Chasing Dreams, Year Two

by Shawn Keys

  Cadence’s lips tugged into a new grin. “Oh yeah. This is going to be a lot of fun.”

  Chapter 3

  Keeping with their efforts to maintain some modicum of discretion with their relationship, Evelyn went into the stadium quite a bit earlier than the others. This suited the training regime Daniel had established. Both Cadence and MK both carried out a morning workout which he joined more often than not. Like most involved in corporate business, Evelyn was already at the office and engaged with her portfolio by the time the rest of them were eating their post-exercise breakfast.

  Once ready, the trio bustled into one of their cars and car-pooled into the stadium or over to whatever training venue they had managed to secure for the day. Keeping personal and professional sides of their lives separated required some sacrifice. To avoid any favoritism, they had to compete and bid for stadium time right along with everyone else. The decisions on the schedule were made by the stadium manager, not Evelyn.

  They still ended up with stadium time more often than others. Many of the better funded coaches had access to sports complexes and facilities that catered to their rich clientele. They bought time at the stadium to familiarize their athletes with the main facility in which they would compete but spent the bulk of their time in more private locations. For Daniel and his athletes, living with Evelyn put them closer to Foster Stadium than any other sporting complex. With Evelyn footing the bill, affording the expensive training hours wasn’t a burden, so there was no real reason to look elsewhere unless they were frozen out by others. That didn’t happen often, since sharing the large field was quite possible and didn’t impinge on Daniel’s ability to train his only two athletes on their events.

  On that Monday, they had the stadium all to themselves. It wasn’t an accident that this was the day Irène would be joining their team for the first time. Daniel had wanted a private day so that Cadence and MK could welcome her into the daily rhythm, except for their pre-breakfast routine which happened back at the mansion. Especially Cadence, who would be sharing her sport with the other woman as well as her time.

  The three of them crossed the parking lot and used the normal entrance left open for athletes and staff. Daniel wondered idly if Evelyn still left the ‘hidden’ entrance open. The side door with the broken latch had been a well-kept secret, deliberately left unresolved for years. It had been a sort of test to discover prospective, impoverished athletes who were so desperate that they would sneak onto the field to get a little late-night training time because they couldn’t afford to book time through official means. He hadn’t had reason to use it since they had all gone ‘respectable’ and gained Evelyn’s total support. He wondered if there were others who were taking advantage of that old tradition.

  Shaking that off for the piece of trivia that it was, he concentrated on the upcoming events of the day. It was going to be a long one, though not necessarily a bad one. Irène was a friend, so he didn’t expect any hardships with blending her into the team. She was also a dedicated worker, according to Matteo, so he didn’t expect to have challenges motivating her. Her grandparents were escorting her into the stadium that morning to talk over the terms of their agreement, but his own personal interactions with them at a few random social events had always been cordial. They seemed like nice people. Lastly, he knew there was going to be a meeting with the sports commission around noon. He had no firm idea why the meeting had been called, but he hadn’t heard any rumors that would greatly interfere with he or his team’s future.

  All in all, a busy day but nothing that seemed overtly negative about it. It was the sort of day that gave him purpose.

  Bounding up the wide set of stairs onto the athlete level with their equipment bags, they made for the corridor that led out onto the central field. It wasn’t long before they caught sight of Irène and her two elderly guardians waiting near the corridor’s entrance.

  Always her cheerful self, Irène dropped her own bag and flew into a hug with Cadence. Their good spirits spilled over quickly into being shared with MK. The three of them started talking energetically about what the rest of the day was going to entail.

  With that sense of camaraderie already well underway, Daniel was fairly certain nothing about the arrangements with Irène’s grandparents was going to change her being included on the team. “Why don’t you all head down onto the field and get warmed up. I’m just going to talk with Phillip and Henrietta. Then I’ll be right down.”

