7.807 miles apart

The Phone Call

Seven thousand eight hundred and seven miles.

That's exactly how far away Henry was from Alex right at this moment. Of course, they were used to long distance, what with the four thousand miles that usually separated them. But this time it felt different.

This time it was Different!

This time, Henry wasn't lying in his king sized bed, in Kensington Palace with David watching Bake-off. This time, Alex couldn't call him up to talk for an hour or two while he was supposed to studying. No, this time Henry lying on a hard - as - rock mattress on the bottom bunk in one of the many bunk-beds crowding one of the many U.K. army camps in Afghanistan. Alex wasn't in Washington this time either, no, he was in Texas, running around, busy as a bee trying to do his own thing in favour of his mother campaign; running for the second time for president of the United States of America!

They thought this was going to be the hardest part of the summer, being apart, not being able to meet because Alex was busy running his mother's campaign in Texas. They never thought that the war between the U.K. and Afghanistan would be what was keeping them apart. It wasn't like the war was a surprise or anything. No, the war had been going on for a while actually. What was a surprise though, was Henry being sent to the army and subsequently to the war, without even having a say in the matter. His Grandfather, the King isn't the most accepting person, on the contrary, he is what you'd call 'close-minded', 'stuck-in-his-ways'. Henry knew he and his older brother would disapprove of most of his life choices, especially pursuing a relationship with the first son; "Princes aren't allowed to be gay!" But, he never thought they would go as far as sending him to the army, against his will, the moment they found out about his forbidden relations with Alex.

The date is June 4, the weather in both parts in the world was hot and dry. Alex was used to it, Henry not so much. They haven't talked to each other for two weeks, not since Henry's last night in London, and they haven't seen each other for over a month, not since Alex had to leave for Texas for his mother's campaign. Still, it would be quite a while until they'd be able to talk again, and a whole lot more 'till they'd be able to see each other again. Of course there was the 30 second phone call Henry got to make to his family the moment they got to base, before his phone got taken away. Well, Henry would have preferred that phone call to have been to Alex, and it would have been, were they engaged, married or his grandfather approved of their relationship. However, they both had to settle to Bea being the messenger, the connecting line between the two estranged lovers. Henry having her promise him that she would Alex the minute they hang up (the phone) and Alex waiting anxiously for Bea to call and tell him that Henry had arrived and was safe and sound, while he also got Bea to promise him, actually more swear to him, to call back with any news she had about Henry at all times.

But right now, at this moment, one lying awake in a small bed, the other running around exhausted in a campaign centre, both 8.000 miles away from each other, had one thing in common, they were both dreaming of the day they would finally get to talk and see each other again.