Chapter 10

Heathrow airport was busy as always and at 10am it was a madhouse of people. I got to the curb and didn’t know where to go. I could bother Andy, get a hotel in the city or head up to Cambridge. It was a workday and people were back to work after the holidays. I decided to rent a car to give me some more freedom.

Having Sam teach me how to drive on her manual car came in handy as I slid into the car on the wrong side and looked down to see the shifter on my left. I eased out of my spot and headed to Cambridge. I found a nice boutique hotel on the river. It was a slow time but next week was fully booked as the kids came back to school.

By the time I got settled it was about 4pm and I walked over and knocked on Anita’s door. I was hoping that she wouldn’t be there and would be home with Greg but I heard footsteps walking toward the door. The door opened and Anita fell into my arms. She held me and started to cry. I didn’t know what to do but to hold her.

There was movement in the doorway and I looked up to see Greg and a girl with him. She asked, “Mom, are you alright?”

Greg put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “He’s just an old friend that we haven’t seen in a while. Your mom is just happy to see him. Nick, when you can move again, come on in.”

He moved back into the apartment. Anita finally calmed herself. “I just got off work and we came over to pack up my stuff. I’ve been home for a while but I need to be out by the 15th or pay another month.”

“I was coming to check up on you as I don’t have your telephone number.”.”

“Greg told me what you did. He said you gave over a hundred thousand dollars to the school just so he would have a good reason to meet with you so you could explain what was really going on. You’ve saved my life. I thought of taking it but now we’re back together and seeing a counselor.”

“That’s good. I just wanted to check on you. I’ll let you get back to your family.”

“Sir, it would look funny if Greg said you were an old friend and you just walked off. Come in and meet Olivia.”

Following her, made it feel like she was dragging me. When we were inside, she introduced me to her daughter and went to hug her husband. There were some boxes in the bedroom where she was packing up her clothes in the furnished apartment.

They went back to packing and I sat in the living room with Olivia. She was a tall girl but not super tall. I would guess 5’9” or 5’10’’. “Where do you go to school, Olivia?”

“We’re on break now for Christmas but I go to the local high school.”

“Do you play any sports?”

“I’m on the volleyball team but I’m not very good.”

“Good just takes practice. I’ve played a lot of volleyball. I also like to row.”

“You look like you work out a lot. Do you go to college here?”

“Yes. I’m back early from the states. Classes begin in a couple weeks.”

“If you want to play volleyball, you can come by and play. We play most mornings starting at 10am.”

“Where do you play?”

“We play at the high school gym. They’re just pick-up games.”

“Maybe I’ll stop by.”

“The side door to the gym is left open. No coaches are allowed since it’s the off-season. The locker rooms are open if you want to bring a change of clothes.”

“It sounds like you want me to play.”

“You said that practice would make me better.”

“I’ll try to stop by.”

Greg walked out and said, “You’re lucky to catch us here. Anita wanted to finish packing her things. Your friend still hasn’t called me.”

“I was just with him in Boston. I’ll make sure he calls next week. He was in meetings with the software company owners about some new products.”

“Anything we can use at the school?”

“Actually it would be a good investment for the cafeterias. I think the plan is to launch the new product in Europe at the food show next month in London.”

“I’ll make sure one of our food directors is there. Can you join us for dinner?”

“Sure. Olivia has invited me to play volleyball with her in the morning. If that’s alright?”

“If you want to. She seems to enjoy it and it keeps her from arguing with us.”

We had dinner at the Royal Arms. I got a wave and smile from the bartender and after dinner as they left I said goodbye and then told the bartender thank you for watching out for Anita. I told him to keep the cash that he had left over to cover her tab. He was happy to hear that.

In the morning, I ran over to the boathouse and sat down and started to pull. I rowed 10,000 meters. It was just about 8am when the coach came walking in to do his own workout. He looked at me sweating and then at the numbers on the machine showing the distance. I finished up and he said, “You’re back early.”

“My parent’s live in Bermuda and I went to see them for Christmas. I then went to Boston for New Years and to visit some friends. I finished my visit and decided to fly back to England instead of Bermuda.”

“You don’t sound like a freshman.”

“I live in my own little world.”

He laughed. “I would have come in early if I knew you’d be here.”

“There’s always tomorrow. I was wondering if we could find out what the trainer has in store for us the day before when school starts back?”

“I can talk to him but what’s the purpose?”

“I prefer to workout in the morning. If he’s going to have us row 10,000 or 20,000 then I’ll do some sprints. If he’s going to have us row sprints then I’ll do a long row for endurance.”

“You are going to work out twice?”

“I used to swim, row and workout six days a week and then do school and practice. It’s always worked for me.”

“Do you still swim?”

“I haven’t seen a pool since I’ve been here and the river is too cold.”

“We do have a pool. It’s a nice one. If you want to swim, let me know. It’s the off-season. If you want to workout in the mornings you can just have Mac give you the workout. I thought all kids liked to sleep all day.”

“There are a few here on Saturday mornings on their own. That may be different since we aren’t on the water. Maybe have a morning and afternoon session and as long as you attend one, you’re good.”

“I think that Mac could manage that. I’ll talk to him. What time will you be here tomorrow?”

“Since you like to sleep in, we could make it 8am but I prefer 7am.”

“I’ll be here at 7:00. I can only drink so much coffee and I can read my paper in my office after we’re done.”

Coach was in good shape at thirty years old. He had rowed for Great Britain on the Olympic team in Montreal seven years earlier. I told him that I had to finish my workout so I could run home and shower before going to play volleyball.

