Risky Business (18 page)

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Coach beckoned with her finger.

Oh, great
. Kate followed the coach into her office.

“You surprised me today. When you came out like gangbusters and passed everyone, I thought for sure you’d be worn out by the time practice was half over. But it looks to me like you could keep going. Am I right?”

Kate nodded.

“My guess is that you held yourself back a little to try not to get everyone mad at you. Am I right?” Coach peered at her over the top of her glasses.

Kate simply nodded again, not sure what to say.

“Hmm. Just as I thought.” She rolled her desk chair away and looked at the ceiling, lost in thought. After a moment, she abruptly turned to Kate. “Okay, that’s going to have to stop. You do your best at every practice, no matter what. Okay?”

Kate nodded again. She wished she would just open her mouth to speak instead of standing there nodding like a dummy.

“If you’re up for it,” Coach continued, “I think we can push you all the way to a college scholarship. I’ve never seen such natural talent climb into that pool.” She gestured with her thumb out the office door. “I think we can take you pretty far if you’re up for the challenge. But you’ll have to put in the effort and the time. Everything will matter—diet, sleep, practice, everything. What do you think? Can you handle it?”

“Oh, I definitely think I’m up for it!” A fire lit behind Kate’s eyes. She had joked about a college scholarship but never considered it a possibility.

“All right then, you get on home, eat lots of protein. Be here tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. for our varsity workout.”

Kate hurried from the coach’s office toward the locker room. Her bare feet slipped a few feet on the pool deck then, reversing her direction, she slid into the door frame of the office. “Hey, Coach.”

Coach Thompson looked up from her paperwork and raised her eyebrows in a question mark.

“Thanks!” Kate spun on her heels and hurried away, not waiting for a reply. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom about all of this. Oh, and she had to call Olivia and her sister. They’d be so excited!

Kate turned off her lights and set her pink alarm clock to wake her at five thirty the next morning. Her gym bag and school bag were already waiting by the door. She could just jump out of bed and go.

What a great day
. But her excitement had been clouded by the one dark shadow over the day’s events—Olivia’s reaction.

“Now I’ll never get to talk to you,” Olivia had whined when she heard the news. “You’re a completely different person now. I guess it’s a good thing I moved away.”

Olivia had sounded lonely, and Kate wondered if life in Chicago wasn’t turning out to be as exciting as they thought it would be. Kate decided to pray for her friend. But before she got two words out, she fell fast asleep.

Yawn
. After two weeks of early morning practices and not getting home until almost six thirty from evening practices, exhaustion weighed heavily on Kate. And on top of the schedule, Coach pushed her harder than the other swimmers because of her potential. As much as Kate loved swimming and enjoyed her celebrity status on the team, it took far more out of her than she’d anticipated.

“What’s the matter, Kate?” Pam asked when she and Brittany arrived at the locker room after school on Wednesday.

Kate tugged at the straps of her swimsuit. “Oh, I’m just beat. Practice today and church tonight. Then homework. Then practice in the morning. It’s just a long day. I’ll live, though.”

Pam snorted. “Skip church. That’s an easy one.”

I love church
. “My mom makes me go.” Kate busied herself in her locker. Why hadn’t she been honest with Pam?

“Oh, I would hate that.” Pam wrinkled her nose.

“It’s not so bad.” Changing the subject away from church and back to the point, Kate said, “Besides, it’s only a tiny part of the reason why I’m so exhausted.”

“Try a cup of coffee in the morning. It’ll give you energy for practice.”

“Ewww. I hate coffee.” Kate wrinkled her nose.

“No one really likes it at first, silly.” Pam laughed and pulled her suit on. “They just need it. You have to make it taste good.”

“Yeah,” Brittany jumped in. “I hated coffee at first. Then I figured out just how much milk and sugar to add, and now I can’t live without it.”

“Yeah, I guess I could try it.” Kate shrugged.

Pam waved her hand. “Oh, just doctor it up. You’ll get used to it sooner than you think.”

“Mom, can you show me how to set the timer for the coffeepot?” Kate asked after church that evening.

“Coffee? Since when do you drink coffee?”

“It just sounds good for the morning before swim practice—warm, caffeine, energy. You know.” Kate held up the can of ground coffee and the pack of filters.

“Well, first you make sure the clock is set correctly or it won’t go off at the right time—every time we have a power surge, it resets the clock…. See?” She adjusted the clock to the right time. “Then you measure out two scoops of coffee—well, I use two scoops and that makes me half a pot. So we’ll use four scoops and share it.” Mom scooped the coffee into the filter. “Then you add a pot of water right here,”—she filled the water reservoir—”turn it on, and you’re done.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Kate gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve got to run—studying to do.”

