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The moment Ted told her he was leaving, Rebecca was overcome with a sudden feeling of shock, not exactly like grief but strangely similar to the anticipation of it. The feeling stayed with her, seeping into her as she began to count down the days and hours until Ted would be gone. After she’d given her final goodbye, and stood, watching his plane take off, the feeling lingered. She knew that even though he was moving halfway across the world, they would always remain dear friends, but she also knew that from that moment, their friendship would never quite be the same again.
And it isn’t.
Ted doesn’t sit down each morning across from her at her desk after handing her a box of unimaginably delicious shortbread. The off-season has afforded her some space to pretend that he will again one day, once the team gets back at the end of summer, but she knows the truth. Those days are over.
But it isn’t only that he’s gone. Things have changed because Ted has changed. She senses it in his voice every time she calls him. For nearly three years, she’s come to know him better than she knows some of her oldest friends, but she’s also watched him undergo a transformation. He’s not the same man as when they met, and she’s not the same woman. They’re different now, because of their divorces and the team, because of Keeley, Roy, Leslie and countless others, but most of all they’re different because of each other.
And she’s no longer his boss. She’d thought it a small change at first—after all, she’s made a conscious effort to not treat him as her subordinate ever since that day at the end of their first season, when she came clean to him about what she’d done. In her mind, after that, they were equals. But she still had a club to run, and even when she managed to not let the prospect of victory or loss cloud her judgement, they were also colleagues. She never gave it much thought, but she knows now that she kept up a wall with him, even when she didn’t intend to. She knows because that wall is gone now.
***
The first time they talk after he’s left, it’s been nearly 24 hours since they parted ways at the airport. They Facetime in the afternoon—morning in Kansas—and Ted seems surprisingly well-rested considering his history with plane travel, no sign of jet lag in his expression.
She asks about Henry, about being back in the old house, about his flight and Michelle and the weather, and he answers every one of her questions with a calm, sort of pleased satisfaction. Henry’s doing great and was beyond thrilled to see him; the house is weird but good, the same but different; he slept through most of the flight and most of the night after it, even though Beard had leant him an interesting book he still wants to finish; Michelle seems good too, although he suspects she’s not entirely thrilled that her ex-husband is staying in the guest bedroom; and when he went out to the kitchen to make coffee this morning, the sun shone in through the curtains in that particularly way it always does in that very spot on cloudless mornings in late May. In short, he’s good. He’s going to be okay.
In turn, he asks her how she’s been doing, and she makes her big reveal, telling him all about how right after they’d said their goodbyes, she’d stumbled into her Amsterdam mystery man—who it turns out is named Matthijs—and went out to dinner with him and his daughter afterwards.
“And you got his number too this time?” he asks
“I did,” Rebecca replies.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that when he goes on to ask if she got the "other thing" too, it’s because Keeley tattled about what hadn’t happened on the houseboat.
“If you’re asking me if I got my brains fucked out, I’ll have you know, I did.”
Ted looks horrified and then chuckles, only a little bit stiltedly, and she laughs with him, pleased at having made him squirm a little for bringing it up in the first place.
“Well, you know I wouldn’t have put it like that. But, uh, yeah, I suppose that’s what I was getting at. That’s nice to hear. I don’t need any details or nothin’, but I’ll happily send you a virtual high-five if you don’t leave me hanging.”
“I’m not much of a high-fiver,” Rebecca replies, with the huffed remnants of a laugh. “But I suppose I’ll allow a virtual one.”
***
They call each other nearly every day, for quick chats and long, rambling conversations.
Ted’s still getting settled in his new-old life, and the few friends he’s kept in touch with back home are spending their summer out of town or wrapped up in work, so it seems he has more time to talk with her than ever. Since the Premier League season ended, Rebecca has some free time of her own for once. It’s only natural that they’d reach out for each other.
Rebecca’s taking things slow with her new boyfriend—a term she finds entirely too juvenile, but fling seems too dismissive and neither of them is anywhere near ready for partner. There’s almost something convenient about the fact that it’s long-distance, that the very reason she met him again in the first place is that he spends most of the summer in transit, never quite in a position to overwhelm her with a premature attempt at commitment. She’s not looking for casual anymore, but she has absolutely no problem with slow. There’s no hurry at all. Lightning will strike her in its own time.
