Chasing Dreams, Year Two

by Shawn Keys

  Matteo nodded.

  “Good.” Azélie continued, “Don’t forget about that. Talked to Flora about building a bigger team, yet?”

  Matteo shrugged. “Not really. Might have been mentioned once or twice as a flight of fancy. Didn’t want to get pushy about it until I knew I had a couple prospects to offer them.”

  “Alright. I know a couple businesses around these parts that might want to advertise using your team. Some diving shops. Whale watching tours. Companies that wouldn’t mind linking with swimmers. Not any big names, but I can make up for it with a volume of small ones. See if we can’t get some interest circulating.” Azélie considered him carefully. “What about the commission?”

  “What about it?”

  “From what Flora told me, getting the commission to let the team in was difficult. You said something similar when you sat down.”

  “Yeah. That’s true.”

  “What’s going to happen when you go to expand the team? If they balked at four athletes, what are they going to say to six or eight?”

  “Frankly, that one’s of the reasons I was pushing for them to send 35 instead of 30. They’re going to need the extra room.”

  “Dangerous game.”

  “Yeah, well. If it falls through, we haven’t lost anything.”

  Azélie eyed him. “They’ll need to do better than fifth in a couple of those events if you expect to exert that amount of pressure.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” Matteo grimaced. “Not much can be done now. Up to the team now. All we can do is be ready to spin whatever fabric they give us into gold.”

  “Make a fairy tale come true, huh?” Her intense-blue eyes watched him for any sign of concern.

  He did his best to look confident they were on the right path. “Figure if I’m going to have to bet on someone, might as well be these four. They’ve got the spirit. The drive. The talent. If anyone can get it done, it’ll be them.”

  * * *

  Daniel watched Cadence and MK huddle around Irène, speaking low, goading her on with all the encouragement they could. For her part, Irène was bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking fierce and ready.

  Beside Daniel, Eugene Vanier was setting his stopwatch with a look of honest satisfaction. “Have to say, I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far. When you came up with this whole idea, I honestly thought your student here would be scraping the bottom of the stats and hauling herself over the minimum standard line.”

  “Seriously?” Daniel tried to sound more confident than he was. Irène had put her heart and soul into the training, but cooking her into a fully-functioning heptathlete in such a short time-span was a long-shot, especially after the tragedy of her grandparents. He knew Irène needed more time to develop than she had. She wasn’t half the contender she would be given another year or two of training. He wished he had double that before the next Olympics.

  Yet, he was pleasantly aware that in the last few days, her confidence had begun to soar. He felt like she was coming into her own. What had been a winged prayer was becoming a true vision that she could pursue. He didn’t know where she had gotten that burst of confidence, but it had certainly helped overcome her last, lingering doubts as to whether she was ready.

  Not that he was going to let Eugene know about any of her struggles. He reinforced the appearance of supreme confidence on his face and said, “Never had a doubt, myself. She took a little longer to come around to shotput than I would have liked, but it turned out just fine.”

  “Better than fine,” Eugune affirmed. “I mean, 922 points isn’t going to set any records, but the average is 918 to make the 6420 minimum. Shotput isn’t even weighing her down.”

  “Only one event to go,” Daniel added, though they all knew that. Cadence and MK were trying to psych Irène up for that last one. He knew Evelyn was at her office windows watching as well. This was the final trial. Eugene had given Irène a fair break. He had even come two days in a row, allowing her to do all the events in the proper order with decent breaks between them. She wasn’t going to get a better chance than this. “What does she need?”

  “Well, I have her scored at 5,534. That means she needs 886 to hit the qualifying standard for the Olympics. That means… she needs to come in under 2:18 for the 800-meter to make good on that.”

  “She can do that,” Daniel said, more to himself than for any need to sell the judge on it. She can do this. She really can. He remembered the moment he had stood on the line at the Games and convinced himself that he could do it. It was all about the mindset. That was the key. Aloud, he called out, “You got this, Irène!”

  The small huddle broke apart a little, and she smiled back at him, leaving no doubt that she was prepared. Cadence gave her one last pat on the shoulder. MK kissed her on the cheek before trotting away.

  One of Daniel’s eyebrows rose at that. It was the latest in a series of other small hints he had noticed between the two of them. Are they more than friends now? Is that the change in her? He smiled. Irène had suffered enough. Having a relationship with a great woman like MK would be… well, a delightful evolution. A bright spot in that young woman’s life when she could really use one.

  Leaving the mystery for another time, he called out, “Get on your starting mark, Irène. Take your time. Signal when you’re ready.”

  She waved, not sparing any words as she found her spot. While she could have started in any of the eight lanes, she picked the inner one, seeing no reason to make it harder on herself. The inner lane was given to the highest seed for a reason.

  Cadence and MK made their way over to where Daniel was standing, falling in beside him to watch. He asked, “She’s good?”

  “That smile goes all the way to the bone,” Cadence confirmed with one of her own.

  MK nodded as well, half-hidden affection lurking behind her expression. “She’s ready to rock and roll, Coach.”

  Daniel glanced over at Eugene. “Then whenever you’re ready.”

