The One Percent

by Tara Wimble

  Nat shrugs. “I definitely wouldn’t say inexperienced.”

  Jacque ducks her head. “I’m gonna say thank you, and not let you know what I’m thinking right now.”

  “I’d tell you what I’m thinking,” Nat says. “Especially if that’s your wife.”

  Nat points behind her to where Bella is pulling another bag from the elevator. She almost wants to know how she guessed it, because there’s nothing about Bella that’s hinting at their connection, until she spots the look in Nat’s eyes, raking over Bella’s body. That’s definitely wishful thinking.

  “It is.” Jacque subtly tugs at her collar. “And, uh, you don’t need to tell me.”

  Bella drags the bag towards where she’s left the other two in the lobby and goes about checking that everything is there. “It’s a shame you didn’t come together.”

  Jacque prickles a little. Like Nat’s preying interest in Bella is different than when it’s on her. Which it is. Mostly because Bella definitely isn’t into that. She taps the key on the counter with more urgency.

  “I hope you have a good rest of your marriage.” Nat turns her sincerity into kind of a mocking which doesn’t sound as good to her when they’re not in bed. “Even if it doesn’t seem to have the best of starts.”

  Jacque grinds her teeth and turns to face the desk entirely. The woman is free now and takes her key. “Room 32-”

  “Oh, and here she comes.”

  Jacque shoots around and oh shit, Bella is walking this way. Her eyes flicker to Nat and Jacque is sure that she’s figured it out by now but choosing not to say anything. Strange for her to be silent now after all the teasing Jacque’s endured this week. “Bags are ready. If you give me the keys I’ll bring the car around.”

  Nat smirks and mutters under her breath. “Does she even have a license?”

  Jacque passes Bella the keys and Nat’s comment reaches her ears. “Excuse me?”

  The urge to turn around and politely ask the receptionist to update their bill with some haste is overwhelming but she’s caught between her wife and a hot place and she can’t really abandon her.

  “Do I know you?” Bella asks. “Or are you just on a high horse because you’ve been having sex with my wife for a couple of days?”

  Jacque isn’t sure who’s more surprised out of the three of them. Jacque argues for Nat because Bella is all kinds of aggressive right now and oh, wow.

  “Because if it’s that, whatever little smugness you have right now, thinking I didn’t know-” Bella points between them. “Is kind of pointless now.”

  The receptionist finally comes back with their receipt and Bella takes it from her. With more self-confidence than Jacque has seen on this trip, Bella puts her hand on Jacque’s back and smiles at Nat. “Thanks but I’ve got it from here.”

  She’s being serious. So, so serious, when she smiles sympathetically at Nat to only further Bella’s ego and dampen Nat’s control of the situation. She’s been duped by a duo of under twenty fives and she’s left by the reception wondering what the hell just happened.

  When they get the car packed however, Jacque loses it. “Holy shit-”

  Bella closes the passenger door. “What? W- are you laughing?”

  “Did you hear yourself?” Jacque shakes with uncontrollable amusement. “You just- you just completely owned my honeymoon fuck buddy and she didn’t even see it coming.”

  Bella huffs and zips up her coat. “She was being rude.”

  Jacque scoffs and starts the car. “She was.”

  “And you enjoyed hooking up with her?”

  Jacque glances at her as they pull out of their parking spot. “Not everyone you have sex with is a blessing to this earth.”

  “Yeah but,” Bella rummages for the snacks she left in the glove box. “you’re better than that. And up close she wasn’t all that.”

  “Oh you say I have bad taste?” Jacque grins. “What does that say about you?”

  “Please, I think we just established publicly that I’m the best you’ve ever had.” Bella bursts open the packet of skittles and it provides a perfect cover for Jacque’s sudden mental breakdown.

  Jacque coughs. “I have no words for you right now.” Sometimes, Jacque imagines, Bella doesn’t realize that she’s the biggest straight girl tease in the world.

