Boris reached the finish so early that the organizer hadn't taken out the ribbon. Everyone laughed as his wife, Elvira, handed him water. Their small recreational race had no grand prize, only a wooden medal and the winner's right to choose the lunch restaurant. Boris raised his arms, pleased as a child. Elvira noticed his shoes were dry. The others had to cross a shallow stream by the old bridge, where morning rain had raised the water.
She asked how he had crossed the bridge. He said there had been no problem, then began adjusting the helmet he had already removed. Elvira knew that movement from when he bought an expensive bicycle part and didn't want to reveal its price immediately. She asked whether he had followed the marked route. Boris led her behind the drinks van. He had missed the turn, he admitted, and accidentally found a shorter road straight to the finish.
"Then tell them," she replied.
He refused. He said he would look ridiculous, the competition wasn't serious anyway, and he had lost so often. Elvira said she wouldn't expose their private argument to everyone, but wouldn't confirm that he had completed the course either. She went to help cut fruit. Boris remained with the medal around his neck and his explanations, which sounded louder now that nobody interrupted them.
The second rider, Nedim, arrived wet and exhausted. He immediately congratulated Boris and asked which gear he had used on the final climb. Boris tried answering, then stopped. He watched his friend sincerely admire him for a section he hadn't ridden. He removed the medal and called the organizer. He admitted the wrong turn and the fact that he had known about it before accepting victory.
Nedim was angrier about the delay than the mistake itself. He didn't accept the medal immediately, so the organizer left it on the table until everyone returned. They still had lunch, with a few uncomfortable jokes that soon stopped amusing people. Boris didn't ask Elvira to defend him. On the journey home, he said he was ashamed of how badly he had needed one victory. She replied that she could listen to him about that without a medal.
There was no race on the next outing. Boris rode beside Nedim and, for the first time, slowed down to hear his story through. At the bridge, he stopped, dismounted, and carefully waded across. Elvira waited on the other side. He offered her his wet shoe as a joke, and she kissed his cheek before they climbed onto their bicycles again.