Free Dragonholder by Todd McCaffrey

behavior towards David when she got another shock: the announcement from Wright that he was exercising his option to visit the children. He would come in the Spring and bring his new wife.
    The children were stunned by the announcement. They had known nothing about Wright’s romantic involvement, and were unprepared to see their father with a new wife.
    Anne was amused to note that Wright’s new wife was only eleven days younger than herself — and her name was Annett! Annett Francis was an editor with
House and Gardens
.
    The visit was a disaster. Wright’s attitude towards his ex-wife irritated his children, and his insistence that the children unequivocally accept his new wife turned the visit into a nightmare for everyone. Annett and Anne both desperately tried to smooth out the visit — they got along together very well — but their efforts could not counteract Wright’s actions.

    Annett Francis, whom Wright married in 1970
    The visit left a pall that hung over the household. To break it, and to make her entrance
     into British fandom, Anne planned to bring the kids with her to the annual British Easter
     convention. That year it was held in Worcester, which is pronounced “wooster,” and the
     convention was called Woostercon.
    They took the car and crossed the Irish Sea by ferry to Liverpool. Dave Gerrold came, too. It was a magical trip. The British fans and writers were magnificent and made Anne and the kids feel very welcome. Anne had a marvelous time on panels with Brian Aldiss, Bob Shaw, and James White. I was introduced simultaneously to
The Hobbit
and
Dungeons and Dragons®
.
    Many new lifelong friends were made at that first British convention. Dr. Jack Cohen was one of the most memorable. Jack holds a Doctor of Science in reproductive biology and had just started working on a male contraceptive pill. He also gave the most hilarious lectures — with slides — on reproductive biology. When Anne met him, he was on the verge of getting married. Anne invited him and his intended, Judy, to come to Ireland whenever they wanted.

    Dr. Jack Cohen
    With the convention over, Anne planned an itinerary winding through Wales to the southern ferry port of Fishguard. The first stop was Stonehenge — the most famous and one of the oldest rings of standing stones in the British Isles. In those days Stonehenge was just coming to be respected as a significant historical artifact. Visitors were allowed to wander freely on the site and through the stones. It was awe-inspiring.
    About seventeen miles outside of Fishguard, on the narrow winding hill road, they heard a noise from the front wheel on the passenger’s side. The winding roads through Wales had taken more time to cover than Anne had planned and there was a very real danger of missing the ferry, so Anne braved onwards — in spite of my pleas to pull over.
    We made the ferry with only minutes to spare, but I made my mother promise to have the wheel checked at the first garage — service station — we found back in Ireland. When the mechanic took off the hubcap and we could see all the tire nuts firmly in place I felt rather foolish — until he pointed to the hub nut sitting in the hubcap! The whole front wheel, hub and all, had been held on only by the caliper brakes — the entire way through the winding hills of Wales!
    Not long after, the Morris died completely. While Anne was searching for a replacement, Mick
     loaned her any number of oddball cars. One of the oddest was a three-speed car which always
     had to be push-started, but most memorable was the two-seater MG Sprite. It made a decent
     two-seater, but was used as a family car — with the spare children lying behind the
     passengers on the spare tire. It was a ‘gas’ — a lot of fun.
    Â 
Anne wanted a horse
    A nne wanted a horse. Anne had always wanted a horse, but finally she was in a country where she might actually be