Pol Robinson - Open Water

by Pol Robinson

“What the hell was that about?” Sarah stepped close to Cass, her usually friendly face suffused with red, her eyes tense and angry.

  “It’s my job to get the boat out of the water with you, not hers.” Cass was still smarting from Laura’s question about her leg. Her damned leg. What made it worse was the knowledge that if Coach had asked for that last run down the course, Cass wasn’t one hundred percent certain she could have done it, despite saying that she could. That knowledge, added to Laura’s tone, pushed Cass over the edge.

  “I know it’s your job. It’s my job too. I’m tired, you’re tired. I figured if we had someone here who wasn’t, she could do some of the lifting.” Sarah backed up a step, staring at Cass. She glanced quickly down at Cass’s scarred leg and back up again. “You think it’s because you were hurt before? Because of what Laura said earlier?”

  “Well, I—”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake! Laura pissed you off and you’re mad at me?” Sarah shook her head. “Nice, Cass. Fine. Jenny, you and superwoman here can lift the damned boat out of the water and I’ll take the oars in.” Sarah held out her hand for Jenny’s towel, her movements jerky and tense.

  Jenny moved to the edge of the dock nearest the stern, resting her hands on her knees, waiting for Cass to give the command to lift the boat.

  Cass scrubbed her face with her hands, frustrated with herself. Shit. Shitshitshitshit. Fix this, Cass, and right now. She stepped forward, her hand halfway to Sarah’s shoulder before she let it drop to her side. “Sarah. Stop.”

  Sarah turned, her eyes still angry, her freckles standing out on her sunburned face. She said nothing, simply stood waiting for Cass to continue.

  “I’m sorry.” Cass slid her team cap off her head, letting her hair fall out of its holder and onto her shoulders. She scratched her head, relieving the itch that always started when she took off her hat. She was stalling and she knew it. “I’m sorry, really. I guess I’m...” She shrugged. “I am a bit sensitive about the leg and yeah, I let Laura get to me just now.” Hat back on her head, she lifted her gaze from the dock to Sarah’s face. “You haven’t asked, nobody has. I appreciate that. It took me a long time to get back into shape and I’m there, but sometimes...” She shrugged. “I get tired of feeling like I have to prove something, you know?”

  “What the hell could you have to prove, Cass? You’re here, in Beijing, getting ready for the Olympics!” Sarah shook her head, her blond ponytail whipping back and forth. “Jeez Cass, give yourself a bit of a break, okay? And maybe some of the rest of us, too.”

  Cass nodded, hoping she’d made it okay for both of them.

  Sarah leaned on the oars for a moment, her expression thoughtful. Cass had opened the topic and if there was any hope of them doing well as a team they had to trust each other. “Will you tell me about it? Sometime?”

  “I don’t know if I...I don’t like to talk about it, really.”

  “Will you at least tell me if it gives you trouble? I need to know Cass, just like you need to know when I’m tired, or hurting. We’re a team. Okay?”

  Nodding slowly, Cass kept her eyes on Sarah’s. There was no judgment there, no pity. Only concern. It’s not always about you, Cass. “Yeah, okay, I get it.” She shifted, her back and legs sore from their workout. “So, in the interest of teamwork, I’m going to confess. I hurt like hell. Can we go back to your original idea?”

  “Sure.” A smile lit Sarah’s face and she poked Cass in the shoulder. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Sarah chuckled as Cass grimaced and moved aside. Together she and Jenny emptied the shell of the water bottles and sweatshirts she and Cass had used during their training runs.

  Cass stepped aside with the oars, automatically checking the edges of the blades to be sure they hadn’t been damaged during their use today. She grabbed the towel Jenny tossed her way and finished the job of wiping down the sixteen-foot shafts and blades. The dock rocked slightly as Sarah and Jenny lifted the light scull out of the water and up over their heads, Sarah’s commands audible only to the three of them. Cass caught Sarah’s Gatorade bottle as it dropped out of the overturned craft, stuffing it into the bag she had left on the dock earlier.

