Love Game - Season 2011

by M. B. Gerard

  The team was her and Amanda Auster.

  Just when they had finished their dinner, Monica had received a phone call and after a few minutes suggested that the caller should come to the restaurant. Soon, a doggish Amanda had joined them and had reluctantly sat down next to Elise. After her initial surprise and heart flutter, Elise had managed to converse with Amanda and the others in a friendly and cheerful tone, successfully hiding her confusion and excitement. If there was one thing she wanted and feared just the same it was sitting close to Amanda, feeling her moves and listening to her Australian accent.

  With three very successful doubles players on one table the conversation soon turned to doubles tactics and doubles partnerships and eventually the inevitable happened.

  “Why don’t you two play together?” Monica had asked Elise and Amanda while munching an Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce. In unison, both players shook their head vehemently and dismissed the suggestion. Amanda mumbled something about focusing on singles while Elise just looked for an easy way out unable to find one. It would only hurt to spend time with Amanda since she was not available. But the more they protested the more the older girls leaned on them and ultimately they had to say yes.

  Elise had told herself to behave calmly and professionally and she had executed her plan very well but recapitulating the week she also had to admit that she was happy. Happy to take the court with Amanda, to sit next to her, to hit balls with her, to talk and laugh with her. It was all she wanted. It was what she had feared. Being so close, but never getting there.

  Elise knew that this would hurt in the end as Amanda seemed not interested at all in Elise beyond playing tennis. Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling Elise also knew that it would be a good day.

  ***

  Monica had taken a seat in the block reserved for press and tournament officials. While watching the match she checked her mobile once in a while, updated her social media profiles and tweeted news to the world. A quick glance down onto the court confirmed what she had suspected since she had seen Amanda and Elise playing together two days ago in their first round match.

  These two clicked in an amazing way. The German-Australian team were blasting the experienced doubles team of Antonia Sapore and Martina Rodriguez off the court with powerful and precise serving and a witty combination of well-paced ground strokes and skillful volleying. They had taken the first set in only thirty-two minutes and there was no reason to believe they could lose the second. They were already up a break and when they won the next game the German spectators supported them with loud clapping.

  Quietly applauding herself a little bit for setting Amanda and Elise up to play doubles, Monica Jordan leaned back during the change of ends, when all of a sudden a loud voice called out for her.

  “Monica, I need to talk to you,” Morgana Doré exclaimed over the crowd noise while squeezing through the seats. With a heavy sigh and an even heavier looking bag Morgana Doré sat down next to Monica.

  “Sure,” Monica said in surprise. “What is it?”

  Morgana looked around suspiciously. The older player wondered what was going on and took a look around as well. Nobody seemed to have noticed Morgana but instead the crowd looked at the court, as the players went to the baseline again. Morgana put down the bag and pulled out an old copy of Tennis Nurse and The Second Service.

  “Look,” she whispered opening the book and pointing to an underlined passage. “This is you, right?”

  Monica took her time looking at the passage. But there was no need to read it. The paragraph described a young girl, who never traveled with a coach or entourage. Her trademark shot was a beautiful one-handed backhand down the line. Monica had to laugh. How often had she been asked this question?

  “No, that is not me.” She smiled broadly at the French player. Morgana did not look convinced. She pulled out another two novels from her bag, shaking her head.

  “No, no. See here,” she said skimming through the pages to find the right passage. “This description is a reference to your ’99 U.S. Open win. It’s an exact point-by-point report of your shot-making in the last game.” Her voice almost cracked with excitement.

  “This could refer to any match, Morgana.” Monica was beginning to get annoyed by the overeager Frenchwoman.

  Morgana leaned back and gave Monica a long look ready to say something. But then she changed her mind. Not bothering to open the second book she had taken out she stuffed the novels back into her back. She turned to Monica.

  “I know that these books are about real players. About you, about Agnes, about Sasha and even me. I think you know who writes these books.”