  Cadence fixed him with a firm glare. “Don’t screw this up. I want my friend around.” Flashing him an impish wink, she grabbed her gear and headed for the changing rooms. Irène trailed right behind, waving goodbye to her grandparents as if the deal had already been struck. MK strolled behind them, more restrained but somewhat amused by the two carrying on.

  Daniel lingered a moment, watching Cadence advance down the corridor. He loved seeing her happy. If nothing else, going through the effort of teaching these other women was worth it for that effect. When he had first started coaching Cadence, he had feared she would miss out on the camaraderie of a real team. MK’s arrival had given her a steady companion with equivalent focus and drive. Irène was now adding a bit of friendly competition; already good friends, he hoped they would be able to push each other without any bitterness emerging between them. They could celebrate each other’s victories and brighten their training by adding fun into the mix.

  He turned to face Irène’s grandparents. The two had been her guardians since the death of her parents some time ago. He didn’t know the specifics behind that, not being close enough friends with Irène to pry. Cadence had mentioned it a couple times, giving him the impression that there had been an illness of some kind. A difficult thing; Portesara’s health care system wasn’t horrible, but it had a lot of challenges in funding and the constant threat of tropical weather and poverty exacerbated certain diseases.

  Phillip Minot had always come off to Daniel as a stable, dependable man, though he didn’t strike Daniel as rigid. He smiled amiably enough as Irène pranced off. Beside him, Henrietta had scooped her husband’s arm into the crook of her elbow and was watching her granddaughter recede into the stadium with a fond expression.

  It was Henrietta that spoke first, “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you agreeing to look after her, Mr. Toussaint.” No matter how often he or anyone else asked her to use their first names, nor how insistent she was that they use hers, the traditional woman never ventured beyond her formal modes of address.

  “I was honestly just thinking about how good she is going to be for Cadence,” Daniel admitted. “Life’s usually better on a team, so long as they all get along.”

  Phillip’s lips pressed firmly together, his whole face tightening as he went to war with himself over what he was going to say next. Seeming slightly embarrassed, he spoke past his grimace, “Need to talk on the subject of money. Newspapers talking a lot about you. Figure with only two other athletes, you must be pretty exclusive.”

  He paused for a breath. Normally, Daniel respected his elders and his manners told him that the man had more to say. But he didn’t want to force the clearly-proud man to admit to hardship when it wasn’t necessary. To that end, he jumped in, “Not asking for any money, Sir.” Phillip had long ago asked him to use his first name, but this time he used the honorific, feeling it suited the moment.

  That brought out a grumpy scowl on Phillip’s face, though it wasn’t wholly displeasure. A thread of relief was mixed in there somewhere, stripping away a little fear that he would have to tell his granddaughter ‘no’ because he couldn’t afford Daniel.

  His wife’s eyes merely widened in surprise. She asked, “Are you doing this as a favor to Mr. Jaquet?”

  Daniel chuckled at the memory. “I actually made it pretty clear to him that I wasn’t going to hold any debt over his head. No, Ma’am. He convinced me that Irène needs help to reach her dream and that she has the conviction to do it. Portesara needs athletes like her. On top of
that, she’s Cadence’s friend. Not sure she’d ever forgive me if I didn’t do everything I could to help out.”

  Mulling over whether to say more, Daniel decided it had to be said. “I also know how things played out with Gregoire. That was hard on Irène. She lost a lot of trust. I get why she went back to Matteo. And I know why Matteo came to me. He thinks I can help with Irène. I want to believe I can build her trust back up. I won’t cut and run on her. And I’m going to devote as much time as needed for her to realize her potential. I don’t need money to convince me to do any of that.”

  “A man needs something to live on,” Phillip argued.

