Gaby Book 16 - Sweet Sixteen

“Mum!”
“You were on the phone a long time last night,” mater stated.
Bern chuckled.
“You were listening,” I accused.
“Not intentionally, kiddo, but your room is over your Dad and me,” she pointed out, “you staying to eat Bernie?”
So now I know, my eyrie isn’t as private as I thought.

The girls stayed to eat, as I was playing aunt I got out of cooking although I’m not sure having a baby is the best way of getting out of cooking. For starters Mum would go potty – what am I even thinking about it for; it is so not going to happen, not ever! I joined the expedition to take them back up to Stattel – how can one baby need so much stuff?

“Good luck for tomorrow,” I offered, giving Bern a hug before we left them.
“Thanks, I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Have a good time, see you Sunday.”
“And you, say hi to Max for me.”
“I will,” I gave her a final squeeze, “tschuss!”
“Bye!”

Friday of course was just like, well a Friday. Herr Ansbacher had us watch one of those ‘infodoc’ things about Charlemagne and the founding of the Holy Roman Empire – revision without the written tests. But otherwise the day was uneventful, as normal a day as you get really.

“Hey, Mart!” Nena called across the canteen.
“What’s up?” he queried when he reached us.
“You think Bernie would be up for a trip to Bonn tomorrow?” Nena posed.
“Er probably.”
“You could come too,” Steff offered.
“To carry the bags,” Bridg added.
“I’ll give her a call,” I volunteered.

“You all set for tonight?”
“Nervous as heck.”
“It’ll be fine, I reckon he’s just as nervous,” I opined.
“I really like him, Gabs, this could muck everything up.”
There was that, I hadn’t wanted to voice it but clearly Bern has been thinking about it.
“So I’ll tell the girls you’re on for tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I might need to get away from here if it goes wrong.”
“It won’t,” I told her with more conviction than I felt, “look, I have to go, lunch is nearly over, have a good time – and don’t worry, eh?”
“I’ll try, tschuss.”
“Tschussie.”

“You going Garde tonight, Gabs?” Pia asked, as we got ready for the ride back up the valley.
“Think so.”
“You need a lift?”
Do I? “Er please.”
“Usual time then. You look a bit distracted, what’s up?”
“Er nothing, really, just wondering what to wear tomorrow.”

Nothing, hah! Bern voicing her concerns earlier had been a distraction ever since, what if Mart does say no what happens then? I’m certain that Mart is well smitten, not just with Bern but with Drea too and I think he’d be a good dad. But it is a big thing to ask, especially of a sixteen-year-old lad, not the most mature combination at the best of times.

My feet were still quite sore and an hour of Garde didn’t exactly help and whilst we don’t wear the uniforms for practice the boots are essential. Stamping, marching – well even if your feet don’t hurt it can be quite tiring, I felt quite wooden. It did at least take my mind off of events a few kilometres away in Adenau, I was quite glad when the torture was over; Hannah of course wanted to speak with me.

“Okay, Gaby?”
“Bit sore,” I allowed.
“You will be at cheer on Monday?”
“Course, I hadn’t planned not to come this week.”
“Your mother told me what happened, you really need to be more careful.”
“Er yes,” what the hell did Mum say to her?
“Well anyway, I’ve had confirmation, we’re in the competition.”
“Great, Mand said practice went well?”
“Not bad but it’s still a bit stiff.”
“Maybe we should swap to Garde,” I joked.
“Well not that stiff but it does need smoothing out more.”

Herr Sebenschuh dropped me off, I still hadn’t heard from Bern, mind you, half eight, they could still be eating I guess.

“You need anything, your dad and me are going shopping in Aachen tomorrow,” Mum pronounced when I sank into my usual corner of the sofa after showering.
Do I? I think I have everything for tomorrow, no hang on, “Could you get me some hose for tomorrow night?”
“What do you want?”
“Some ten D in black, shiny would be good,” I requested.
“That it?”
“Don’t push your luck Jen, you know what she’s like,” Dad suggested.
“Some biscuits?”
“I think we can do biscuits,” Mum agreed, “Manda?”
“I’m alright thanks, I’m going shopping tomorrow anyway.”
“It’s no trouble,” Mum told her.
“It’ll give me something to do.”
“We’ll be eating out tomorrow night, can’t let twinkle toes here have all the fun, eh.”
“Huh!”

