Jay stared at him over the rim of her Ray-Bans, a leftover from a time when she hadn’t had to pay for her own accessories. “I took the train.”
He grimaced, and her defenses rose. “I like the trains in Europe. They’re nice, the seats are bigger than planes, and you see more.”
“They’re cheaper,” he added.
She sighed and dropped her gear at his feet.
He clasped a beefy hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It’s okay, Jay. It’s going to start getting better now.”
She shook her head. “Clay courts.”
“Des is good on clay. Besides, most of the field went to Morocco. There’s only sixteen teams in double draw here.”
“The purse is bigger there,” she said matter-of-factly.
“You’d never see a tenth of it.”
“Thanks.” She didn’t argue, but she didn’t appreciate him stating the obvious.
“You’ve got a shot to get to the middle rounds here, Jay.”
She shrugged.
“Fine,” he said, “you don’t have to be happy about everything. You’re here. That’s half the battle won.”
“Nothing’s won,” she grumbled, “and I’m only half the team. I would’ve thought the Larsen women would beat me to the court this morning.”
Hank nodded grimly. “Me too.”
“Please tell me this kid isn’t a diva.”
“She’s not,” he said quickly. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s stubborn and driven, and she’s got very high standards. Also a bit of a temper.”
“Yeah, doesn’t sound like a diva at all,” Jay agreed facetiously. She still had time to run, to pull the plug on this whole little experience. She could still withdraw from the doubles field with no penalty. While the idea helped her feel a little more in control, it was a false hope. She needed the money. It was as simple as that.
She heard the gate open behind her and turned to see Sadie smiling brightly at her. Today she wore a white polo and navy shorts that didn’t cover even a quarter of her shapely legs. Her dark curls fell down across her shoulders, but not one of them dared obscure her perfect face. She seemed smooth, classy, and classically beautiful. Jay’s chest tightened pleasantly, and she had to admit, if only to herself, maybe things weren’t quite as simple as her budget might suggest.
“What’s she doing here?” Destiny asked.
Both the question and the incredulous tone in which it was delivered jolted Jay out of her stupor.
“I told you I wanted you to work out with an old doubles player of mine,” Hank said casually.
Des wheeled on her mom. “Did you know about this?”
“Well, yes,” Sadie said guiltily.
“Wait a second,” Jay cut in. “You didn’t know about this little plan?”
“No,” Destiny said flatly, then turned to her mother. “What the fuck?”
“Language,” Sadie said sharply.
“No. I’m actually with her on this,” Jay said. “What the actual fuck? You came to my hotel room asking me to play doubles with her and—”
“You went to her hotel room?” Destiny jumped back in. “God, Mom, did anyone see you?”
“No,” Sadie said.
“Wait. You’re more upset about her being seen with me than about her lying to you?”
“Yes,” Destiny said, folding her arms across her chest. “I don’t want her alone with you.”
Jay stepped into Destiny’s personal space, their chests almost touching, and stared up into eyes so much colder than her mother’s. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hey,” Hank shouted, thrusting a shoulder between them. “Knock it off. Both of you. You’re professional athletes, not a pair of middle school girls.”
“She’s not far off from being a middle school girl,” Jay grumbled, but she stepped back.
“Look,” Hank said more calmly. “You two don’t have to like each other. You don’t have to hang out together. You don’t have to talk about anything other than tennis, but you need each other right now. There’s no use pretending otherwise.”
Destiny shook her head. “I don’t need this. I’m not working out with her again.”
“No,” Sadie said firmly. “You’re not. You’re playing doubles with her starting in three days.”
“Mom,” Destiny said, eyes wide with disbelief, “I’m not.”
“You are. Hank got you a wild card entry. It’s already decided.”
“You can’t make me play with someone I don’t want to play with,” Destiny said through clenched teeth. “I’m a professional tennis player.”
