Chapter 14: The Abduction / Humiliated Mom

Jenny had been getting emails and text messages from the riders she had met in France. They were starting to make reservations in Barcelona for the Grand Prix, and everybody wanted to be in either the rooms next to her, or at least on the same floor. Somebody had made a reservation for a block of twenty five rooms on the same floor at the top of Hotel Miramar Barcelona, in a secluded part of town. It was an artistically restored palace on the slope of one of the mountains with a marvelous view over Las Ramblas. Some of the local stations were doing stories of their home town girl who was doing well on the European circuit, and she was being interviewed for the spots.

Jenny was trying desperately to catch up with her riding, and needed to allow a couple of extra weeks in Barcelona to get used to their track and her new motorcycle. Joe didn't particularly want to go, but would be coming a little later.

Jenny was going to fly by herself and meet Bruno Rossi in Paris. From there she had a stopover and a connecting flight to Barcelona. Jenny's two daughters were going to take her to the airport.

On the day of the flight, Jenn had her bags packed, and heard a car horn honk. Her daughters were in front of the house and called her on the cell phone to tell her they were waiting. Marie came in and helped Jenny with her bags. Maria was sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running.

When Jenny started to get in the back seat, she was startled to find her mother in there too. The girls had called their grandmother to tell her what they were doing, and were surprised when she asked if she could go along too. The wheat harvest was over, so the busiest time was over for a while. She would have a few weeks before things started to get busy again.

Jenn got in the back seat while Marie put her bags in the trunk. Marie went into the house and wheeled out Joe. He got in the driver's seat and drove to the airport. When Jenny got out, she thought she would get her bags and everybody else would go back home. Instead, the two girls and her mother got out with her,

The three women had seen the TV spots and decided they wanted to see this famous mother in the Grand Prix. They had no idea she was anything other than the stay-at-home housewife that had taken them to school and dance or music lessons. Jenn was happy and apprehensive at the same time. What dark secrets might come out with an extended time with her daughters?

The trip was exciting. They had missed the connecting flight to Washington DC and had to spend the night there. They were able to visit the Smithsonian, Georgetown, Fisherman's Warf and other places before flying to France. Once they were in Charles De Gaulle Airport, the girls marveled at all the criss-crossing overhead escalators, the connecting subways, and congestion of people from all over the world. They met all kinds of people their age who were traveling by motorcycle, hitchhiking, or trains. Their cell phones were filling with new contacts. The teen-agers were on top of the world.

Instead of flying to Barcelona, they decided to take a Euro-Rail to Barcelona. It would be an overnight trip. To regular travelers, the crowded lines waiting to board would have been maddening; but to the two giddy teenagers away from home for the first time, it was exhilarating. Their sleeping birth had bunk beds three beds high. Maria got into the birth first. From there, she climbed up to the top bunk. Marie tossed the suitcases up to her. The lines into the train car were so crowded it was hard to get into the space any other way. Once they were in, a young couple got in the same way. The bags had to be piled on the top bunk for them to make their way in. The couple was from Portugal and college students there. Jenny was happy that her daughters made friends so quickly.