by Max Howell
“Yes, I realise that, and after all he is still a youngster. But I would like you to be his mentor, Terry. Would you coach him? I would bring him down from the country, six weeks a year. You could set his programme for the rest of the year, and maybe write to him to encourage him occasionally.”
“I would not be easy on him. I was not on Mark, as you of all people know.”
“I know what you are like, Terry, and if you decide that he is not conscientious enough, or if he does not want to continue his swimming, then we will agree to call it quits.”
“That is fair enough. But let us not plan too far ahead. As I said, my bones are starting to creak. Let us just plan a year at a time. Now where is this kid of yours? I better have a look at him.”
“He is surfing at the beach. I have not told him a thing about all this because I did not know whether you would even be here and I did not know whether you would agree.”
“I will probably be here till I die, and you know I would give my life for you and Mark. Listen, Faith, thanks for telling me your story. In a way it has restored my faith. I had just never seen anything like you two. It was a match made in heaven. At least I understand now, and I feel better for it … though I never will agree with what you did.”
“You don’t have to, Terry … it is done. I will talk to Murray, and if he agrees I will bring him over in the next hour. He may not want to train during his holidays.”
She kissed Terry, and hurried back to the beach. She nodded to Toch, and whispered to him that everything was all right. Then she went down to the edge of the surf until she attracted Murray’s attention. He caught a wave to the shore and then came running up to her.
“Ah, Mum, do I have to come out so soon?” he asked.
Faith laughed. “Listen, son, you can surf till your heart’s content. But your father and I have a surprise for you, and we want to talk to you about it.”
“A surprise? I like surprises, Mum, you know that. But just give it to me, you don’t have to talk about it.”
“This surprise is a little different. Come up and we will talk about it with your father.”
Murray followed his mother over the hot sand, and then they all sat down on the beach towels that Toch had arranged.
“A family talk,” grinned Faith. “Now we came to Sydney for a couple of reasons, Murray. We wanted you to see Grandma and Grandpa, and I wanted you and Toch to see the Sydney that I love. But your father and me had another reason.”
“Another reason? Oh, come off it, Mum. What other reason?”
“Well, Murray - we know you love swimming. We named you after Murray Rose, you know, one of Australia’s greatest swimmers.”
“I know, Mum, I know.”
“Well, when I was a little girl, which seems a hundred years ago, I got to know Terry Somerville. Now you don’t know him, but he coached Mark Jamieson, one of the greatest swimmers Australia ever had.”
“Mark Jamieson? Never heard of him, Mum. But I know Murray Rose, because you spoke about him, and John and Ilsa Konrads, and Dawn Fraser. But Mark Jamieson? Never heard of him, Mum.”
Faith shuddered a little. Fancy her son not knowing who his father was. But she had deliberately never mentioned his name. “Well, he won two gold medals, son, in the Melbourne Olympics, and he held the world’s sprint record.”
“Mark Jamieson. I will remember that, Mum, Mark Jamieson.”
“That is all right, son. It was before you were born. Anyhow, his coach was considered the best in Australia for sprinters at that time.”
“So what has all this got to do with me, Mum?”
“Well, I was not sure until I got here, but Mr. Somerville has agreed to coach you, but only if you want to.”
“Coach me? But I am in Casino, Mum, there is no way I would leave you and Dad.”
“You don’t have to. We would come here every Christmas, for six weeks, for his expert coaching. But it is only if you want to.”
“Do I want to? You are kidding, Mum, of course I want to.”
“Well, okay, but remember this. He is tough, and if you don’t give it everything and do what he says he simply will not have anything to do with you.”
“No fear of that, Mum.”
“I know that son, but he is a bit gruff and cranky, and he will not make life very easy for you.”
“I may be young, Mum, but I can handle it.”
“I know you can, son, I know you can. Let us go and meet him.”
“Now?”
Yes, he is just across the way, at the Coogee Aquarium Baths. He wants to see you now.”
“Oh Gawd, Mum, what will I say to him?”
“Not much, Murray. He will do all the talking, I am sure.”
The three of them walked over to the Baths, and were soon in Terry’s office. He got up slowly from his desk, and shook hands with Faith’s husband when she introduced him. He paid no attention to Murray.
“And this is my son Murray, Mr. Somerville.”
Terry looked at him with disdain. “Hmph!” he exclaimed. “Take off your shirt and sandals, and let us go into the pool.” As he looked at Murray, a thrill went through his body. My God, he looks so much like Mark, he thought.
Murray paled a little. Mum said he would be gruff, but he was downright unfriendly. I don’t know about this coaching business. Casino is not like this.
When they got to the pool, Terry said, in his harsh manner, “Swim a length, son – what is your name again?”
“Murray, sir, Murray Christensen.”
“Swim two lengths … slowly, and I mean slowly. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Okay, whatever your name is, in you go.”
Murray was relieved as he dived into the water. This way he was away from the man who had frightened him a little. The water relaxed him. He wanted to swim fast, to show the coach his speed. However he dipped his arm in the water, and pulled through the water slowly, kicking leisurely. He turned and pushed off, and then swam past Terry and his parents.
