Gaby Book 18 - Summery

We both headed for the door, well it’s human nature to go look isn’t it?
“What the..!” Dad exclaimed as we looked down to the road, “Stay here, ring one one two.”
“Which for?”
“Everything!” and he took off.

I made the call then went back outside, the alarm was shut off and a deathly silence fell across Zaungarten . They’re building a new apartment block over the road and the builders were streaming out into the road. I had to move further down the path to see along the street to where Dad was stood by our car or should I say, the remains of our car.

It was a scene of carnage, a pile of twisted metal blocking the road, one end having landed on the car in our drive, not quite flattening it but we won’t be going anywhere in that again. The source of the steelwork was pretty evident, the building site and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to spot the missing tower crane. Oh it’s not one of those huge things you see in the cities, this was a much smaller affair maybe twenty metres high – before.

Sirens sounded in the distance, the doppler effect disguising the number but it wasn’t long before the road was filled with blue lights and men and women in uniforms. I was distracted by the house phone ringing so I headed inside.

“Gab?”
“Con, wassup?”
“I was gonna ask you, why didn’t you answer your Handy?”
“Er flat battery?”
She went on, not having really listened, “The Notarzt and Polizei just went past here, blue lights, sirens and stuff.”
“There’s been an erm, incident.”
“Incident?”

I could hear more sirens sounding from up the valley through the open door.

“Er yeah, a crane fell on our car.”
“Crane?”
“From the building site, those new apartments.”
“Sugar! Is anyone hurt?”
“Dunno, I think I might be a bit late getting to you.”
“No prob, Dad suggested we go up on the Express anyhow, he’s got to pick some stuff up from Uncle Josef’s yard up in Adenau.”
“I'll get as soon as I can.”

When I looked outside again the emergency services had been breeding, fire engines, ambulances, police – nothing would be moving for a while. Dad waved me back inside and a minute or so later rejoined me in the kitchen.

“It’s not good kiddo, the crane driver’s trapped, this could take a while.”
“What about the car, how’re we gonna get to the race?”
“Let me worry about that, what are you doing today?”
“The kiosk with Con then training as usual.”
“Get yourself organised and go meet Connie.”
“But...”
“Let me worry about stuff here, looks like I've got a full day ahead of me now scoot.”

There wasn’t any point in arguing, I mean it’s not like I can do anything is it?

I had to go through next door’s garden to get into town, Dad had to lift me over the fence, he didn’t want me climbing over.

“Ring me before you come back, okay?”
“’Kay,” I agreed.
“Have a good day,” he instructed.
“I'll try.”

“So? what’s happening?” Con pressed when I reached the bakery.
“Our car’s squashed and the crane man’s trapped.”
“What happened?”
“No idea,” I admitted, “we were in the kitchen having breakfast then there was a big crash outside, when we looked it was all over.”
“Good job no one was in the car.”

I hadn’t even thought about that, a few minutes later and Dad would’ve been in the car, mind you he wouldn’t’ve been there long.

This morning’s ‘excitement’ had completely swamped my thoughts, what if it had landed on the house, if Dad was in the car, if it had fallen a different direction.

“Gab?” something poked my arm, “earth to Gaby!”
“Er, I spaced out a bit.”
“Yeah,” Con agreed, we’re just coming into Altenahr.”
“Oh right.”

I'm sure there was stuff I was gonna talk to Con about this morning but events have overtaken me.

“Ah, you’re here,” Herr Thesing stated when we arrived, “everything okay?”
“The Bond’s car got squished.” Con offered.
“Dave called a bit back, not a good thing. Best not to dwell on it, girls.”
“So what’s the plan, Dad?”
“There’s not much just now with the kiosk, Josef’s coming along later to start on the roof, how do you feel about a bit of gardening?”
“Gardening?” I queried.
“Well if we’re going to have tables and so out here we need to do something with this mess.” He indicated the scrubby, litter strewn patch in front of the kiosk.
“I guess.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Con asked her Dad.
“Well for a start clear up the rubbish then it needs levelling off.”
“Great,” Con sighed, “we are girls you know.”
“That’s never been in doubt, I've got you some gloves and tools inside.”
“’Kay,” she allowed.

“Who you ringing?”
“You’ll see,” I replied as I waited for call to connect.
“See you outside.”
“Best take the mulltasche,” I suggested.

The resulting raspberry told me what she thought of that suggestion.

When I said there was rubbish, it’s not like piles of fast food packaging and old tyres, no it’s not quite that in your face, at first glance you’d overlook a lot of it. And it was mostly stuff generated by the kiosk, discarded Pommes forks, scraps of wrappers, cigarette ends – you get the idea. A first pass soon had the loose surface debris bagged up, the stuff that was left was more stubborn.

“What now?” Con asked, “Digging?”
I checked the bahnhof clock, “Drink first.”
“Now you’re talking,” my companion enthused before calling out, “Dad, just going for drinks.”

A disembodied voice requested orangeade, we headed over to the station where there’s a snack machine.

“You ever, you know done it – with a boy?”
“Done it? Like with who?”
“I dunno, anyone.”
“As if! I'd tell if I had, oh mein gott, you and Max...”
“No! Like that’s gonna happen!”
A can dropped into the collection bin.
“So why the question?” Con quizzed.
“Something Jools said last night.”
“She still with Bjorn?”
“Boris, yeah.”
“So what’d she say?”
“What did your Dad want?”
“Orange, come on, spill.”
“Nothing.”
“Oh come on, Gab, you can’t start and leave me hanging.”
I fed more coins into the cabinet, “Look you can’t say anything right?”
“Cross my heart.”
“Well apparently she and Boris, well she’s got some kinky stuff she wears when they, you know.”
“Oooo, so what brought that confession?”
“Er, just something with Mand.”
“So what’s she got, sexy undies?”
“That sort of thing,” I'm not gonna admit my sister has pervy masks, whips and stripper boots.
“Maybe you should get some for Max,” she teased.
“Con!”

Mr T was talking to someone when we got back with the cans, “Here they are.”
“Hey, Gab, Con,” Max greeted us.
“Orange Mr T, Sprite for you,” I handed Max a can.
“I wondered why you got an extra drink,” Con advised.
“Well you didn’t think I was gonna dig the garden did you?”
“It was the plan,” she pouted.

Herr Thesing suggested Max break the surface up, Con and I to follow removing the bits of embedded paper, metal and plastic, we’d level things up afterwards. Seemed reasonable so once we’d finished the drinks we set too.

“You hear about that crane falling down?” Max enquired as he stomped the fork into the baked ground,” it was all over the news.”
“That’d be the one that squidged Gab’s Mercedes,” Con supplied.
“Really?”
“Uh huh,” I agreed.
“Apparently a cement truck hit one of the support legs and it over balanced, looked a right mess.”
“They say anything about the crane driver?” I asked.
“Just that he was one of the injured,” Max allowed pushing a clod of earth from the fork’s tines.
“They were trying to free him when I left, he was trapped in his cab thingy.”
“That’s not good,” Max opined, “so how come your car got hit?”
“It was parked on the front as usual, the crane fell across the road, landed splat on the roof.”
“Unlucky! Can you pull that off?”

Con reached in and pulled the ancient cola tin off the fork.

“So what’s in this for Max?” Con whispered when our muscle went for a nature stop.
“Why should there be anything in it?”
“Oh my god, that’s what all that stuff with Jules was about isn’t it?”
“No!”
“He wants you to dress up before you do it!”
“Con!”

Maddy Bell © 10.01.17