A Gaby FanFic
by PB
Prologue:
Thanks go out to the various fanfic authors and Maddy Bell, herself, for creating this ‘universe' and providing the inspiration. Whether you realize it or not, there's a part of each of you, in this work. I also wish to dedicate this work to Karen J, Jillian and Angharad – three lovely people without who's prodding, this or any other of my writings, would have never appeared.
… And to all who read this, I hope you enjoy it as much as it was for me to continue the Journey.
It would seem that I've been put on a literary path somewhat like George Lucas did with Star Wars. “Rough Waters” is the prequel to “Reconciliation”, which in turn was based upon “Notes of a Journey”. As such, like “Reconciliation”, it is highly recommended your read/re-read “Notes of a Journey”, at least up to the point the kids are preparing to leave Grottoes, Virginia. This is to avoid any confusion with references to events that occurred prior to the start of “Rough Waters”.
… “Look around …
… Leaves are brown ….
… And the sky is a hazy shade of winter” (Simon & Garfunkel – Hazy Shade of Winter)PB
Chapter 7
“Der Morgen lieb, schlafen gut?” Jenny asked as Jules wandered into the kitchen having retrieved the morning paper from outside the front door.
“Guten Morgen, Mama. Ich schlief gut, Dank.” Jules replied.
“Your German is getting much better, dear. I guess life in Germany agrees with you?”
“Ja … I really think I'm going to like living there, Mum,” Jules responded.
“Ok, what's his name?” Jenny asked with a knowing smile.
“Muummmm,” Jules replied in her best little-girl whine as Jen started to laugh.
Jules had just returned from her latest four-day trip to Germany with her dad. Dave worked out an arrangement with Frank that he'd work at the mill three-days of the week and then with the two girls he'd spend the remaining three-to-four days in Germany. While Dave worked with Team Apollinaris, the girls used the time to get used to life in Bad Neuenahr. The last couple of times Gaby went with Dave, she was able to use her new passport.
However, for the last two weeks Gaby has been laid up in the North Manchester General Hospital recuperating from her corrective surgery.
“I've got a few cards from Kat and her friends for Gaby,” Jules announced then seeing a worried look on her mother, Jules added, “They were asking where she was so I had to tell them something … I just told them the truth … Gabs is in the hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery.”
“Abdominal surgery?” Jenny parroted. Well … I guess if it works… and it's not far from the truth.
“Dad's idea,” Jules replied as she scanned the news..
“Muumm … look!” Jules was in shock as she handed the opened paper to her mother. Jenny looked at the small article Jules indicated.
“Oh, my God! Jenny was starting to tear over as she looked over the small newspaper article.
“I just read the first bit. What does it say happened?” Jules asked.
Jenny quickly read the entire article which said a car driven by a 67 year old man had veered off the road and mounted the walkway and pushed two pedestrians through the plate glass window of Hawthorn's Books as the car drove into the front of the store. Both pedestrians died of their wounds, enroute to the hospital. The attending paramedics said the driver of the car appeared to have suffered an aneurysm and was pronounced dead at the scene.
With emotion in her voice, Jenny read, “Dead are … Mrs. Ann Joyce, 43 years of age and Helen Joyce, 14 years of age...” Jenny didn't read of any notice of services for Helen and her mother. I'll pop around to Ann's place and see if her mother has anything she can add, before deciding when to tell Gaby.
The next day, Jenny found herself slowly walking up to the front door of Ann's parents.
“Yes?”
“Mrs. Malloy? My name is Jenny Bond … I'm Gaby's mother. Both Helen and Ann have been to our house a number of times,” Jenny respectfully introduced herself to Helen's Nan.
“Please do come in … call me Bev,” Mrs. Malloy replied.
“And please call me Jenny,” Jen offered.
“On behalf of my family, may I offer my sincerest condolences to you and your husband for your loss,” Jenny quietly offered as she stepped into the front hallway of the house
“Thank you Jenny,” Bev replied.
Once Jenny was shown into the lounge, introductions were made for all the extended family and friends who were gathered in the house. Jen tactfully got around to the main purpose of her visit and gathered the details of the planned service for Helen and her mother.
As Jen was leaving, she gave Bev a hug and quietly remarked, “I'm not looking forward to telling Gaby … not the best news to get when you're hospitalized, is it?”
When Jenny got home, she told Jules what she had learned then phoned Dave and Mr. Woods, to relay the information. She asked Mr. Woods to pass the information to Mr. Pilling and his form, as Helen was one of his students. After she made the phone calls, Jenny set about getting ready to drive into Manchester to see Gaby.
