Love Game - Season 2011 (24 page)

              When their kisses grew more steady and their bodies began to relax they opened their eyes again and looking at each other with foolish little grins on their hot faces they realized that the city had gone to sleep. They must have been standing there for ages.

              Still clinging to Elise Amanda became aware of yet another change – this time within herself. Serving out a match was never easy, Amanda knew. But this time she had aced it. When it already seemed like her time had run out she had served a love game.

Eastbourne, Great Britain

Mint Rickenbacher looked back at the white houses which lined the Grand Parade of the Eastbourne seaside. She and Chili had taken a walk out on the pier, and had settled down in a coffee shop to catch up as they hadn’t seen each other since the first week of Roland Garros in Paris. Chili shrugged, then nodded slowly.

              “Good start for you Americans,” Chili said sticking her nose in the sea breeze. Mint had won her match earlier that day as had the Galloways.

              “They like the grass. My bet for a nice run in Wimbledon would be on Gabriella though. She is doing great. Actually, she had a very good run in Paris.” Gaga had reached the quarterfinal.

              “Yes,” Chili sighed. “Both are doing fine. Luella lost against Sasha in Paris. Could be worse. Yet they are far from being Top 10 material, if you ask me. The constant changing of their coach is ridiculous. It doesn’t make sense at all!”

              Mint nodded. The way they hired a new coach several times a year was curious and rare. Tennis players usually stuck with the same team for at least one season in order to build the necessary trust that was needed between a player and a coach. But not the Galloway sisters. Instead, they almost got someone new for each surface.

              “They barely have time to get used to one another,” Cecilia continued. “Why would you change your coach that often especially when everything is going well?”

              “Yes, I know.” Mint shrugged. She wasn’t extremely close to Lulu and Gaga in spite of being American as well, yet who was close to them anyway? “But maybe that’s their secret.”

              “Oh, come on,” Chili teased. “You must know something! These are your compatriots.”

              “So? I don’t know anything about them. They keep to themselves most of the time.”

              Miffed about Mint’s gruff answer Chili looked out onto the sea. “Like you.”

              “What?” Mint shook her head. “You are the one who’s been hanging with all the Spanish girls lately.”

              Before the two girls could begin a dispute about each other’s disloyalty, peppered with Spanish swear words by Chili, the familiar face of Natsumi Takashima peeped into the coffee house. Chili grinned. The older player had become a confidant they could ask for help and advice. Most of all, however, they asked her for new
Tennis Nurse
novels. The bulky purse on Natsumi’s shoulder looked promising.

***

“Aren’t you excited? I’m so excited!”

              The loud exclaim put an abrupt stop to Sasha’s contemplation of the English coastal landscape. The Czech player turned around and put a fake and – she was afraid – very forced smile on her lips while nodding at Morgana.

              “Oh, I can barely wait.” Sasha’s remark lacked enthusiasm but as usual, the French player was head over heels for what she called ‘the ultimate
Tennis Nurse
mission’ and didn’t notice the Czech’s annoyed face. Turning back towards the window of the bus, the tall brunette tried to block out Morgana’s ramblings but the view from the road overlooking the sea wasn’t exactly spectacular.

              “Have you ever been to Brighton before? I haven’t. I’m so glad to have an opportunity to leave Eastbourne for a couple of hours and maybe find out who the writer of
Tennis Nurse
is!”

              Sasha shook her head at her own stupidity. Why had she told Morgana about the address? Sasha could have at least waited until Wimbledon to reveal the old distribution address of the
Tennis Nurse
novels. After the French Open she had paid a brief visit to her family in Prague and had found the address written down on a little piece of paper which was buried in one of her old racquet bags. This morning before their matches she had approached Morgana in the players’ lounge and had slipped the French woman the little paper sheet under the table. Morgana’s excitement had been overwhelming. But when Morgana had taken out her notebook and checked an online map for the fastest public transportation from Eastbourne to Brighton, Sasha first thought that she had missed a French joke. They were in the middle of a tournament!

              “I will most definitely not go to Brighton,” Sasha had hissed over the table.              “This is insane. We both have matches soon, and I want to spend at least the afternoon recovering. I need to be ready for tomorrow.”

              But Morgana only smiled.             

              “Yes, of course, but we would have so much time to talk about the twins. There is something I have found out, but it’s too complicated to tell you here in the players’ café.”

              Of course, Sasha had given in and there she was now. Stuck on an old bus with Morgana, on the road to Brighton when she could have stayed at her hotel getting a much needed massage or reading the novel she had just started.

              “What if we don’t find anything? What if the address is just the one of a publishing house or something and at the end, we don’t learn anything new? We should have called first.”

              “But I told you about it a thousand times already. I couldn’t find any phone number which only highlights the fact that someone is hiding something and it could definitely be the author herself. Boy, can you imagine if we found out about it?
Trés magnifique
!”

              “Sure, that would be fantastic,” Sasha replied slowly. “Now tell me a bit more about Lulu and Gaga. I mean, we still have some time before making it to Brighton so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it and tell me what you know?”

              She was dying to hear what Morgana had found out about the twins, even though she hated to admit it. But Morgana smiled brightly and shook her head.

              “I will tell you about it later,” Morgana said smugly. “When we stop for a drink.”