  Bella pops the candy in her mouth and puts on the biggest grin. “What’s the matter, got you all tongue tied?”

  And then there’s those other times.

  “I will pull this car over.”

  “Jacque, please. Keep it in your pants.”

  *

  As soon as they get back to Toronto Jacque makes sure that she has all of the paperwork that she needs to sponsor Bella for her citizenship sorted out. After all, there is a grand picture to this whole thing and it isn’t ski resort smack downs.

  It’s twenty-page packets full of financials and legal documents and copies of marriage certificates.

  And at the end of the road a big old maple leaf stamped on Bella’s head. Or however they’re doing that these days.

  She gets there at 8am and still has to stand at a queue, at the ever so efficient government office, for more than two hours before anybody even acknowledges her presence past the number she pulled. She texts Bella the entire time, send her little updates and making her promise to make her some awesome food when she was done with the sluggish bloat of bureaucracy.

  Finally there’s a man sitting behind a desk, actually, he hasn’t done anything or helped anybody in half an hour but she’s next in line so he finally calls her over.

  For how long she’s been waiting the interaction is quick. He asks her a few leading questions, she seems to pass the invisible test, he stamps a few things, hands her a few forms and some more information, and sooner than she expected she’s on her way back home.

  When she gets there Bella is actually cooking, which is funny because she hadn’t been serious at all, but hey it was one of their promises so she’s not going to complain.

  She’s ushered out of the kitchen, after sticking all the receipts the guy gave her on the fridge like they were report cards, before she can even help and she can only grin as Bella tries to hide the dessert she’s making as well. “Full works tonight?”

  “Espionage is hungry work.” Bella jokes. “So are we golden?”

  Jacque takes off her jacket and hooks it over the back of one of the chairs around the small table that they used to host Bella’s family so long ago. “It looks like it. Unless you blow the whole thing wide open.”

  Bella makes an offended noise of protest.

  Jacque raises her voice to be heard over Bella cluttering about behind her. “I’m just saying, I’m a master of sneaking around. My parents are witness to that.”

  “If you were that good then your parents ‘wouldn’t’ be witness to that.”

  “That’s what I meant.” Jacque corrects. “You on the other hand...”

  Bella scoffs and leans out of the kitchen. “You’re definitely not getting any of this cake.”

  “There’s cake?”

  There’s a hanging second before Jacque jumps up and Bella pushes back into the kitchen to try and defend the dessert that ends in disaster for both of them when Bella stares at the upturned cake on the counter.

  “Oh well, we can buy another one.” Jacque says sheepishly. “Just tell me where-”

  Bella shoves her. “I made that!”

  “I’m so-” Jacque attempts to right the wrong by moving, what’s left, of the cake back onto the plate. “-so sorry.”

  Except now she’s just got the chocolate frosting all over her hands. Bella steps back instantly. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Do what?”

  “Whatever you’re planning behind those dark little eyes-” Bella puts her hands up to try and put up a barrier between them but Jacque quickly backs her into the corner of the kitchen counter. “-Jacque, I swear!”

  “You swear what?” Jacque holds her hands jus
t inches from Bella’s face, frosting ready. “Because if you don’t move your hands because you don’t want chocolate over your face-” She looks down. “-then you’re basically grabbing my boobs.”

  Bella’s hands fly up and Jacque smushes the chocolate frosting into her face. “You ASS!”

  Jacque pinches her nose. “You’d rather have chocolate all over your face than touch my boobs. Way to boost my self-esteem!”

  Bella huffs and wipes some of the mess from her face and then it’s a war. “Battle stations!”

  In a way, they still manage to have dessert.

  *

  Married life isn’t all that different to living together. Which is to be expected, Bella thinks, when all of the stuff that married couples probably argue about don’t really apply to them.

  Things run fairly smoothly actually.