There was still no word from Bern – or Mart for that matter, by the time I went to bed. Is that good or bad? I debated ringing but it was nearly eleven, not sure it would be appreciated by anyone at the farm. Text, I can send a text. That idea fell flat when I found my Handy’s battery was dead, bum, guess I’ll have to wait until the morning.

“You with me?” Mand asked.
“Eh?”
“Geez, Gab, you’ve been in dreamland all morning.”
“Right.”
“Which way?” Mand pressed.
I looked to see where we were, Linz? How did we get here? “Erm left, we can do a loop up the hill further along.”

My mind was still firmly on Bern and Mart; I hadn’t slept well or long, what happened? Is everything okay? In the end I had to send that text but there hadn’t been a reply before we set off on this ride, nor when I checked on the ferry a few minutes ago.

“Oof!”
The impact of hitting the pothole shook not just the bike but me too.
“I did warn you,” Mand stated, “You need to concentrate on riding instead of Max’s lips.”
“I wasn’t thinking of Max.”
“Well whatever it is, you need to snap out of it,” she told me.
“Er yeah,” I agreed.
She’s right of course, it’s not like there’s anything I can do anyway, apart from be a shoulder to cry on.
“Gab!” my riding partner snapped, “You’re doing it again, I said, what are you wearing tonight?”
Tonight, tonight! Dance, Max.
“The white dress with sparkles?”
“The one from New Year?”
“Uh huh, I can borrow Mum’s lace wrap, right here, what do you reckon?”
We turned into Erpel before she replied, “Hair up.”
“Right again, braids?”
“Nah, bit formal.”
“Not braids then, I’m supposed to be doing classy, you know, elegant.”
“Some sort of chignon, flip, you didn’t mention this!”

‘This’ was the climb, steep climb over the railway and up out of the Rheintal. Conversation ceased as we both concentrated on the job at hand, I have been up here a few times, it drags on for a bit after the steepest section before easing off a bit. The slightly damp tarmac made things a bit more difficult, we both had wheel spin, disconcerting to say the least, we were back in the saddle quickly after that.

“Where’re you going this afternoon?” I queried once we got back into a comfortable rhythm.
“I thought I’d go to Koblenz.”
“On your own? Do the olds know?”
“I might not’ve mentioned it, it’s hardly the end of the world, I do go to school in Bonn you know.”
“Yeah but…”
“You go on your own,” she pointed out.
“With the girls.”
“But you would go on your own?”
“Er yeah,” I allowed.
“I am older than you,” she pointed out.

Well that shut me up. I’ve got a tendency to think of Mand as my ‘little’ sister, her German isn’t great, she’s been ‘adopted’ by my friends – well you get the picture. I forget that she is nearly six months older than me and she got on in life perfectly well before she came to Germany.
We continued to climb up through the woodlands in silence for a bit, the thin sunshine dappling the tarmac, disguising the uneven surface. An elderly railcar chugged through the trees not much quicker than us, have to take a ride sometime , we bumped ever upward.

“You know where to go?”
“I have been before.”
“Okay, just checking.”
“Soz, Gab, look, I need to do more stuff on my own, I’m always tagging onto other people.”
“So where are you going?”
“Just gonna have a mooch round really, I’ve never really looked in a lot of the shops, you guys are like a whirlwind, you know where to go, what you want to look at.”
“There’re some nice shops up in the Altstadt,” I volunteered.
“See, you know that, I’ve just got dragged past.”
“We could cut this short,” I offered, “give you more time?”
“Won’t your dad blow one?”
“Only if he finds out.”
“Lets stick to the plan, there’ll be other days,” Mand decided.
My mind started ticking, hmm.
“As you’re going, Mand,” I started.
“What?”
“Could you do me a favour?”

Maddy Bell 01.06.16