              Morgana was a tough one. In the end Morgana would probably tell her that Luella was hot for Sasha. As if the Czech hadn’t guessed already after that awkward encounter with Lulu in the French Open locker room. Frustrated Sasha turned back towards the window and nestled down in her seat, watching the British coastline speeding by.

***

They could have been lying there for hours, smiling like Cheshire cats and yet not saying one word because they didn’t have any and there was no need for words anyway.

              Amanda was sitting on her bed, her notebook placed on her lap and watching Elise, who looked back at her from the screen. Paris seemed far behind. Too far. Yet, she remembered it all as if it had only happened a few hours earlier. The scare she had gotten, after Elise seemed injured, the moment in the infirmary, and, of course, the hours they had spent kissing in the street. And then the very next day. It had been the first whole day they had spent together, away from any tennis courts and moreover, spend away from their team and Elise’s parents. The view of Paris from the boat was great, but they were constantly surrounded by tourists. Finally they decided to get off the boat and go back along the Seine by renting a bike. It had been a wonderful and unforgettable day.

              But the grass season had approached without mercy and while she had gone over to Britain to play Eastbourne, Elise had stayed on the continent to play the smaller grass tournament at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Having very different tournament schedules due to their rankings, it was hard to keep in touch all the time. When back at their hotels at night, they could finally meet each other in video calls and they would talk endlessly till late at night. It was their only time together and they thought about it all day long.

              “Ivana Katina next?”

              Amanda wondered about Elise’s prospects against the Russian player. “She is a good player but your game doesn’t suit her. If you can get her on the move and to the net you should be fine. I am looking forward to hearing about your win. I say, Elise Renard in straight sets.”

              Amanda’s encouraging words made Elise smile brightly. God, did Amanda love this smile. It lit up Elise’s features and Amanda thought, that one day she would die on the spot because of that look in Elise’s eyes. On the other hand, if that girl ever stopped looking at her like that she’d probably die, too. Repressing a yawn, Elise blushed slightly.

              “Thank you,” she said. “I am sure that you will do fine, too. You always do.”

              Amanda felt that there was something else she wanted to say, but Elise seemed to hesitate. She could be very shy, which only made Amanda even more timid herself especially in front of a webcam.

              “I miss you,” Elise said finally. Amanda swallowed hard. Why did they have to be so far from each other? With Elise still ranked in the Top 80, they had no idea when they would see each other again. Sure, Wimbledon was coming up but Elise wasn’t certain that she would make the main draw. If she didn’t qualify they only had three or four days together in the beginning of the Grand Slam.

              “I miss you, too.” Amanda was glad that Elise had said it first and she only had to repeat it. She wasn’t good at all at expressing her feelings. She felt it sounded corny coming out of her mouth, if she said it first. Elise repressed another yawn, which made Amanda smile. It was late and playing matches every day had finally taken a toll.

              “We should go to sleep, Elise.”

              “No, I’m fine!”

              Amanda had to laugh. Of course, Elise was tired but she didn’t mind. It was all about being with Amanda, and their evenings in front of their laptops was the only way to be close to each other. Settling further on the comfortable pillows of her bed, Elise kept on smiling at Amanda. She looked a bit feeble-minded but Amanda couldn’t have cared less. It made her love that girl even more as that foolish grin was all she needed. She probably didn’t look any better herself.

              All of a sudden, Amanda remembered something. She sat up on her own bed.

              “Wait, I need to show you something that a fan gave me today. I’m sure you will love it.”

              Putting down her laptop on the bed, Amanda got up and headed straight to the table on the other end of her hotel room. Where did she put it? She rummaged through her belongings which were scattered all across the room. While searching she wondered, if Elise was a neat person. She was German, after all.

              “Just a second,” she shouted to the computer on her bed.

              Finally, she found what she was looking for. Between a half-empty bottle of water and various packs of overgrips was a tennis-dressed Paddington Bear with the same kind of sun glasses Amanda wore herself. An unusual present, yet a funny one. With a joyful leap Amanda jumped back onto her bed, lifting the bear to the camera.

              “Look!”

              She waved the bear in front of the webcam.

              “If you like, I can send it over to ‘s-Hertogenbosch by express delivery and you won’t have to sleep alone.”

              She waited for Elise’s reaction but the girl on the other side didn’t move. Taking the bear down, Amanda saw that Elise’s head was placed on her right arm and she was facing the camera but her eyes were closed.

              “Elise?” Amanda asked softly. “Are you sleeping?”

              Elise didn’t answer. She had fallen asleep in front of the computer. Putting the bear away, Amanda slipped under the sheets, looked fondly at the relaxed face and listened to the slow breathing on the other side of a fiber optic cable. She wondered when she would actually see that in reality – Elise sleeping next to her.

              Thinking about what the future might bring for them, Amanda watched the dreaming girl until Elise’s computer went into stand-by mode and the screen went black.

***

“Has someone ever tried the sausages and mash?” Agnes studied the menu that the pub hostess had given her a few minutes earlier. “British food. What a dilemma!” the French player mumbled, still waiting for an answer from the three other people at her table. After the long and exhausting day, Agnes, Candice, Martina and Antonia had decided to go out to have some traditional British food. They sat inside a cozy pub, safe from the wind and the rain that swept the streets of Eastbourne.