Love Game - Season 2011 (12 page)

After the break she got up. She didn’t look at her sister. She didn’t look back at the first set. She went over to the baseline and gave the ball boy a nod. Then she looked over to her sister giving her a nod as well. For once, they would fight it out on the court. She won the match 6-3 6-0. In fifty-two minutes.

Charleston, United States

The roads were packed at that time of day but Candice maneuvered the car through the heavy traffic without hurry. She had turned on the radio which was blasting a rock tune, however the sound that came out of the speakers was muffled by loads and loads of luggage. Monica and Natsumi were sitting in the back inbetween racquet bags and huge suitcases while Agnes, who was sitting in the passenger seat, held a huge bag on her lap.

Their conversation had turned to discussing the young girls and their love lives. They had already discussed Antonia and Monica and Agnes could barely resist telling Monica and Natsumi about the new member to the club – Elise Renard – but something held her back. It didn’t feel right to gossip about Elise. Probably because Agnes had known her since she was a little girl.

I have to take her under my wing, she thought. The young German seemed completely wet behind the ears.

“What about Chili and Mint? Are they together?” Agnes asked to take her mind off Elise.

“I think they are only fuck buddies,” Monica stated.

“These young girls have absolutely no decency,” Candice chuckled and shook her head.

“I get the feeling Chili is somewhat in love with Mint,” Agnes said.

“Well, she used to follow Mint like her shadow,” Monica nodded. “But these days I see her more often with the other Spanish girls. Which is not a surprise though. Mint can be a really nasty one. I like her, but she has a catty side. Must be her family, I guess. Her stepmother is just horrible. No wonder she’s wicked.”

“Oh, she is not wicked. Just lonely perhaps. It’s a hard life, especially the first years. We should do something about it,” Agnes contemplated.

“Good idea. Set her up with someone for doubles and hormones will take care of the rest,” Natsumi grinned.

Agnes and Monica turned their heads. It was the first time that day Natsumi had said anything remotely good-humored. She had been grumpy since they had boarded the car in St. Petersburg.

“Nice that you have found your good mood again,” Monica snickered. “You’ve been a bit of a sourpuss all day.”

It was clearly the wrong thing to say, Agnes realized. Natsumi inhaled sharply, ready for a reply. Then she seemed to decide against a confrontation, instead turning towards the window. A minute of silenced followed, then she turned her head towards Monica.

“It’s Dani’s birthday today,” she said in an angry whisper. “You all seem to have forgotten about it.”

Agnes swallowed. Yes, she had forgotten about it. Or had she deliberately not thought about the date? The car’s roar suddenly seemed even louder, as they had fallen silent again. What could they say to Natsumi? The last meeting with Daniela Grieb, Natsumi’s former doubles partner, had turned out to be very unpleasant. Nobody wanted a reminder.

“Monica,” Candice said looking into the rear mirror. “Any news on Amanda and her pop star?”

“No, just the usual,” Monica replied, but with a sigh of relief. The tension was broken. “Amanda is over the moon. I don’t know if that is a good thing though.”

With a side glance Candice winked at Agnes. They were back to easy-going conversation and with the hotel resort almost in sight Agnes relaxed again.

“Are you worried?”

“Oh, I’m done worrying when it comes to Amanda. I don’t expect a white wedding anyway.”

“Thank God,” Agnes threw in. “Can you imagine Felicia singing one of her songs at the wedding? I would dunk my head into the wedding cake to drown out her voice.”

They all laughed at this thought, even Natsumi.

“Yes,” Monica said slowly. “But there’s something dodgy about Felicia.”

“So, you
are
worrying,” Agnes said with a wink.

Monica shrugged, but didn’t answer.

“Here we are, ladies,” Candice shouted to the back of the car, driving the huge car up the drive way of the hotel. They stopped in front of the entrance.

“Great,” Agnes replied. “Then we can finally stop talking about all these Janus-faced people.” The remark earned her a stern look from Candice, but no one seemed to have heard the undertone. Natsumi and Candice stepped out of the car and went to the trunk.

Only Monica raised an eyebrow.

“Janus-faced actually means that the god had two faces, one was looking to the past the other to the future,” she said thoughtfully, not moving on her seat. “It symbolizes change and new beginnings.”

Agnes looked at her pensive friend with whom she had shared so many adventures. The past and the future. Good times and bad times. In sickness and in health. Till death do us part. Monica turned her head and they looked each other in the eyes until Candice’s laughter brought them back to the present. They left the car and began unloading their luggage.

***

Gabriella was sitting on her bed in their Florida home surrounded by her bags she was supposed to pack. The twins had played the Miami tournament both making the quarterfinals and in an hour would leave for Charleston, Daniel Island for the next tournament. They only had had two nights to relax and do some washing.

Gabriella liked the apartment they had bought together last year. There was just not enough time to spend here. With a sigh she went back to packing her training shorts and shoes into a huge bag. On top of her dresser was her new trophy from Indian Wells. Like every aspiring player on the tour Gabriella Galloway was dreaming of a Grand Slam but this was her very first big title. Indian Wells. She had won it against all expectations.

Game, set and match, Galloway.
She still could hear the umpire’s voice piercing through the applause and through her own heartbeat to announce the score and these four words that every tennis players wanted to hear.
Game. Set. And. Match.
Followed by your own name.
Excited by the sudden will to win that had appeared during her semifinal when she had played her twin sister, Gabriella had crushed Sasha Mrachova in the final. She had beaten a player everyone had expected to win – from the experts to herself. She was still smiling when she thought about the moment of victory.

