Love Game - Season 2012 (37 page)

“Alright, mommy.” Martina and Antonia
grinned. They concentrated back on the match as the players went to the baselines
but all of a sudden the loud bang of a racquet bag thrown on the floor startled
them. Ted Curry had joined them.

“Congratulations, Ted,” Monica said to the
British player. He had won his semifinal earlier that day and probably just
finished his press conference. Ted opened his mouth to start a conversation but
was hushed immediately by the Italian.

“Sit down and be quiet,” Antonia hissed.
“We are watching the tennis.”

“I just talked to a stats guy from
Supersport,” Ted whispered while he was squeezing in between Monica and
Antonia. “So far they’ve counted over hundred and ten winners combined and only
about twenty unforced errors. A hundred and ten! It’s crazy. There were only
four games in the whole match that did not go to deuce.”

The next game went to deuce for three times
until Sasha held. 4-4.

“I think that’s the fifth time Hugh Andrews
has announced the shot of the match,” Antonia giggled.

“I can’t bear this any longer,” Martina
suddenly blurted out. She jumped up and ran out of the room, leaving the others
flabbergasted. Just when Ted, Monica and Antonia had comfortably spread out on
the couch, Martina was back. She carried a tray with four big ice cream
buckets. The others looked at her in disbelief.

“Don’t worry. I checked the expiry date.”
She sat down and opened a chocolate cookie bucket. “Sasha and Gabriella have
until May 2013 to finish the match.”

***

The elevator pinged and Mint tapped Polly
on the shoulders. The Canadian was typing a text message and looking at the
display of her phone.

“Bernadette?” Mint asked, gently pushing
Polly into the cabin.

Polly nodded. “She asked whether I wanted
to work out today.”

Mint frowned. She had planned a surprise
dinner in a small restaurant for Polly and herself. “What did you say?”

“Told her I was busy,” Polly smiled at
Mint. “In a nice way though. She will leave early tomorrow and we won’t see
each other until Tokyo.”

Mint exhaled in relief. She had enough of
Bernadette and her way of commanding Polly around. As promised, Polly had given
her best in the doubles competition and the Canadians had made it all the way
to the semifinal where they lost against Martina Rodriguez and Antonia Sapore.
It wasn’t Polly’s fault though as she had played well. It was Bernadette who
seemed drained.

Mint pressed the button for the ground
floor and observed Polly who was using the mirror to adjust her short hair.
Mint would have loved to help her but didn’t dare to ask. She really wondered
where this was going. Mint had lost early in the tournament but when she offered
to stay longer with Polly, the Canadian was delighted.

Ever since Mint had made up her mind and
visited Polly in the hospital the two hung out together most of the time.

They had found that they not only shared
hospital experience but also the same taste in music and movies. In Cincinnati
they had gone to a cinema. But nothing had happened. Either Polly wasn’t
interested or she was being careful. Maybe because of Mint’s brash reaction in
Wimbledon when Polly had approached her.

And what the hell was wrong with herself,
Mint sometimes wondered. She had never had trouble hitting on girls when she
was interested. But with Polly she felt strangely inhibited.

On the seventh floor the elevator stopped
and the doors opened. Two guys with tennis bags entered the cabin. One was a
middle-aged tanned guy and the other was – Ted Curry. Mint swallowed hard. Ted
Curry. Mint remembered the pictures she was still keeping on her computer.
Since Polly had become her new best friend she had completely forgotten about
them. But here was Ted, the Top 10 player with a bizarre affection for lesbian
couples. He greeted Polly, then turned to Mint and nodded. No, he didn’t
remember her, she realized with relief. A year ago they had met in a different
hotel, it had been dark and he had been in a rush.

Weirdo, Mint thought, still observing the
British player from the corner of her eye. As if he had heard her he turned
around a bit and looked at her again. Mint smiled quickly before Ted turned to
his friend again.

“Sorry for running late,” he told his
friend. “I was preoccupied by a few girls.”

“You shameless ladykiller,” the older man
said with a grin.

“Not like this,” Ted corrected him quickly
with a look to Polly and Mint. He turned around, addressing the two girls. “I
watched the women’s final with some other players,” he explained.

“Was it good?” Polly asked.

“Good?” Ted almost yelled. “You mean you
didn’t watch it?”

