“Yeah, so far. I mean, mostly we’ve just eaten meals together and talked.” And rubbed off on each other the night before, but his mother didn’t need to hear that.
“Maybe that’s all you need,” his father said softly.
“Yeah, I….” Tim shook his head. “It’s nice. He doesn’t want anything from me other than for us to spend time together. He barely knew who I was when we met. I don’t think he cares about fame. Of course, we only met a week ago, so I can’t assume anything yet, but my instincts tell me he’s a good guy.”
“We just want you to be happy, darling,” his mother said.
“I know. But hey, I won an Olympic silver medal. I can’t be sad about that.”
Tim’s mother reached over and brushed his hair out of his face, just like she had when he was a little kid. Tim closed his eyes and let her, glad for this little bit of home in the sprawling city.
Chapter 14
BECAUSE OF the synchronized swimming practice, and after some frustration at the gym, Donnie ordered his divers to the pool late in the day. That was why Tim was still at the Aquatics Center when the swimmers started to file in for that night’s races.
“You want to see if we can stick around to watch?” asked Ginny. “I’m not diving tomorrow. Are you?”
“No, not until Monday,” said Tim.
“Wait here.”
Ginny came back a few minutes later with Jason and Kayla in tow. “Turns out USA Swimming has a whole section reserved for friends and family of the team, and they’ve got some seats available if we want them.”
Half the dive team wound up joining them. Tim saw that the American network, TBC, had its camera trained on them, so he knew reporters were aware the dive team sat in the stands. He wondered if Isaac would find out Tim was watching him. How would Isaac feel about that? Maybe he wouldn’t like it.
Tim got cold feet suddenly, not wanting to jeopardize Isaac’s performance in any way. On the other hand, he wanted to see Isaac swim in person, and who knew how many opportunities he’d have for that?
“I’m kicking out too hard,” Kayla said as they settled into their seats. “That’s what Donnie keeps saying. My dives at Worlds last year were almost all short of vertical, so I tried straightening it out. But Donnie thinks I’ve gone too far.”
“So don’t kick so hard,” said Jason.
“I can do these dives. What is it about the Olympics that makes everything I know leak out of my head?”
“Nerves,” said Ginny.
“How’d you stay so loose during the synchro competition?” Tim asked Jason. He remained impressed by how cool Jason had been under pressure.
“My music,” said Jason. “Also, I never look at the scoreboard. It’s best not to know where you stand and then be pleasantly surprised.”
“So you didn’t know you were in second place until the end?” Kayla asked.
“Yeah. I kind of thought we were in the middle of the field, like we’d end up fifth or sixth. I had no idea we were winning.”
“But you knew, Tim. Right?”
“Yeah. I knew. I can’t not look at the scoreboard. I get anxious if I don’t know exactly where we are in the standings. But really, whatever approach you take, the real trick is not to tense up. If the nerves get to you, your body won’t behave the way it’s supposed to.”
“Like, it’s the Olympics?” Jason said. “But it’s also a meet. There’s more cameras and people and whatever, but it’s not that different from, like, a college meet or a regional thing or whatever. The platform is the same distance from the water.”
“Look at you,” Ginny said. “You win one Olympic medal and suddenly you’re an expert.”
Jason sat up a little and pointed to his chest with his thumb. “Hey, I won the medal.”
That shut Ginny down. Tim chuckled.
Isaac had said he had two races tonight. Tim glanced at his phone, where Isaac had texted 100 breast, 400 free. He took that to mean Isaac would swim in the 100-meter breaststroke final, which was scheduled for toward the end of the night, and the 400-meter freestyle semifinal, which was happening pretty early.
“Flood is swimming,” Ginny said.
“I know,” said Tim.
“Twice.”
“Yup.”
“Who are you texting? Did the whole planet text you after you won the medal?”
“Yeah.” Tim turned the screen off. “I’m still getting texts from people back home. It’s been nonstop.