“Just about ready, Jules?” Jenny called out.
“Ready,” Jules replied as she joined her mum at the door. After Jen locked-up, the two got into the car and began their drive north.
Approximately 90 minutes later, the two found themselves stepping out of the elevator and heading for Gaby's room in the women's surgical ward that she shared with three other women. As they rounded the final corner before heading down the hall to her room, Jenny and Jules found Gaby accompanied by a student nurse, slowly walking the hall.
Both women easily overtook Gaby and escorted her back to her room.
“Who's your friend?” Jenny asked as they entered the room.
“Oh, that was Brenda … she likes walking the hall with me,” Gaby replied.
As Gaby climbed back onto the bed she told her mum that Dr. Brickton told her that it looked like she could go home tomorrow.
“I thought that was good news, Mum,” Gaby stated as she noticed the sad look on her visitor's faces.
Jen decided to tell Gaby about Helen after her daughter informed them of her pending discharge from hospital. “It's wonderful news to be sure, darling … but I've something to tell you. There's no easy way to say it … I'm sorry but …Helen and her mum were killed two days ago when a car swerved off the road and hit them as they were shopping.”
Gaby remained silent for a few moments, her eyes fixed on some unknown point outside her window.
“Helen … ( sniff ) … was always so sure her Dad was up in Heaven looking down on them … ( sniff ) ,,, Now they're back together … ( sniff ) … aren't they?” Gaby tearfully asked as she fell into Jenny's arms.
“Yes they are, sweetheart,” Jenny weakly whispered amidst her own tears as she embraced her daughter.
After taking a few moments to let it all out, Gaby sat back up and looked at her mum.
“Is there going to be a funeral?” Gaby's voice was weak with emotion.
“I talked to Helen's Nan and found out the funeral service for both Helen and her mother will be held in Church Warsop, the day after tomorrow,” Jen softly replied.
“Can we go?” Gaby asked as she wiped away some tears.
“If you feel up to it … I'm sure Helen's Nan would appreciate it if you were there but she knows you're in the hospital, so I think she'd understand if you weren't able,” Jenny explained.
“You ok, Sis?” Jules asked.
“Yeah … ( sniff ) … just never had anyone close, die on me before … ( sniff ),” Gaby quietly replied as she grabbed her mother's hand. Jules reached over to Gaby's bedside table and passed her a tissue. “Thanks”
Before they departed the ward, Jenny stopped at the Nursing Station to get instructions on Gaby's release procedure from the Ward Nurse.
On the way home, Jenny's mobile went off and she passed it to Jules.
“Hello? Hi Daddy … it's me … Guess what? Gaby's coming home tomorrow … Yeah … ok, Mum's here but she can't talk right now … traffic … but if you've … ok, hold on.”
Jules told her mother that Dave had offered to phone George and tell him he'd be a day late due to the funeral if Jen was planning to go.
“Hi … Mum says to go ahead and phone, especially now that Gabs wants to attend … Mum thinks it'd be nice if we all went … ok, bye.”
Upon arriving back in Warsop, Jenny and Jules stopped into the school. With Gaby coming out of the hospital the next day, Jen made arrangements for a substitute teacher for her remaining two days of sets for that week so she could be around for Gaby.
Later that afternoon Dave arrived home to find Jules in the kitchen and Jenny watching the telly .
“Something's different,” Dave mumbled, in reference to Jules being at the stove.
“Our daughter wanted to do the cooking for our tea, so I let her. If she needs me, she knows where I am,” Jenny explained. She then added in a whisper, “I think she's found a German boy she wants to impress…”
“And we're the guinea pigs,” Dave playfully interjected.
“Shhhh … don't discourage her,” Jenny quietly rebuked Dave and then in a louder voice added, “Actually, she's quite good in the kitchen.”
During tea, they discussed many things including Gaby's release from hospital, funeral arrangements for Helen and her mum, the weekend visit to Germany, the subsequent house hunt plus what remained to be done to officially take the girls out of school and get their records sorted. Although Mr. Woods had agreed to let Jenny remove the girls some time ago, there still was the paperwork.
The next morning after Dave left for work, Jenny and Jules set about getting things sorted to go get Gaby.
“If you're ready Jules, could you please go into Gaby's room and pick out something for her to wear home? … A skirt I should think … I don't think she has anything clean to wear so be sure to get some lingerie… and just throw it in a bag,” Jen asked.
