by Bob Blanton
Jason’s words stung Matthew a little. He knew they were probably true, but it hurt to hear it. Matthew still held some hope that he could hit it off with Emily.
A Day with Brianna
During the week Matthew did research on the horses running on Sunday. He was hoping to find some that matched Mr. Winthrop’s description of the scheme some of the trainers ran. There were two horses running in the fifth race and three in the seventh that were projected to be long shots.
He did some research on their recent history. The first two horses in the fifth had both been running poorly lately. One, Peace Pipe, had lost the last four races, coming in last three times and fifth the other. Checking on details of the races, he found that they were run fairly close together; several analysts had commented that the trainer was pushing the horse too hard. The last race he’d run, he’d led the race for five furlongs, then had fallen back to come in last. The horse hadn’t had a good break from the gate since that race. Matthew looked into the horse’s record for previous years. He had done well as a two- and three-year-old, but had run poorly in this, his fourth year, only winning two races so far. Both of those had been at long odds, one at fifty-to-one the other at thirty-to-one. He read up on the horse’s bloodline; it was the great grandson of Man of War, “Cute, naming the progeny of Man-of-War, Peace Pipe, how ironic. The breeder must have a sense of humor,” Matthew thought. His sire had a history of producing winners and the dam had three winners to her name. Both were considered top-quality horses. Looking at Peace Pipe’s history of ownership, he found that he had been sold as a three-year-old and had finished that year out strong under the same trainer. The owner had moved the horse after that year to another trainer. The article mentioned that it was the owner’s usual trainer, and that he’d left the horse with the original trainer so as not to disrupt him during the racing season.
“I love the Internet,” Matthew thought to himself as he checked into the second horse in the fifth. It was just a plain loser, never having run well in its career. It was a perennial fourth or fifth place finisher, occasionally finishing third, just enough to continue to give the owner hope of a victory.
Two of the horses in the seventh race had nearly identical records. Both had shown only three times in their careers. The third horse, Tango Dancer, looked promising. He’d run well for four years; then he’d been sold. This year he showed a pattern similar to the horse in the fifth. Several races run too close together followed by better spacing, then a win after one or two races. In the races just before he’d won, he had led the race for four of five furlongs before finishing behind the pack. “Sounds like they’re taking him out fast for a quick work out, then pulling him up so as not to wear him out,” Matthew thought. When the horse won, he’d come from about third or fourth place, racing down the backstretch, winning by one or two lengths. Then the next race was too soon and he would finish poorly.
Matthew decided that he had some good possibilities he could check out on Saturday night before the races on Sunday. Now, he needed a way to place bets. He decided to ask Simone. First, he’d ask if she’d have lunch with him to talk about it. He called her at work.
“Hello, Webmasters,” Simone said as she answered the phone.
“Hi, Simone, it’s Matt.”
“Matt, is something wrong?” Simone asked.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Matthew said. “I was just wondering if you wanted to have lunch tomorrow.”
“I’d love to have lunch with you,” Simone said, “any special reason?”
“Well, I do have a favor to ask.”
“You don’t need to take me to lunch to ask a favor.”
“I know, but I need some time to explain everything.”
“Sounds mysterious. How about 12:00?”
“Okay. I’ll be at the office at 12:00. How about that French café down the street?”
“Sounds great. Must be some big favor you want.”
“It’s not that big. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye, Sweetie.”
The next day as he was biking over to the office, Matthew started getting nervous. He wondered if he was wrong about her being willing to help him.
As he entered the office he waved at Simone. “Hi.”
Simone looked at her watch. “You’re right on time. My, my, you must want something big!”
Matthew avoided the subject. “Are you ready to go? If you need some more time, I can check out my email or something.”
“I’m ready. This stuff will be here when I get back. Let’s go.”
They stuck with chit-chat while they walked down the street to the café. Matthew talked about his tennis lessons, while Simone tried to quiz him about Emily.
“It doesn’t sound like this Emily is that interested in you.”
“I know, but I’m still hoping.”
“What about this girl, Brianna, you told me about?”
“She’s Jason’s sister.”
“Well it sounds like she’s interested. You’re going to the tennis tournament with her on Saturday, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, she asked me in front of her parents. Jason chimed in that he’d give us a ride. So I couldn’t say no.”
“Well I don’t think you should. She sounds like a nice girl, and if she’s interested in you, that’s half the battle.”
“I guess, but I don’t think she’s my type.”
“Men! They only want what they can’t have.”
By this time, they had reached the restaurant. Matthew had called for reservations so they were seated immediately. After they ordered, Simone broke the ice. “Now what’s this favor you want?”
“I hope it’s not too big.”
“Nothing’s too big for you. What do you need?” Her voice was relaxed and easy.
“Well, I’ve got this great tip on a horse running at Del Mar tomorrow,” Matthew paused and sucked in a big breath of air. “He’s sure to win and he’s running at long odds; but I’m too young to bet. I was hoping you would go with me and kind of. . .”
“How sure are you about this? You know not every tip works out.”
