What's on your agenda today?” Dave took the chair opposite and took a sip of his tea.

“Carol said something about a little shopping, but I don't know if I'm up to it. She wears me out when we shop.”

“Well, please take it easy. You're still recovering from fairly major surgery, and we don't want you getting sick because you tried to do too much.”

“I promise, I'll take it easy.”

“And stay off that turbo. I know you snuck out there earlier in the week, but the doctor said to rest.”

“Yes, dad,” she said teasingly. He finished off his tea, took the cup into the kitchen and set it in the sink, then came back to Jen's side and gave her a kiss before heading out for work. She smiled at him as he left, then returned her attention to her cup of tea.

Dave's day at work was filled with phone calls and paperwork…necessary evils that usually made the day drag interminably, but today were a good diversion from dwelling on the thoughts that have been keeping him awake at night. When he returned home from the mill, he found Jen on the phone.

“…I will, George. Hopefully we'll see you then…Yes, me too…Goodbye.” Jen hung up the receiver just as she noticed Dave had returned home.

“How was your day?” she asked him as they both took seats in the front room.

“Long and monotonous. Yours?”

“Carol and I went to Meadowhall for a bit, then after I got back home, I just crashed with a book for a while. Then just before you got home, I got a call from George.”

“I kind of gathered that. What was that about?”

“We talked about my possibly returning to the team after the doctors tell me I can start training again, and he invited us to travel with them for the Atlanta Classic.”

“Isn't that the…”

“…the race Gaby's riding in, yes.”

“Why is the team going?”

“All the big teams use the Atlanta as a preseason warm up. It's sort of a chance to introduce the team to the press, that sort of thing.”

“It would be nice to see Drew.”

“Apparently George is planning on starting a Junior Development program, and he wants Gaby to be the first member of the team.”

“You said Gaby. Does George realize Drew is actually a boy?”

“I don't think he believes it, but what of it? Basically, it means the training staff will make suggestions for possibly improving practice routines, and they'll be subsidizing training and travel costs, in exchange for wearing an Apollinaris jersey. Oh, and they will be encouraging the scheduling of a few events in France and Belgium, that sort of thing. It would be a great opportunity, and a big help financially.”

“I can't argue that point. I just sometimes worry that everyone but me keeps forgetting that Drew really is a boy underneath it all.”

“I think I understand what you mean. I sometimes get so caught up that I lose track of what's what.”

“What I still don't understand is, what does all this have to do with us going to Atlanta?”

“George and the team will be hosting a post race press conference and then a reception, and he wants to announce the start of the program with the introduction of the first member.”

“But why are we going?”

“Well, for one thing, he just thought we'd like to go watch Gaby ride, and he'd like to have us on hand when they make the announcement about the development program. For another, it's a chance for me to sign my new contract.”

“So you're still serious about racing again?”

“Of course I am. What did you expect? For me to retire?”

“Well, the thought had crossed my mind.”

“Well not mine. I have titles to defend, and besides, I don't have that many more years left that I can reasonably expect to be able to compete at that level.”

“I suppose I can see your point there, but I had thought…”

“You had thought that I might not be able to compete anymore,” she said with indignation in her voice. She then continued, with rising intensity, ”You thought I should retire? Maybe the cancer had taken too much out of me, and I couldn't keep up? Is that what you thought?” She stands up and places her hands on her hips, “You want me to quit, don't you? You want me to go back to teaching, so I'll be home to take care of the kids, the cooking and the cleaning, just like it used to be, don't you?”

“Well, frankly, yes.”

“You can just forget that!” she shouted, then stormed up the stairs, followed shortly by the sound of a door being slammed shut. Through all this, Dave remained seated on the sofa with a stunned look on his face.

_____________________

I don't suppose that could really have been considered a surprise, could it? I mean, I knew she was maintaining as her goal a return to the racing circuit. Maybe I just didn't think it would ever happen. Or is it something else? Am I doing something wrong here? Maybe she thinks I'm being too overly protective or something? It's so hard to tell. I almost feel as if she's become a stranger, instead of the woman I knew so well.

