The next three days were a whirlwind of activities. We'd taken a twilight canal tour of the city when we first got there, consuming wine and cheese as we passed under iconic bridges and saw landmarks like stately historic mansions along the Golden Bend, past the Oude Kirk, and the Grand Hotel, and passed through the red light district, watching the pattern of red light from the windows on the water. We visited the Van Gogh Museum and Ann Frank House, and gotten a guided tour of the Rijksmuseum. We walked through the Aalsmeer Historic Gardens and saw rare and beautiful plants and flowers, went to the adorable Castle Keukenhof with its beautiful gardens, and visited a couple of windmills. We visited the beach one warm afternoon where I got to try kitesurfing and Grandpa did paddleboarding. We went to the House of Bols, which is devoted to the oldest brand of Dutch spirits; Genever is like gin, and toured a sort of museum of the liquor and cocktails, and ended up having interesting Genever cocktails made for us by the house bartender. Delicious. We learned how to make soap at DIYSoap, and for our culinary adventure, we went to Dutch Cooking School. A Dutch aperitif was served with a little snack, and we got to work. The starter of a beetroot salad was eaten at the cooking station, then we made the main course, an Orange burger composed of salmon, cucumber, lettuce and Hollandaise sauce on a toasted bun, which we took to the dining room. We made little apple pies for dessert. It was delicious, but there didn't seem to be a distinct cuisine, like the Danes, Chinese, or Japanese had. It was fun, though, and delicious.
We took the evening Dutchflyer rail and sail, departing on a ferry to the UK, where we switched to a train to London. Really nice cabins, and delicious food. I would totally do that again.
We started with a boat tour on the Thames--this was apparently our theme for this vacation, water tours--and saw a huge variety of attractions. We saw The Play That Goes Wrong Theater Show in the West End, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, St. James Park, the Tower of London, the Sky Garden, where we had a lovely lunch, the London Eye, Covent Garden, took a tour of the Old City, and a performance at the Globe Theater. I had a 'Cities at Dawn' photography class while Grandpa slept in one day, learning a lot about how to take better pictures with my DSLR camera. We took a whole day to learn how to do afternoon tea at Caroline Hope; it wasn't just the preparation of tasty things that included Victoria Sponge, scones, and shortbread, but also how to brew four different kinds of tea, lunch, and a rather extensive history of English tea drinking, manners and etiquette.
We had so much fun.
We flew back on British Airways, and Grandpa had opted for first class again, which enabled us to access the clubhouse, where we hung out in serenity until our flight was ready to board. As I'd come to expect, there were little pods for each seat, comfortable, but the Asian airlines we'd flown on before were nicer. Still, it was really pleasant, and the cabin crew got us tucked in neatly and served sparkling line while we waited for everybody else to board. For lunch, I had a starter of seared tuna tataki on salad, seared fillet of Herefordshire beef with truffle taglierini, rosemary jus, grilled asparagus and baby carrots, and blackberry and vanilla clafoutis with creme anglaise for dessert. There was a nice screen where I watched movies with noise-canceling headphones when I wasn't reading, with a handy USB port. There was afternoon tea, with sandwiches, sweets, and scones. I had coffee. I just picked at my dinner. We were given pajamas and a Liberty of London branded amenities kit. The seats folded flat with a nice quilted mattress and duvet. Breakfast was coffee and orange juice, fruit, and a breakfast sandwich with seared beef fillet, rocket, and mustard. Delicious and so filling. By the time we landed, I was practically waddling.
Grandpa took a hotel room and the next day we went out and around LA with Stan, having a great time. We drove back to Duke's Crossing the next day for a couple of weeks before I returned to school. It was one of the best summers I'd ever had.
Which was good, because I plunged into studies for my doctorate almost from the moment I walked back on to campus. I barely had any time for Zero Week, aside from a really brief beach party--more like surfing and breakfast. I was teaching again, and this was the endgame of my studies. I worked hard and kept my head down, pretty much, but I took hygge to heart and did my best to change my thinking, treasuring the dinners with Cass and John, little things like curling up on the sofa with a blanket and hot cocoa as I studied with a driving rainstorm outside one night. Thanksgiving was here again; we were invited to John's grandparents for the meal. It was lovely to see them again and spend time where we were forbidden to talk about our studies. Paul had a particularly hard time with that; he was excited and engaged with his classes. I went home to Grandpa feeling triumphant at having completed my first quarter of my doctorate.
The Winter quarter was more of the first, and spring break was spent mostly at the beach, surfing and relaxing. And Spring quarter had me back in the classroom in addition to studying and doing my research. I was interrupted briefly for Stan's graduation; I was so proud of him graduating cum laud. He'd been accepted to the University of Denver's Masters in Sport and Performance Psychology. For graduation, he was getting his own trip with Grandpa; they were going to South and Central America: Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Mexico City and Chichen Itza, Grandpa told me. Stan promised to take lots of pictures. Our grandparents Knight came out for that too, and he got a two-thousand dollar check. It was looking like the more advanced degree you got, the more money they gave you, and I wondered idly if they'd cough up more for my doctorate. Grandpa and Stan went off to their adventure, and while I was a little envious, I had to finish my quarter. Over the summer, I did research in coastal waters and spent some time at the end with Grandpa, Stan, and the parents.
The second year was more of the same, but I was working with the Regional Oceanic Modeling System in my research. John introduced me to his new girlfriend, a med student named Clara. It was a huge relief; she was nice, personable, and not jealous that he had good friends who were female. Paul liked her, so I relaxed. Even though John and I never regained our closeness, we still hung out as much as was practical and we were pretty good friends. Cass graduated that June, and this left a big hole in my life. I moved to a studio apartment off campus, which was nice. It gave me some distance from campus, and even if it was just the going to and fro, I took time to think about anything but my studies. Stan was thriving at Denver, even though he had some trouble adjusting to the altitude. There were a lot of things to do there, outdoors-wise, and he started mountain climbing. I just hoped he wouldn't fall off one of the mountains and break something. I did research that summer again, going up to Duke's Crossing when Stan got done with his summer session.
And then. The third and final year. My work on my dissertation had already begun and my advisor said he thought I was making excellent progress. I wanted to get it done so I could defend it and relax. And look for a job.
In late October, I was ambling toward my office, just enjoying the day; it was one of those magical days when the light is light and golden, as crisp a fall day as you really ever got in LA, and things were really going my way.
"Delphinia."
My head snapped up and I looked around like a spastic prairie dog. I about tipped over when I saw Will standing under a tree, smiling at me.
I went over and touched his arm. "What are you doing here?" I asked curiously. It was football season, even if I wasn't following it anymore.
His face was placid. "I had a really bad concussion in the playoffs last year," he said. I nodded; it had been all over campus and I couldn't avoid hearing about it. "It scared me. So I quit." I gaped at him.
"But you were shaping up to have a Hall of Fame career," I said, shocked. He shrugged.
"Well, I'd really like to have a reasonable amount of mobility and brain function rather than a place in Canton," he said. "The team doctor supported my decision to quit. So that was that. And now I'm looking into the business of being a sports agent. My agent took me under his wing. So here I am. In LA."
"What about your wife?" I asked. His face went blank.
"We never actually got married," he said after a moment. "Our engagement dragged on for a couple of years, then we came to a mutual decision to split up. It wasn't anybody's fault. I just didn't want to get married to her." Then he smiled. "Can I walk you to class?"
And he walked me thirty yards to the door of the Math Sciences Building.