“And I’m still your mother. It’s still my job to make sure you’re on the right track, and not throwing away opportunities. It’s my job to make sure you don’t let a temper tantrum get in the way of your future. And it’s my job to put your rusty ass back on a plane to the United States if, for one minute, you make me believe you’re not mature enough to handle the conflicts inherent in the path you’ve chosen.”
“Whoa,” Jay said, not sure if she should be terrified or turned on by the display of force.
“And you.” Sadie wheeled on her, and Jay’s internal warning scales tipped heavily toward the side of terrified. “I did not ask you to play with her so that you could antagonize my child. There are plenty of other pros out there, and a lot of them are faring much better in the standings right now. I chose you because I thought you’d be a role model, a leader, a calming influence for a young woman who’s struggling on and off the court.”
Sadie stepped closer, the smell of sunscreen and tangerine filling Jay’s senses. “I came to you because of the sensitivity and understanding you showed us in Charleston. I trusted you with the most precious thing in my life because I thought you were a better person than a player. It would break my heart to find out you aren’t.”
“Ouch,” Jay said, all the teasing gone out of her voice. She would’ve given a kidney to trade disappointed Sadie for angry tennis mom. Her chest couldn’t handle the pressure crushing it right now. She barely knew this woman. Sadie had no right to push her around. Jay didn’t owe her or her daughter anything. Maybe a stronger person would’ve told her so, but whether it was a weakness, or the sneaking suspicion that Sadie’s assessment of her behavior might be accurate, she didn’t want to ever again be the cause of the sadness clouding those espresso eyes. “Okay.”
“Okay what?” Sadie asked.
“Okay, I’ll try,” Jay said with a nod, as she tried to regain some hint of professionalism amid her swirling emotions. “Point taken. I’m committed to one tournament. I’m ready to practice whenever Destiny is.”
They all turned to the girl, whose jaw remained clenched so tightly even her ears appeared tense. Jay felt torn between wanting her to blow her top so they could all just go home, and wishing she would pull her shit together so they could get to work.
Finally, Destiny rolled her eyes. “Sure, whatever.”
Sadie opened her mouth, but Hank raised a hand. “I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you go relax, or shop, or drink some hard liquor.”
Jay forced a smile. “If you choose option three, save some for me.”
Sadie shook her head, but Jay thought she might have seen the corners of her mouth turn up slightly as she walked away.
Jay turned to Destiny and shrugged. “Looks like we’re in this together. Might as well make the best of it, right?”
“I’ve never played doubles before,” Destiny said flatly. “And I don’t want to do so now.”
Jay laughed. “Well, at least we can agree on that last part.”
“Guys,” Hank pleaded.
She slapped him on the shoulder as she turned toward the court. “No worries, big guy. Des and I just found some common ground. We’re bonding. Consider our mutual displeasure the first aspect of team-building.”
★ ★ ★
“Oh, this is not going well,” Sadie said, fighting the urge to cover her eyes.
“They aren�
�t losing . . . yet,” Hank said, not managing to hide a grimace. “They had a rough start, but they’re back on serve.”
“They just ran into each other.” Sadie whimpered as she watched Jay limp across the clay, dragging the foot that Destiny had just landed on after going up for a high lob.
“They’re in the second round.”
“Only because their first-round team had to forfeit.”
“Sometimes you catch a break,” Hank said, then added, “and sometimes your partner breaks your foot. You just hope it all comes out in the wash.”
Sadie sat on her hands to keep from biting her nails as Jay and Destiny dropped another game. “Did we make the right call?”
“Do you want $3,000?” Hank asked dryly.
She elbowed him in the side. “I didn’t mean financially. I mean for Des mentally, emotionally. I wanted to push her out of her comfort zone a little, but I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of the whole tennis world.”
He made a big show of looking around slowly. “What’s that? I can hardly hear you over the crowd.”
