An Ounce of Prevention WC:280

An Ounce of Prevention

The bike was strapped to the rack of her husband’s Jeep.

“Oh, no!” Anita said as she opened the garage door, groceries in tow."Not again!"

Mike was standing in the kitchen in his biking gear.

“Don't tell me you're going biking in the mountains!"

“Oh, heavens no, sweetheart, I'm just going to ride around the village green.”

Something in his voice spelled trouble.

“Is that even allowed?”

“It’s public land. People do it all the time, honey.”

“Why are you decked out in your paraphernalia?”

“For effect. I want to look like a pro.”

“You aren't practicing for another foray, are you?

“Well, maybe,” Mike finally admitted.

“You do remember last time, don’t you?”

“You mean two years ago, Anita?”

“You do remember. Right?”

“Vaguely.”

Mike had been riding in the mountains and hit a rock on the trail. He went airborne, broke his ankle, and gashed his forehead when he flew into a pine. The paramedics had to rescue him. He was famous for a minute because it made headlines in all the local newspapers.

“Did you say vaguely?”

After a stretch of silence, he said, “Well, maybe I'll just stay on the green.”

“Great choice, I'd like to keep you around for a while. And we are still paying off the county for that emergency call.”

“Thank you, Anita, for pouring salt in the wound!”

The saying: an ounce of caution is worth a pound of cure came to mind, but she didn’t say it.

Instead, she said, “You know how much I love you, Mike.”

“I know. And I love you,” her husband said and wrapped her in a hug.

They kissed…

The ride around the green was put on hold.