They shook their heads. They had spent the
whole afternoon reading
Tennis Nurse
novels by the hotel pool. Since
Morgana had opened her treasure vault again they had restocked on books.

“Well, I think the match will go down in
history,” Ted exclaimed.

“As what?” Mint asked. Ted would probably
tell them about the great rivalry that was to unfold. As if they hadn’t heard
enough of it since Wimbledon.

“As a classic,” Ted said instead. “It was
the best tennis match I’ve seen in a while – men or women. Just unbelievable,
great tennis.”

“And who won?” Polly wanted to know.

“Sasha,” Ted replied. “But really, it
didn’t matter in the end. The whole match was so tight throughout and they
played a third set tiebreak, which was also very close. It could have gone
either way and I believe they should have both gotten a trophy. There was no
runner-up in that match.”

Mint threw Polly a look, who replied with a
little grin. Their male colleagues usually didn’t waste much thought on the
women’s game, nor did they feel the need to rave about it. While Polly probably
found Ted’s enthusiasm cute, Mint’s suspicion only grew. She remembered the
picture with Sasha and the Galloway twin. It looked like Ted had an unhealthy
obsession with those two. Instead of concentrating on the pictures and what to
do with them, she should have done something about Ted Curry.

When they entered the lobby, Mint watched
Ted and his friend leave. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to put an end to his
strange dreams.

***

The dark waves of hair fell loosely over
Gabriella’s shoulders and the strong hands nervously stroked her jeans as the
twin looked at Sasha, who was grasping the cold metal base of the U.S. Open
trophy and immediately felt that her hands began to sweat. Gabriella had
already dressed for the press conference, having left the trophy ceremony a bit
earlier as the runner-up. Now she was standing next to a green plant, her mouth
moving slightly, but no words came out. She was trying to find words, Sasha
realized. She probably wanted to congratulate her. Or say sorry.

Gabriella opened her mouth. And Sasha’s heart
skipped a beat. Come on, she wanted to encourage the Galloway. Then Gabriella
closed her mouth again. Should Sasha say something? But what could she say?
Just when Sasha resorted to finding words herself, Gabriella spoke.

“I’m so happy for you,” she said. It was
almost a whisper.

Sasha held her breath. This was neither an
apology, nor a congratulation. Just Gabriella’s bare feelings – for Sasha. A
smile was beginning to light up Sasha’s face. But then she held herself back.
All of a sudden, the fear was clutching her heart again. Was she really so
stupid as to forget about all the pain this person had caused her? After just
one match of orgasmic tennis playing? She really was stupid.

“You gave me a bit of a hard time,” she
said coolly. “But I didn’t expect anything less. I knew you wouldn’t let go
that easily.”

She saw how Gabriella swallowed.

“I like spending time with you.” Again a
whisper.

Sasha stood up quickly. Her heart was
racing. Nice try, Gabriella. Nice try. She began packing her belongings from
the locker into her bag. When the Galloway touched her lightly on the shoulder
she flinched.

“Please, let me explain,” Gabriella gulped.
Sasha spun around.

“Why should I listen to you?” she snarled,
wiping away Gabriella’s hand. “To give you even more opportunity to lie to me?”

She began packing faster. Where were her
socks? She couldn’t leave without them. Where was her good shirt she had packed
for the press conference?

“You’re best friends with Lulu again,” she
hissed over her shoulder at Gabriella who had sat down on the bench. “You two
skipped the foe masquerade.”

“But that wasn’t a masquerade,” Gabriella
stammered. “We just made up again. I told her about us.”

“Us?” Sasha shouted with a bitter laugh.
“There’s no ‘us’.”

“But there was.”

Sasha stopped looking for her socks and
turned around to Gabriella.

“No, Gabriella,” she slowly said. “There
was me and then there was a fraud who pretended to be someone else. That’s not
‘us’. That’s bullshit.”

Gabriella didn’t answer. Instead Sasha saw
that tears filled her eyes. It was the first time, she realized, that she had
seen Gabriella cry. The Galloway never cried on court – neither when she was
injured nor when she lost a match.

“Why then?” Sasha asked, wondering why she
let Gabriella speak. “Why did you do it?”

Gabriella raised her head. Then she opened
her mouth and laggardly the words tumbled out.

“I never thought I had a chance with you. I
knew you were after Lulu, so I thought –,” she shrugged helplessly and let her
shoulders hang. “You liked Lulu.”