As Jules came out of Gaby's room, Jen intercepted her as she came from the washroom and tossed a couple of sanitary towels into the bag. When Jules looked at her, she explained that Gaby might have need for them.
A while later, they once again found themselves at the North Manchester General Hospital and heading to Gaby's room in the women's surgical ward. As they passed the Nursing Station, a voice rang out, “Excuse me ma'am…”
“Oh sorry, Sister. I'm Mrs. Bond, my daughter and I are here to collect my youngest upon her discharge this morning … Gaby Bond, room 412?” Jenny explained.
“Oh, sorry Mrs. Bond … I just had to check. Dr. Brickton hasn't done rounds as yet, but I expect he shouldn't be too long. We can't turn her out just yet … not until he says we can,” Sister replied with a smile.
As Gaby and her sister were in conversation, Dr. Brickton, accompanied by the Ward Sister entered the room and promptly headed for Gaby's bed.
“Good morning Gaby … ladies,” Dr. Brickton cheerfully greeted the three women then focusing on Gaby he asked, “How are we this morning?”
“ ... ‘We' are doing great,” Gaby shot back.
The doctor turned to the Ward Sister, gave her Gaby's chart and in a deadpan voice, instructed, “Make a note … ‘one line comeback' reflexes … normal.” As the Ward Sister began to close the curtains around Gabs' bed, Dr. Brickton turned to Jenny and asked, ”If you'll excuse us ladies, I just want to have a final look before I turn her loose on society,”
A few minutes later they emerged and the doctor informed the Ward Sister that she could begin the discharge paperwork. He told Jenny that Gaby would have to stay off the bikes for about two months, maybe less. Jenny informed him of their move to Germany and both agreed the team doctor would be able to supervise Gaby's recovery. He would ensure her records were transferred upon receipt of a proper medical request.
For the second time in as many days, Jenny stopped into the school on the way back home. This time the purpose was to start all the required paperwork the girls would need to transfer schools and in Gaby's case, to alter her records with her new legal name. Jenny watched as Gaby proudly presented her new birth certificate to Mrs. Johnston.
When they left the main office, the halls had just started to fill with students as they were let out for lunch.
“GABY! “ A voice called out to her. As she looked around, she saw Paul and Clive running through the hall towards her. When Paul asked her what she was doing at the school, Gaby launched into the complete explanation.
“It's final then? … You're really going?” Paul asked; his voice tinged with the sadness of losing his best friend. As he embraced Gaby, in a quiet voice so as not to be overheard, he added, “Drew or Gaby … I'm really going to miss you, mate.”
Paul looked at the girl in his arms and before anyone could react, kissed Gaby on the lips. After he broke the kiss, he tightened his embrace before he said his good-bye and released her.
“Well c'mon then … why should you be any different?” Gaby's eyes had a moist glazed look as she embraced Clive. She broke her embrace with the same kiss she allowed Paul.
“Admit it … you've wanted that kiss ever since the Easter disco, haven't you?” Gaby jokingly asked Clive. Even though she was trying to make light of their farewells, her voice told a different story as she looked a both of them and then scanned the now full hallway, taking in one last look.
Later at home, before Dave left work, Jenny phoned him and asked that he stop and pick up a couple of red roses for tomorrow.
Gaby observed the following morning was right out of an Edgar Allen Poe novel. As she looked out her window, she thought it was a perfect day for a funeral, if such thing existed. It was completely overcast with dark grey clouds and even though some buds had appeared on the trees, it looked cold and damp.
“Perfect weather for a skirt isn't it, Sis? One of the joys of being a girl,” Jules sarcastically commented as she came into Gaby's room. “You got some opaques I can borrow? I laddered my last pair,” she asked.
“Joys of having a sister?” Gaby playfully asked.
“Sumpthin' like that … thanks Sis,” Jules replied with a smile as Gaby handed over a spare pair.
As everyone was just about ready, Jenny walked past Gaby's open door on the way downstairs.
“Is this ok, Mum?” Gaby asked as she presented herself to Jenny. Gabs opted to wear her black blouse, grey mini skirt, black opaques & black dress pumps. “I don't have a black dress.”
“You look fine,” Jenny offered then asked, “What coat you plan to wear? … It's still a bit cool.”
“My leather jacket … is that ok?”
“That's fine,” Jenny agreed.
“Jen, Gaby? Anytime you two are ready,” Dave called up the stairs.