  Cass turned as the sound of the coach’s launch puttering through the soft current as it drew near the permanent dock farther down the shore caught her attention. She stopped, the sixteen-foot oars balanced on her shoulders, and rested against the dock piling as she watched Laura maneuver the boat into position. Great stroke or not, Laura had a chip on her shoulder and apparently a large one where Cass was concerned. Whatever’s eating her is not my problem. Focus on what you came here to do. She glanced again at Laura as the team’s captain secured the launch. The setting sun, already tinged orange by the thickness of the Beijing air, burnished Laura’s hair to an enticing, fire-lit auburn and highlighted her tanned physique. The view was...mouth-watering, if you didn’t have to think of the personality that went with the body. Too bad. With a small sigh, Cass shifted the oars slightly and, tightening her grip on her and Sarah’s bags, strode up the dock toward the boathouse.

  Chapter Ten

  “So, you’re the gal who’s gonna help my little girl’s boat win, eh?” John Sullivan grinned as he shook Cass’s hand. His grip was as solid as he was, his fingers warm and dry as they enveloped Cass’s. He squeezed once, gently, then let go to wrap his arm around Sarah.

  “I’ll do my best, sir,” Cass answered with a smile.

  “Oh, Dad. Cut it out.” Sarah nudged her dad’s shoulder as she reached out and pulled her partner Pam over. “You’re gonna make Pam feel bad.”

  John immediately moved around Sarah to wrap Pam in a gentle but sincere hug. “C’mon, Sarah, our Pammie knows I love her to bits. Bad luck, this injury.” He kept one arm around Pam as he pulled Sarah back to his side. “Couldn’t be prouder of my two girls here.”

  Cass laughed along with the rest as John steered the large party into the restaurant. He’d swept into the village yesterday, the unspoken leader of the group of parents and family who had traveled to Beijing to support the team. Within hours of his arrival, big John Sullivan had organized a “team and family” dinner at a nearby restaurant and declared the next night a night off for all and sundry. Cass could see where Sarah got the sparkle in her eyes, though she was certain her teammate’s calm demeanor came from her mother. Carol Sullivan was quiet where her husband was loud. She’d come in, quietly following in his wake, and introduced herself, then promptly taken over the organizing duties. She was also, Cass discovered, a hard woman to say no to.

  Cass’s first instinct had been to decline the Sullivans’ invitation, not wanting to intrude on any family time. She’d quickly learned, however, that to John Sullivan, “family” was a term for which he had his own definition. Cass followed the long line of her teammates through the large restaurant and into the back room John had reserved. Carol Sullivan was waving for them to sit where they wished, and Cass watched, wanting to be careful not to sit between family members. She didn’t have any family coming to the Games and she wanted to be sure her teammates got to sit with their loved ones. When the dust settled, she found herself at the far end of a long table. She took one of the last empty seats and settled in, leaning over to hear what Jan, the number seven rower of the long boat, was saying. The noise was too great, and she just waved Jan off with a smile and instead concentrated on her menu.

  “Ah, sorry. Are you saving this?”

  Cass looked up to find Laura standing uncertainly behind the only remaining empty chair in the room. She hadn’t seen Laura since their encounter on the water yesterday afternoon, and Cass flashed back suddenly to the embarrassment and anger she’d felt when Laura had eyed her injured leg. She felt her temper rise before she clamped down firmly. Now wasn’t the time or place and she struggled to rein in her feelings. Of course the only empty seat in the room is next to me, she seethed.

  Something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face, because Laura took a step back and
looked around the room for another place. “Never mind, I’ll—”

  “No.” Cass reached out and pulled the empty chair back in invitation. “No. I’m sorry. Sit here.”

  “If you’re saving it—”

  “I’m not.” It wouldn’t kill her to have Laura sit next to her; it wasn’t like she had to make conversation with the woman, after all. Cass turned back to Jan only to find Jan still engrossed in conversation with her brothers about the events they planned to see. She opened up her menu to distract herself and realized that everything was printed in, as was to be expected, Chinese. Cass sighed. She glanced at Laura out of the corner of her eye and saw that Laura, too, was sitting and staring uncomprehendingly down at her menu. Not talking with anyone else, not even really listening to the surrounding chatter. Just staring down. Cass sighed again. This was ridiculous.