Sasha gasped. That was Gabriella’s
explanation for deceiving her? A sisterly competition? With her as the trophy?

“That’s outrageous. You know nothing about
me,” Sasha retorted angrily. “I liked the girl who smiled at me when I crouched
in a locker at the French Open. I liked the girl who left the taste of peanut
butter cupcakes in my mouth.”

She saw that Gabriella had closed her eyes,
ready for an even longer tirade.

“I liked the girl who got lost when she
gave me a tour through Paris. I liked – ,” Sasha’s voice almost tripped and she
gasped for air. Suddenly feeling terribly exhausted she sat down on the bench
opposite Gabriella. “I liked the girl who called me Miss Coconut.”

A long silence followed while Sasha was
waiting for Gabriella’s reply. Then the twin spoke again, barely looking up.

“Do you still like her?” Gabriella’s voice
was almost inaudible. “A little bit maybe?”

All the verve that had carried Gabriella
through the U.S. Open final, that had made her fly through the air and save
match point was gone. One gesture from Sasha, and the Galloway would be
defeated for good. Sasha waited a little longer, then slowly shook her head.
No, she didn’t like Gabriella a little bit maybe. No. She had never been so
clear in her mind in her whole life. Her feelings were definite.

Just as slowly Gabriella nodded and lowered
her head. But then Sasha spoke again.

“I don’t like the girl, Gabriella,” she
said, leaning forward and taking Gabriella’s hand. The sudden touch had made
the twin flinch. “I don’t like her. I love her.”

Gabriella raised her head and with a leap
Sasha was on the other bench, sitting down next to the Galloway.

“So, we’re not done yet?” Gabriella blurted
out.

Sasha shook her head.

“Look,” she began, squeezing Gabriella’s
hand. “I got broken, then you got broken. Now I held my serve and this is the
first changeover in the first set of a very long match.”

Gabriella broke into a smile over the
tennis analogy. “And who will win?”

Sasha didn’t need to answer. They both knew
it. Instead she put her hand in Gabriella’s neck and pulled her in for a long
kiss.

They would both win.

DIAMONDS

ON THE INSIDE

Beijing, China

From her hotel room window Mint had a nice
view over the park they had to cross every morning to get to the Olympic Tennis
Centre where the China Open tournament was being held. Her room was only one
floor above the rooftop garden and the first thing she saw when she drew the
curtains was the broad shoulders and athletic back of Polly Duke passing under
the window.

Jogging next to Polly was Bernadette
LeBlanc.

“Of course,” Mint muttered. The older
player must have dragged Polly out of bed early again. Yesterday, Polly had
cancelled a movie night with Mint as she felt obliged to work out with
Bernadette in the gym. They needed a good run in the doubles competition to
grab a spot at the Year End Championships in Istanbul.

“Quarterfinals at least,” Polly had
informed Mint.

Bernadette and Polly were doing laps around
a narrow path that ran along the hotel wall then led into a bamboo forest. Mint
opened her window and peeped outside.

If only Bernadette wasn’t there.

Mint loved watching Polly whenever
possible. Her movement on the tennis court was graceful and dynamic at the same
time. What better way to start the day than by watching Polly jog through a
bamboo forest? She just had to pretend that Bernadette was somewhere else.

The two joggers followed the path coming
back to the hotel. Mint ducked a bit, even though she was sure that they
wouldn’t see her when they came close to the building again, as the view was
obstructed by the bamboo leaves.

“I don’t understand why you hang out with
her,” Mint could hear Bernadette’s voice through the forest.

“We get along really well,” Polly answered.

Mint held her breath. They were talking
about her.

“Is it the money?” Bernadette panted.

“Bernadette!” Polly puffed out. She slowed
down and looked the older player over. “What are you talking about?”

“Money can make a person very attractive.”
Bernadette had stopped as well. “I don’t want you to make the wrong decision,
choose the wrong friends.”

Polly was silent for a moment. “I don’t
care about Mint’s money. I’m making enough money myself now. I’m in a good
position.”

“Well, don’t forget who got you there,”
Bernadette said coldly.

“I won’t,” Polly replied.

The two players were standing directly
under Mint’s window and Polly’s short, disheveled hair and the tiny drops of
sweat that gathered on her neck seemed only an arm’s length away. Mint
swallowed hard. Her face had grown hot as soon as she had understood that they
were talking about her, but hearing Bernadette’s words she had clenched her
fists.