  Bella’s birthday is at the beginning of April so they celebrate by going out to dinner and Jacque gifts her with a red Canadian t-shirt as a sort of intro primer into embracing her future half-Canadian side. Jacque’s birthday comes at the beginning of May and Bella returns the favor with some multi-colored hipster glasses and a cutoff tank that read ‘buff'. Bella claims it’s so Jacque can embrace her muscles but then she makes Jacque flex and giggles so she’s not sure what to make of that.

  The only bump they hit comes at the end of July. When soccer comes to the Olympics.

  “Oh you can take that off right now.” Jacque stops dead in the living room and points to the shirt Bella is wearing. There’s the smallest of American flags on the chest of it but it might as well be a huge flashing light to Jacque.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I will take it off you.” Jacque deadpans. “Like physically.”

  “Are you hitting on me?” Bella looks confused. “Is this a sex thing?”

  “Not yet.” Jacque puts her beer down. “But as I said, physically.” Bella waits and Jacque crosses her arms. “Not a sex thing.”

  “I’m legally still half American.” Bella argues.

  “Legally you’re living in Canada. End of story.” Jacque pauses. “So take it off.”

  Bella stands up and for a second she really considers ignoring the request because she has former teammates too and she’d have liked to support them in a small way. Even if she is living in Canada. Instead she takes the mature route.

  “Oh for Christ sake, Bella.”

  Bella tugs the shirt over her head and tosses it to Jacque before walking out of the living room.

  “That was mature.”

  “Stop looking! This is American property!” Bella yells back laughing as she walks into their bedroom to find another shirt.

  She hears Jacque’s shout back of “Half American!” as she opens up her side of the wardrobe. They keep all of Bella’s things in Jacque’s room under the guise of sharing in case anyone drops around without warning. Most of the time she’s in the guest room. Bella pulls out the shirt Jacque bought her for her birthday and makes overdramatic gagging noises as she pulls it on. She’s not sure if Jacque can hear her but it’s the thought that counts.

  “Remember that comment you made about loving Canada?” Jacque asks. She’s sitting on the couch as the opening match, between Canada and Argentina, starts.

  Bella makes a grab for the beer Jacque brought out for her and whines when Jacque holds it back until Bella replies. “I love me some Canada.” She sighs. “I thought we established that when I married you.”

  “Fake married.” Jacque emphasizes. “And I’m pretty sure liking me doesn’t equate to loving all of Canada.”

  Bella gets the beer in the end and finds her spot on the couch to watch. She’s still secretly gunning for the US, who’re more of an underdog this year around without Alana, but cheering for Canada isn’t as hard when Jacque is whooping along with everything her friends seem to do.

  The enthusiasm is infectious actually and there’s a moment towards the end of the second half where she raucously cheers along with Jacque and realizes she hasn’t thought about the US in twenty minutes.

  It’s a start.

  *

  @bansar3: we know who wears the pants but we also know who dictates who we support. hint: it’s not me. (cc: @ jliresch4)

  @bansar3: #olympicproblems

  @ jliresch4: @bansar3 #gocanada

  *

  The tournament isn’t a long one for Canada. Jacque sits with her hands covering her eyes in extra time when Natasha Kai blasts one past Imogen to give the US a two to one lead. It’s all downhill from there and even Bella winces a little at how easily the US seem to hold onto the lead. When the whistle blows, Canada is out of the running for the Olympics.

  “Ouch.” Bella blurts out for something to say and Jacque shakes her head.

  “Just you wait,” Jacque leans back on the couch for a second before reaching for another drink. “and see what it’s like to have to run against your former backline.”

  Despite the loss, Bella smiles at that, at how much of a given Jacque seems to think that it is. It’s the first time she can remember thinking about playing for Canada and actually feeling excited rather than feeling like a traitor. It probably has something to do with getting caught up with Jacque’s fierce patriotic cheering.

  “Come on.” She tilts Jacque’s face up, laughing at her kicked puppy pout. “Pick your head up, we’ll get ‘em next time.”

  “We?” Jacque actually does hold her head up at that. She smiles. “Look at you being all inclusive all of a sudden.”

