Chapter 5

The sound of his phone dragged Gordon out of a groggy sleep. The first day in months, maybe years, when he hadn't set an alarm and his phone had to ring right through the middle of his much needed rest. The shrill tone sawed through his head and he screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the sound.

It didn't work.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the ringing cut out. His head was pounding and his throat felt curiously sticky. The relief was short lived though as the phone started up again, each electronic trill stabbing into his brain like hot needles. He fumbled for the device and blearily read the name on the screen.

Dad

He half threw, half dropped the device back onto the tiny bedside unit that was mostly taken up by a half empty bottle of something local. He wasn't too sure what the bottle contained, the only recognisable part of the label was an obscenely high ABV rating. His head was telling him clearly that whatever was in the bottle it was a mistake he didn't want to repeat any time soon.

The ringtone was replaced with the bleep of an incoming message. Gordon made a second fumble for the device to read the text.

Dad: Call me in the next 3 minutes or I'm contacting security to look for you

Gordon looked at the time on his phone and sat up in a rush. A sickening wave washed over him, partly from the realisation that he was late meeting his family and partly the after effects of whatever it was he had been drinking the previous night.

Recollections of the previous night's festivities came back in a hazy swirl. Both the swimming and gymnastics events had reached their conclusion and the two contingents had come together to celebrate their medal haul. Both squads had achieved glittering success. Someone had ventured out into the wider city and come back supplied with a selection of drinks, one of which Gordon had evidently liberated and brought back to his room. The coaches had turned a blind eye to the celebrations which had carried on into the early hours.

The bed covers next to him rustled exposing a mass of raven curls. A finger was trailed down his chest and dark eyes blinked at him sleepily.

"What's the matter, babe? Come back here and keep me warm."

The realisation that he wasn't alone snapped Gordon's senses back into action. Tempting as it was to just sink back onto the narrow bed and curl up with whoever had found her way to his room Gordon knew better than to treat the message as an idle threat. In precisely 3 minutes his father would be at the security desk for the Athlete's Village and approximately 3 minutes after that one of the security personnel would come barging into his room.

At least he had made it back to his own room. Every room in the village was identical from the layout and furniture right through to the cheap print adorning the wall. Thankfully there were enough personal effects lying round that marked the space out as his own territory. The good luck card from Alan was in pride of place on the dresser, the grinning yellow smiley on the front a reminder of the blonde sibling who had become his biggest fan. The rather more sedate offerings from the rest of the family were arranged behind.

First things first though; he needed to buy some time. He picked his phone back up off the bedside unit and hit the speed dial button for his father. The call connected before the first ring had finished and Gordon winced slightly and the abruptness of the answer.

"Gordon, where are you? You were due out front ten minutes ago"

He tried to adopt a tone that suggested apologetic rather than hungover.

"Sorry Dad. I was in the shower and lost track of time."

There was a slight humpf down the line which showed his father was annoyed but not currently inclined to launch into a full blown reprimand for his lateness. Gordon knew he was pressing his luck but he ploughed on.

"Um, one of the coaches wants see me quickly before I head out. I'll only be another 20 minutes tops. I promise I'll be with you as soon as possible."

He closed the call before his father had time to protest. It didn't sit right to lie but he really needed to buy some time to shower for real. At least he now had 20 minutes to get everything sorted out but the clock was most definitely ticking. Crisis one was averted, or at least delayed.

He turned to his bedfellow. He didn't recognise her from swim camp so could only assume she was one of the gymnasts from the celebrations of the previous night. Finding her there was not a massive surprise, he had been to enough high level competitions to know that the concluding night often led to a release of tension and pent up adrenalin in more ways than one. The euphoria of success and, in the case of swimmers being in close proximity to barely covered bodies, led to various amounts of bed swapping once the medals were awarded. The coaches tended to turn a blind eye. It seemed like the gymnasts celebrated in a similar fashion.

"Mmm, a shower sounds good. I hear you're quite talented in the water." Her voice purred and the hand swirled lower down his chest. Gordon felt the rush of blood to his groin where it pooled in an embarrassing fashion.

Unlike the swimmers who tended to make their way back to their rooms of their own accord it seemed that the gymnasts, or at least this particular one, did not observe the same niceties. This was going to be awkward.

"Um, I've got to go and meet my family. You need to go."

"That's it, Gordon? You're just throwing me out?" Her tone had turned from sultry to venomous in an instant. She evidently knew his name but he couldn't honestly afford her the same courtesy. Sasha maybe, or perhaps Sarah, he really didn't know. The last he remembered he had been getting close to the guy who competed in the parallel bars who had arms to die for and abs like a rack of eggs. Evidently last night had taken a different course. He wondered what had happened and whether he still had a chance with Mr Parallel Bars later that night.

He hung his head slightly, wishing the pounding behind his eyes would just stop. "Look, I really need you to go. I wouldn't put it past my Dad to find his way up here and be waiting outside the door with a stopwatch."