“I’m very grateful for what you have done
for me, Bernadette,” Polly continued. “And I promised to get us to the Year End
Championships and do everything to win it with you.”

Bernadette snorted. “How courteous of you,
Polly. You make it sound like you are doing me a favor, whereas it is in fact
the other way around. Without me you wouldn’t be anywhere near the Year End
Championships.”

Polly nodded, taking the wind out of
Bernadette’s sails. “You are right. I owe you big time when it comes to the
tennis. But I don’t owe you any explanation as to how I choose my friends. Just
accept that I like Mint or keep quiet about it.”

Polly started jogging again, not waiting
for Bernadette to reply.

From her window Mint could see the older
Canadian squint her eyes. The hatred in the dark eyes startled her. What a
horrible person she was, Mint thought. And what a wonderful person Polly was.
Mint sure had had prettier girlfriends in the past. Pretty and popular. But at
the moment she couldn’t think of anyone she wanted to be with but Polly. No one
else would have taken her side as confidently and proudly as the young
Canadian. This girl had diamonds on the inside. If only Mint could make Polly
be interested in her, too.

But first of all, she had to get Polly away
from Bernadette. As soon as the season was over Mint planned to ask the
Canadian to play doubles with her. Even though she couldn’t see them winning
anything. There was something about this girl that turned Mint’s knees into
rubber. It would be impossible to hit balls next to her.

***

“Girls,” Paola announced, addressing Elise,
Gabriella, Chili and Polly. “This is the last episode of our Supersport Show.
Too bad that Lulu and our British delegation can’t be with us today, but I hope
we can make it count anyway.”

Lulu had cancelled the shoot as she would
have to play her first round match later that day, and Gemma and Robyn had lost
in the qualifying of the China Open tournament and had left Beijing already.

“Today’s task is a crash course in
Mandarin,” Paola chuckled. They had gathered in the yard of a Beijing language
school and were sitting under a red wood canopy. The teacher had arrived already
and Lars got the camera in position.

“
Wǒ shì Jiābùlǐ āi
lā
,” Gabriella slowly managed to say after twenty minutes. Elise and
Chili cracked up. The Galloway had just introduced herself and it sounded not
at all Chinese. But the young teacher was impressed.

“Let me teach you something else,” he said
excitedly.

“
Nǐ shì Āi lì sī
,” he
said, pointing to Elise. “This means ‘You are Elise’.” He said it again so
Gabriella could memorize the words. She repeated them correctly.

“Excellent,” the young Chinese guy exclaimed,
then turned to the others. “Now you!”

After they all managed to introduce
themselves and say their names, they learned the second most important words
after introducing themselves – how to order Peking duck at a restaurant.

Neither girl had any idea of how the
sentences were constructed. Helplessly, they repeated what the teachers told
them while Lars and Paola had to keep themselves from falling off their chairs.

“
Běijīng kǎoyā shì
fēicháng féi de
,” Chili repeated out loud. Was she saying something
remotely correct? The teachers nodded excitedly.

“Now you!” he pointed to a startled Elise.
“Order a Peking duck!”

“
Wǒ shì yī ge
běijīng kǎoyā?
” Elise stuttered with a bewildered look.

The teacher giggled and nodded with a
friendly smile.

“Now you,” he said, turning to Polly.
“Order a Peking duck for Elise.”

Polly opened her mouth and shook her head.
“
Běijīng kǎoyā
for
Āi lì sī?
”

Gabriella raised her hand to step in.

“
Āi lì sī yī ge féi de
běijīng kǎoyā
,” she said confidently.

The teachers laughed happily, and Gabriella
silently congratulated herself. She had fared best at learning Chinese quickly.
Tonight she could order Peking duck for all. The thought of the dinner she had
planned, however, didn’t relax her. She gulped and concentrated on the lesson again.

***

“Bernadette!”

Morgana ran across the court to the other
side and waved through the fence. “Wait for me. I’m coming over,” she shouted
to the Canadian player and rushed back to grab her racquet bag.

When she had left the practice court Bernadette
was waiting outside, seemingly annoyed by the disturbance.

“What is it?” she asked impatiently.