As he got closer, Terry turned to Faith. “I don’t believe it, he moves through the water like Mark. He just cuts through the water.”
“That is what I think, Terry. It is almost unreal.”
As Murray touched the end, he looked up. The expression on Terry’s face was one of complete disinterest.
“Okay, son, now down and back, as fast as you can go.”
Murray pushed off, determined to show this strange man what he could do.
Terry looked approvingly to Faith. “You have done a good job, Faith. He has the touch. It is all a question of what is in his head.”
As Murray blazed into the wall, he again looked up for encouragement, and all he saw was Terry’s impassive face. Terry said, curtly: “Out of the pool, son!” And he turned to Faith and Toch. “I want to talk to him -alone! I am not sure if I will take him!”
Faith and Toch looked at one another in disbelief, and Murray was visibly nervous as he walked off with Terry, who closed his door behind him.
“What was that all about?” said Toch. “I thought he agreed to take him?”
“He did, Toch, he did. He looks like an old grump at times, but he is a big softy, and a master psychologist. He knows what he is doing.”
In his office, Terry gestured for Murray to sit down, and threw him a towel.
He leaned back in his chair, and without changing expression surveyed the young boy. I’ve had one champion in my life-time, he thought, and this one has that same potential. It is incredible! And to think he is Mark’s son. The arms, the back, the legs, they were just like his father, yet the mother is definitely there as well. Incredible!
Terry took his time before saying anything, and Murray’s pulse started to race. He had never met anybody quite like this man. He realised that he was being studied, and he felt uncomfortable.
Finally, Terry spoke. “I have just got one question for you, son. How do you feel about swimming?”
“I l
ove it, sir. Ever since I can remember Mum had me in the water. I feel at home when I am swimming. But it is more than that, sir … I … I want to be the best. I want to be the best for my Mum and Dad, but I know that they would be happy whatever I did. I … I can’t explain it, but when I swim against somebody else I love it, and I just want to beat them.”
“Swimming isn’t everything, son, and if you work with me you had better do well at school. If I hear you’re not doing well at school you can forget about coming to me. Are you willing to work hard at school?”
The conversation was taking a strange tack for Murray. “I do all right in school, sir.”
“All right is not good enough for me, son. If I take you I want you to be the best, in the pool and outside the pool. I want to know if you have got what it takes. If I take you I won’t settle for second best and I will demand a lot of you. Can you handle that?”
“I … I will try.”
“And listen, son … call me sir or Mr. Somerville.”
“Yes sir.”
“So you want to give it a try?”
“Yes, sir”
“Okay, then we start to-morrow at 8 am and I don’t mean 8.02. Swimming is discipline! And I don’t want your mother bringing you either. You must learn to do things for yourself. So get here by yourself, tomorrow, at 8 o’clock. It will be an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon at 3 pm. The rest of the time you can surf. It is good for you, will toughen you up a bit, which you look like you need, and it is fun. But there is one other thing.”
“What’s that, sir.”
“You are on holidays, but as far as I am concerned, you are not. I want to see if you have the right attitude. I want you to study an hour a day, from 5 to 6.”
“But I did not bring any books.”
“Then I will talk to your mother and make sure she gets you some, and if you don’t keep up with them you are through. To be a good swimmer, as I said, you have to be disciplined. So are you with me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So to-morrow, at 8 am. And not 8.02.”
Murray walked out with Terry, somewhat relieved at what had happened. When they first walked into his office, Murray thought he was going to be told Terry would not handle him.
Terry then turned to Faith and Toch. “Well, we start to-morrow, at 8 o’clock, and I want him to come here and leave by himself. He needs to grow up, and there is another thing. Unless he studies an hour every day he can forget me looking after him, and he knows it. So get him some school books to-morrow. He starts studying to-morrow night.”
Terry turned on his heels, as if he had never met Faith.
Murray turned to his mother. “Whew, Mum, he is a tough old codger. I don’t think I’ll cross him if I can help it. He scares me, he really scares me. But you know something, Mum? I am going to show him I can take anything he can dish out, and a lot more.”
“All that is fine, Murray. But you must want to do all those things for yourself, not because of Mr. Somerville, or your father and I.”
“Don’t worry about that, Mum. I want to do it.”
As soon as they got home that night, Murray reminded his mother to get some school books the following day, and asked for an alarm clock so he could get up at 7 o’clock. “And Mum,” he said seriously,” I want to get there by myself. I watched how we got there and back to-day, and I can find my way all right. I want to show Mr. Somerville that I can do it. I will get something to eat when I come back, Mum.”
Toch and Faith were surprised how Murray had made a personal resolve to meet any challenge in this new situation. Toch had never seen Murray like this before, and neither had Faith, though she had seen that steely response before, many, many years ago. Like father, like son. She was secretly pleased. They had bred no ordinary son. He had that inner drive like his father, the stubbornness of his mother, and the independence of both. That first summer evoked all those characteristics in young Murray, and provided him with two purposes in life, his swimming and his school.
