Page 47 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

But Hannah shook his head. ‘Nope. You’re going to rest,’ she told him, in a firm voice.

But as she turned to leave, Alex found himself wishing that he had joined her. Soon he would be better, he promised himself. And perhaps when he felt more like himself, he might work up the courage to ask her out, hoping that she might have changed her mind about their kiss after all.

As he watched Hannah and Tiny head through the empty café interior, Alex spotted someone coming through the open front door of the café. He was shocked to see his father exchange a few words with Hannah before heading towards him.

His dad walked out onto the balcony and they looked at each other for a moment.

‘Hi,’ said Alex, sitting up a little straighter in the chair.

‘The lady on the hotel reception said you were in here,’ said his dad, before sweeping his eye over the foot which was resting on a chair. ‘How are you?’

‘Fine, thanks, Dad,’ said Alex, bringing the foot down automatically onto the floor, feeling slightly ashamed of the injury and how it had occurred. ‘I didn’t know you had plans to visit.’

‘Seeing as you’re still hiding out here, I didn’t have a choice,’ said his dad, sitting down opposite him.

Alex caught the word ‘hiding’ but decided to ignore it. ‘How’s Mum?’ he asked.

‘You can see for yourself when you come home with me this afternoon,’ replied his dad.

Alex gave a start. ‘What are you talking about?’ he asked, shocked.

‘Are you done licking your wounds?’ His dad looked impatient. ‘It’s been a fortnight.’

‘A fortnight of pain and frustration,’ Alex reminded him.

‘Well, that’ll be over before you know it. And then we can move on.’

Alex was startled. ‘Move on?’ he repeated.

His dad nodded. ‘You know, the mark of a great athlete is to pick themselves up after failure. So I still reckon next year’s Olympic Games should be our next goal.’

Alex was aghast. He had bared his soul to his parents two weeks ago and his dad had dismissed everything that he had told him.

Feeling cross, he shook his head. ‘No,’ he found himself saying.

His dad looked at him in surprise. ‘What did you say?’

Alex took a deep breath. ‘I said no, Dad. I meant what I said a couple of weeks ago.’

‘No to what?’ His dad looked frustrated. ‘It’ll take extra training, of course, to get your fitness levels back after so much time off but I reckon…’

But Alex didn’t let him finish. ‘I mean no to all of it.’ He sighed. ‘I’m done, Dad. Finished.’

His dad still looked confused. ‘Look, we all get knock backs, son,’ he began to say.

‘It’s not about that,’ Alex told him. ‘I don’t want to do it any more. The endless competitions, the training, the travelling. I’ve really had enough.’

His dad looked irritated. ‘I suppose this is the influence of your so-called friends here, is it?’

‘They’re actually my best friends,’ Alex told him in defence. ‘But yes, they support me which makes a nice change, to be honest.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I mean that when I told them I wanted a life away from competing, they listened to me and wanted to help,’ said Alex.

‘So you’re working here, are you?’ asked his dad, frowning.

Alex shook his head. ‘No, but they’ve invited me to stay for the summer and that’s what I want to do. I may not have a job but I have a life here. With people who don’t care about winning every second of every day. They like me for what I am. I just wish you felt the same way.’