Chapter 17

Flying back to Chicago at the end of the semester was not a lot of fun.

The good thing was, I got my old summer job back. It was a summer internship at a web design firm. I loved the work, my boss-Erica-was cool, and the pay wasn't bad. Erica was thrilled to have me back. She was less than thrilled when I told her I'd need three weeks off in July-but was more accepting when she found out why.

There were two new college intern-types working there with me this year. Paula and Melanie, both had just finished their freshman years at U of Chicago. They were both cool-which was a good thing, as Erica had put us in a huge cubicle, with a workstation on a desk on each of the three walls. It was an oversized cubicle, but, with three of us in there, it was still cramped. Good thing we got along.

One thing I quickly discovered-the deep bond that Sheila and I had forged between us had a downside. Separation was brutal. And not just for me-she called me in tears a week and a half after I had come home. But we tried to deal with it. I knew that it was a fine line between bonded and codependent, and I think she did, too. So we just tried to deal. And I did, mostly. I think she did, too, and it was more important for her, seeing as how she was training for the Olympics and all.

But it crept up on me every so often. A week after she had her crying jag on the phone with me, I found myself sitting at my cubicle, just staring into space, lost. Melanie caught it.

"Bren, you OK?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look OK," she said, concerned.

"I'm OK," I smiled at her. "I'm sorry. I just really, really miss my girlfriend."

"That's her, right?" Melanie asked, pointing at the picture on my desk. I nodded. "I figured. She's very pretty. Are you guy serious?"

"You know, that's an interesting question," I said. "If you're asking me if we're exclusive, utterly and completely. If you're asking if we're in love, definitely. If you're asking about future-plans serious, we haven't actually discussed it," I smiled. "But we've been apart less than three weeks and I'm going out of my tree. And not just me, she was on the phone in tears with me last week. Our bond is so deep that being apart is almost physically painful."

"Wow," Melanie said. "Where is she?"

"San Diego."

"That's where she's from? I take it you met her at Stanford."

"Yes and yes," I said, "but she'd be in San Diego right now even if she didn't live there. That's where the US Swimming team is having their pre-Olympic training camp, and she'll be swimming in the Olympics this year."

"Wow, that's impressive," Melanie grinned. "Is she good?"

"World record holder and gold medal favorite in the 200 meter backstroke," I said proudly. "And she's swimming three or four other events, too."

"That's great," Melanie said. "So, you'll be spending a bunch of time glued to the TV when the Olympics are on, huh?" she grinned.

"No way. I'm going to be in Paris, watching it live."

"That's great!"

"Hey, Melanie? Thanks for listening. Talking about her helps. Though I'll have to be careful and not blather on and drive you too nuts."

She cracked up laughing. "That's OK."

It was a couple weeks later, the second week in June, a Thursday. I was sitting at my desk, late in the afternoon, when I felt a set of hand snake down my chest from behind, and a set of tits press up against my back. I turned around, and there she was.

I couldn't even speak. I just jumped up and hugged her. And kissed her. Right in the middle of the office! Screw decorum.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

"We have a long weekend off from training," she giggled. "I don't have to be back in training until Wednesday, so I don't have to leave here until Tuesday. When I found that out, I called my mother and said, 'buy me a damn plane ticket to Chicago!' Having wealthy parents comes in handy sometimes."

"I'm so happy to see you, I can't even tell you."

"Ditto. Damn, I missed you."

"How did you get here, to the office?"

"I took a cab from the airport to your house. Your mom told me where your work was. She just dropped me off. I figure I can go home with you. You leave in about an hour, right?"

"Yeah," I grinned.

"Is this the famous Sheila?" Melanie interrupted.

"Yeah," I laughed. "This is Melanie and Paula, my cubemates."

Just then, Erica came by. "What's all the commotion?" she asked.

"Sorry," I said. "This is Sheila, my girlfriend. She just flew in from San Diego to surprise me."

"Isn't that neat," Erica laughed. "Brendan? Get lost. And take tomorrow off, too."

"Really?"

"Really. Get out of here."

See, I said Erica was cool.

We went back to my house, and decided to be good. We talked with Mom-and Dad when he came home-and didn't race for my bedroom until after supper!

It was after that, lying in each other's arms, that we talked about it.

"Bren, does it scare you?"

"What?" I replied.

"How connected we are. How much being apart hurts. There are days that I feel like someone cut off my left arm."

"Yeah. And, yes, it scares me."

"Good. I was worried it was just me."

"Not even close," I grinned. "This was a good idea you had, though. I almost feel like my batteries have been recharged."

"Yeah," she grinned.

"How's your training going?"

"Not bad. It'd be better if you were there, but I'm dealing with it."

The visit did rejuvenate us, but it was still too short. The good part was, when she left, it'd only be a month before we saw one another again.

We got to Paris early, five days before the Olympics actually began, so she could spend some time in my hotel room before moving into the athlete's village. Well, OK, we did get out of the hotel room a bit to explore Paris. She brought along this little phrasebook-not knowing I took French in high school. I'm not fluent, but I get by. Her parents and Jenny arrived the day before the Opening Ceremonies.

Once the Olympics finally started, whenever Sheila had things to do, I found myself spending time with Jenny. It was natural, she'd rather hang with me than her parents. We were eating lunch one day, when she sighed.

"I miss my boyfriend," she said.

"You have a boyfriend? How long?"

"Just since April. But we're really close."

"That's good," I said. "What's he like?"

"You," she grinned. "He's sweet, and nice, and very smart, and so shy I had to ask him out," she giggled. "And every one of my friends thought I was absolutely insane for doing it. He's not popular. But he's so beautiful, inside I mean. Though he is cute," she grinned. "Like I said, he's like you. I saw you and Sheila during Thanksgiving, and then especially at the Olympic trials, and I figured she had the right idea. I had known Alex, of course. So, when we got back from trials, I asked him out the very next day."

"Did he swallow his tongue?" I grinned.