“I’m pretty sure, but I’m not going to bet more than I can afford to lose. But if he runs at 20 to 1 odds, it could be a big payoff, even with a small bet. How about it, will you help me?”
“I might be able to,” Simone played with her French bread as she pondered Matthew’s request. “Would you mind if I put some money on this sure thing?”
“I don’t mind, but like you said, not every tip works out. I know you don’t have a lot of money, and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for you losing any.”
“Well, you let Simone worry about Simone. I’ll just have to find a sitter for Jalin, but I should be able to swing it.”
“Bring him along if you want, I’ll help watch him. He’ll probably think it’s fun; and a hot dog and Coke will make any kid happy.”
“Are you sure? He can be a handful.”
“Sure, I don’t want this to cost you anything. I’ll pay for the tickets and stuff.”
“Okay. If I have trouble finding a sitter, I’ll bring him along, but if we’re going to the races, I’d like to just have fun.”
“Great!” Matthew said. He was really hoping that Simone would find a sitter. Looking after an eight-year old kid would put a crimp in the day.
“What time do we need to be there?”
“The horse is running in the fifth race. So we could take the shuttle over at 2:30. I’ll meet you at the shuttle pick-up lot, if that’s okay.”
“No problem. I’ll pick you up at your house, just give me directions.”
“I’ll print out a map when we get back to the office.”
Their waiter showed up with their order and they spent the rest of the time chatting about the races.
. . .
On Saturday morning Matthew was waiting outside his house for Jason to pick him up. He had a bag wi
th a change of clothes in it. Jason had agreed to pick him up this morning since he’d helped trap Matthew into going to the tournament with Brianna. Of course, Jason was fifteen minutes late, but Matthew was used to his tardiness. Matthew got into the car. “To the tennis court, Jeeves.”
“Don’t push it, buster. By the way, Brianna is really looking forward to your date,” Jason snickered under his breath.
“It’s not a date and I’ll get even with you, just wait!”
“Just don’t go messing around with my water bottle,” Jason harkened back to their revenge on Tyler on the class trip to France.
“I’m not promising anything. If your sister becomes a real pest, your life is marked.” Matthew tried to sound really threatening.
“Oh, come on, she just has a little crush on you. She’s harmless. I’m sure that after she gets to know you better, it’ll wear off.”
“You’d better hope so.” Matthew wondered if he’d just been insulted or what.
. . .
After his tennis lesson with Mrs. Winthrop, Matthew showered and changed in the cabana. When he came out, Brianna was waiting for him. She was wearing a white jump suit with broad lapels and a white cap with an oversized brim. Matthew had to admit to himself that she looked cute. “Hi, Brianna.”
“Hi, Matt, you ready to go?”
Jason walked by, “I’ll be in the car.”
“Let’s go,” Matthew opened the door for Brianna. She walked through the door smiling from ear to ear.
Jason was waiting in his dad’s Mercedes sedan. Matthew opened the front door for Brianna and she graciously slid into the seat. Matthew got into the back seat, thanking his quick thinking on how to avoid sitting next to Brianna on the way. He knew she would have to accept his offer of the front passenger seat if he opened the door for her.
The ride over was without conversation. Since Jason insisted on having the stereo at full blast, there was no way to hear anything in the back seat. After a few failed attempts at conversation, Brianna just sat back and waited until they got to the country club. Once there she started chatting non-stop about who the different contestants were and which matches would be the best.
“Kirsten Anderson is playing Emily from our school,” Brianna said. “That should be a good match. Kirsten is a classic baseliner and Emily likes to serve and volley. It should be interesting to see who forces the play.”
At the mention of Kirsten, Matthew perked up and turned to Brianna. “You mean you know this Kirsten. I thought nobody had seen her play.”
“Yeah, nobody out here; but she’s from New York like us. She played in all the same tournaments as Jason, before he quit playing. She’s really good.” Brianna was elated that Matthew was finally paying attention to her.
“Come on,” Matthew grabbed Brianna’s hand and dragged her toward the locker rooms.
“Where are we going?”
“To find Emily. It’ll be a big help if you could tell her about Kirsten.”
When they got to the locker rooms, Matthew looked around for Emily. He couldn’t find her; he asked one of the girls coming out, if they had seen her. No one knew where she was.
“Let’s go back to our seats,” Brianna whined. “She’s off somewhere by herself. We tried.”
“No, wait a minute.” Matthew relaxed and thought about Emily. Immediately he was able to see her. She was pacing back and forth on the other side of the courts, behind the concession tent, out of view. “Come on, she’s over there.” Pulling Brianna behind him, he crossed over between the tennis courts and went around behind the concession tent. Emily was pacing, right where he had seen her.
“Hi, Emily,” Matthew called out as they approached her.
“Oh, hi Matt, hi Brea, are you enjoying the tournament?”
“We just got here,” Brianna as she pulled her hand free from Matthew’s grip.
“Emily, aren’t you playing Kirsten Anderson?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Well I heard that nobody knew her style. But Brea says she’s seen her play back in New York.”
Emily looked elated, “You have?” she turned her attention to Brianna. “Will you talk me through her play?”
