Gaby Book 25 Only Five Minutes by Maddy Bell Copyright© 2019 Madeline Bell After all the excitement of the last few weeks culminating in the trip to Austria, surely Gaby can get back to some sort of 'normal'? Well it wouldn't be Gaby if it was that simple would it?

Look, we're teenagers right and even if Trixies is supposed to be alcohol free – well, like I said before, we're teenagers. I think its also a good idea to leave everything that went on in Trixies there so I'm not going to say anymore other than there were some cute lads there. Having missed the actual organisation of the Garde 'outing' I was a little relieved to find the bus waiting to return us up the valley when we emerged into the now frigid December night a little after twelve.

Of course, despite my earlier admonishments, I did have the presence of mind to ring and cancel the Dad taxi, when I arrived back at Chez Bond both my parents were waiting for me.

“Good night?” Mum enquired.
“Pretty good yeah.”

Dad gave me one of those looks, you know the one, it'll make you feel guilty for doing nothing.

“They only had soft drinks.”

Mum snickered, I mean she's a grown woman.

“Okay, Franny smuggled a bottle in,” I admitted.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Dad asked as I finished untangling the spaghetti of straps on my feet.
“Afternoon shift at the market, not sure about the morning, guess it depends on the weather.”
“Up and dressed for half eight then,” he announced.
“What for?”
“You'll see,” Mum added.
“And wear something warm,” Dad instructed.

'Something warm, he didn't say bike kit so its not some training thing – probably going to the timber yard or something, he was yammering about building a summer house the other week. Tonight was pretty good, I'm glad I wasn't wearing heels though, my feet are still killing wearing sandals. 'S a good job Max won't get to hear the full details, hmm, must remember to ring him in the morning.' I drifted off into the sleep of the dead.
 

“You look terrible,” Mand noted when I slunk into the kitchen.
“Thanks friend!”
“I take it that you had a good night,” she smirked.
“There wasn't any booze,” I told her pouring myself a coffee, “where's Dad?”
“Your mum wanted some Brotchen so he's taken her to Thesings.”
“She coulda walked.”
“You seen it out there? Its persisting down.”

I looked out into the gloomy morning, yep the wet was falling in a steady curtain.

“So what time you out?”
“Got to be down at Der Muhle for eight thirty, bum, I need to shake a leg.”
“You're gonna get drowned,” I noted.

The kitchen door opened and my parents hurried inside.

“You're up then,” Dad mentioned.
“Of course," I beamed back cheerfully.
“You want a lift down Amanda?” Mum queried.
“Yes please.”
“Well get yourself sorted, I'll drop you down while Gab is feeding her face.”
“Huh!”
“Just need to get my bag, thanks Jenny.”
“There any coffee left kiddo,” Dad enquired.

And so the third weekend of Advent started.
 

“Where are we going?”

After Mums mercy mission with Mand we finished breakfast quickly and Dad had us out in the Saab a little after eight forty.

“Andernach,” Dad told me over his shoulder.
“Andernach? Whatever for?”
“You'll see,” Mum intoned.

It might be one of the bigger towns on this bit of the Rhein, complete with medieval walls and a compact little shopping centre, but its not somewhere i've been often. Well the train goes through on the way from Koblenz of course but that hardly counts does it? I racked my brain for reasons why my parents would take me there and came up blank – oh well, I guess I'll find out when I get there.

We took the autobahn, well its not exactly a day for sightseeing along the river – and of course its a lot quicker. As the morning progressed towards nine thirty the wet eased to a finer drizzle, not pleasant but at least the wipers didn't need to be on turbo setting! We dropped off the motorway and headed the couple of kilometres towards the river and the mucky sprawl of the south of the town.

Just before we reached the town Dad turned off and shortly we pulled onto the forecourt of what was clearly a motorbike dealer.

“Why're we stopping here?”
“You want a Christmas present?” Mum posed.
“Er yeah,” I cautiously replied.
“Well thats why we're here, to sort it out,” she told me as she released her seat belt.

"Does that mean?"
“Urgh!” Dad managed.
“Thank you Daddy!”
“What about me?” Mum asked.

I transferred my stranglehug to Mum.

“Thanks.”
“Come on then, Michael's expecting us.”

We exited the car and quickly entered the showroom of Hubner Motorrader, it wasn't huge, there were probably about twenty assorted motorbikes inside, not dissimilar to some bike shops i've been in. I guess that's not such a surprise, even I know that there used to be some crossover between petrol and human powered two wheeled transport. To be honest I was a bit intimidated, everything I could see was huge with lots of shiny chrome and enormous tyres – I wouldn't be able to ride one of these if I wanted to.

“Come on Gab,” Mum encouraged.
“Er coming.”