  “Got enough for that,” Daniel answered, avoiding any of the delicate details. “Don’t need to gouge any money out of you. Simply by her being on my team and upping my numbers to three, the government might offer me a stipend that will see me through. Which means, her presence is a gift enough. With a larger team, they might also boost my training budget. That means Irène will get better support, but so will Cadence and MK. That’s more than enough to be thankful for.” He shrugged. “It’s not my place to offer you two advice, but if I may? Whatever you would have spent on hiring me, use it to make sure Irène has the best equipment you can afford. Government stipends are never enough to outfit an athlete like they need to be. And as much as we want these contests to be about the physical skill, we all know that top end athletes get sponsors who then give them the best of everything. That can be the edge they need. If you want to invest in something? Invest in Irène. Don’t let it be the equipment that stops her from succeeding.”

  “This is all mighty generous of you, Daniel,” Phillip grumbled. “You say you aren’t looking for anything out of this, but you got our thanks. I’m afraid that’s non-negotiable.”

  Liking the man’s humor, Daniel nodded. “I’ll try to be worthy of it. Like I said, all I’m asking is that you stand behind Irène. It’s going to be tough for her in the coming months. So far, everything has been sunshine and roses. Open invitations to Nationals. Encouraging wide competition to get everyone excited. That’s great, but it’s the time of hope. Once we start getting into international competitions, things are going to get tighter. She’s going to need your strength.”

  “She’ll have it,” Henrietta affirmed.

  “Good to know.” He tilted his head in a polite bow. “Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to get down there and get them all started for the day. You two already have my number. Anything you need or any troubles you have, don’t hesitate to call.”

  Phillip tipped his wide-brimmed hat in answering respect. “Same goes for you, Daniel. Not sure what we can do, but if we can help Irène or the others working with her, you let us know.”

  Parting from them with a wave, Daniel made his way down the corridor. Helping people felt good, and he couldn’t deny the pleasant rush from knowing he had made their day a little lighter. Seemed to him that if anyone deserved a break, it was a nice couple like that who had taken their grandkid in after a tragedy and are trying to do right by her.

  Arriving at the field, he saw that the three women hadn’t been goofing off. They had their equipment out; MK had put five of the ten hurdles in place, and Cadence was working with Irène to get the cross-bar in place for a 3.0 meter warm-up jump.

  Daniel paused to gauge what would be the right way to approach them. Wasting time as never a good idea, but there was a fine line between wasting time and getting used to a new situation. It wasn’t only Irène. Cadence had never had a training partner before. MK was a little more isolated; there was less of a chance that her routine was going to be impacted. Still, even she would have to get used to the idea that another of Cadence’s close friends had shown up, one that shared the same sport. It would be easy enough for her to feel like she was on the outskirts of the team, now.

  It was up to Daniel to make sure that didn’t happen. He was there to offer his expertise and keep them on track. But that didn’t mean it had to be all about going flat-out. That could be destructive. They needed to peak right before a competition in good spirits. Those good spirits might be best served by giving them this first day to figure out how they were going to work together. Let their friendships settle their own way into being partnerships. He could step in if things didn’t go smoothly.

  For that reason, he called out, “Looks like you three are getting things sorted. Why don’t you finish setting up, then run through some light exercises? Have some fun. I have to head over to this meeting.”

  All three gave him an easy acknowledgement. They were already talking and getting back to work. If he had never come out of the corridor, they might never have noticed he wasn’t there. Granted, they were probably only going to get half as much done because he wasn’t there to run their drills and keep their heads in the game, but that was the point. Easy first day. Then, start accelerating and never stop until they were primed for the next event.

  Leaving them to it, he pivoted back on his own path and headed for the car.

  * * *

  Unlike the last time Daniel had been allowed into an announcement by the sporting commission, they weren’t gathered in the press gallery. No reporters were present. Only other coaches. The room was still an auditorium, but it was meant to be a meeting venue.

  Catching sight of Gordon and Matteo, Daniel shuffled over and sank into a seat next to them. The atmosphere over the room was a tad grim, and the pair of coaches were sitting in what he would call a stony silence. “This doesn’t look good.”

