Keeping Fantasia: The Third Book of the Fantasia Series

Chapter 61: Rufio

Chapter 61: Rufio

By the time Jak fired the pistol, Peter was ready to shoot someone himself.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, turning with the spectators. "Now that we're done waiting, let's waste more time watching this stupid race when we could be reuniting with our kids over pizza and ice cream!"

Jim watched Peter budge through the crowd. Secretly he agreed. After their meeting with King Arthur, he had expected their children to be pulled from school. It's not everyday that your parents return from the dead. A half-day of hooky seemed like a reasonable request.

But Arthur had recommended a slower approach.

"Fantasia has changed," he had said, "The new generation thinks you four are legends, like Santa Clause or the Tooth fairy. We need to gradually reintroduce you into the Fantasian culture, otherwise we'll shock the system."

Apparently, Arthur had a grand plan to gradually reintroduce the guardians into Fantasia, and it started with their children...after school hours.

Bummer. Major bummer. 

In the meantime, Headmaster Mickey had taken Ariel to reunite with her father, and John Darling had taken Wendy to reunite with her youngest brother, Michael.

That left Jim and Peter with Dr. Joshua Sweet, the royal physician. King Arthur had chosen Dr. Sweet because he was already acquainted with the guardians, he'd treated their ailments on multiple occasions, and had even been Wendy's mentor in high school.

Dr. Sweet also happened to be the current mentor of Gwendolyn.

So, it wasn't coincidental that Dr. Sweet had escorted Jim and Peter to the CFT. He knew both Jak and Gwen were going to be there.

To view the race, Dr. Sweet had brought them to the War Games memorial. The stone archway was already littered with spectators, making it easy for Jim and Peter to blend in. 

The additional perk was that the archway was a quarter-mile from the start, making it impossible for Peter and Jim to ambush their children. 

Peter was not appreciative of the thought and Jim didn't blame him.  They wanted to reunite with their children and they were growing impatient.

Dr. Sweet was sympathetic.

"Don't worry guys, it'll be a short race." Dr. Sweet joined Peter at the ledge. He motioned at the approaching runners, "Once they pass under us, it's a mile-and-a-half out, then a mile-and-a-half back. They'll pass back under on the way back. You'll be able to see Gwen twice before we meet her at the finish."

"You think we'll be able to find her?" Jim scanned the runners, "There are so many of them."

"Ohhhh trust me, you'll see her. Gwen is...well..." Dr. Sweet sliced a hand into the sky. "She flies when she runs."

Dr. Sweet looked expectantly at Peter, obviously hoping the wordplay would cheer him up. But Peter was uncharacteristically quiet. He acknowledged the comment with nothing more than a soft snort.

Jim studied Peter. Thumb tapping the ledge, he looked between Peter and the runners. 

"Doc," he finally said, "Can you give us a minute?"

Dr. Sweet nodded. "Sure thing Jim. Just keep your eye out. Runners should be here in a few minutes."

"Got it. Thanks."