After what seemed like only minutes had gone by, Kate lifted the heavy social studies textbook from her chest and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on the clock. Three in the morning. She rolled over to the side of the bed, let her books slide to the floor, and turned off her light. She pulled her covers around her fully dressed body and immediately fell back to sleep.

Riiiiiing!
Kate jolted awake to the sound of her alarm clock. She groaned.
Five thirty, already?
Like a zombie, she climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom where she splashed cold water on her face. Not yet awake, she made her way to the kitchen where she fixed a steaming travel mug of coffee with lots of milk and sugar.

Kate blew away the steam and took a small sip … and then a second sip, finally understanding why people drank the stuff. It barely tasted okay, but its warmth comforted her tired and cold body and even the smell perked her up.

Later, in the locker room, Kate struggled into her cold suit which still dripped from theevening before, rubbed some conditioner into her dampened hair, and pulled on her swim cap. She took a final swig from her brew and felt ready to face the day.

“Wake up, silly! Can’t you stay awake long enough to talk to your long-lost sister?” Julia’s voice, a cavernous echo.

“Hmm?” Kate lurched upright. She’d crashed on the couch after practice got canceled, confused for just a minute. “Oh. Hey, Jules!” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you and Mom to dinner. Surprise!”

“Cool! Does Mom know?”

“Nope, not yet. But we’re leaving as soon as she gets home, so hurry up and get ready. Wear something nice,” Julia added as Kate took the stairs two at a time.

Kate stood at her closet door and considered her wardrobe, hoping to find something more interesting than her beloved Oregon State University sweatshirt or one of her many track suits. She settled on a pair of new dark-wash jeans and an emerald green sweater. She even styled her hair with a blow dryer to smooth her frizz into silky waves.

“This is such a nice treat—having my two girls all to myself like this,” Kate’s mom said as she dipped a chip into the salsa at their favorite authentic Mexican restaurant. “And we don’t even need an occasion.”

“Well, actually, I do have some news.” Julia sat back in her chair and grinned.

Kate and her mom both put their napkins down and swallowed simultaneously. Kate took a swig of water before she asked, “You’re not moving away, are you?”

“Nope. It’s nothing bad.” Julia clearly enjoyed keeping them in suspense.

“You’re killing us. What’s going on, Jules?” her mom demanded.

“Well …” She paused, letting their anticipation build. “I’m going to have a baby.” She sat back and watched their reactions. In shock, no one spoke. “You’re going to be a grandma.” Julia looked at Mom, whose eyes were wide open as the news registered. “And you”—she pointed to Kate—”are going to be an aunt.”

“Seriously?” Kate squealed in excitement.

“Oh, honey! That’s wonderful!” Mom found her voice. She got up and ran around the table to hug her daughter. “I’m so excited!”

“Me, too, Mom. So is Kyle. It’s a big surprise—we were going to wait a couple of years—but there’s no better surprise than this.” Julia twisted her napkin and then continued, her voice lowered almost to a whisper, “Boy or girl, I want to name the baby Casey … after Dad.”

Mom gasped, overcome by emotion. “I th–think that’s a beautiful idea.”

Kate watched as Mom went through the stages of emotion that had been evident in her eyes many times since Dad died. Joy. Loneliness. Sadness. And then back to joy. When Mom could finally speak again, she said, “C–Casey. It’s as it should be.”

“So, talk to me, Kate. What’s happening with you these days? I feel like I hardly see you anymore.” Mom kept her eyes on the winding road and adjusted the visor to shield from the blinding morning sun.

“I know what you mean.” Kate took a sip from her travel mug. “We used to have a lot more time to hang out.”

“Right. I don’t know anything about your new friends on the swim team, about your coach … if there are any boys you think are cute …”

“Mom!” Kate loved to confide in her mom, but every girl had her limit.

“Well, okay, aside from the boy talk, let’s catch up after church today, okay? We’ll go to lunch, just you and me.” She glanced at Kate.

“Sounds great, Mom.” Kate slid down in her seat, hoping to nap for the rest of the twenty-minute drive through the mountains to their church.

Kept awake by the caffeine, she just watched the beautiful scenery pass by her window. Her mind wandered to the events of the past few weeks. Much had changed for her, but she hadn’t considered how those changes had affected her mom. Of course Mom was even more lonely now than she had been—why hadn’t Kate seen that?