  “Hey, Daniel.” Gordon stabbed an accusing finger down at the empty lectern at the focal point of the room’s semi-circular set-up. “Nothing good ever comes when the grown-ups in the room don’t dare show their faces until the meeting starts.”

  Glancing around at the long faces of the other coaches, Daniel said, “I feel like I’ve missed the memo.”

  “Bah,” Matteo grunted. “Maybe we’re all sheep. One coach comes in with a bad attitude, and the rest have been echoing it ever since.” He didn’t sound like he really believed that. “I shouldn’t even be here now that Irène is training with you.”

  “Stick around,” Daniel said with a chuckle. “Turn in your coach’s badge after. If you end up advising students and such coming up through the system, you’re going to want to know what’s going on.”

  “Here they come now,” Matteo whispered. “Too late to sneak out.”

  On the stage, the familiar faces of Mr. Guy Lafont and the administrative heads of the sporting commission filed into the room. Though Daniel didn’t think of Guy as a bad sort, he had always thought of the man as a little overly officious, bending too easily to the way the winds were blowing and quick to cover his ass rather than put it out on the line. He brought his staff out with him during announcements like this to make it very clear it was a group decision, and that he was not to be fully blamed.

  Despite those shortcomings, Guy didn’t mind being center stage. As long as he felt like he had government support and the proper administrative ammunition, he could face down a roomful of rabid monkeys if he had to. “Good afternoon, everyone. This shouldn’t take long. We’ll have you all out of here before your lunch gets cold.”

  The brittle atmosphere in the room didn’t embrace his modest levity. A coach that Daniel recognized as the head of the team ‘the Moreauders’, Simon Moreau spoke out with brusque impatience, “Are you here to reverse the decision of the commission from last year? Are the Olympics out of reach again?”

  Guy jumped on the rumor and stifled it. “I’m sorry to hear that this is what you were assuming when we called this meeting. I know that must have worried a lot of you. That is not the case. Portesara still has a viable path to the Olympics.”

  The careful phrasing wasn’t lost on anyone in the room. Guy might have diminished the flames of discontent a little but hadn’t fully smothered them. Cynthia Varneau, the coach of the most prestigious swimming team in the country, picked apart his diplomatic words. “Last ye
ar before Nationals, you said we were going. Nothing about a ‘viable’ path. Viable doesn’t mean alive. It means ‘possible’.”

  “Not possible, Mrs. Varneau. Probable,” Guy insisted.

  Gordon called out, “What changed?”

  As Guy’s eyes wandered up to find Gordon, they passed over Daniel. They hung on him for a little too long. Before he said anything more, Daniel already knew what the official was going to say. He spelled it out anyway, “The irregularities surrounding Nationals last year caused some concern. The International Association of Athletics Federations, the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace and a few other international bodies have communicated with us to express their apprehension. We signaled our readiness to rejoin the world on the stage of competitive athletics, only for controversy to strike us yet again.”

  All around the room, uncomfortable glances flew Daniel’s way. Even if not everyone knew the whole story, the arrest and conviction of Gregoire for attempted murder was common news.

  Deciding it was on him to object to having his issues spatter on everyone else, Daniel objected, “Those were the actions of a single man with an out-of-control ego. They can’t see his crimes as indicative of our whole country’s policies.”

  Guy measured him silently for a second, unknown calculations running through his brain. Eventually, he decided on saying, “If his actions were in isolation, you’d be right. If we were from a larger country where we weren’t so interconnected, you might be right. But following only months after the invitation for us to send a delegation to Cape Town, it looked bad. It made us look like amateurs who were reaching too far and too fast.”

  “So that’s it?” Cynthia asked, angry enough to spit.

  “No. As I said, our path remains open. They just want us to slow down and prove ourselves when the stakes aren’t quite so high.” Guy took a deep breath, knowing he was about to make the room explode. “We will not be able to attend the World Championships this year.”