The dark eyes narrowed slightly and the lithe figure unfolded herself from under the duvet. She was clad in a soft grey longline tee-shirt and Gordon got the distinct impression that was all she was wearing. She bent neatly at the middle to scoop up the remainder of her clothes without bending at the knee. The tee-shirt rode up, exposing a pair of pert buttocks directly in front of Gordon. Definitely a gymnast and definitely not wearing anything else. She slid on a pair of joggers and shoes, each movement was smooth and elegant to the extreme. She turned as she reached the door and the look she shot Gordon could have killed but he was deliberately facing away, not meeting her eye.

With the room now his own Gordon rushed to get ready. A quick dunk under the shower woke him up but couldn't wash away the pain of the hangover. At least the alcohol no longer seemed to be sweating out of his pores but he added a generous dab of cologne anyway. Fresh clothes followed. The celebration of the night before had evidently been rather heavy on the alcohol and the light through his window when he finally opened the curtains felt like it was burning his retinas. He dug through his kit bag and unearthed a battered pack of painkillers, a couple of tablets were thrown down his throat chased by a large glass of water.

His eyes swept the room. The Athletes' Village was meant to be off limits to anyone not competing but he wouldn't put it past his father to use his influence to get a pass. Alan was eager to take in every element of the experience and a visit to Gordon's room was probably on the kid's bucket list despite it looking like nothing more than the poor relation of a cheap hotel room. The bottle of liquor was moved to the bottom of his kit bag ready to be given away later, the churning feeling in his stomach left him sorely tempted to sign the pledge and vow himself to a future life of total sobriety.

A glint of foil wrappers in the waste bin caught his eye. At least him and his gymnast had played safe courtesy of the supplies left by the Olympic Committee in every room. Evidently the organisers of the Games were well aware of what athletes could get up to in their spare time with physical exertion not limited to the tracks and venues. He packaged up the detritus of his celebratory fumble to be disposed of in one of the bins well away from his room. Some parts of the Olympic experience did not need to be shared with little brothers, or the rest of his family for that matter.

He made a detour via the cafeteria to snag a carton of orange juice and a muesli bar from the breakfast buffet before heading for the exit of the Village. A pair of aviators shoved hastily over bleary eyes before he left the dim confines of the building completed his ensemble. Now he just needed to plaster on a cheery smile and get through a day with the family.

He really hoped the painkillers started to do their job soon.

xoxoxox

Jeff stood at the entrance to the Athlete's Village surrounded by four out of his five sons. The fifth was evidently still inside the compound and was running late.

The minutes ticked by.

Jeff Tracy was not a man who liked to be kept waiting. His elder sons had soon learnt that tardiness was a trait that did not go unpunished. Each in their turn had tested the limits to their father's patience and found that the line did not bend; lateness resulted in a swift loss of privileges. Having two phone calls divert to voicemail followed by the information that he was going to be kept waiting even longer would have seen Gordon grounded for at least a month had they been back at home. As it was, it was the last day of the family trip to the Games and the only one they would get to spend with Gordon so he gritted his teeth and locked the parental sternness deep inside.

It was Alan who spotted Gordon first, his eyes eagerly glued on the entrance door to Gordon's block. The teen throbbed with excitement at seeing his hero of the hour. If the family had hoped that a week of watching swimming, plus a few other events when Gordon wasn't competing, would dull the youth's enthusiasm they were sorely mistaken.

Gordon winced slightly as Alan barrelled up to him, nearly sending the orange juice flying.

"So, can I see it then?"

Gordon frowned slightly behind his shades. The kid was far too cheerful for this time of the morning.

"Nice to see you too Alan. Now, see what?"

"Your medal. You did bring it down, right?"

"Sorry. I didn't think carrying a hunk of gold around all day would be a good idea. It's in the safe in my room."

Alan's face fell. His brother had just won a real life gold medal and to hear he wasn't going to get a chance to see it was like finding out Christmas had been cancelled. You would have to have been of a different planet to not feel the disappointment radiating off him. Gordon's protective nature kicked in.

"Tell you what. I'll see if you can come up to my room later, before you go. I'll even let you wear it."

As though a switch had been flicked Alan was back into full blown excitable mode, flinging a barrage of questions at Gordon in between giving his own edited highlights of the trip. The energy radiated off him and Gordon tried to absorb some of the pure enthusiasm. Alan in a good mood could steamroller over any other emotions in the vicinity. He bounced. It was a trait that had pulled many a brother out of the depths of despondency in the past; none of them wanted to let the kid down. There was a natural instinct to protect their baby even if the baby was now shooting up in height and no longer the grubby toddler of the past.

By this point the others had started to congregate around Gordon, hanging back slightly until Alan had had his moment. The bond between the two youngest was clear to see and the elder siblings didn't want to intrude on the reunion. Alan looked up to Gordon with barely concealed adoration and Gordon had an attitude that was almost paternal to the younger boy.