The drive to the small church was a quiet one with everyone deep in their own thoughts. As they pulled into the car park, Gaby noticed several of her former classmates lingering outside the church entrance. After Dave assisted Gaby out of the car, Bernie, Ally and Paul approached her. Once they reached her side, the four immediately went into a group hug.
“Maddy or Em here?” Gaby asked.
“Don't think they even know,” Paul interjected.
“…Or care,” Ally added, the contempt in her voice referring to the fact neither one had been friendly towards Helen.
They entered the church together with Dave, Jenny and Jules. As they walked up the centre aisle to take their seats Gaby was ok until she caught sight of the two closed caskets at the front and in particular the white casket that was Helen's.
By the time she slipped in to sit beside Jules, her eyes were pools of tears. Through the entire ceremony, Gaby performed on autopilot. Finally it was over and she found herself with her father's arm around her shoulders, amongst the other mourners as they slowly followed the caskets out of the church.
It was a modest procession of cars that followed the two hearses out to the cemetery for the short graveside service. There Jenny and Gaby joined Helen's grandparents in placing a single red rose on each casket before it was lowered to its final resting place.
The drive back home was just as quiet as the drive was to the church. Although no one intended it to be, the remainder of the day was quieter than usual around the Bond household.
Jenny decided she'd accompany Dave and the girls to Germany rather than be faced with being alone this weekend, so everyone kept busy packing and ensuring they had everything. They quickly recruited John to drive them to the airport later that afternoon.
Even though it was late at night, once they cleared customs and picked up their luggage they found Mike waiting for them in the near deserted arrivals area at the Bonn-Cologne International Airport.
“Hallo Dave, gute Reise der Zicklein?” Mike greeted Dave and the kids as they came through the large sliding doors. As he approached to shake Dave's hand, he caught sight of an unexpected, but welcome personage. “Jenny waht eine nette Überraschung!”
“Weiß der Rest der Mannschaft?” Mike excitedly asked Jenny.
“Nein,” Jenny replied, then added, “Ich moechte, das es eine Ueberraschung ist. ” Jenny noticed puzzled looks on both her kids so she explained, “Mike was surprised to see I came with you and wanted to know if I told the rest of the Team… I told him…”
“... ‘No, I' … after that, you lost us!” Gaby managed to get in with a smile.
Despite the late hour, Jenny slipped into teacher-mode and explained, “ Ich moechte, das es eine Ueberraschung ist. … Means … I wanted it to be a surprise.” She added, “A literal translation is … I would like, which is it a surprise.”
“The … how you say, Deutsche Lektionen … ah, yes … lessons … the German lessons never end, Ja?” Mike playfully addressed the two girls.
After they loaded the Passat wagon, with Jenny between the two girls in the back and Dave up front with Mike, they arrived at their apartment in the wee hours of the morning. As they unloaded the car, Mike informed Gaby that Kat would be pleased to see her again since Maria told Kat that she was still in the hospital.
Jenny started to tear up as she entered her old apartment for the first time since going back home for her cancer treatment and noticed how Dave and the girls had fixed the place up with the pictures and things from the house.
“I love it … I really do.” Moving over to the family portrait on the wall, Jen turned to Dave and the girls and tearfully declared, “For the first time since I signed … it looks like home!”
She hugged both girls then threw her arms around Dave's neck, gave him a long passionate kiss after which she softly cooed, “We can make this work … It might be cramped for the first while … but we're together and that's all that matters.”
Later that morning the Bonds piled into ‘their' Mercedes – formerly Jen's team car, and drove to the Team Apollinaris facility that was located a short few minutes outside of Bad Neuenahr. George greeted Dave as usual, but when he saw Jenny step out of the car, he walked over to her and gingerly gave her a hug.
“I won't break, George,” Jenny happily informed him. She then told him she was only there for a visit and had to return with Dave but this was to be the last such quick visit. By this time, Maria, Tina and other members from the team had joined in welcoming Jenny as they arrived to begin the day.
“Next time you see me back here, we're staying!” Jenny told the assembled group, gesturing to her family.
While Dave went off with Mike, Jenny and the girls went in search of the team doctor. Once they found him, they brought him up to speed on Jenny's progress and Gaby. He in turn informed George of his patients by outlining his medical discussions with Jenny and Gaby for the team's Direktor. Naturally he mentioned no details, but as the Direktor, George had a right to know the level of fitness of his girls.
Without supplying any medical details, the doctor did mention that Gaby would have to stay off the bike for a time due to her recent ‘adnominal surgery'. He also recommended that upon her return to the team, Jenny be re-integrated into training with the team and that he would put Gaby on a modified training program until she could resume riding.