I trotted up to my parents who were just being greeted by a middle-aged chap who I assume is Michael.

“Here she is,” Dad stated, “trouble on two wheels.”

Parents!

“Da-ad,” I complained.
“I don't believe that for a moment, nice to meet you Gaby, so shall we go and look at your new steed?”

Oh yeah! Michael led the way back past the counter and through into what appeared to be the workshop, where something was stood, covered by a bit of tarpaulin. I was nearly fizzing with excitement as Dad helped Michael remove the cover from my very own Mofa!

“It's pink,” I exclaimed.
“What did I say,” Mum intoned to Dad.
“A problem?” Michael asked.
“Nope,” I declared, “its perfect!”

Well okay, I wouldn't've picked pink myself but other than that, well call me a girl but I homed in on the basket on the back and the neat little stripes along the side. Much like my sister's example its styled like a scooter, think Lambretta with a tiny engine hidden under the seat, unlike Max's example which looks more like a moped. I went straight over and started investigating everything, this was no bargain basement machine, proper suspension, disc brakes, even twin headlights.

“So,” Mum interrupted my exploration, “pass muster?”
“Yes please!”
“You have to wear a helmet and do the training course.”
“Uh huh,” I agreed.
“Your Dad and me will do the insurance and maintenance but you pay for the petrol.”
“Thanks Mum!” I hugged her again.
“I guess it meets with approval then,” Dad opined from where he was watching with Michael, “even if it is pink.”
“Shall we sort out a bone dome then,” Michael suggested, “i think i've got one to match the bike.”
“I am not wearing a pink helmet,” I stated vehemently.
“I'm sure Michael has something less controversial,” Dad mentioned.

We returned to the showroom where Michael was soon pulling boxes from his display, boxes containg all manner of head protection. Its not something i'd given a lot of thought to, cycling helmets, once you've sorted the size out, are, lets face it, all pretty similar, a lump of polystyrene that you strap onto the top of your head. Motorcycle helmets however come in a variety of styles from the full Darth Vader to something akin to, in looks at least, a horse riding hat.

I was drawn to the full face things but after trying one on swiftly changed my mind. Well for starters it was like pushing your head into a bottle and then it weighed a ton, the final decider was that I looked ridiculous in it, Mum could barely contain her mirth. Eventually I settled on a 'three quarter' style with a peak, it offers all the protection but leaves my face clear and to be realistic I race my bike faster than the Mofa's top speed so a full face would be a bit overboard.
 
“So I'll get the registration sorted on Monday and Jancis will drop everything off on Tuesday,” Michael concluded.
“Excellent,” Dad replied, “thanks for your help Michael.”
“My pleasure.”
“Can we take the helmet now?” I asked.
“Sure,” Michael grinned.
“Daddy?”
“If you want.”
“We'd best make tracks Dave,” Mum interrupted, “we need to get someone to Altenahr.”

Oh sugar, in my excitement I forgot to ring Max about a lift. We bade our farewells and left Hubner's with my helmet for the drive back home. Once secured I retrieved my Handy to find i'd missed three calls from Max while i've been drooling over my new Mofa, I hit speed dial seven.

 
“You going to be warm enough?” Mum asked as she put my hair into some semblance of Germanic braid.
“We are inside,” I pointed out.
“Even so.”
“I've got dance tights on,” I told her, pulling my dirndle up to show her my nylon encased legs.

Its a 'trick' I discovered on that exchange trip to America, dance hose are like two hundred denier so they keep you a bit warmer whilst your legs look bare, well ish. Brilliant for Cheer and the Garde wear them in a darker shade too, its not rocket science to extend their use to Kostum, especially in December.

“Hmm,” Mum allowed, “okay, all done.”
“Thanks.”
“So, we'll pick Manda up first then collect you and Max after, have you put out what you're wearing tonight?”
“The D and G?”
“Okay.”
“Its too much isn't it?”
“Maybe tone the heels a bit,” Mater suggested.

I had thought about that, it is after all dinner at the Schloss not a fancy do at the Spa.

“'kay.”

Beep, Beep.

“That'll be Gloria,” I grabbed my Apollinaris ski jacket, well its warm, and headed for the door,” see you later.”

 
“You're looking happy,” Max opined as we walked through to the market a few minutes later.
“Am I?”
“Sorry about tonight.”
“What for?”
“Exposing you to dads culinary efforts.”
“You're dad is a great chef,” I pointed out.
“But he insists on cooking for everyone,” Max moaned.
“Well I'm not complaining.”
“That's not why you're smiling though.”
“Nope, you'll have to guess.”
“You won the lottery.”
“Nope,” grinned performing a little skip, geez I'm turning into such a girly girl.
“Dunno, give up.”
I decided to give him a clue, “it involves a helmet.”
“You're going caving?”
“Caving? Don't be daft, its my Weihnachts gift from the rents.”
“One way ticket to Peru.”
“Ha har, I'm getting a Mofa,” well I'll burst if I don't tell someone soon.
“Ah, cool I think.”
 
