One Perfect Summer

remember the sound of his mobile constantly ringing, and him refusing to answer it. He was so cross with them for trying to run his life and not accepting the choices that he had made.
    He didn’t even go back to Germany this summer. He only went to the wedding because he had a point to make. He wanted to show Rosalinde – and everyone else – that he was happy for her. That there were no regrets, no hard feelings. Like I said, maybe now we can all get on with our lives.
    I call Jessie after speaking to Lukas.
    ‘Are you up to anything tomorrow night?’ I ask him hopefully.
    ‘Twice in one week?’ he exclaims. ‘I’ve never felt so popular.’
    ‘No,’ I say awkwardly. ‘It’s just that Lukas is coming back on Tuesday . . .’
    We were supposed to be going to the movies on Friday night, but with Lukas being back early . . .
    ‘Oh,’ he says flatly. ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. We can go tomorrow night, instead.’
    ‘What time do you want to go?’ I ask. ‘Seven? We could go to Wagamama first?’
    ‘Good plan. See you downstairs.’
    He’s already there when I arrive. I notice him checking his watch.
    ‘I’m only five minutes late,’ I chide.
    ‘I’m starving,’ he says, leading the way inside and up the stairs. There are six people ahead of us in the queue.
    ‘How’s your job?’ he asks.
    ‘Oh, my God, I have been dying to tell you!’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Do you remember the china boy?’
    He looks confused, then suddenly: ‘Oh! From the punt?’
    ‘Yes!’ I’m referring to the boy who called vaginas ‘chinas’ and consequently made me lose my concentration and bump my head on the bridge.
    He laughs. ‘How could I forget? What about him?’
    ‘He’s in my class!’
    ‘No way?’
    ‘Yes way! He’s a right little character. I couldn’t work out why I recognised him, but it came to me this afternoon.’
    ‘Hilarious. So you’re enjoying it, then?’
    ‘Definitely.’
    ‘You don’t miss punting?’ He gives me a sideways glance.
    ‘Yeah, of course.’ He should know this. It actually feels strange to walk past the river now. My eyes kept welling up during my last tour. Jessie tried to convince me I could go back to work during the school holidays, but once I became a fully qualified teacher, in my heart I knew that that part of my life was over. ‘I still miss everyone,’ I add.
    ‘It’s not the same now that you guys have all left.’ I presume he’s talking about the other students, like Chris, who only finished his Masters in June. ‘It’s weird to think that none of you are coming back after this summer.’
    ‘You’ll have a fresh crop of students to torment before long.’ I try to reassure him.
    ‘Nah. Won’t be the same.’
    A couple of people in front of us are led away to be seated. We wander forwards in the queue.
    ‘You seem a bit down.’ I look up at him.
    He doesn’t meet my eyes. ‘I am a bit.’
    I turn to face him. ‘Everything okay with Emily?’
    ‘Yeah, yeah, she’s great. Wish I got to see more of her.’ He glances at me. ‘We’re talking about getting a flat together.’
    ‘Really? That’s great!’
    He grins. ‘Yeah.’
    Emily moved out of Jessie’s parents’ house as soon as she graduated, but she didn’t go back to Scotland. Instead, she went to London. I wondered if that would be the end of their relationship, but they’ve seen each other most weekends, either in London or in Cambridge. She’s working for Social Services in the Child Welfare department.
    ‘Hang on . . .’ My mouth drops open. ‘Are you moving to London?’
    ‘I think so.’ He shrugs. ‘Alice,’ he prompts, nodding behind me. I turn around to see the waitress standing there, ready to take us to our table.
    He doesn’t call me China anymore. I didn’t notice at first. Now I try to avoid calling him by any name at all. It makes me feel sad to think that we’ve grown out of our nicknames. Not that I’d ever admit that. I don’t know why he stopped. Perhaps we just don’t see enough of each other to harness that familiarity.
    The restaurant is busy, and there is another couple seated directly to my right and Jessie’s left. The girl is chattering away ten to the dozen. Jessie rolls his eyes at me, but I can’t smile.
    ‘You alright?’ he mouths.
    I nod and look down at the menu. I can’t believe he’s moving to London. The waitress comes back and we place our order. The girl is now regaling her date with a story about something immensely