Page 84 of Oar Than Friends

‘Awesome,’ she replied, with a smile that was better than any grade, ‘Where are you?’

‘Just at the pub with Charlie and Brooks for lunch. They’re currently arguing over Charlie’s love life.’

‘Oh yeah? What’s going on?’

‘It’s a long story, I’ll tell you when I see you. Which is something I’ve been trying to figure out; it’s been two days and I’m having withdrawals,’ I moaned. ‘I can’t last a whole week.’

‘Me too.’

‘I have tomorrow night free, I’ll drive over after training.’

‘No, remember I told you, Imogen invited Hannah and me to her home for a few days so we can study.’

I hit my head against the wall I was standing next to, and tried to keep the whine from my voice, but I failed dramatically, ‘Oh man, I thought I had one more chance to snuggle before Christmas, and now I’m not going to get to see you for over a month.’

‘A month? Why?’

‘Next week is when I’m skiing with my family, then when I get back you’ll have gone home, and uni isn’t open until January. When are you flying home? Maybe I can figure something else out. If not, I might have to fly over to Connecticut.’

She was silent for so long I thought the call had died, but then – ‘I’m not.’

‘Not what?’

‘I’m not flying home.’

I stood up straighter. What? Had I missed an entire conversation about this? How did I not know she was staying in England? I flashed through every conversation we’d had. We’d talked about Christmas, we’d talked about our holiday traditions. No. I definitely didn’t know. I’d have had something to say considering the strong opinions which were forming in my brain right now, along with the little jump of joy that we weren’t going to be separated by an ocean for a month.

‘You’re not going home for Christmas?’

‘No.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t know.’

‘Because it’s not a big deal,’ she replied in a way that made it very obvious that it was a big deal. To her, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she knew it was a big deal to me too. ‘I have a lot of work to catch up on and I’m going to use the quiet time to do it. Plus the flights are really expensive, and I want to get Tideway practice in. I can’t miss a month of training or I’ll never get selected.’

‘But you’re not going to see your family.’

‘I know.’

‘I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me,’ I pushed.

‘I didn’t know it was a thing.’ This time her tone held a little bite. ‘It’s not a big deal, Christmas is one day. My dad will still be out working, and my mom will still try and drag me around to visit everyone in the neighbourhood. I have too much to do, and I need to train.’

‘But …’

‘Oz, I have to go, Hannah just got here. Speak later,’ she interrupted, and the call went dead before I had any chance to respond.

I stood staring at my phone wondering what had just happened, because for the first time ever, speaking to Kate didn’t end with me feeling happier.

Quite the opposite.

16. Kate

(It’s a Christmas miracle)

‘I know, Mom, but I have so much work and training,’ I sighed, pushing open the heavy doors of my dorm building. ‘It’s not long until the Easter break, if you think about it. I’ve already checked the flights.’

‘I’ll speak to your dad, maybe if they’re not too expensive we can make it over to watch you in the Boat Race. Cheer you from the riverside. Then maybe we can meet this boy who’s keeping you busy.’

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