  Taken aback by the fierce determination she heard in Morgana’s voice, Monica watched the French player as she left the stands with her bag full of Tennis Nurse novels and sighed. In every generation of players there was one who asked too many questions. One player who would dig and dig and in the end got nowhere.

  The crowd’s loud explosion of triumph brought her back to the tennis match that was taking place down on the clay court. Amanda and Elise had won and would advance to the final tomorrow. With broad smiles on their faces they embraced to celebrate the victory.

  ***

  Natsumi Takashima put down her menu on the table. She would go for a big cheeseburger today.

  Martina, Antonia and Mint had accepted her invitation to dine out together even though they had nothing to celebrate. Stuttgart had promised to become a rather easy tournament considering the doubles draw but unexpectedly, Martina and Antonia had lost to a nonetheless refreshing and effective new team, Elise and Amanda, while Mint and Natsumi had lost to Angela and Stephanie. If it weren’t for Amanda, it could have been a German conspiracy. All the German players were suddenly thriving in their hometown tournament, even against the best doubles players of the moment.

  “If these two keep on playing together they will go far,” Martina mumbled while studying the menu.

  “They are mainly singles players. I don’t see Amanda concentrating on doubles more,” Natsumi considered. “And Elise is trying to get her singles ranking back.”

  “She is such a cutie,” Antonia chuckled. “I was surprised Amanda was able to serve.” Natsumi and Martina cracked a smile over that comment. It was true. Elise’s assets were able to take your concentration off the tennis easily.

  “Amanda is a true professional,” Natsumi joked. “Unlike us, apparently, who would go down in flames of lust being on the same court as Miss Renard.”

  “Oh, can we speak about someone else? I can’t stand Elise.” Mint rolled her eyes as if to highlight her words. Natsumi was surprised. Had something happened in the past between Elise and Mint? But she couldn’t recall these two even talking to each other. Perhaps Mint was jealous of Elise, who was well-liked by everyone and seemed to have great support by her parents. Mint was a loner sometimes, who never talked about her parents and only in the last two tournaments she had opened up to Natsumi a bit while playing doubles. Natsumi sighed. The usual girl fight in the summer camp, she assumed. She liked Elise. In fact, she had hoped that the unexpected partnership was able to take Amanda’s mind off things. She seemed to have hit rock bottom since her breakup with Felicia but refused to talk about it.

  “Well, looks like Elise still has a positive impact on Amanda. The girl was all smiles today. Hasn’t happened in a while.”

  “Because they were winning.” It seemed that Mint couldn’t be convinced today. Looking for support, Natsumi turned towards Martina and Antonia who hadn’t said a word yet. They were suspiciously eyeing the German food the waitress had just brought.

  “Amanda should take advantage,” Antonia said with a grin. French girls are always up for good fun.”

  “Aussie kisses versus French kisses,” Martina grinned. “I would love to see that kind of cultural encounter.”

  “She’s German,” Mint sneered. “And she is boring.”

  Natsumi rolled her eyes. “Well, I would put it a bit different
ly, but Mint is right. Elise is only half French and she’s not the type to fool around with.” Perhaps she shouldn’t have alluded to Elise and Amanda in the first place because now she had to deal with a grumpy Mint and a couple going wild.

  “I just like to see Amanda play doubles again,” she explained. “Playing doubles puts her at ease. Plus, she is volleying like a goddess.”

  “Now, that is right,” Antonia agreed. “Why can’t she do it when she is alone on the court?”

  “Because it’s a different game,” Mint piped up.

  Natsumi relaxed. They were back to discussing tennis and seeing Antonia, Monica and Mint engaging in an in-depth conversation of how playing doubles made you a better singles player she allowed herself to wonder about Amanda and Elise again. It wasn’t quite right that playing doubles relaxed Amanda. The truth was, it was Elise who put Amanda at ease. Easily.