  The country’s head referee nodded, then called out, “On the mark! Set… bang!” His voice wasn’t quite the crack of a pistol, but he managed to get an impressive volume out of it.

  Irène had followed him through the countdown. She set off at a good pace. The 800-meter didn’t demand the same type of strategy as the 1500-meter Daniel had trained for. You still had to conserve energy for the final sprint, but the pace was a lot faster right from the start. She had to average somewhere around 20 to 25 kilometers per hour over the whole race to be in the right range.

  There wasn’t much else to do but watch and cheer as Irène chewed up the distance. She finished the first lap a little under the pace, but Daniel knew she would finish strong. She had begun her life as a vaulter; sprints and bursts of speed were more natural to her than the longer events. Fortunately, this was the only one that really required her to spread out her energy.

  Sure enough, she came around the last turn in the track and added a new level of speed. It wasn’t all she had left from this event. It was all she had after all the events. When she crossed the line, she wasn’t going to feel like she hadn’t tried her best.

  Eugene clicked the stopwatch as she went over. With a clear note of approval, he called out, “Two minutes, thirteen seconds!” Looking at Daniel, he added, “More than enough.”

  Whooping with joy, Cadence and MK took off after their teammate, mobbing her and hugging her.

  Before joining them, Daniel paused to shake hands with Eugene. “Thanks for your time. It means a lot.”

  “Glad we’re going to send someone to compete in this event. It was a great idea you had to get her onto the team. You’ve done a great job getting her ready. Maybe we could convince you to come over and train a few of our decathletes?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe someday. But for now, I’ve got my hands full with these three here. I’m taking them all the way, Eugene. I owe them that.”

  Eugene returned a respectful nod, then left to call the result
s in and make them official.

  Looking up, Daniel searched the windows of Evelyn’s office. He found her standing there clapping, even if it couldn’t be heard. She had evidently surmised by the elation of the three other women that Irène had made it. She caught sight of him staring up at her and gave him a thumbs up.

  Glancing around, and noticing no-one else around, he took the risk of pressing fingers to his lips and sent her a kiss. He thought he saw her purse her lips, air-kissing him in response.

  With that done, he strolled over to his celebrating trio. “Alright, alright, enough of that! You’d think we just flew to the moon or something.” He growled in the purposefully grouchy voice of a hard-nosed coach. But he hadn’t pulled it off all that well.

  Sure enough, MK snorted and Cadence jeered him while Irène laughed. Normally, they wouldn’t show him that much disrespect while training, but this was clearly a moment to relax.

  Daniel let them have their fun, then said, “Alright. The great news is that we’re all officially getting on that plane and heading for the FLGs in a few days. Cuba was fun, but it was still in the islands. Bordeaux is a whole different world. We’re going to have to focus, especially in the days between our arrival and our events. They’re going to want us to participate in the opening ceremonies. Marching in with the flag isn’t something we can miss since Portesara is trying to reestablish our reputation. They’ll want all the athletes together there.”

  “Who’s carrying the flag?”

  “Valerie Durand and Edmond Gauthier.” He waited while they all nodded and accepted that as expected. Those two were the female and male national champions for the 100-meter sprint, and they had performed well at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Neither had taken a medal, but they had both made it to the finals along with the biggest names in the sport. Jamaica and the Dominican Republic runners dominated the sport, but even finishing fourth and sixth respectively, they had garnered more attention than Cadence’s gold medal win.

  That didn’t mean Cadence was willing to accept it as a foregone conclusion in the future. She gave him a determined smile. “Maybe we’ll be able to convince the commission to give someone else a chance someday.”

  “Maybe,” he answered with a wry chuckle. “Exactly the way you should be thinking. Never let up.” He cycled a deep breath, then brought them back to his point, “But we’re going to have time while we’re there. Not a lot. It’ll be worst for Irène since the heptathlon usually isn’t until the end days. We’ll need to take advantage of the facilities they offer and keep sharp. Sight-seeing is for after. Get to know your competitors. That’s all well and good. Make a few friends. But don’t let yourselves get crazy. Some of the other athletes are going to be bad examples. Some of them are going to be veterans of these events. They know exactly how much nonsense they can handle before they lose their edge. They might sabotage you without even trying. This is your first time there. Go easy. I know I’ve said it before, and this won’t be the last time. Pace yourselves.”

  “Nice to know you’re worried about us,” MK said, giving him a fond smile.

  “Always knew you cared,” Irène teased, hugging up against his arm with exaggerated warmth, clearly still on a high.

  Cadence grinned from nearby. “We won’t let you down.”

  “I know. But I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t make sure you understand. We can do this. All of you can make a serious mark if we do this right. You’ve all come too far to let anything ruin it. Let them make the stupid mistake. Let them give away a few seconds because they want to party instead of win.” He chuckled and finished with, “The right way is to make friends after you kick all their asses.”

  Chapter 16

  “Next!” called out the attendant at the flight counter.

