Chapter 3
Billy didn't come home during the first winter break: he was invited to spend it at the home of his new friend Kate, who thought his accent leant an unbelievably comic edge to the holidays. He messaged Teddy on Facebook to apologise, and gently ask if he still wanted to visit America. Teddy didn't reply until the new year, saying that he'd got a new job and, even though he was earning a lot more money, it was harder for him to travel now.
The next summer, Billy scored a placement at a hospital in Germany and only ended up returning home for four days, with Teddy working the entire time. By the time the next winter holidays arrived, Teddy had deleted his Facebook account; Billy had actually made it home that time, and tried texting and even emailing his ex but to no avail. His parents hadn't heard from Teddy, either, although he had put an envelope containing a serious amount of cash (almost all of what he owed them) through their door. And so Billy, who had been vaguely holding onto hopes of a New Year's kiss, and maybe more, instead spent the night sitting in his parents' kitchen, watching youtube videos, and was asleep before one.
The rest of his summers at uni bought more placements and long essays; Kate's family, unbelievably rich and handsome to a man, made a more appealing prospect for the holidays than his parents' house, where he was constantly reminded of Teddy. And so, Billy didn't come home for four years. His parents and his youngest brother visited twice, while Simon, the middle Kaplan son, came over for his eighteenth birthday. Home felt very far away, and sometimes Billy could almost convince himself that he was from America, that he'd always been there, but then he'd pronounce something strange or spell 'colour' properly and his friends would laugh. It was all in good fun but it reminded him that he wasn't at home; he would always be a foreigner in this country.
During his time at uni, Billy received some attention from guys. Here, his accent helped him yet again. Occasionally, he'd let one of them take him home, and it was usually diverting but he always left before they woke up. And the morning after, he was always filled with thoughts of how many men Teddy was picking up, sometimes to the point where he had to skip a day of classes. By fourth year, he found he had to abstain from these hook-ups just to keep on top of his schoolwork. He knew he was being dramatic and emotional and, by third year, he had to admit to himself that his relationship with Teddy had now been over as long as it had lasted. But he still felt a yearning in his gut for the man he'd left behind- he didn't know how to get over it, it was a physical sensation; he could no more deny it than if he'd broken his leg.
Towards the end of fifth year, Kate and Billy, in between the hours and hours intensive study, found an hour to just sit and talk.
"Are you going to stay?" She asked him- no one had asked him anything else for a year and a half.
"No, I'm heading back to Blighty." Billy had never called England this before he came to America, but it seemed to tickle his friends there no end, so he played to type.
"Ugh, why? Everyone you know is here."
"I have friends back home."
"Who?"
Billy didn't answer and, in doing so, gave himself away immediately.
"Seriously?" Kate rolled her eyes.
"You don't know him."
"Neither do you- you haven't spoken to him in five years."
Billy hated it, but she had a point. "It's not just him- I've barely seen my parents since I moved here."
Kate took a sip of her coffee, "Lucky. If I could move to the other side of the earth to my parents, I would."
"Your parents are awesome."
"Yeah, to you, Lord Downton. But to me- they're not bad people, they're just super-irritating."
"I think they're amazing."
"Well, that feeling's mutual- dad says he can get you a job tomorrow if you change your mind about staying."
In Billy's mind's eye, he suddenly pictured himself working at one of Kate's father's practices. He could become rich, just like Dr. Bishop; a new image came into Billy's mind. The Bishop family, just as Billy had seen them at Christmas, but now with an older Billy as the head of the house. He somehow had beautiful children in the future, and had begun to celebrate Christmas regularly; and, as his beautiful spouse, in the place of Kate's mother, there was...Teddy. It could only ever be Teddy. He cursed himself for being so sentimental.
"I'll think about it," Billy found himself answering. "I still want to go home even if it's just for the summer."
Suddenly, there was a light in Kate's eyes, "Could I come with you?"
"Um..."
"No, it'll be great, really: I've always wanted to see England. The castles, the crumpets, her majesty, knights in shining armour..." Kate was slipping into some kind of reverie.
"Okay, but where I'm from doesn't have any of those things."
"Not even crumpets?"
"Nope. Mum's given up gluten."
Kate narrowed her eyes, "Well, I could travel about a bit; I could go to London and, oh, Edinburgh and York!" She sounded genuinely gleeful at the prospect. "And you should come with me!"
"I've been to all those places."
"Not with me. Come on, it'll be fun- and you definitely deserve a holiday."
"And you mildly deserve a holiday."
"Exactly. Come on, it'd be so fun- plus, I'd finally get to see where you come from. I love meeting my friends' parents- it's so informative." One of the reasons Billy liked Kate was that she could genuinely get him excited about otherwise mundane prospects. She made visiting his parents sound like a trip to Hawaii- it was actually kind of refreshing.
Billy smiled, "You'd be welcome, but my parents' house is very different to yours."
"Good." She stretched out a little more on her sofa, "I need a change of pace."
Billy nodded morosely; five more minutes and he had to get back to studying.
And so it was Billy returned to England with what many would consider a lot to celebrate: he'd done well on his course, had a standing offer of employment from a wealthy magnate, and was about to spend two months travelling up and down the country with his best friend, who would be arriving in a week. But, as he crawled through airport security, his mind was still set on only one thing: he would find Teddy.