  “Hey, Laura,” Cass began, determined to make an effort. “I, ah, wanted to say thanks for picking me up at the airport last week.” She shrugged. “I know it’s a bit late, but—”

  “No problem. Coach asked me to.” Laura’s tone was dismissive.

  The silence grew between them and Cass found herself determined to break it. She was getting nothing but “leave me alone” vibes from this woman, but something in her just wouldn’t let it be. She gestured toward the menu. “Got any ideas?”

  Laura barely looked up at her. “For what?”

  It was like pulling teeth. “Dinner.” Cass wiggled the menu. “Unless you can read Chinese, I’m stumped as to what to order.”

  Before Laura could speak, John Sullivan stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention for just a moment?” He waited for the general hubbub to die down. “I just wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight. I know we’re a big crowd in this small room, but we’re also a big family, and I wanted to start us all off right.” He looked around the room again, his gaze resting for a moment on Sarah and Pam, then on his wife, and finally on Cass. “We’ve got some new members of the family to welcome, so don’t be shy and make sure you say hello if you don’t know someone.” He gave Cass the barest of winks. “I know some of you have family still coming in, so I was thinking we might squeeze in one more of these shindigs just before the regatta, if we can get Coach, here, to agree. Whaddya say?”

  Everyone applauded and Sheila stood up to shake John’s hand. “Who can say no to Big John, eh?” she asked the room with a forbearing grin.

  “Terrific!” John raised his glass high and offered a brief toast. “To the U.S. Women’s Squad. Tear ’em up, girls!”

  A chorus of “Hear, hear!” followed his salute and Cass took a long drink of her ice water, appreciating the cold as it washed down her dry throat.

  John waved for attention again, lifting his menu high. “I know this menu is hard to read, so I have some help for us.”

  At his signal a tall man stepped up beside him and began to explain, by number, each item on the menu, making Cass’s decision for dinner much easier. She leaned back in her chair with a sigh of relief, her shoulder accidentally brushing Laura’s. “Oh, sorry.”

  Laura’s voice was pitched low to cut through the noise in the room. “Not a problem.” She paused for a long moment and then offered, “Look, I want to apologize for yesterday.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? Because...well, I was rude.”

  Cass tipped her head. “Yeah, you were, but...well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t strike me as the type to realize that.”

  Laura’s tiny smile was so small that Cass almost missed it. “I had some help.”

  “Oh.”

  “Anyway,” Laura turned to face Cass. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

  Cass studied the woman seated next to her. Laura was, for the first time, attempting a civil conversation. As she met Laura’s eyes, she felt again that same frission of excitement that she’d felt at the airport and again on the water before...well, before Laura had spoken. She wondered if Laura felt it too. Cass finally nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it. I...well, I was probably a bit hypersensitive, too, so…” She shrugged. “No hard feelings.”

  Laura didn’t respond, but she didn’t entirely shut Cass out either. She turned back to her menu and Cass felt there was less tension between them. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Suddenly Cass was glad that the only empty seat available had been next to hers.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Watch that leg extension, Crosby. You don’t want to push that knee too hard. We have another week before the heats begin.”

  Coach Sheila made her way around the gym, speaking to each woman working her sets on the machines. Coming upon Amy, Sheila smiled. Amy did not row, she called the rate of speed and kept the boat on track and in line, all crucial to the success of the crew. Despite not being a rower on her team, Amy could be found wherever the team was, and right now she was spotting Cass as Cass lifted weights. Sheila was glad to see Amy had taken Cass under her wing; she had known pairing them up as roommates would be a good idea. Coming into an established team was hard enough; coming into one just six weeks before the Olympics was darned near impossible.

  So far, Cass’s maturity had been a benefit; she’d navigated the tricky “getting to know you” waters well enough, especially considering her rocky start with Laura. The other members of the squad had taken to Cass readily enough, especially after watching her determined effort to mesh with her doubles partner. Sarah in particular had warmly welcomed Cass, taking her skill and competence as a sign that her own run of bad luck had changed.