  Daniel lifted his carry-on bag over his shoulder, grabbed hold of his suitcase and rolled it up to the woman in the red and white uniform. Ciel Claire airlines wasn’t a national company, though it received some subsidies from the Portesaran government. Most citizens used them to save a little cash, since the aid-money allowed the airline to cut their fares below most competitors while still keeping decent quality.

  Not like we’d be able to get a direct flight to Bordeaux any way, Daniel mused. There were only so many airports that could be reached from Portesara. The airline selection went up if it was a short hopper flight to one of the other islands. But if it was an international flight beyond the Caribbean, there were only about five cities you could reach with non-stop flights.

  Coming up to the counter, Daniel gave a polite smile to the attendant and handed over his passport. “Morning… Jocelyn,” he greeted her, reading off her nametag.

  The woman was somewhere in her thirties from what he could tell. She looked like she was coming on shift, still in the process of opening up her computer and getting herself settled. Her gaze took in his attire with a grin. “Part of the team heading for France, hmm?”

  “What gave it away?” Daniel replied with a touch of self-deprecating humor. As mandated by the sports commission, the whole team was dressed in their government-issue track suits. Predominantly red with a few blue slashes and chevrons, along with some yellow zippers and buttons. It was like being dressed in the country’s flag. It didn’t bother him much; he’d spent a good portion of his sporting life dressed in similar things. Your style choices became somewhat restricted when you made yourself part of your country’s sports ambitions. They gave you money, but it wasn’t free. You paid for it by doing your part to wave the flag and by being a walking advertisement.

  Jocelyn glanced behind him. “That’s the rest of your team?”

  Daniel followed her eyes back to where Cadence, Irène and MK were patiently waiting their turn. They were equally conspicuous in their own track suits. “Yeah, that’s them.”

  Standing up from her chair, the attendant waved the trio over. “Over here, ladies. I’ll check you in all at once. We don’t have those fancy automatic kiosks, but I won’t make you wait any longer than necessary. Where are you flying through?”

  “The itinerary we were sent said it was through Heathrow to Bordeaux,” Daniel confirmed.

  “Ahh, yes. Here you are. You’re the only group heading out on this flight. I have another group that will be passing through New York. They have a four-hour layover while yours is only two, so I’d count myself fortunate.”

  “Lucky us!” Irène said, showing her joy as easily as ever.

  MK was locked in on the attendant herself. “Have you worked here long, Miss?”

  Jocelyn gave her a pleasant smile. “For a while. Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, umm, guess I’m not sure. You look really familiar.”

  “Do you fly often? I’ve been with the company for about seven years.”

  MK shook herself, then smiled as she tried to banish whatever was bothering her. “Actually, I don’t. I don’t think you checked us through to Cuba a couple months ago.”

  Jocelyn returned a forgiving smile, seeming more than willing to ignore the whole exchange. “Never taken that flight. The airline keeps us moving around so we don’t get into a rut, but I’ve never been rotated onto the Havana hopper. Sorry!”

  “It’s alright. It’s probably me being tired,” MK said.

  “Well, you’ll have more than enough time to sleep on this one. About ten hours gate to gate, I’m afraid.” Jocelyn fiddled with a few more things on her computer, then began to produce boarding passes. “I’ll be there to check you in on this one, though. I’ll be one of your attendants onboard, if you need anything. Gate 12. Security is that way. Boarding will start in about an hour, so you have plenty of time.”

  “What’s up with the display boards?” Cadence asked, pointing at the blank screens that usually showed all the arrivals and departures.

  “Computer upgrade process today. Apparently, they’ve hit a few snags,” Jocelyn apologized. “It’s only the displays. Everything else is working fine. You won’t lose your sea
ts.” She put on one of those gentle, customer-service smiles that did its best to avoid conflict with a customer. “If there is a gate change, we’ll announce it. The airport isn’t that large, so I’m sure you won’t miss anything. If nothing else, look for me. I’ll be helping service your flight today,” she repeated to ease their worries.

  “Great, thanks,” Daniel offered his own version of a placating smile and placed his luggage up onto the belt so it could be carried away. Surrendering his possessions to the unknown machinations of an airport’s baggage handling system was always a nervous experience. The admission of computer errors happening at the same time did not set his mind at ease. The attendant had said the errors were confined to the displays, which should mean the baggage system was unaffected. He double-checked the numbers on the baggage tags and made sure the bar-codes were easily visible, then wished the suitcase well on its travels that would hopefully match his own.

  With that done, he wandered out into the main concourse. The three women followed him out, and they all meandered toward security. As Jocelyn had said, there was no rush.

  Unfortunately, there was also no one there to bid them farewell. Business had precluded Evelyn from coming with them. She was intending to fly into Bordeaux to see Cadence’s event in a few days, promising to remain in the area to see Irène and MK if she could arrange it. Azélie had gone two days earlier and was already on the ground investigating opportunities and rousing interest in the talent she represented.

  With no good-byes to say and an hour before boarding, they were in no hurry. They processed through security without incident, then strolled down the concourse toward their designated gate. It was the middle of the week and early in the day. Most of the foot traffic that was gathered around were business folk jumping between local islands. Daniel thought the longer hauls would be half-empty, making for a slightly more comfortable flight if they could stretch out.