  Bella shrugs and smirks. “What can I say? I’m feeling it.” She gets an idea and grabs her phone from off of the couch. She scoots closer to Jacque and holds her arm out. “Pout for the camera!”

  “What?” Jacque asks but it’s too late and Bella’s already taken the picture.

  “Bella!” Jacque says indignantly as she tries to clear the flash blur from her eyes. “What are you doing with that?”

  “You’ll see.” Bella smiles mischievously and laughs as Jacque’s pout furthers, but at the very least, Jacque hasn’t thought about the loss in the past minute so that’s a win.

  *

  @bansar3: sad times at the liresch hq. get them next time girls!

  @allisonO_O: @bansar3 @ jliresch4 I’d be sad in those colors too :-) #USA #homeofthebrave

  Chapter 4

  2009

  *

  “I’M gonna throw up.” Bella pants out looking at the lines on the field. “Or I’m gonna collapse on someone.”

  She’s been trying to keep her spirits up through this by playing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ in her head but it’s not working as well as she’d like it too. Today or the rest of the week.

  Their new year’s celebrations were short lived with the new national team season creeping up on them and the need to start moving towards catching the eye and the favor of a new coach. Bella can hear Jacque breathing heavily beside her and she’s glad that she’s not the only one struggling.

  There’s no guarantees. That’s the line that Jacque had continued to tell her throughout this. There’s no guarantees but what you make yourself. Especially when it comes to the national team. She can play hard, skillfully, and score all the goals in the world but that doesn’t guarantee anything.

  So they’re making their own luck.

  They're a couple of weeks into their self-imposed fitness and training schedule. The field that Bella is dry heaving on belongs to the gracious University of Toronto, who’re so pleased with Jacque’s work as an assistant on the women's soccer team that they’re letting them use the practice fields in their spare time.

  In addition to that, as well as the yoga that Bella bullies Jacque into, they’ve been welcomed to scrimmage with some of the local club teams in the area. There’s no chance of them breaking into any of the W-league teams and making much of an impact in this short space of time.

  It’s a good job that they’re not aiming for that anyway.

  Jacque slaps her back. “Next level. Rea
dy.”

  The beep test is relentless and unforgiving. But they’re about to break yesterday’s record.

  Bella manages to beat their record from yesterday but Jacque falls a few lines short, it’s okay though because the fitness standard for the NT is one that they’ve already passed, now they’re just working on making their numbers as impressive as possible.

  Their timing is just perfect so when they’re headed to the weight room it’s just as the men’s soccer team is heading out so they get the facilities to themselves.

  Jacque makes them do about one hundred each of squats and lunges and Bella swears that her thighs are going to be as big as someone’s head by the end of it but Jacque just laughs and says she’s sure someone would appreciate that.

  Bella had rolled her eyes but gone along with it anyway because at the end of the day Jacque knew how to play this game, she’d done it before. She’d made it to the full NT so it was really her lead that she should follow.

  They need to do this routine for a couple more weeks before it will genuinely start to feel like they’re maybe getting to the fitness level of world class athletes.

  And that’ll be an awesome feeling.

  *

  As a joke one day Jacque comes into the athletic office that Bella works in, it’s packed but not busy, just a bunch of the staff and a few coaches for other sports milling around. There’s something in her hand wrapped up haphazardly in tissue paper and that makes Bella perk up because there’s a good chance that it’s a present for her and who doesn’t love presents.

  “Hello, dear.” Jacque calls out to her, louder than necessary, but she revels in the few chuckles she gets from around the room from co-workers who’ve already decided that they’re the cutest married couple in the history of them.

  It’s safe to say that the facade works, probably even better than intended.

  Bella keeps her desk clean, mostly for the fact that Jacque insists on sitting on it, even when there’s an open chair, every time she visits. Which is often especially because it’s January and there’s nothing better to do with her time because it’s offseason, the players don’t even have spring training yet, so mostly Jacque sits around doing recruiting paperwork. And she hates paperwork so that often brings her here.