Once Alan had paused for breath the others started stepping forward to offer their own congratulation in a mix of glowing words and hearty back slaps.

At last Jeff stepped forwards.

"You did good, Gordon. So, what did your coach have to say?"

Jeff's eyes were steely. Put on the spot Gordon dredged his mind for something convincing..

"He just wanted to let us know that there was no pool training for the rest of the games because water polo needs the slots but we still need to keep up with some gym work while we are here."

"And that took twenty minutes?" The tone was one of barely disguised scepticism, accompanied by a raised eyebrow, and Gordon squirmed slightly. He decided to change the subject.

"Oh. I just wanted to thank you guys for all coming. It really meant a lot to have you up there on the balcony for every race. How on earth did you manage to get the same seats every time? I thought the tickets were a random allocation."

"Not totally random." John spoke quietly from the back of the group. "The algorithms were pretty easy to figure out."

"You played the system?"

A nod and a slightly smug, self-satisfied smile.

For every single heat there had been a cluster of Tracys in the same place on the balcony. Left hand side, level with the end of the pool at the opposite end to the starting blocks. Knowing that they were all there to support him, in easy eye line from his starting position, had given Gordon strength before each race. No searching around needed, a quick glace up to the railing had been all he needed to help him get in the zone. To find out that John had manipulated the system to ensure they could always be found in those same seats meant a lot.

Seeing the family in those particular seats had an extra level of poignancy for Gordon. From his earliest days of swimming lessons those were the seats his mother had always sat in to watch his class, often with John in tow as he was too young to be left at home. As lessons progressed to competitions she had kept to the routine and always sought out those same seats until that fateful turning point in their lives when she couldn't. Evidently, under all the stresses of Harvard study, there was still a big brother that remembered those early days before Gordon had gained total mastery over the water and the reassurance he gained from knowing where to find a friendly face. It was a level of effort and consideration Gordon rarely encountered now from his plus one in the pecking order.

"Thanks John. I mean it."

"So what do you want to do now, golden boy? This is your day to celebrate although it looks like you might have done a bit of that already." Scott ruffled Gordon's hair in a way that did his tender head no favours. He had witnessed and partaken in his fair share of the morning after and Gordon's shades were fooling no one. Gold medal or not, Scott had no compunctions about throwing his younger sibling under the metaphorical bus. He received a scowl in return. To Gordon's eternal relief Jeff either didn't pick up on the comment or was choosing to ignore it; he was not in the mood to be bawled out for underage drinking and the hangover was proving punishment enough.

"Maybe just some sightseeing. I've really not had a chance to see anything of the complex. Oh, and I want to eat something without having to check if the micronutrients fit with my plan. You cannot believe how bored I am of protein shakes and vitamin drinks."

The family moved off. It might technically be Gordon's day but Jeff was undoubtedly the one they all deferred to. Each brother circled their father like moons around a planet. It had been so long since they were last all together.

Gordon was immensely grateful for Alan's presence. The excitable pup filled in any awkward silences and kept their father's direct attention off of Gordon. Even with the success of a gold medal win less than twenty-four hours behind him there was still an aura of disapproval at Gordon's temerity for keeping everyone waiting although this gradually dissipated as the day wore on.

Over lunch, a greasy burger of Gordon's choosing that was so far removed from his usual meal plan as to be from a different galaxy, Jeff sat back and watched his five sons. He couldn't remember the last time they were all in one room. Even Christmas was no longer a given what with Scott's Air Force commitments.

Age and circumstances had changed the dynamics but from oldest to youngest they were still brothers and the longer they spent in each other's company the more Jeff saw glimpses of the children he remembered. There was certainly more laughter than he had heard for a long time. Alan stayed firmly attached to Gordon as though the last few weeks without him had been an eternity.

None of them knew when next they would all be together again. The family would be flying home that night but Gordon needed to stay on a few more days until the closing ceremony. By the time he and the rest of Team USA returned Scott would be back with his squadron.

For a few rare hours there was no school, work or training making their competing demands. No business meeting. No classes. No Air Force issuing orders. Just a family together, albeit one not used to spending time together any more.

All too soon it was a family being ripped apart again by punishing schedules and varying commitments. As Gordon watched everyone head off to the airport without him the gut-wrenching pang of being an outsider hit him. He knew it was just circumstances that meant he was being left behind but for a moment he was left feeling very alone. He knew it was probably just exhaustion making him feel maudlin. He should be relishing the freedom of having a few days to himself rather than resenting his father for heading straight back to work. He shouldn't be feeling jealous of his brothers getting to spend time together without him. He shouldn't be worried if anyone was checking whether Alan was getting to bed at a reasonable time.

He headed back up to his room sorely tempted to drown his sorrows with the last of the liquor still hidden in his kit bag.