She sighed. So maybe they were two of only ten people in the stands, which appeared to be the metal bleachers cast off when the local high school went out of business. “You know what I mean. I wanted playing doubles to build her confidence instead of knocking her down another notch.”
“Maybe she needs to be knocked down a few pegs,” Hank said, as he applauded the first point they’d scored in a while. “You know I’d never want to do anything to kill her drive, but she’s not Superwoman. She needs to make adjustments, and she can’t control everything. The sooner she learns that, the happier she’ll be.”
“I don’t know,” Sadie worried aloud.
“Of course you don’t. You’re just like her.”
“What?” She turned to stare at him, but his eyes remained focused on the court.
“Watch this,” he muttered, as Jay surged so close to the net she almost fell over it, then holding her racket straight up and down, waited for the ball to strike before she flipped her wrist to the side. The ball struck the court in the doubles alley and spun like a dreidel. “Atta girl, Jay.”
“Can we go back to the part where I’m controlling?”
He grinned. “It’s not always a bad thing. You got them both on the court. The whole mom meltdown during practice was glorious.”
“I didn’t melt down.”
“You threatened to put your daughter’s rusty ass back on a plane.” He chuckled. “Then you almost made Jay cry. Seriously, I’ve only ever seen her cry once.”
Sadie’s throat tightened. “Who made her cry?”
He shifted from one butt cheek to the other on the aluminum bench and cleared his throat. “It was a long time ago, but the point is, you’re used to getting what you want every bit as much as Des, and that’s why they’re out there, but you can’t control the game for them.”
Another shot lobbed over Destiny’s head and dropped right on the baseline while both Destiny and Jay stood at the net watching it.
“That was Des’s ball,” Hank said, but Jay didn’t so much as look at her. She just fished another ball from under the hem of her black lycra shorts and bounced it back to Des.
“Des is trying to play full court tennis. She doesn’t trust Jay yet, so she’s still playing singles in her mind.”
“They’ve only been playing together for four days,” Sadie said defensively. “I’m sure Jay hasn’t been flawless in the transition either.”
“She was born to play doubles,” Hank replied almost wistfully. “She’s a little rusty with her lateral movements, but her only real mistake so far has been expecting Des to be where she’s supposed to be.”
Sadie’s shoulders tightened. “Well, Des made it to the second round in the singles, and Jay didn’t. Maybe she’s fresher. Maybe I should talk to the scheduler.”
He nudged her shoulder with his own. “Yeah, you’re not controlling at all.”
“I’m not. I just want Destiny to have a fair shot.” Another ball whizzed past Destiny, who was standing too close to the middle of the court to cover the extra ground the doubles court offered.
“Tennis is as fair as anything else in life,” Hank said. “You have to let her experience all of it. She might learn some lessons about letting go and trusting the people around her. Hell, you might, too.”
She bristled at the comment. “I don’t think—”
“Shhh,” he scolded. “Des is about to get broken.”
“I’m watching,” Sadie said, not at all appreciative of being shushed like a child. “I can do that and talk at the same time.”
“Well, stop and watch Jay instead of Des.”
She clamped down her instinct to argue. As Des reached the baseline and tossed a ball in the air, Sadie turned her attention to Jay. Her muscles flexed, from her biceps all the way to her calves. Sweat glistened on her skin as a subtle shift of her feet stirred a cloud of red dust. She went up on her toes, then pivoted to the forehand side, slid a half step back and rocked forward as the ball came back to her. She laced a forehand down the line, but before it had even landed she’d backpedaled two steps, then planting her feet, pushed up into the air, racket arm extended to catch a high lob. She came down with the force of a volleyball player spiking the ball so hard it smashed into the court and then bounced completely into the stands.
Sadie applauded the play instinctually, but Jay didn’t even give so much as a fist pump. Sadie looked back at her daughter to see her still standing on the baseline, racket lowered, her mouth pressed into a tight line.