What exactly is the deal with her always calling Drew Gaby? I know the poor child is being Gab full time in America, but do we have to encourage it here as well? I'm not sure I'm ready to handle something like that. I've grown rather fond of my son over the years, and I'd like to keep him a while, if you don't mind. Every indication I've got from him says that Gaby is an often less than welcome intruder in Drew's life, so why does his mum seem so willing to allow her to completely take over Drew's life?

_____________________

Once Dave had climbed the stairs, he found himself facing the locked door to their bedroom. He knocked lightly, then spoke tentatively, “Jen? Are you all right?” He waited for a few seconds to see if there would be any response, then knocked again, a little harder this time. “Jen?”

The sound of footsteps came toward the door, then it swung open. “What do you want?”

“I was just trying to take care of you. I understand that you love racing, and want to go back to it if at all possible. I'm just worried that you might try to push yourself further than you really should. You need to focus on getting well first.”

“That's what I'm doing. But I have to go into this thinking that I'm going to race again. That's all I've ever done, and it's all I want to do. If I can't, then what was the reason for having that surgery in the first place? Without racing, I don't have much of a life.”

“What about the kids, and me?”

“That's different. Yes, of course I want to be around for you all, but this past year, I got to feel something I had assumed I would never get the chance to experience, and I loved it. Racing locally is great fun, but when I stepped up to that level? That was the most phenomenal thing I could ever have imagined. I have to get back there, or try my damnedest at the very least, or I'm going to feel like I've given up. And I swear to you, I do not want to give up. Getting back into good condition is part of that. I promised not to push too hard for now, but I get the impression that you'd prefer it if I didn't start back riding at all.”

“I think that's a bit of an exaggeration, but your point is taken.”

“I understand that you're concerned for my well being, and I promise to attempt to take things easy, for now.”

“I suppose that's better than the alternative. Thank you.”

After evening tea, and a bit of television, Jen spoke up, “I'll make the check in call tonight, if that's all right?”

“Absolutely, I think the kids would prefer to talk to you rather than me most of the time.”

“Now, that's not exactly fair, is it?”

“I didn't mean it like that. It's just that they've been so worried about you, and for so long they didn't really get a chance to talk to you at all. When I talk to them, the bulk of the conversation is them asking about you, and that's the way it should be. They were terrified they might be losing you forever.”

“Well, if you're going to be all poetic and put it like that…”

With that, Jenny picked up the phone and placed the call…

“Hello, Brit, either of my kids close by?”

“Hi, Mrs. Bond. Yeah, here's Jules.”

“Thank you Brittany.”

After a few seconds of silence: “Mum! Great to hear from you again.”

“Good to hear you too. How have things been going?”

“Good, really. We went on an interesting ride on a newly refurbished steam train. You should have seen Gaby when they took her back to the guard's van and had her put on a full Victorian getup.”

“That would have been fun to see. What about you? No costumed adventures?”

“No, I leave that stuff to her. How are you doing?”

“Much better. The surgeon seems to think they may have got it all, so maybe I'll be able to eventually return to something resembling normal activity.”

“That would be great.”

“Yes, I think so as well. Listen, I'm sorry to cut things short, but we need to try to keep this phone bill under control, so…”

“Let me get Gaby for you.”

“Thank you for understanding. Love you.”

After a few seconds, Drew had the receiver in a position where he could hear. “What's up Drew?” Jen asked from thousands of miles away.

“I was supposed to see Diane earlier but she didn't turn up.”

“Maybe something came up?” Jen proffered.

“I guess.”

“Jules was telling me you had quite an adventure yesterday?” she prompted.

“Yes, the train ride was fantastic, even if we did nearly get stranded in the snow.”

“So will I see any pictures?”

“Probably” Drew mumbled. “I'm sure someone took some.”

“Oh I meant to tell Jules, the Pinger's are coming to visit this weekend.” She sounded brighter at the prospect.

“Kewl, say hi to Kat for me.”

“I will. I'd best not run this phone up anymore”

“Okay,” Drew sniffed a bit.

“Talk to you tomorrow?”

“I hope so, we've got cheer practice though so I might not make it home for this time.”

“I'll try to call later then, take care son”

“Night Mum, love you”

“Love you too, night kiddo”

“Bye”

Jenny cuddled the receiver next to her ear for a moment after her youngest child had hung up, smiling to herself. Then she slowly lowered it into its cradle before heading upstairs to prepare for bed.

Jillian 02.08.06 © 2006
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