Only the quarrel she had with Luella a few minutes after defeating her sister in the semifinal was still nagging. By winning the match Gabriella had betrayed their secret pact and Lulu had stormed out of the locker rooms not waiting for Gaga’s explanation. Gabriella hadn’t seen her after nor for dinner. She was sure Luella had hitched a ride with Rafael to cool off.

The next day Gabriella had won against Sasha and as if nothing had happened between them, Luella had showed up in the locker room to congratulate her. Of course, she had watched the match from the player’s box because nobody was supposed to know that they had gone into a fight over their failed illegal pact. It was a big win for Gaga. And a big win for the Galloway sisters.

“I’m very proud of my little sister,” Lulu had told a reporter after the win. She always referred to Gaga as her little sister, due the simple fact that Gabriella was born fifteen minutes after Luella. They had hugged, tightly, and had turned the page. Whatever had happened during their semifinal would become part of the bigger plan.

Gabriella zipped her last bag and scanned her hotel room to check that she hadn’t forgotten anything. Luella was waiting for her outside on the curb.

“Ready for some family action?”

The Family Circle Cup was an important event but the atmosphere was laid-back and familiar. Gaga gave her big sister a nod and Rafael, who had come to take her bags a friendly smile. She knew that she owed part of her sister’s good mood and sudden amnesia over the Indian Wells semifinal to their so-called trainer Rafael who had – quite literally – licked every single one of Lulu’s wounds.

***

As Elise reached the corner and turned into the alley that led to the practice courts, the sun blinded her and she stopped to take out a visor from her racquet bag. She had left her father at the players’ service desk to sign some papers and make some reservations.

Putting on her visor, the sound of a ball hitting a racquet made her look up. With curiosity she shouldered her bag again and approached the court it came from. Of course, she knew the crack of a racquet hitting a tennis ball by heart but this sound was different. It was just perfect, a loud, full smack when the ball was hit in the sweet spot of the racquet. Before Elise had realized who was practicing, she had already visualized the firm grip of the hand on the handle, the work of the wrist, the position of the feet.

Amanda Auster. The Australian was focused on the balls her coach was hitting over the net. Elise approached the fence, yet remained at an angle that allowed her to hide from the Australian, and dropped her bag next to her feet. She didn’t want to bother the player. Moreover, she didn’t want to be seen like that, literally studying Amanda’s moves. The way the Australian struck every single one of the balls was tantalizing. Her hits were perfectly clean, almost effortless, Elise thought, realizing that she was chewing on her lower lip.

Elise knew it was not only the Australian’s movement and display of talent that fascinated her, and she restrained herself and quietly enough reached for her racquet bag. She had to keep her distance from the Australian. She had to refocus – on tennis, for a change, she scolded herself. She really wanted to do well in this tournament she had won two years ago. Last year she got injured and couldn’t defend her title. Carina had won the final – against Amanda.

Amanda. Elise sighed. Amanda seemed to lurk behind every corner of her mind. There was no getting away from her. The young German allowed herself one last look at the lean body in front of her. Amanda was with Felicia and everyone seemed to talk about it now. Apparently, Amanda had been sighted in Australia with Felicia in a restaurant, and the theories varied between speculations that they were only friends from school and them being lovers. The latter, however, wasn’t taken seriously at all, as Felicia was with Ted. Apart from Amanda’s closest friends only Elise seemed to know for certain that Amanda was in a relationship with Felicia, as she had heard it with her own ears during the Australian Open, when Amanda had spoken to Monica about the pop singer.

How unlucky it had been for Elise to sit behind those palm trees and listen in on the conversation. She wished she didn’t know. Not only had it crushed her fatuous dreams she had had about Amanda and herself, but now she knew something but had no one to talk to about it, as she really didn’t want to contribute to the rumor mill. She shook her head in desperation. It was really time to stop thinking about Amanda. Most of all, she needed to stop watching her.
Perving
. A word she had learned from the British girls. Yes, that’s what she was doing. She couldn’t deny it. Angered by her own weakness Elise was about to turn on her heels to go and find another court when a familiar voice caught her off-guard.

***

“Fascinating how she strikes the ball, isn’t it?”

Elise spun around, and Agnes felt instantly sorry that she had surprised her friend while worshipping Amanda’s game.

“Yes, it is,” the German said awkwardly, then blushed and looked like she was about to leave. Agnes smiled at her young friend. She almost laughed out loud seeing the sheepish look on Elise’s face. She had clearly caught Elise in the act of spying on Amanda. Well, it wasn’t hard to fancy the Australian player, she thought. Amanda was in great shape and her personality was endearing. Other than that Elise would probably find a girl her own age more appealing.

She followed Elise back to the pathway and decided to accompany her friend to the practice court before heading back to the locker rooms. Even though they hadn’t talked about Elise again, Agnes felt that Elise was seeking her company more often now, content to be around someone who could understand her experience and seemed settled in a relationship without emotional troubles. Agnes knew how important it was to have positive role models. She liked the idea that she could be one. She took a look at Elise again, who was silently walking next to her. Especially for this girl whom she’d known for so long. When Elise had been a little girl of five, she used to visit her traveling dad whenever possible. Sitting next to the courts he watched Agnes hit balls for hours without ever getting tired of it. Back then Elise had been a self-assured, sometimes even sassy and loudmouthed kid, who had begged Agnes to show her how to hold a racquet so she could hit the ball herself. She had always gotten her way in the end.