Her chest constricted. Jay was carrying Destiny, and now they all knew it. She’d become almost superhuman, her feet moving as constantly as a tap dancer’s, while Destiny sank further into her frustration. What’s more, she didn’t seem to appreciate Jay’s caliber of play so much as resent it. No high fives, no huddling together between plays, not even a smile. Sadie sighed. Whatever was bothering her daughter clearly went beyond her Herculean desire to win.
★ ★ ★
Jay rolled out her stiff shoulders under the warm spray of the locker room showers. Adding doubles matches and practices to her singles load had started to take a toll on her muscles a few days ago, but now she worried the cost of that extra exertion showed to the people in the crowd. And there had been a bit of a crowd at their match today, at least relatively speaking. Doubles never drew the attention singles did, but after they’d scraped out their last match to reach the quarterfinals, a few more people took notice. Amid the handful of local fans, she’d also seen a few players and coaches in the bleachers today. She’d noticed a handful of reporters, too.
She’d managed to keep from obsessing about them during the match because she’d had her hands full trying to cover her ground and half of Destiny’s without making it clear she had to carry the kid, but had her forced casualness fooled the press? Had they taken note of the chill between the two of them? Maybe the contrast wouldn’t have been so stark if they hadn’t been playing Peggy and Carla today. Those two felt like a sorority and a cheerleading squad gave birth to twins and handed them tennis rackets. Between the high fives and hand signals and calling out secret code words, Jay couldn’t tell if they were playing tennis or running a covert, synchronized dance squad.
She blew a spray of water away from her mouth and rolled her neck. Good thing she didn’t want to play doubles long-term, or she might find herself wishing for a connection like that. Instead she appreciated Destiny’s cold shoulder to a certain extent because it meant there’d be no risk of falling into that sort of camaraderie accidently. She didn’t even mind that her hug with Peggy at the net after the match offered more affection than she’d gotten from her own partner all afternoon. She would’ve welcomed a bit more communication from Des when the tide had turned against them in the third set, but if they were striking a delicate balance between winning and professional distance, they hadn’t done a terrible job in their first tournament.
Quarterfinalist.
She tried not to let the semantics warm her as she turned off the shower and stepped out of the steam. Still, she hadn’t had that word used to describe her in years. Sure, they’d been lucky in the first round, but in the second, she’d played her ass off. And even today they’d forced a third set. But then again, it was a weak field.
She laughed aloud at the war raging inside her between hope and realism. She didn’t want to get too excited, but she hadn’t had anything to be proud of in a long time, and at least this little accomplishment came with a nice paycheck. Even when she and Destiny split the pot, she’d have an extra two grand to help her get through to the French Open. There was nothing wrong with feeling a little relief about that.
Wrapping a towel around her waist, she wandered back to her locker, only to find Sadie leaning against it, in capri pants and a carob-colored sweater that almost exactly matched her eyes. Her eyebrows shot up as they fell on Jay, then trained on the floor, making Jay immediately wish she’d fastened the towel a little higher.
“Jay,” Sadie said, her voice a little higher than usual. “I didn’t expect you to still be, umm, well . . .”
“Naked?” Jay offered.
“I was going to go with ‘in the shower,’ but yes. That, too.”
“I like long showers,” Jay said, then felt kind of stupid for not having a better comeback.
“You certainly earned one this week. You worked double time on an already frantic practice schedule. I hope you know I appreciate your commitment.”
Jay shrugged and pulled on the first T-shirt she grabbed, not even bothering with a bra. “It’s part of the job.”
“Hank assures me everything will get easier once you two get used to playing with each other.”
She snorted. “Well played, Tennis Mom. I see what you did there.”
“What?” Sadie asked innocently.
“I agreed to one tournament. To earn one check. I made good on my word.”
“You did,” Sadie said, clasping a hand gently around her right biceps. “Thank you.”
The touch sent Jay’s nerve endings into overdrive. “You’re welcome.”
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