“Well, actually there’s something serious
about which I need to talk with you,” Morgana whispered. “Larissa contacted
me.”

“Did she?” Bernadette said almost
uninterestedly.

“I mean she called me,” Morgana added,
while they were walking towards the tournament building. For a short moment
Bernadette stopped in her tracks and turned her head.

“On the phone?”

Morgana nodded. “Yes, she denied giving me
all the information about the
Secret 8
. The weird thing is that two days
ago she sent me an e-mail with new information as if nothing had happened.”

Bernadette frowned but kept on walking
again.

“I believe someone threatened her into
calling me,” Morgana pondered. “Which means they somehow found out that she was
my source. I’m still surprised that she e-mailed me again.”

“Did you talk about me?” Bernadette asked.

“Oh, no. I didn’t give your name,” Morgana
emphasized. “She asked though.”

They stepped up the stairs of the
tournament building but didn’t enter. Too many people were inside and this was
a matter to be discussed privately.

“Are you sure it was really Larissa Perkins
who called you?” Bernadette asked.

“Well, to be honest I don’t know. I just
assumed it was her, of course. Who else would have called me?”

Bernadette raised her eyebrows mockingly.
“You’re really asking that after everything you’ve found out? Did you note the
telephone number of the caller?”

Morgana clenched her teeth. “No, I forgot.
I had a dinner appointment and had to leave the hotel room.”

Bernadette looked into the smokey-grey
Beijing sky. “I think you understand what this means. The person who called you
is not the same person who sends you the information.”

Morgana nodded. “Yes, that makes sense.
That’s why Larissa keeps on sending me the information. She doesn’t know that
someone contacted me.”

From the corner of her eye Morgana could
see Bernadette smile a bit, but the Canadian didn’t say anything. She was
probably thinking about the mysterious caller, too. Morgana didn’t recognize
the voice but it had to have been someone from the
Secret 8
posing as
Larissa Perkins. There seemed to be no other possible explanation.

***

Through the broad glass door of Mrs. Li’s
Dumpling Palace Amanda could see Monica, Agnes and Candice enter the
restaurant. They looked out for her and the Australian raised her arm to get
the group’s attention. While they squeezed through the packed Dim Sum diner,
Amanda’s phone rang. She checked the number and exhaled. This was the call she
had been waiting for all day.

“Yes,” she answered the phone, then
listened.

The three women had approached the table
and sat down. When they saw that Amanda was in the middle of a phone call they
stopped talking, even though that didn’t change much as the eatery was crowded
and loud.

“Great,” Amanda finally said. “Thank you.”

She hung up and greeted her friends.

“Important call, sorry,” she said
apologetically.

Monica chuckled. “My phone doesn’t even
work here in China.”

“I bought a card,” Amanda explained.

The smell of the Chinese dumplings made her
dizzy. Or perhaps it was the news she had just received. She wished Elise was
here so she could share it with her.

Instead of ordering from a menu, the
customers picked bamboo steamers from carts which several waitresses skillfully
maneuvered through the tables. After five minutes their round table was filled
with baskets of steaming shrimp dumplings, Char Siu Bao and steamed meatballs.
One of the deft waitresses had put a kettle of Yum Cha on the table and they
all poured themselves tea.

“Where is Elise?” Candice asked, picking up
a shrimp dumpling with her chopsticks.

“Learning Chinese,” Amanda chuckled with
her mouth full. She was eating a meatball. “She will be here soon.”

Twenty minutes and five empty baskets later
Elise arrived to join the stuffed group.

“You don’t look well,” she teased Amanda,
patting the Australian’s belly.

Amanda moaned quietly. “It tasted so good.”

Elise grabbed a remaining Char Siu Bao and
took a bite.

“Did you get the phone call?”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, sold.”

“Do you have a new side job as a stock
broker?” Monica wondered.

Amanda bit her lip. But it was too late.
Now Agnes and Candice also gave her questioning looks what the phone call was
about.

“I sold my apartment in Florida,” Amanda
replied.

“Really?” Monica sat up as straight as
possible with her full stomach. “I didn’t know you planned to move. It was such
a nice apartment.”

Amanda grabbed her tea and started sipping
it nervously. She couldn’t let Monica or the others in on the trouble with
Natsumi’s mysterious million-dollar
mara
.

“I actually think about moving in with
Elise,” she stammered. “Right, darling?”