“Okay,” Brianna sighed. “She loves to play from the baseline. Her backhand is killer but she’s prone to errors from the forehand side.”
“How about her serve?”
Seeing that they were totally engrossed in talking about Kirsten’s play, Matthew felt a little left out. “Do either of you want something to drink?”
“I’d like a Sprite,” Brianna said.
“Nothing for me,” Emily turned back to Brianna. “So she likes to serve into the body?”
“Yeah. She gets really good topspin on ……” Matthew wandered over to the front of the concession tent and bought a Sprite for Brianna and root beer for himself. By the time he had waited in line to get the drinks and got back, the girls were wrapping up their discussion.
“Brea, thanks, that helps a lot. At least I won’t keep driving myself crazy trying to think about how she plays. How did you guys find me?”
“I don’t know. When you weren’t at the locker room, Matthew just dragged me over here. I assume someone told him you were here.”
“Well, thank you both!”
“We’d better get to our seats,” Brianna took the Sprite from Matthew. “The next match is about to start.”
“OK,” Matthew followed Brianna back to the stands. “Good luck, Emily!” he called over his shoulder.
As they watched the tennis tournament, Brianna kept a constant commentary going in a whispered tone. During the breaks they would talk louder, but she maintained good tennis etiquette during play. She would explain the strengths and weaknesses of each player and point out where they made tactical errors.
“You’re a better commentator than the pros on TV,” Matthew said.
“Thanks, I think. Do you want me to shut up?”
“No, it’s great. It’s helping me learn a lot.”
After a while Brianna added, “You know you should really start playing me instead of Jason. He’s too far above your level to give you a real chance. It’s got to be really frustrating playing with him. He’s too good.”
“You just want to beat me.”
“Oh, you’d catch up pretty fast. You’re bigger, stronger and faster than me, so that will make up for a lot of experience. With Jason you’re just less experienced and in better shape, so you’re dead meat on the court with him. Shish, they’re starting up again.”
Emily’s friend, Carrie, won her match in straight sets, only losing five games in all. During the break Brianna and Matthew went to the restroom and then Matthew bought sodas for them. As he was returning to the grandstand, he saw Emily getting ready to take the court. He gave her a thumbs up and went back to his seat. Brianna got back just as Emily and Kirsten took the court.
“This match will be a lot more competitive than the last,” Brianna said as she sat down.
“What do you think of Emily’s chances?”
“If she has her serve, she should win it. That baseliner won’t be able to break her if she’s on. But if her serve is off, then she won’t last through the long exchanges.”
Emily started out a little shaky and lost the first game she served. They played eight or nine exchanges for each point and Emily was looking really frustrated. Kirsten held her serve the next game. In the third game Emily found her serve and was able to maintain it throughout the set, but she couldn’t break Kirsten who won the first set 6-4.
“See, now that Emily’s serving well, she’s able to get to the net. Kirsten can’t volley well so she tries to hang back on the base line, but there’s no hope. Emily just needs to figure out how to get to the net on Kirsten’s serve and she’ll be able to win.”
For the second set, Emily started out winning the first game on serve. She focused on hitting the ball back to Kirsten’s forehand and was rewarded by winning several points off Kirst
en’s serve, but still she couldn’t break her. In fact, both girls held serve through the entire set. Emily finally won the set in a tiebreaker, hitting a deep angled return to Kirsten’s forehand for a winner.
“I think Emily has her now. Kirsten is getting nervous, and she’s getting a little tired, so her serve is starting to break down. Emily should be able to follow a lot more returns to the net. This is exciting, isn’t it?”
“It’s nerve wracking.”
Kirsten served to start the third set. She had to fight back from three break points to hold serve, but finally won the game. Emily was able to breeze through her serve, scoring three aces and not losing a point.
“That’ll really put the pressure on Kirsten,” Brianna said. “Watch for a meltdown.”
Kirsten started the third game out with a double fault. “Now she’s losing confidence in her serve.” Kirsten’s next serve was well inside the service line, and Emily was able to make a great return and take up position at the net. Kirsten tried to pass her to the left, but Emily hit an easy winner cross-court. Kirsten won the next point to bring the game to 15-30; her next serve was so weak that Emily was able to return it down the line for a winner. “She’s a goner now, two break points for Emily and her serve has gone south.” Kirsten double faulted to lose the game. Emily again held serve without giving up a point to go up 3-0. In the fourth game Kirsten regained her serve, but Emily was able to hit an approach shot on almost every point and won the game easily. In the next game Kirsten started playing better, but Emily’s serve and volley were just too much for her. “It’s over. Emily’s up two breaks and playing with confidence; there’s nothing Kirsten can do,” Brianna said. And true to form, the two players held their serve the rest of the set, with Emily winning 6-3 to take the match.
Brianna got up. “Let’s go, the next match is going to be boring. We can go into the clubhouse to get something to eat.”
“Okay, but let’s congratulate Emily, first.”
Brianna gave him a real miffed look, but followed after him.
They went down toward the locker rooms and caught Emily just before she went inside.