  ***

  Amanda couldn’t help but smile about the peculiar situation she was in. There she was in another final. Doubles final, she should add. Although she hadn’t planned to play doubles at all. As reluctant as she had been at the beginning, when Monica, Agnes and Candice tried to convince the two girls to give it a go, now she was even more satisfied that she had given in to their pleas.

  The week with Elise had been fun and they were a good team. Even though Elise lacked Amanda’s doubles experience and consistency at the net she made up for it with peppered serves and her excellent forehand. She was also a fast learner who listened to Amanda’s tactical advice eager to implement her tips immediately, however not lacking the confidence to make quick decisions of her own.

  When Amanda had entered the restaurant, she was initially surprised to see Elise in the company of Monica Jordan and the couple. But then she had remembered that Elise’s dad used to coach Agnes Lion and that Agnes and Elise had to have known each other for at least a decade. She would have preferred to talk to Monica alone as she had felt horrible that night and needed to talk to someone about the whole mess with Felicia, but with a straight girl around she didn’t want to talk about her relationship.

  However, the evening had turned out surprisingly joyful. At the beginning, Elise had been quiet, too, and Amanda had wondered if Elise was still angry about that evening at the Australian Open and the unpleasant encounter with Mint Rickenbacher. But soon the young German had engaged in a calm and thoughtful conversation with Amanda and the Australian had finally relaxed and begun to enjoy herself. And suddenly they had been set up to play doubles together. Amanda still couldn't believe it.

  Now, she was standing in the left service box and bent forward. Looking straight ahead over the net she waited for Elise’s bullet to come crashing down in their opponents’ side of the court. She had gotten used to the German’s presence next to her and behind her. And in front of her. Watching Elise’s long legs and her backside was not an unpleasant sight either. After her breakup with Felicia, Amanda counted it as a good sign that she noticed these little details again. There was also the attentive look on Elise’s face whenever Amanda said something, her shy smile when they met in the locker room, and her broad, proud smile when Amanda had fired an ace.

  It soothed Amanda and she was aware of it. Over the week she had been trying to weigh the good and the bad of this situation but then had settled on going with the flow. It was just doubles, played for fun, and right now they were winning in formidable fashion, just going up a second break against the all-German team on the other side of the net.

  Giving each other a handclap Elise and Amanda walked over to the bench and sat down. Amanda took her bottle and thoughtfully gulped the water. She wondered if she should ask Elise out for dinner tonight. That was perfectly normal for doubles partners. Elise wouldn’t misunderstand it. Amanda was sure, she wouldn’t. Glancing over to the German who was sipping her drink, she was still insecure about whether to ask or not when Elise turned her head to Amanda.

  “Would you like to go out for dinner tonight,” Elise asked. Startled by the coincidence, Amanda laughed and nodded.

  “Yes, I’d love to.”

  Seeing the German flashing her a big smile, she felt that her head went hot. Elise’s unashamed attention made her blush. She took another look at the smiling girl next to her. A thought crossed her mind. Could she have been wrong about Elise? Was there perhaps a chance this girl wasn’t straight? Amanda shook her head and brushed the thought away. She had no intention of engaging in a new relationship anyway. Moreover, Elise was clearly straight but didn’t seem to mind that Amanda wasn’t. She was just one of these open-minded youngsters.

  “Time,” Lynn said and Amanda gave Elise a friendly nod. There was business to finish and a fine trophy was waiting only one game away.

  ***

  “Will you please let me in on what we are doing?”

  With a sigh Sasha turned around. Jaro had stopped following her. Her fiancé had showed up this afternoon for a two day PR trip as he would play a soccer match against a German club nearby at the weekend. Their managements had figured they could use the opportunity to show them together. For her semifinal Jaro would sit in Sasha’s box and cheer her on.