  Sheila had been worried about how Sarah would adapt to rowing with someone new. The injured doubles team member, Pam, was not only Sarah’s rowing partner, but her girlfriend. It took time to build a rapport between two rowers, to know each other’s rhythms. Six weeks wasn’t enough time by anyone’s stretch of imagination to build a dynamic and functioning team. Sheila watched as Cass changed weight sets, and opened her mouth to comment, only to stop when she saw Sarah reach over, making an adjustment to Cass’s hand position. As she made a note on her clipboard, Sheila thought again of the injury that had brought Cass to the team. Gail Kennedy’s fall on the team’s off day and subsequent rock climbing related muscle tear had killed her boat’s chances at a medal, and more importantly to the coach, had shown Sheila that Gail was not committed to the team’s success. Cass, Sheila realized, was an entirely different story. No, she needn’t have worried. Sarah and Cass were blending their styles well and beginning to anticipate each other’s moves. Three weeks of intense, focused practice together had smoothed out their rough edges, once again giving Sheila hope of the doubles team performing credibly at this regatta.

  Sheila watched Cass finish her set and then set up to spot Amy, Sarah at her side watching them both. Seeing Cass’s eyes follow another rower as she made her way across the room Sheila followed Cass’s gaze and spotted Laura adjusting the settings of the gym’s stationary bike. Truth be told, it was Laura who’d found the key to making the combination of Sarah and Cass work. With Laura as the stroke for the eight and captain of the squad, Sheila relied a great deal on her, and she had not let her down. She worked incredibly hard, was focused and was in top shape.

  As if she knew Sheila was thinking of her, Laura glanced up and caught her eye. She gave the coach a brief nod and, barely sparing a glance around the gym for the rest of her team, continued her solo workout.

  Of course she’s working out alone...I don’t think I’ve ever seen her spend one-on-one time with anyone.

  Sheila knew Laura’s story; any coach worth her salt knew what made her athletes tick...or not. While she appreciated the work and results she got from Laura’s dedication, it would be nice to see her lose a little of her intense focus once in a while. Glancing back at the look on Cass’s face as she distractedly listened to Amy’s chatter, Sheila paused. She again followed the line of Cass’s gaze and saw the newest squad member’s focus completely on her most r
eticent team member. Stepping backward, she lifted her clipboard and made a few more notes, all the while watching the one-sided communication before her. Finally, she handed her instructions to an assistant and left the gym, wondering if Cass Flynn might not be just what Laura needed to move on.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hey, shove over, will you?”

  Cass nodded and slid deeper into the booth as Sarah waved her girlfriend Pam onto the padded bench then squeezed in next to her. Cass shifted over, careful not to jar Pam’s arm where it rested in its sling. Across from them, Amy, Kim and Ellie crowded into the booth, leaving Jan to pull a chair up to the end of the table, waving over the waitress as she did so.

  “Anyone mind if I order for us?”

  A chorus of no’s followed and Jan ordered drinks for everyone with an aplomb Cass envied. She glanced around the booth, a bit surprised to find herself crowded into a strange restaurant with newfound friends. When Amy had pulled her out of the gym, she had expected it would be just the two of them touring the city. To her surprise several of the women from the eight had joined them, and Cass found herself part of an excited, chattering group of women. Shifting again to give more room to the others, she considered again how she fit with the group. She’d never been the one in the booth with a gang, she’d always either been the waitress or the person walking past the window. On the outside looking in. Being a part of the group inside was a new thing. A good thing.

  “So,” said Jan after the waitress left them. “What’s next for us?”

  “Amy’s in charge.” Kim slid the bowl of fried noodles closer and began to munch.

  “Me? Who made me the tour guide?”

  “Oh, come on, Ames. You’ve been in charge of this little party since this morning. So,” she echoed Jan. “What’s next?”

  “Don’t know. Depends on what Jan’s ordered us for food.”