Following their meetings with George and the doctor, Jenny and the girls took the car, and went off to Kat's school, and met with the Rektorin .
“Mum, what's Rektorin mean?” asked Gaby while they were waiting in the main office.
“Think Headmaster … Rektor is the male form of the word and Rektorin is the female form.” Jen explained.
“This school has a woman as their headmaster, then?” Jules asked.
“That's right … Her name is Frau Meer,” Jen replied.
Jenny looked into enrollment for the fall term for both Gaby and Jules. Frau Meer and Jenny talked of the girls past year and their desire to repeat their current year at the local school as well as their plans to acquire the language before school starts.
Frau Meer, herself fluent in English, got acquainted with the girls by talking to them about their plans and generally their feelings about moving to Germany. At the end of the meeting, Jenny and the girls were told that once their academic records arrived from Warsop, the girls would be officially enrolled.
That evening, the Bonds had dinner with the Pingers. Discussion ranged from ‘catching up' with all the latest to the housing situation in the area. Dave outlined a plan that George proposed to have his cousin build them a house, near the Pinger's. It would be possible to move in before the end of the summer, depending upon when it was started.
Between the four adults, it was decided that they'd make arrangements with George, to meet with his cousin to sort out all the details. If things seemed feasible, the Bond/s would approach Jenny's bank to arrange a mortgage so building could commence. It looked as if they wouldn't have to be confined to the apartment for too long.
Sunday arrived and the Bond's said their good-byes to Maria and Kat before Heinrich drove them to the Bonn-Cologne airport. It would be only another few days until they returned to stay.
Back in Warsop, the next three days flew by. Dave worked his last for Frank and Jenny taught her last set on the Monday. Wednesday was moving day and both Dave and Jenny joined the girls in ensuring everything they wanted was either already gone or packed. Their flight to Bonn was scheduled for late afternoon.
Dave pulled the Saab up behind John's Corolla and turned off the ignition for the last time. As the Bond's exited the car, John came out of the house to greet them while Carol stood in the doorway.
“Here's the keys, John. Take good care of her,” Dave quipped as he handed over the keys and motioning to the garage while the two slowly walked into the house, added, “We'll get the rest of our stuff as soon as we get into a house. Jen's apartment just can't take any more … Thanks for storing it for us.”
As Dave and John joined the girls in the lounge, Jenny turned to Dave and mentioned, “I was just telling Carol that by this time next week, they should have new neighbours.”
Together, Dave and Jenny told Carol that a young Canadian couple had taken a long-term lease on their house. As Dave understood it, the chap had just recently graduated from University of Waterloo and would be doing postgraduate work in the Warsop area and at UMIST.
It was a load off Dave's mind to know that they'd have an income from the house to help supplement their income from Team Apollinaris. The extra cash would certainly make things easier when they began paying the mortgage on a new house.
“We've been taking a few things over whenever Dave and the girls went and the last load is in the Saab. Between that and what you and John have in your garage, we've got everything out of the house we want to,” Jen explained to Carol.
“You're taking your bikes?” Carol asked.
“We've donated most of them to the BC Youth Program up in Manchester. You and John have the two bikes Gaby and I kept. We'll take those as we get room, like everything else,” Jenny replied.
During all the small talk, Carol noticed Gaby looking around with a hopeful expression on her face.
“She's upstairs … go to her, dear,” Carol softly allowed.
Gaby walked upstairs and stood at Maddy's bedroom door. The room was darkened except for a small single lamp on her night table. Maddy stood in shadow with her arms folded across her chest, standing looking through her sheer curtains out one of her two windows. She knew what was to come and the absence of the overhead light served to hide the occasional tear that ran down her cheek.
“Saw you drive up … What'ya here for? Thought you didn't want to see me ever again,” Maddy's greeting was dripping with contempt, yet not without a hint of sorrow. She was still hurting from Gaby's last words to her at the birthday party but felt sadness at the inevitable parting she knew was to come.
“Thought I'd at least come up and say good-bye … if that means anything to you,” Gaby softly replied. Maddy shrugged her shoulder in response.
“Mum says you're a girl now.” Maddy quietly changed the subject almost as if she thought if she talked about something else Gaby wouldn't leave.
“They tell me I always was … but now I'm as girl as you are …‘cept they don't think I can ever have babies … Lost the boy-bits and I don't need the gaff anymore … Still need the breast forms though … at least until the hormones kick in,” Gaby explained in a clinical voice.