CHAPTER 12.
MURRAY TO THE UNITED STATES?
As the years went on Murray fulfilled all the hopes that Faith and Toch had for him. He grew tall and slim, with blonde hair and a tanned skin. He looked the emolument of health. He always topped his classes at Casino High School, where Faith drove him every day. From the age of twelve on he not only dominated the Country but the State Championships for his age, and when the National Schoolboys’ Championships began he soon showed he was a budding super-star. The first year the Australian Junior Open Championships were held, he won the 50 metres and 100 metres Championships. Training techniques had changed considerably over the years, for his times when he was 14 years of age surpassed those of Mark in the 1956 Olympic Games.
By the time he was 15 he was the Australian Open Champion, one of the youngest in Australia’s long swimming history. No longer was he frightened of his coach, they worked together as a team.
It was at this point Terry asked to see Faith. They had deliberately down-played their relationship, and Murray had no idea that Toch was not his father. Faith always accompanied Murray to Sydney for his coaching lessons from Terry, but stayed away from the Coogee Aquarium Baths.
When she walked into Terry’s office, they embraced each other warmly.
“He is a beauty, Faith.”
“I think so too, Terry.”
“Maybe he lacks a little bit of the brilliance of Mark, but he is every bit as determined. They both have that deep inner quality, which one cannot teach.”
“He wanted to show you he could do anything you set him. You scared him to death at first.”
Terry laughed. “You have to try a little psychology on the kids. It does not work for all of them, mind you. Many you never see again. But Murray? Just like his Dad. I could see his eyes narrow, even as a 10 year-old. You are right, he wanted to show me. But he had that self-discipline and pride, some have it, some do not. But few to the degree of Mark and Murray, and there is that little bit of you in there, a bit of stupidity and a lot of stubbornness.”
Now Faith laughed. “How did you ever notice that, Terry?”
“Huh!” snorted Terry. “Still think you were a bloody young fool.”
“Now Terry, do not start that again. I did not come here to listen to all that stuff again. By the way, what was I asked here for?”
“Yes, that is right, there is something I would like to talk to you about. It has to do with Murray.”
“That was easy enough to figure.”
“Now do not get smart, young lady. Don’t you have any respect for a person’s age?”
“You do not have to try to get on the good side of me. Come on, what is all this all about?”
“Well, young lady, I am getting on in years, a bit long in the tooth, as you can see, and when you get old occasionally a little senility sinks in and, when I am not watching the idiot box or some incompetent kids churning up and down the pool, well, I then start to do a little thinking. And I have been thinking a lot the last few years.”
“Terry, you are getting old. It takes you a long while to get to the point.”
“All right, all right, but do not hurry me, young lady, do not hurry me.”
“I wish I were still a young lady.”
“You are, by my standards, a real young chicken. But hold it, who is interrupting the story now?”
“All right, all right, to the point.”
“How do you feel about Mark?”
“Well do not tell me you got me here just to ask that? You of all people know how I feel, I loved him, I love him, and I always will love him. Are you happy now?”
“Take it easy, take it easy. As I said, I have been thinking the last few years.”
“And?”
“And? I have been thinking a lot about Mark. I kept writing to him over the years, I guess you thought I might, we were pretty close as you know.”
“How is he, Terry, oh, how is he?”
“He
still loves you, if that is what you mean. You were always the only one for him. He waited and waited for you, always hoped that you would come to him. He gave up six months ago, and got married.”
Faith’s heart sunk. “M … married?” Her hands shook.
“Hell, Faith, you got married. You never wrote him, what did you expect him to do? And he is in his mid-thirties, he is not the 20-year-old you and I remember.”
Faith sighed. “No, you are right. He has his own life to live. Like you said, I guess he waited long enough. But I have to be honest! It hurts to hear it!”
“I understand, I understand. But he still loves you, make no mistake about that.”
“How do you know?”
“I know, I just know, that is all. You two will love each other till you die. Bloody stupid young fools.”
“I know I will love him every day of my life.”
“All right, but that is not what I wanted to talk to you about. Mark is as you know the swim coach at the University of California, and he has been pretty successful. I have been thinking about Murray’s career. Well, I may as well come out with it, how about sending him to Mark?”
“What?” A shudder went through her body. “You cannot be serious?”
“Why not? Why not, Faith?”
“Oh, Terry, I cannot tell you how I felt when you said that. I felt the emotion go right through me. Send Murray to Mark? I just never thought of it.”
“Just think about it a while. How would Mark ever know? I would write to get Murray a scholarship. Hell, he has earned it, for his swimming and his work at school. Mind you, he has not even finished high school yet, and maybe he would not want to go overseas. But that is another matter. You would have to make up your mind also, and of course there is Toch to consider. You would have to ask him too. But think of it. Mark has not got a clue what happened to you, and he knows I would have told him about anything like this. All Mark will know is that there is an Australian champion, just like he was, though a country kid, coached by me, who wants a scholarship. His name is Murray Christensen from Casino. There is no connection. Mark has not got an inkling who you married, or where you live.”