At least the rain had cleared but that in turn left things damp and cold, with Manda away making crepes, Pauline, one of Boxxies 'recruits', was put onto the Raclette grill for the afternoon. Its not rocket science of course, bread, cheese, maybe a bit of Speck, stick under the grill for a couple of minutes et voila. Con had come down earlier – something about Weihnachts presents, so we'd convened at the stall.

We'd been going for about thirty minutes before we got a chance to talk.

“Spill Bond.”
“What?”
“You've been humming to yourself since we got here with that daft grin on your face.”
“I've not been humming.”
“You have,” Pauline interrupted, “some old stuff my parents play.”

Ouch, thats told me.

“So what is it Bond?” Con pursued.
“We went to a moto store this morning.”
“Oh my God, you've got a Mofa!”
“Yep!” I confirmed grabbing my BF for an impromptu jig.
 
“Thought you said you didn't want anthing that was pink,” Con observed after i'd enthused about my new wheels for best part of fifteen minutes.
“My helmet is white and it looks well cool.”
“So you keep saying,” Con noted with a roll of the eyes.
“Soz.”
“I suppose you'll be off all over now then?”
“Not really but it'll be easier to go see Bernie and get to the TanzKlub without having to sort out a lift.”
“Maybe I'll look at getting one in the Spring.”
“Thought you were going to get your auto licence?”
“I am, but it'll be ages before I can get a car.”

Well thats true enough, whilst you can get a clunker for like five hundred, by the time you add in insurance and road tax - in that context a Mofa gets you motorized for much less.
 
The Kabin did good business again, we had to send Frannie to buy more Rye bread for the Raclette and the cake cabinet was severly depleted too by the time we wrapped stuff up.

“You need a ride back up?” I asked Con as we finished the clean up.
“I was hoping you'd ask.”

Why wouldn't I?

“They should be here in about ten minutes.”
“Cool, what're you doing tonight, polishing your helmet?”
“Out for dinner at the Schloss,” I sighed.
“What's up with that?”
“Max's Gran, you'd think me an' Max were engaged or something.”
“And that's bad because?” she queried.
“Not you too,” I grumped.
“Its not like you're seeing anyone else is it?”
“I just might be.”
“Gaby Bond, you are a terrible liar,” Con noted.
“But what if I was?”
“If you were, everyone in the valley would know, you can't sneeze without everyone knowing.”
“You two done,” Max queried from the door.

Oh sugar, I forgot we've already got a full car.
 

“And don't be all night,” Mum admonished as I clattered up to my eyrie.

Con got her ride back to Dernau, I spent the five minute journey on Max's knees which was nice in one way but not exactly comfortable.
 
Of course I was the last one back to the lounge, well I had to get out of my dirndl, free my hair from the braids, shower, dress and get my hair back into some order.

“Nice,” Max mentioned with a waggle of his brows.
“No touching before dinner,” Mum told us, “you leaving that thing in your nose kiddo?”
I squinted at my nostril and seeing the tiny gold hoop replied, “won't be a mo.”

A short visit to the downstairs facilities had my more appropriate tiny diamond fitted in the ring's stead, although it wasn't my idea to do it, I feel lost without anything adorning my schmozz.

“We all ready?” Dad asked looking very dapper in his Kostum jacket.
“I think so,” Mum proposed with a look at me.
“Yes!” I told them.

There was no knee sharing this time, Max was up front with Dad, I got to sit between Mand and Mum. Probably as well, this frock is not exactly long in the leg, with the slinky hose I couldn't keep my hands off! Urgh, thats just wrong.

I only discovered when we arrived that we weren't actually eating in the house tonight but in the restaurant, I didn't feel quite such a plonk in my finery with a wider audience to see it. Not that we went directly there, no we found ourselves ushered into the drawing room for aperitifs by Gloria where to my dismay Gran was waiting along with Gloria's sister, Catherine, the Countess Schillingfurst. Bum, bum!

“Gaby,” Gloria addressed me, “would you mind doing the introductions, I need to powder my nose.”
“Erm, sure. Mum, Dad, this is the Countess Shillingfurst, your Grace, my parents, Jenny and Dave Bond.”
“Gaby, its nice to see you again, Jenny, Dave, please call me Catherine, I don't do with all the pomp when its just family.”

Just family, we only have the odd snog!

 
© Maddy Bell 13.05.2019