Chapter 100: On Top of the world

Femke

The powers that be had come up with another gimmick to make the sport more interesting. The next race, three days after my surprise medal over fifteen kilometers, was to be run as a pursuit, and on top of that, as a combined race – 5 kilometers classic, 5 kilometers free style.

That meant the Norwegian world cup leader and winner of the first race started first, followed by the Russian just eight seconds later. I meanwhile had to wait nearly a minute to be the third athlete to start. That was how far behind those two I and everyone else had finished.

Of course for the spectators this was a lot more interesting than the usual interval starts. The leader on track was also the leader of the race. There was no need to keep an eye on intermediate times.

It didn’t take me long after the start to notice that the fifteen kilometers of three days ago had bitten quite a chunk out of me. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t the only one, because halfway into the race, shortly before the switch to the free style, I was actually gaining on the Norwegian, despite the fact that she had started a good minute ahead of me.

What sounded like good news, wasn’t though. The Russian girl had lit the afterburner and had disappeared into the distance and a second one had already passed me, with Lydia and Nadja in tow. Lydia made a sign that I should slot in behind them to share their slipstream, but I could only shake my head. I was holding on for dear life and I didn’t want to slow them down. I had the Norwegian as an orientation fixture.

There were no more overtakes for the rest of the race, although two more Russians came up from behind, but they ran out of track by ten seconds. The fact that four Russians were in the top-eight made it abundantly clear that they weren’t competing on bread and water alone. One would have thought they would have learned some subtlety by now. Their sheer domination in the latter half of last season had already gotten one of them busted at St. Moritz.

Unfortunately I had dropped too far behind to witness it first-hand, but on the large screens I could see that I was missing out on a veritable battle royale. Lydia and Nadja had ganged up on the second Russian, trying to run her ragged, taking turns attacking her. I did not see how it had happened in the end, but from the enthusiastic description of the stadium announcer in the distance, I had gathered that Lydia had beaten the second Russian to the runner-up spot with Nadja coming in fourth.

The Norwegian, who had started first had dropped back to fifth with me dangling about two seconds behind her in sixth. I had nearly closed the minute she had started before me, but only just. I simply hadn’t managed to close those last two seconds.

Overall, another brilliantly successful race. “Camp Exhaustion” in Colorado had turned from a bane into a boon, although I could have done without nearly puking my guts out for two days and ending up in a coma.

Mark

Jenny was holding my hand as we walked round the last corner before her school came into view. She was in an exceptional mood today. Her all-important fourteenth birthday was just another week away and I had not only agreed to walk her to school, but I had also agreed that we would get started on her birthday present for Matt.

That I was walking her to school was not out of necessity. I did of course know what this was about. Jenny had probably bragged to her friends how she now had Adonis himself for a stepdad and now she was in a hurry to prove to them that I wasn’t a figment of her over-active imagination. Knowing my role I had made sure I looked the part – some snazzy clothing and a fresh shave in the morning.

Just as I had expected, a gaggle of girls observed us and I heard a few giggles and ‘wow’ exclamations in the distance. I let Jenny give me a little kiss and watched as she bounded happily towards her posse. I waved to the assembled girl group and turned to make my way back home.

Now, the second task of the day was a damn sight trickier. Like the two years before, the kids’ birthdays were coming up, and that meant a picture exchange was on the cards. This being their fourteenth, and just half a year to go until they would meet in person, this would be the last one ever. Glutton for punishment that I so truly was, I had let Jenny talk me into painting her this time, instead of having Regina make a photo.

Both Regina and Meri were prepared to have me institutionalized, because they knew that Jenny would use the posing naked on her kart as an excuse to reveal a bit more than we normally allowed her to, but I had had one last ace up my sleeve. Jenny hated pubic hair with a passion, and she was now growing it at the rate of knots. My request had been met with a lot of arguing, but in the end I insisted on her growing the hair out. I didn’t want some parts of her anatomy too exposed. With the promise that she could shave it off again after the picture was done, she had eventually acquiesced.

Regina

We still thought that Mark was stark raving mad to give in to Jenny’s wish. We remembered all too vividly just how long it had taken him to stop being squeamish when Jenny just as much as dropped her clothes, and now he was preparing to make a drawing of her in a rather revealing pose. Well, at least he had insisted on the modest landing strip.

That condition of Mark’s had put Meri and myself into a bit of a bind. Like all grown women in the household we were shaved clean down there, so we had a bit of crap position to start arguing for her to let her pubic hair grow. In the end I had summoned the power of the maternal ‘basta’ to insist. She either did what Mark had asked of her, or the picture was off the table.

At nineteen degrees centigrade outside it was almost ridiculously mild for this time of the year. We definitely wouldn’t get any snow this year. But this freakish weather had the benefit of allowing them to take their artistic endeavor outside. Meri had not taken too kindly to the prospect of bringing a kart into the house. Now they could do that outside without leaving any tire marks or oil stains on the floor.

By the time Jenny came home from school, the weather had taken an even bigger turn towards the spring-like. It was the end of February and we had sunshine and temperatures more befitting the month of May. Mark had already driven to the Lausitzring and retrieved a neutral training kart to use as a prop. Everything was prepared and our daughter was not in the mood for patience. Off came the clothes and ended up strewn all across the corridor and living room floor.

Meri sighed and started to pick up the discarded garments. Leaving her stuff where it fell was a bad habit of Jenny’s from years gone by, but she was still prone to such behavior if her excitement got the better of her.

Meri

We were like two elderly women, hiding behind the curtain, watching the goings-on outside.