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John nodded. "It was a terrible accident with a lot of luck for the driver. That he survived you can call a miracle. About a year ago, if I remember correctly. He was one of the best racers but nobody knew who he was. What does that have to do with you? Were you there?" He asked with a slight admiration in his eyes. "You raced against Lucan? You weren´t injured during the accident? "
I chuckled quietly and shook my head. "John, I AM the Lucan. Luc stands for Lucy, Mom and an is the end of my name. Luc-an. When I was flipped around I landed on my left. I had a few ribs, left arm, left leg and hip broken. Nothing shattered luckily. The rest of my body was bruised and I promised James never ever to ride with a low sugar level again. As always, Marcus, along with James, patched me up and I went home for your birthday. The bruises had disappeared by then, and the cast came off the day before I left. My shirt stayed ons o nobody saw the tape and scars on my chest.
By the time I got back there was a flu going around school and now it was my turn to take care of James. The risk of infection is higher with diabetes, unfortunately, and when half the school was flattened by the flu it didn´t take long before I was really sick. James was feeling better again and he brought me to Marcus when my fever became over the 102.3. During the delirious I told them accidentally all about the Thunderbirds. Marcus thought it was too dangerous for me to return to school while I was so weak and I had been trying to reach you again, I just didn´t know how to describe it. Eventually Mark himself called my father with a furious message that he really had to come for his son. Within an hour he stood at my bedside with Scott both in overprotective mode and asked why I hadn´t called. No strength to go into discussion I told them that I thought I could handle it. I spent two weeks at home on the island when you were down. Virgil was a week up and Gordon the second week. Once I was able to go out of bed, I went straight back to school.
The last few years, we always spent the first week of a vacation with the four of us, James plus his girlfriend, Sandy and I. The last week we stayed at school to tutor or something like that and if there were weeks between we had to go home once. Not that we always looked forward to that but I still had a family, we had to face them one time. James had no one but kept trying to persuade his parents to look at him. We changed vacation spots. The autumn was the one time my home in the Bahamas,"
John looked up surprised. "Real estate is a great investment in today's economy," I said wisely. That brought John to laugh, he motioned for me to continue.
"The other time at James place in Hawaii. During the Christmas holidays, we looked for the sun instead of the cold English climate and we rented a house with four, carnival we went with just the two of us skiing and spring holidays was my house on Caribbean islands or that of James at Rome or Paris. We traveled some off James and me. We participate a lot in school projects in other countries and long weekends were filled with hikes. Sometimes we got a week off from the teachers because we were too far ahead with the lessons. We were free from everything and we loved it.
Currently we have friends all over the world where we sometimes visit. No adult who told what is and is not allowed, no rules. We had each other and we needed no-one else. The places I have seen, so awesome. We felt that nobody mattered except the other. James and me against the world.
Until ... At twenty years old, just after my accident and before your birthday, I went on my knees for Sandy. I was on my knees still the cast so not really on my knees but something like that. Her parents had died years ago and I had asked permission to Marcus. Who was so happy for us that I got their mother's wedding ring from him. On top of the Eiffel Tower with fireworks in the background I bent before her. Everything was in perfect care. James worked on the floor with fireworks. It wrote in the air. 'My dear Sandy. Will you marry me? "I told her that I could not imagine life without her, and if she wanted to be my other half. And she said no." I just snorted with laughter, thinking back to that moment. John looked at me with a question in his eyes. "She told me that James was my other half and nobody could come between us. I think that was also the reason that James never was dating longer than a few months. Sandy understood that James and I were inseparable and accepted that. She didn´t want to come between James and me. Along there she wouldn´t marry me because of the money. If I had a great speech with truth and a simple proposal, I could come back and till then the answer was and remained no.
My second proposal was in our little park where we walked every day after school. I told her that I loved her like I never could love another WOMAN. I needed someone who told me that I was doing stupid as James lured me into stupid things, who loved me whether I was rich or poor, who would be there for me to support me even though I didn´t asked for it. When she said yes. It was the best moment of my life. We would get married after we had graduated and we would do it on the Bahamas during the autumn. Nothing big, some promises we already had made were now only put on paper, James was my witnesses of course.
I spent Christmas with James at a place where I can say nothing about. We started to make future plans together. James, Sandy and Marcus promised me that the family secret was safe with them. James and I had earned enough money together that we could, without outside support, go to the university of your choice. Besides several universities offered us a scholarship to sports and educational. Because we didn´t wanted to be separate from each other, we enrolled together at Cambridge to study medicine and we were easily accepted. Immediately it was agreed we would be trauma surgeons together, first four years in college TOGETHER, by Marcus could we do our internship TOGETHER and three years thereafter, or TOGETHER by the Thunderbirds, or TOGETHER sign into the army.
I wasn´t going to tell dad that if James wasn´t alowed in the Thunderbirds than we would be going in the army together. The story for you would be that I wanted to work with James and if not for the Thunderbirds we would begin for ourselves. The army part we decided to keep for ourself.
During the summer I was going to take Sandy and James to the island so you could meet them. I had an emergency plan set up for if you wouldn´t accept them. If you don´t agree with my decision James would flew her back home immediately and I would stay to sort things out with Dad without two of the most important people in my life being there in harms way. James had promised me that he would protect me and her against my family. If necessary we took all three different names and we hide on Mount Everest. James had plenty of ideas. Even Jeff Tracy or international rescue won´t find us.
We just returned from our week in Paris when James began to feel sick. He had a headache but it was getting worse. I insisted that he had to go along with me to Marcus but the cheeky monkey didn´t listen. We seem too much alike. Shortly after our last exam he collapsed down and I carried him straight to Marcus. The next morning he was gone." It was taking more effort to talk. "Sandy took care of me. Sandy, my treasure, she brought me food, clean clothes made and watched my sugar a whole week while I couldn´t move because of the pain. I had myself picked up after a week, glued myself together and went to the island. There I collapse in my room and eventually I pulled myself together to face you.
San couldn´t go to be funeral because her grandmother's funeral was held on the same day. I had promised her to take along one of my brothers for support and told her that she had to support Marcus. It was their last living family member and they had already say goodbye to James in the hospital. I was originally planning to go alone but some nosy someone messed my plans up." I smiled shyly at John. "You know what the worst part is. My last stuff from the island are now in a suitcase in the hotel room. Same suitcase is packed in the hotel room because after the ceremony, or after my release, I'm not going with you to the island. Together with Sandy, I go to a place where we can be alone, the wedding is postponed until Christmas, she wanted that so we had time to come over James. Cambridge is still a go. All my plans, I´m going to do the same things. Only now I´m have to do all those things on my own."
John looked at me. "Do you really want to get away from us? Away from the Thunderbirds and your family?" I nodded silently waiting for him to continue. "Ow Alan. How did we ever let it come this far."
"I just wanted to ask you that." Said a female voice behind me.
Next chapter the story will really begin...
xoxox Flora