  But right now he was a millstone around Sasha’s neck. How to explain to this soccer guy that she was on a secret mission to find out more details about the Galloways? She just had to find out! She had been following them for at least three hours strolling through the city of Stuttgart studying their behavior and writing every detail down in her book. Lulu liked chicken salad while Gaga had fish with rice. It didn’t look significant for her mission but Sasha knew that every detail could help her. If she was able to determine who was standing on the other side of the court, she would have no problem in beating either of the sisters in the future.

  She readjusted her sunglasses and made sure her large hat was placed accurately before answering him.

  “We are following these twins to find out who is who,” she explained impatiently patting her thigh to gesture Jaro to keep moving. Looking over her shoulder, Sasha saw Lulu and Gaga disappear behind a corner. The soccer player shook his head but nevertheless followed her again. Sasha was speeding down the street and turned around the corner when she heard Jaro’s voice again.

  “Alright, alright. But that’s pure speculation and honestly, it’s simply ridiculous. Who would think about switching matches like that? Besides, aren’t there controls during tournaments. It’s not like it’s that easy to fool everyone! I’m sorry to say it but this isn’t a good theory at all.”

  ”Don’t even dare to question me, Jaro,” she hissed. She really began to feel sorry for herself. How could anyone believe she was in love with this guy? He was absolutely simple-minded. Instead of a brain he had a football on his head. Sasha was sure, the next time he would open his mouth she would kick his football head to the moon. Why hadn’t she agreed to take him along? She was just too nice. She shouldn’t have let him in on her secret mission either. With his football brain he would let it slip one day. Or not. He would probably have forgotten all about it tomorrow. But in future, she told herself she would keep it to herself. Yes, and she would have a huge advantage over all the other players.

  “But the hat and the sunglasses?”

  Sasha rolled her eyes. Jaro again. He really didn’t get anything.

  “Well, I need to go incognito!”

  Jogging along Jaro nodded for the hundredth time, not understanding anything.

  “Except you are doing the exact opposite! You are the only one wearing a hat and big, dark, turtle-like sunglasses.”

  Sasha had to admit that this was true. No one in this little German town was as well-dressed and elegant as she was. She was just about to say something to Jaro, when she realized that the twins had vanished once more. With her perfectly manicured hand, Sasha stopped Jaro in his tracks.

  “They just entered this German tavern. At 5 P.M.! Isn’t that suspicious? I think it is!”

  Jaro stared at her for a couple of seconds before shaking hi
s head in obvious disbelief.

  “I give up. This is going too far. What are you planning to do now? Don’t tell me you want to go in and pretend to have dinner.” Perplexed he raised his hands, then shrugged. “I’ll wait for you at the hotel, Sasha.”

  He turned around and quickly walked away. Traitor, Sasha thought. Her fiancé was gone and she was standing alone in front of the Ochs’n Willi restaurant. Fine. She could do that alone. Keeping her hat and her sunglasses on, Sasha stepped into the restaurant. Luckily enough for her, the place was crowded and people didn’t pay attention to her. Now where had the twins gone? Perhaps to some backroom, to have more privacy to develop their next plan?

  Carefully she peeped through the door into the large room in the back only to look straight at the two doubles finalists – Elise Renard and Amanda Auster. What the hell were those two doing there? Were other players here as well? Was this some special address the players hadn’t told her about? Sasha knew they all kept these things from her as they didn’t want her to join in. Not that she cared. She didn’t. Not at all. And why would she care about Elise hanging out with Amanda? She didn’t. Right now, it was about Lulu and Gabriella. Sasha noticed the eldest twin’s red jacket at the very far end of the room. Full of purpose, she navigated between the tables towards a free chair at the bar to pursue her espionage agenda.

  ***

  She had to stop thinking about it. She had to fall asleep and not think about the burning sensation that still sizzled on her cheek. She needed to concentrate on something else. Waiting for sleep to relieve her, Amanda searched the room for something she could count. Anything. Sheep didn’t do it for her anymore. But she couldn’t get her mind off the feeling that pierced her face.