Maddy quickly turned and looked in Gaby's direction. “Couldn't you at least have told me you were going into the hospital?” Maddy asked as a couple of tears rolled down her cheek. She felt hurt that Gaby no longer confided in her.
“After how you treated me? … Why should I? … You've thrown away anything we had … an' I don't even know why. The only thing I do know is that you've hurt me … my family ... an' your mum and dad, really bad …Why? … Was it worth it? … Did it make you feel good? … You feel really proud of yourself destroying six lives?” Gaby plunged the knife in deeper with every point she made.
“What happened to us Maddy? There was a time when we told each other how much we loved each other … now you couldn't care less if I dropped off the face of the earth … maybe I should've ended it back at the Walters,” When she heard Gaby's whispered confession, Maddy didn't know what exactly Gaby meant but her face turned from indifference to one of pained guilt as she took a good guess. Unable to face her, Maddy turned away again.
Tears, unseen by Gaby, continued to roll down Maddy's cheeks while she looked out the window. Mad continued to finger the heart-shaped locket around her neck, the entire time Gaby was in the room. It was the one Drew gave her on her 14 th birthday and it had only left her neck on one occasion.
Before the cheer competition in Virginia, Maddy had taken a photo of Gaby and after she digitally reduced it, cut out Gaby's image. It was on this occasion; Mad removed the locket from her neck and opened it, revealing photos of Drew and herself. She then replaced Drew's photo in the locket with Gaby's and replaced the locket around her neck. No one but Maddy had ever seen the photos in the locket and now it contained her last remaining picture of Gaby. Maddy closed her eyes and vowed to herself that she'd never part with it.
“Could I at least kiss you … a farewell kiss? … before I go?” Gaby finally asked. Again silence from Maddy that ended with a weak whisper of, “I …I can't.”
“I love you Mad … I always will … I gotta go … so, I guess it's … good-bye … forever,” Gaby softly said, her voice betraying that she was on the verge of tears. As Maddy remained transfixed, staring out the window, she heard Gaby slowly turn to go out of the room.
“I can't love another girl … it's just not right!” Maddy blurted out, her voice pleading - for something, anything. At the same instant she told Gaby she couldn't love her, Maddy's heart was yelling at her, telling her their love was right.
She waited until she heard Gaby slowly step down the first few stairs before she allowed the tears to freely come. One part of Maddy wanted Gaby to take her in her arms but the sound of Gaby on the stairs told her what she had dreaded. Her eyes now closed, Maddy prayed the pain would go away.
Gabs stopped on a step near the bottom of the stairs, turned and looked back towards Maddy's room. She heard faint sounds that sounded like crying but fought her own desire to go back. Instead, she turned and continued down the last couple of steps. By the time Gaby reached the parents, tears were beginning to streak her face.
“You ok, dear?” Carol asked as she faced Gaby, with her arms outstretched.
“No,” was all Gabs got out before she burst out crying, as she fell into Carol's arms.
After all the good-byes were said and done, Jules led a wet-eyed Gaby out to the car, her arm around her sister's shoulder. As Gabs got back into the Saab, she looked up at Maddy's bedroom windows for the last time. Even though the room was still dark and the sheers drawn Gaby could see Maddy behind them, watching. With a heavy sigh, Gaby took her seat in the back, alongside her mum and Jules.
As Maddy peered from behind the sheers, her body shook with each deep sob as she continued to grasp the locket. She watched as her dad backed the car out of the close and followed it until it went out of sight. Once the car had disappeared from her view, Maddy felt as if she was ripped in half. She flung herself on her bed and clutched her pillow to her breasts at the same time as she broke out in a flood of tears.
It was strange that while Gaby was leaving Warsop to forget a love lost, it seemed to be Maddy's fate to be surrounded by Gaby, in her own house. Maddy's own closet still had some of Gaby's clothes from those early days when she always found ways to get Drew to become Gaby. The Peters' garage now stored articles from the Bond's house, and their Saab was to be used by John and Carol as a second car.
At Manchester's airport, John pulled up to the off-loading curb and opened the boot of the car. As everyone exited, John motioned for a Skyhop to join them and load the sealed box and their luggage onto his trolley. After they exchanged final good-byes and promises to visit each other, the Bonds went to the Lufthansa check-in while John took the Saab back to Warsop.
It promised to be a long night for everyone …
(to be continued)
PB 18.03.07 © 2007
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