Page 12 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

Alex held up his hand. ‘Could you just listen to me for once?’ he snapped, the pain in his foot making him more irritable than normal.

His dad’s eyebrows went up in surprise but he didn’t say anything.

Instead, it was his mum who spoke next. ‘How did you hurt yourself?’ she asked, her gentle tones as always trying to smooth things over between father and son.

‘I tripped over near the finish line,’ replied Alex. ‘And this is the result.’

He spun the phone down to show his swollen ankle, the black and blue bruising beginning to show.

There was a deep intake of breath at the other end of the line.

‘Twisted ankle?’ asked his dad, sounding optimistic.

Alex almost laughed. ‘I’m afraid it’s a bit more serious than that,’ he said. ‘I’ve broken two bones in my foot.’

There was a shocked silence that followed.

‘Broken?’ whispered his mum, sounding tearful. ‘Oh, no.’

Alex nodded. ‘I’m afraid so. It’s going to take at least six weeks to heal, according to the doctors at the hospital.’

Everything else was going to take a lot longer, he thought, looking at his dad on the screen.

His mum sighed softly and shook her head before she too looked at her husband.

They both knew that his father’s quick temper was going to explode over them eventually. Better to get it over with.

His father finally lifted his head to stare at his son. They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

‘Broken?’ repeated his father at last.

Alex nodded.

There was a slight pause before his father spoke again. ‘Well, that’s something positive at least. Better than ligament damage, I reckon. Hopefully it won’t take too long to repair and then we can get going again.’

Alex gave a start. ‘Get going? On what?’ he asked.

‘On your training, of course.’

Alex’s mouth fell open in shock. ‘Dad, it’s too late for the Commonwealth Games. We both know that. There won’t be enough time to get fully fit in time.’

But to his amazement, his dad merely shrugged his shoulders. ‘Listen, we can’t deny that it’s a massive setback but bones heal fast. So we’ll have to be careful with the training but if we get the right intensity and build on what you’ve already got, I reckon this could be an amazing story for next summer. After all, it’s the Olympic Games next year. Just imagine winning that gold…’

Alex couldn’t believe it. After everything, his dad was still carrying on with the dream of a gold medal.

He finally found his voice. ‘No, Dad. Just no.’

His dad looked at him in confusion. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘It’s over,’ Alex told him.

‘People have come back from worse,’ said his dad, frowning. ‘Just think how good winning will feel after this!’

‘I’m not carrying on,’ said Alex.

His dad looked shocked. ‘Of course you are.’

It was a statement, not a question. Alex couldn’t believe it. His dad truly believed that he would carry on and on.