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There was a ripple of laughter. ‘Yes and no,’ replied Freya, smiling at her friend, who had managed to lighten the atmosphere.
‘People love coming to museums because right here, we tell stories about the past – about peoples’ lives, the places they inhabited, and in some cases, their loves, hopes and dreams. And we do that by creating powerful and inspiring exhibits.’
Freya continued. ‘You’ve already decided amongst yourselves where your strengths lie. So, once you’ve completed the changes to your area of the exhibit, those working on interactive displays and the children’s area will be given the opportunity to showcase their work as the rest of us will pretend to be the younger visitors.’
There were smiles all round. That was the fun part. ‘Let’s see if you can grab our attention and interest!’
Freya clapped her hands together. ‘Now, off you go. Oh, and let me just finish by saying that whatever the outcome – give it your best. You are a great team and don’t let anyone– and I mean anyone,’ she was thinking of one person in particular, ‘tell you otherwise.’
When Freya finished talking, the room was distinctly quiet – and then a round of applause went up before the team rose from their seats and shuffled off to get on with the task ahead.
Jolene walked up to her. ‘You know, have you ever thought of going into teaching when you finish your PhD?’
Freya shook her head. ‘No – why?’
‘I think you’d make the most amazing, inspiring teacher – just like your dad.’
Freya wrapped the blanket around her legs and looked at Tarek, who was standing awkwardly in the punt and trying to guide it down the River Cam using one of the super-long oars that she thought was probably called a quant. He wasn’t doing a good job of it. They kept bumping into the riverbank or into other punts. It was all very embarrassing. Freya was trying her best not to laugh, and Tarek was getting annoyed.
She pulled her scarf tightly around her neck as wisps of hair escaped from her bobble hat. She noticed that Tarek was wearing his own scarf this time – she guessed he wasn’t keen on pink after all. The river and riverbank were peaceful at this time of the year. She knew there were stunning views of the backs of the colleges along the river, which added to the serenity of the place – if they ever got that far down river.
Unfortunately, Tarek had decided to take the punt out himself, thinking it would be easy.
Tarek had arranged the punting tour when he’d left them all to complete the exhibition. He’d bought them all tickets as a surprise treat, along with dinner afterwards, as a reward for completing the exhibition to his exacting standards. Everyone knew what it really was; an apology for the way he had behaved.
The others, sensibly, had hired boats with punters who took them down the river, so they didn’t have to do what Tarek was doing. They had left Tarek and Freya way behind.
Although it was cold, it was a perfect excuse to enjoy each other’s company and take in all the sights – or so Freya thought. They’d only made it a few hundred yards along the river. But she didn’t care about that. She was enjoying it, nonetheless.
The way the team had set up the exhibition had been a complete success – and now it would open to the public. But first, it had to have Tarek’s father’s approval when he made it back to Cambridge.
After congratulating the team on all their hard work, Tarek had turned to Freya and invited her on the tour. She had guessed he hadn’t expected her to accept. ‘Only if you behave like a gentleman this time,’ Freya had replied in a stern voice, alluding to the argument they’d had a lunch yesterday and the way he’d treated her.
In hindsight, although she’d been upset, she knew Tarek was very upset too – it wasn’t like him to act that way. It was her own fault for not telling him about Theo and her engagement. Although Tarek had apologised profusely for his behaviour, Freya had insisted that she was the one who should apologise. They’d both accepted they had feelings for one another. She guessed that Tarek realised she had some big decisions to make about her future, and she wouldn’t be able to untangle her feelings overnight.
Freya was relieved they were back on speaking terms. They were both honest enough to admit that they didn’t know where to go next, but the one thing they did want to do was this – have some fun together on the river and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
She smiled at him. It had been obvious that Tarek was overjoyed when they’d apologised to one another and she’d accepted his invitation. The trouble was, Tarek’s happy mood had dissipated. Fortunately, it was not her fault this time.
‘Oh, I give up!’ Tarek put the oar down and carefully took a seat beside her, the boat listing slightly as he did so.
‘Don’t beat yourself up, Tarek. It’s a lot harder than it looks.’
‘Tell me about it!’ He grinned at her.
His face dropped at what she said next. ‘Remember that you were talking about your dad last weekend when we had lunch together. You said he’d gone to the Suffolk Coast to stay in a guest house?’
Tarek frowned. ‘He was meant to help us with the exhibition.’
‘Oh, I didn’t know that.’
‘Well, you know now.’ He paused. ‘You still want to meet him, don’t you?’
Freya nodded. ‘I do. He’s not back from the guest house, then?’
‘Nope.’
Freya looked at him thoughtfully. Now the exhibition was completed, she was back to thinking about her mum – and that woman called Wendy.
