I’d rather have my mum and dad than not, that’s for sure. It must be so hard for you …’
‘It’s difficult to explain, but you don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never experienced it. Sometimes I just feel really alone and empty; other times I don’t think about it until something triggers the feeling of never really belonging to anyone or anything. The ballet is the closest thing I’ve ever had to family, and I walked away from it. But then again, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met you …’ She smiled, then yawned, resting her head near his chest so she could fall asleep to the beat of his heart.
He smiled a heartfelt smile, twisting her long, voluminous hair between his fingers, and marvelling at her beauty inside and out as she drifted off to sleep beside him. He wondered just how long they would have to wait before they could be together. But of one thing he was sure: it would be when, not if they were together. For he knew deep down that he had found his soulmate.
This thought provided him with great comfort, as the warmth of her body and the canal boat’s ever so gentle rhythm eventually lulled him into slumber.
On their last stop before returning to London they visited Oxford, and Noah surprised Eloise with the gift of a snow dome. Ensconced within the glass was a canal boat, featuring a boy and a girl and a dog sitting on the rooftop.
‘Just like us!’
‘I know, that’s why I couldn’t resist.’
‘Now all we need is a dog.’
‘One day … Who knows?’
‘Thank you, Noah. I’ll treasure it always.’
‘As I do you.’
Eloise was so touched by the unexpected gift from Noah that she couldn’t prevent a stray tear from escaping her eye. She flung her arms around his strong neck and buried her face in his chest, never wanting to let go. Gifts had been few and far between in Eloise’s life; each passing birthday had only reinforced how alone she was in the world.
Though slightly taken aback by the strength of her reaction, Noah held her tight against the warmth of his body. Their hug was long-lasting and meaningful, as their time together touring the canals came to an end.
Eloise had felt happier than she had ever been over this past week, and the vision in the snow dome gave her hope for the future – one they might share together. She knew that every time she looked at it, she would remember how precious her relationship with Noah was. He brought sunshine to her life. That night, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, grateful for the good fortune of having had this time with him.
She had always wondered what it might be like to feel cherished, and with Noah she felt more special and accepted than she ever had before. It was a feeling she hoped would live with her for a long time.
At the end of their chaste yet flirtatious time together, both of them knew that, had circumstances been different, they could have become so much more than friends. Having to be content with their shared camaraderie – for the time being at least – they said their goodbyes, knowing their paths would indeed cross again on the other side of the Atlantic, sooner rather than later.
During their long and meaningful conversations throughout the course of the week, Noah had detected a strange undercurrent in relation to Eloise’s arrangement with Ivan and her involvement in tennis, but he’d respected her need for privacy and hadn’t pressed her too hard for details. Instead, he’d encouraged her to be true to her passions and to pursue her dreams as soon as she was ready. Something he promised himself to help her achieve.
Even though she had never had a best friend before, Eloise knew that there were some secrets that shouldn’t be shared until the time was right, and sensed that giving away any more details about her relationship with Ivan fell into that category.
What she hadn’t sensed during her perfect week with Noah was the photographer who had been discreetly tracking and photographing their every move together.
Dichotomy
When Eloise met up with Ivan again in the US, it was clear that he had all but lost his spark for tennis and niggling strains in his hamstring and Achilles had become cause for concern. Although she still danced for him before each game, he watched her perform as a distant bystander rather than with his previous rapture at her skill and precision. She felt sorry for him, sensing that his loss at Wimbledon was still raw, which was confirmed by Caesar, who explained that this malaise caused him to miss the Australian Open earlier in the year. It seemed Ivan’s motivation was at rock bottom and everyone was questioning whether this tournament might indeed mark the end of his tennis career.
It was within this apathetic atmosphere that the US Open began with little gusto for either of them. Ivan didn’t ask her to attend any matches at Flushing Meadows, so she busied herself around New York City’s incredible museums. SoHo had always been a firm favourite and one of the few places she liked to do some boutique shopping. One afternoon she took a tour of the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts to go ‘behind the scenes’ of the New York City Ballet. Needless to say it felt very strange being on the other side of the fence as a tourist rather than as a dancer! However, more often than not – other than her early morning jog around Central Park before it became too busy and hot – she stayed within the confines of the iconic Caesar Towers Hotel, keeping her body toned with swimming and working out at the gym. The sporadic messages she shared with Noah were without doubt the highlight of her day.
Eloise didn’t pay much attention to Ivan’s matches, vaguely aware that he was struggling through the tournament on a wing and a prayer. She was concentrating on some intermittent sprint training on the running machine in the hotel’s gym when the sports news caught her eye – causing her to misjudge her steps, topple off the conveyer belt and land awkwardly on her weak left ankle. She sat on the carpet, momentarily befuddled, as she absorbed the reality that Noah had just been awarded the match over Ivan – who had forfeited the match in the fourth set, unable to continue due to a hamstring injury.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Ivan limping up to the net to shake Noah’s hand, Noah placing his arm around Ivan’s shoulder in genuine sympathy for such a misfortune. Noah was through to the finals of the US Open! Her new ‘best friend’, the twenty-four-year-old slightly French Aussie who drank martinis and pints and who was quite partial to smoking on the odd occasion! She was forced to admit to herself that she hadn’t honestly believed it was possible for someone so laid-back to ever reach the pinnacle of his sport; from her perspective, he just didn’t seem to take it seriously enough. Although she had to concede, he was steadily climbing up the ranks with each match he played, which must be exciting for him.
All of a sudden, the final of the US Open held far greater significance to her than it had mere moments before. Not only would Noah be playing in his first