“Where are you playing volleyball?”

“A high school girl invited me.”

He shook his head. “I don’t see anything good coming out of that. You should be careful.”

He sat down on the erg and I dropped down to do my sit-ups and push-ups. There were some mirrors in the gym so I did a couple of the forms or Katas from back when I studied martial arts. It felt good and it felt like it would be a good thing to add to my workout.

He was finishing the same time I was. He asked, “Why not use the weights?”

“I use them when we workout but I don’t always have weights so I know that I can knock out a couple hundred push-ups and three hundred sit-ups and call it a workout.”

“What was that at the end?”

“Forms from martial arts. It works on precision and balance, proper technique and posture. It helps concentration or as they say, centering myself. I don’t always do that but I had the mirrors to check myself. It felt good. Now to finish my run and play with the girls.”

“Have fun. Make good choices.”

I ran hard back to my hotel and then took a long hot shower before changing into fresh clothes and walking to the high school. I was on time and there were already seven or eight people there. Olivia was one of them and perked up and waved when she saw me come in. A few more people came in before we started to play. There were four guys and six girls total and I ended up on Olivia’s team since she invited me.

One of the other girls on our team set the lineup and I was in the front right spiker position to start the game. The first couple points were sloppy as people woke up but I could tell that most knew how to play at an above average level. The ball hadn’t come to me before I rotated back to serve.

There was a tall guy in the middle back position spaced out so they would have one guy on the front row at all times. It was his turn in the back and I hit a hard overhand serve right at him. It was chest high, too high for him to easily bump and too low to easily pass. He shanked it. He did the same with the next three. Then it went to his left and he and the girl next to him both watched it hit the ground between them.

We were up 10-2 when they finally returned the serve and 12-3 when they broke the serve and rotated to serve themselves. I watched Olivia. She was okay but was slow to move into the best position to respond to the other team and didn’t focus on her hits. We ended up winning 21-9 in the first game and my team all gave me congratulatory comments as we shook the other team’s hands as we switched sides.

We played a total of seven games and we won five of the seven. It was noon as we were taking down the net to clean up the gym. Olivia asked if I’d brought a change of clothes and wanted to have lunch.

“I didn’t. My hotel is a mile down the road and I walked over. I was just going to walk back and shower there.”

“Can you meet for lunch afterwards?”

“Sure. Where did you want to meet?”

She named a place, The Blue Cave, which I’d seen but never been to. I told her that I’d be there in half an hour. It was a quick jog and shower before walking over to the restaurant.

She was sitting in a booth with one of the other girls from volleyball named Sharon. They were sitting on opposite sides so I slid in next to Olivia. I ordered a club soda and took a look at the food. Both girls ordered hamburgers and fries and I had the half chicken and fries. They asked about me and my history with volleyball.

I told them about playing in New York in the park, on the team at Emerson and the year in Russia including playing the high school national team. I also explained that I hadn’t played in a while and was rusty. They talked about their playing history and both were juniors hoping to make the varsity team.

“If you want to practice to get better, let me know and I’ll work with you.”

“You mean doing drills and stuff?” Sharon asked.

“I mean drills but not to do drills but to get better. It takes a lot of work and concentration.”

“When would we do the work?”

“Before or after the games would be best. I was at the gym at 7:30 this morning after my run. I rowed, did my workout and ran back to my hotel. Then played with you. If you wanted to meet me in the morning to get in shape and then play we could do that and then stay after to do drills. Lunch would be late but you could be ready come volleyball season.”

They looked at each other and both nodded. I told them to meet me at the boathouse at 7:30. As we left, Sharon broke off and went home while Olivia walked with me and came to the hotel. At the front door she asked if she could come in and talk.

“Sure, the room may be a mess. I don’t know if the maid has been by yet.”

The room was picked up and the bed made when we entered the small suite. We sat down in the sitting area. She sat on the couch and me in the chair. After some nervous silence she said, “Nick, I’m really happy to have my mom back. I know you had something to do with that but I don’t know what that is. Can you tell me? I was also hoping to get to know you better. You are very intriguing to me.”

“I like that you are honest with me. I don’t like girls that beat around the bush or just hint at things. I’ll think about your question and see what I feel comfortable telling you. As far as getting to know me, we’ll be spending some time together. You’ll get to know me but you will have to be honest with yourself and then with me to tell me what you really mean by that statement.”

She blushed but nodded her acceptance. “You seem so young but then so old or mature at the same time. You have your own hotel room like an adult but seem to be just a kid.”

“To be honest, I skipped a year in high school and would normally be a senior in high school so I’m only a year older than you. I’ve also been around the world and lived on my own three of the last four years. I’m a legal adult and have my own funds so your observations are correct. I flew to Bermuda and the United States for my Christmas break and never asked my parents for permission or funds.”

“Wow, that sounds like fun. Freedom.”

“With that freedom comes responsibilities. Look at me. I could not work out and just goof off all day. I could get drunk and get stoned. I could not do my schoolwork. I’m not fat or drunk and get straight A’s. I’m treated like an adult because I act like an adult. You need to decide who you’re going to be as well.”

“I guess I need to get a little deeper in the way I think and come up with some direction and goals. We can talk tomorrow about the answers to your questions.”

After she left I was the one that had some questions to answer. I called Andy. “Hey Andy.”

“What’s up Nick?”

“Have you called the school yet for the word processors? We have almost 30 cafeterias around campus that could use some software. They need to be invited to the Food Show and to our booth.”