At least my ski ended up on the beach so I didn’t have to go get it. The wipeout gave me a chance to gather my thoughts as I swam to shore. Tami had cut her hair short. I couldn’t remember her ever having anything but long hair. I could also see her hips were a little wider, and she had grown up top, too. She now had her mom’s body, which wasn’t a slight by any means.
I could see her check me out as I found my footing and started to come out of the water. Pam had insisted I wear my Range version of a Speedo swimsuit. I undid my life vest so she could see the full package. I walked up the beach and shook my hair as Duke came bounding up. My parents had to be here somewhere.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” Tami said back.
I walked past her towards the house. Tami gave me a funny look and followed me.
“You say ‘hi’ and then walk away?” she complained.
“I was getting a towel so I could dry off. Then I planned on giving you a hug,” I said with a little smirk.
I guess I didn’t need to dry off. Tami wrapped me in a hug and then led me into the house to find a towel. I walked in and saw Mom and Mary in the kitchen. Mom smiled when she saw Tami with her arm wrapped around my waist.
“I need to take a shower and change. I’ve been in the lake all day and I smell like algae.”
Tami just followed me into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. I figured she’d seen me naked before so I just peeled off my suit and got into the shower.
“When did you get back?” I asked through the sound of the pounding water.
“We landed around noon. They let me leave early,” Tami said.
“What do you mean, early?” I asked.
“School doesn’t get out until mid-July in the UK. They were beginning to study for AS-Level exams, their finals for progression to Year 13. Since I wasn’t staying for Year 13, there was no need to stay to take the exams.”
“I’m glad you got to come home early.”
“What happened with you and Harper?” she asked.
I guess she planned on getting completely caught up.
“She chose an old crush over me. It didn’t work out for them, but she and I decided to be friends for now.”
She laughed. “You were always a man of few words. I’ll talk to her to find out the details.”
I felt my guard go up. This was the type of thing that had caused our breakup. I had functioned just fine for the last eight months without her digging into my life. I got out of the shower and she could see I wasn’t happy.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What happened with Harper is between us. You don’t need all the details. We’re both happy with how it all worked out. You should be happy for us.”
“Oh,” was all she said.
I could tell we needed to work on our boundaries. She didn’t need me running her love life, and I no longer wanted her to run my life. We had also not seen each other since she left for the UK. I decided having her talk about her fellowship was safe ground. I got dressed and asked her about it.
She started telling me about her trip when we walked downstairs. It soon became apparent we weren’t going to get any time alone. All her friends wanted to talk to her. I left her to go find a snack. Waterskiing makes a boy hungry!
AFTER DINNER, TAMI finally was able to spend some time with me.
“I think people missed you,” I said.
“I missed them, too,” she replied. “David, earlier I wasn’t trying to pry. Harper and I are friends, too. I want to know what’s going on in her life.”
“Really?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“When was the last time you talked to Harper?”
Tami glared at me, and then it dawned on her. She had called her Wesleyan friends exactly once while she was in the UK, and it had been 6 months ago. She could tell there was no way to finesse an answer because she knew Harper and I had talked about it.
“I think I have a lot of fences to mend, and I need to start with you.”
“Tami, let’s don’t rush this. Let’s slow down and over time we can rebuild our relationship.”
“NO! We don’t have time,” she said, getting agitated. “I know what I want for my birthday.”
We always tried to get each other something no one else would get us. We normally told the other what we wanted. I suddenly remembered her birthday was tomorrow. I felt like a jerk.
“Okay, name it,” I said, just a little worried about what she wanted.
“I want to hang out with you all summer.”
I was fine with that. I think she realized I didn’t fully understand.
“When I say hang out, I mean as much as possible. So, when you go run, I’ll ride my bike. When you lift, I want to be there. I think my butt’s too big, so you can help me with that. When you go to camp, you’re taking me with you.”
“You want to be my Siamese twin, all summer?” I asked, stalling while my brain raced. “I’m okay with that. I just don’t understand why.”
“Feel how hesitant we are around each other? If we take it slow, we’ll never be the friends we once were. We needed the time apart. From what your mom has told me, it was hard for you at first, but you’ve changed, I’m hoping for the better. I need you to be patient with me. It’ll be hard for me not to want to know every little detail of your life, but I hope you decide to let me back into your heart. I never stopped loving you, my ‘stupid boy.’ I hope me being gone hasn’t caused you to stop loving me.”
I felt my throat tighten up. I knew if I said anything, I’d start crying. Tami already was, and she had no problem grabbing me and putting her face in my chest. I hesitated for only a moment and then took her into my arms and back into my heart. I never had stopped loving her. I had just forgotten for a while.
Chapter 2 – Does Your Head Hurt?
Sunday May 24
Duke and I bounded down our apartment steps to meet the day. We were greeted by two smiling faces: Tami and Tim. Today was the first day I was going to take Duke on a full run. He was a strong runner, but his stamina had been an issue. I felt he was ready. I think I was more worried about Tim. I had eased him into running further each day and I decided I would introduce him to my speed training today.
I planned to set a steady pace to ease everyone into the run. We were on the cusp of summer, and you could feel today would warm up and be nice. I almost wished we were back at the lake, enjoying the water and sun.
As I stretched, I looked into the garden and saw the asparagus and rhubarb. Both looked like they could be harvested. I had visions of asparagus omelets for brunch. We hadn’t cooked Sunday brunch in quite a while. I expected we’d go back to having them at home instead of going out, now that Greg and his family had moved back.
It seemed all of my old friends had come home from college. I couldn’t wait to see Cindy, Beth and Suzanne. The three of them had all met in Chicago and had spent a week messing around in Evanston and down on Rush Street, if the rumors were correct. It felt like the old band was getting back together.
I looked over at Tim and gave him a little grin as I sped up ten percent. The key to improving your speed with distance running wasn’t running at the same pace all the time. You alternated between running at your normal stride and speeding up to push yourself. Speeding up only ten percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but I found it really pushed you over the long haul.
I looked over at my buddy Duke. His tongue was hanging out, but he was still game. Tami almost made me laugh. She must have been sitting on her butt the whole time she was in the UK. Even on a bike, she struggled to keep up. I might have to slow down to make sure she made it back.