Ted seems to be getting a little stir-crazy in his old house, and less than two weeks in, he sends her a few links to properties he’s considering. It’s all rather modest given what he must have saved up by now, even accounting for Henry’s college fund—Rebecca knows better than anyone how much money he's earned in the past few years—but he at least has the common sense to look at houses rather than flats. She tentatively offers her input as to why he should keep looking, and gets in the habit of keeping up with property listings to know what’s on the market, although it only takes her sending him one link to know they have different tastes. He may appreciate her help, but he’s not looking for a mansion, and Rebecca’s protestations that it’s a very affordable mansion won’t change his mind. Still, she’d prefer he not injure himself on a fixer-upper, and does what she can to guide him in a more sensible direction.
***
In her worry for what was to come, Rebecca must have imagined a million outcomes after Ted’s departure, but never once could she have predicted how quickly and easily she would come to view Michelle as a friend.
It all starts when Rebecca realises she has a six-day gap during the off-season. Most of the club staff are on holiday, she has no meetings lined up with any investors, and her pilot is off piloting, so she calls up Michelle, who seems happy to hear from her, albeit slightly confused as to why she called. They’ve barely interacted in all the time Ted’s worked in England, and as far as Rebecca recalls, she'd behaved like a bit of a bitch when she'd first met Michelle. Ted must have said some good things because Michelle just blithely greets her and asks how she’s doing.
Rebecca tells her that things are rather good, actually, only a little surprised by how much she means it. They chat politely for a bit before Rebecca gets up the courage to ask her what Ted’s plans are, if Michelle thinks it would be okay if Rebecca were to visit. She’d call Ted herself, only she thinks he’d like the surprise, but she doesn’t want to get in the way of his father-son bonding with Henry.
Michelle agrees immediately, excitedly, and tells her she’s sure it wouldn’t be a problem, that Henry will probably love it, that Ted has told her that Rebecca is great with kids, and Rebecca’s heart almost stops at those words. Rebecca can’t help but ask. “He did?”
Michelle replies that she and Ted have been catching up on each other’s lives after years of trying to keep the topic of conversation on the minutiae of transatlantic child-rearing and that he’s told her about the work Rebecca’s done for children’s charities.
Rebecca’s a little befuddled, so she asks Michelle again if she really thinks it would be okay if she came to Kansas, and Michelle confirms again, even offering Rebecca a place to stay on the pull-out couch in her office. Rebecca appreciates the offer, but still declines in favour of a hotel, not even because she’s never slept on a pull-out couch in her life and doubts she would in enjoy the experience, but because she knows Ted would insist she take the guest bedroom, and she doesn’t want his self-sacrificial nature to interfere with the fact that he finally seems to be getting some sleep.
***
Rebecca regrets the decision to surprise him as soon as she’s made it. What if she crosses an ocean to see him only to realise he didn’t want her there? But the moment he opens the door, the regret dissipates as she watches Ted’s expression turn from shock to awe to jubilation in a matter of seconds, not even managing a rhyming salutation before he pulls her into a hug.
“Hi, Ted,” Rebecca mutters into his neck, returning his bear hug with equal force, so glad to see him that she feels tears at the corner of her eyes. Their last goodbye had seemed at the time to be imbued with such a dreadful air of finality, but it’s only been a month, and now she feels silly for ever doubting for a second whether they’d meet again, that their bond is far stronger than the distance.
“So, boss,” Ted says. She doesn’t mind that the nickname has stuck—she’s caught on to the way he’s still coach to Beard, even though he’s yet to find new employment on this side of the pond, and she knows to take it as a compliment. “What do you wanna do?”
Ted suggests sight-seeing—insists there is such a thing in Wichita—but she’d rather tag along for whatever plans he and Henry already had in place, and Henry, who’s been politely sitting on the couch waiting for his dad to get back to their game of FIFA tells her that they were going to look at a house. Ted hasn't shared any new listings so she’s surprised but too curious to do anything but accept the offer to join them.
The house is a little bit perfect.
It’s a lovely brick building, slightly small for her own taste, but much larger than most of his initial considerations, situated in a charming neighbourhood only a short drive away from Michelle’s home. There’s a bright living room on the ground floor that leads into a spacious kitchen with all the necessary appliances and a view of a gorgeous little garden with a beautiful bed of flowers and enough lawn space for Henry to play on. Ted says as much, and Rebecca can see it in his eyes.
“You’re really considering this, aren’t you?” she asks.
He nods. “Michelle finally got tenure, so she’ll be staying put for a while, and even if it means having a bit of a commute, I wanna stay close to the neighbourhood.”
Henry seems to be pleased with the house as well, already exploring. “Where’s my room?” he asks, running up the stairs without waiting for an answer.
Ted chuckles a little at that, but doesn’t go up after him right away.
“Seems you’ve been doing well,” Rebecca says. “Not that I was expecting you to crumble in my absence or for you and Michelle to be at each other’s throats, but… you seem happy.”
Ted looks up the staircase, maybe trying to see if Henry can hear them, and then turns back to her. “The craziest thing happened the day I came back. Michelle had just broken it off with Dr. Jake, and we were all having such a good time together, sharing a meal as a family. After we’d tucked Henry in, we stayed up a bit just to watch TV. It felt like no time had passed at all since I first moved to Richmond. Well, anyway, I told her goodnight, that I loved her, not because I still want her, but because she’s family. And she said it back. It was the first time I’d heard her say “I love you” in years, but I knew she meant it the way I’ve come to mean it. Everything finally felt like it was going back to the way it used to be… but it felt like it was over too. And I’ve felt that before—known on some level—but I know now. Only, as long as I stay there, I’m not letting go. I’m just playing house. I think if I get a place, not to rent on a temporary basis but to buy, to stay in, maybe then I’ll finally start to feel like I’m moving forward.”
“It’s always difficult, saying goodbye,” Rebecca says. She thinks she understands on some level. “But sometimes an ending can be an opportunity for a new beginning too.”
Ted smiles and nods. “Guess you’ve got a point there, Boss.”
When they get upstairs, Rebecca stops in her tracks. “Are there four bedrooms?”
“I thought about what you said,” Ted says instead of confirming what she’s now sure is true.
“About how you’re rich enough to get a mansion?” She’d hardly say this qualifies.
Ted shakes his head. “About how I’ve got enough saved up to get some more space. I wanted a room for myself and one for Henry, a place for Beard to stay when he visits… but I realised I need more room than that, for any other guests who might pop in on occasion. For you.”
Rebecca’s not sure what to say to that, but luckily Henry’s voice cuts through the silence as he points down in the garden through the window.
“Look dad! There’s a trampoline! You have to get this place.”
“Well, actually bud, that belongs to the previous— ouch!” Ted shuts up when Rebecca gives him a soft shove at his side.
“I’ll buy him a trampoline if you want this place,” she mutters. “Don’t let that be what deters you. Not if you think this could be your new home.”
“I uh, I think it could,” Ted says, a little hesitantly, but then a smile spreads across his face, turning into the big goober grin she knows and loves as he watches Henry curiously inspect the garden from the window and then looking back up at them both with a smile he clearly inherited from his father.
***
To say that Rebecca helps Ted make pizza rolls after they get home from their outing would perhaps be to slightly exaggerate her involvement in the process, but she stays with him in the kitchen throughout, holding up her end of the conversation, filling him in on what he might’ve missed in the past month.
When the rolls are in the oven, Michelle comes home with groceries, offering Rebecca a cup of tea, and presenting the precious package of Twinings like some exotic gift. Rebecca in turn, insists on displaying her sole culinary skill by pouring them each a cup, and they both chuckle when Ted doesn’t bother hiding his disapproval. Michelle may not be the right wife for Ted, but Rebecca’s found that she rather likes her as a friend, even if Michelle is looking between her and Ted like she’s trying to solve a puzzle.
As soon as what Ted insists is one of his culinary masterpieces are done, he heads for Henry’s room to share the good news, and Michelle leans into her, almost whispering as she asks “You’re really just friends, aren’t you?”
“What?” Rebecca asks a little too loudly, eyes going a bit wide as she struggles to keep from spitting out her tea.
Michelle looks embarrassed. “Gosh, I’m sorry. I know you’re seeing someone. I just thought… I know Ted’s close friendships are closer than most, but… I mean, from the way you talk about it, you’ve barely had any free time all season, and you chose to spend your few precious days of vacation to come all this way.”
Rebecca thinks about it; it’s not a ridiculous thought. She loves Ted more than she’s loved most people she’s ever known, including most of the men she’s slept with, let alone dated. And he’s perfectly eligible, not to mention more than acceptable in the bedroom if Sassy is to be believed. Perhaps she would have considered it under different circumstances. Perhaps if she hadn’t hired him under false pretences or if he’d been single when she did; perhaps if when they’d met, she’d been over Rupert and he’d been over Michelle; perhaps if she hadn’t always known deep down that she would never leave England and that he could never stay. Perhaps then, but not now, not in this universe. She supposes that ought to upset her—that she’s found someone who could’ve been her soulmate in another life, but didn’t get to have him. But she does have him, in every way that matters. He may have moved an ocean away, but he’s still her Ted, working to make room for her in the life he’s building here. She’ll leave again soon, but she’ll be back soon enough as well.
“Yes,” Rebecca finally replies, unable to keep the smile off her face. “We’re just friends.”