Love Game - Season 2011 (11 page)

Tom smiled. He would just lean back. That’s what he would do about it. Ted kissed Tom’s stomach.

“30 – 40. Ted Curry with a well-deserved break point. Now, can he make it?” Ted gave his lover a last big grin, then he moved down a little further vanishing under the sheets, and Tom closed his eyes.

***

They had done this a thousand times before and there seemed nothing unusual about the twins playing against each other. There wasn’t a single previous Galloway clash that had escaped from the decision-making process of who would eventually win the match. It might have been comforting to know that they were able to control every single situation in one way or another. But in fact each time the draw foresaw an encounter between them it was a real dilemma. Most of the singles players didn’t understand. They were lone wolves out there and they treated every opponent the same. Only long-time doubles partners and, of course, the couples understood the predicament. Playing your twin meant that either way – whether she lost or Lulu did – she would be saddened by the outcome.

“So, what are we going to do?” Lulu looked at her sister, as always waiting for an answer from Gaga, before she would overturn it and make her own decision.

Gabriella sighed. She looked at the draw sheet again to anticipate the possible next match encounters, but the players’ names began to blur before her eyes and an awful Enrique Martinez song was stuck in her mind. As if this wasn’t enough, there was this curious thing about Sasha’s advances towards Luella that kept her wondering much more than she wanted to admit.

Luella waited for an answer from her sister but Gabriella just shook her head. She couldn’t concentrate.

“Alright,” Luella resolutely said. “I think it would be best if I won this match. Mainly because the other semifinal is Sasha versus Angela and they both seem to think they can adapt to my game easily, so they will expect and train for my big groundshots and will be surprised when you pull them in to the net with your dropshots.”

Gabriella breathed in sharply. The scenario made sense, but it also meant that she was out of the tournament, while Lulu had a chance to pick up many ranking points. Or to be more precise, while Gabriella picked them up for her sister. With a little surprise she noticed that she despised the thought of losing again.

It’s not fair, she wanted to say. Why do I always have to lose? But she stayed silent. This was for both of them. They were in this together and would always be. They shared that odd connection of twins that needed no words and that left others baffled at times.

Also, playing against Luella still produced good entertainment, Gabriella tried to cheer herself up. She recalled  an evening in the off-season when Lulu and she had watched some of their matches for learning purposes, but had to stop as they were laughing so hard at the commentators’ confusion over their resemblance. They simply couldn’t tell the twins apart, mixed up the names and corrected each other constantly.

Gabriella smiled, then finally nodded. Luella was right. She had to let her win this time. She would later watch the final and find consolation in Sam’s and Hugh’s hilarious, helpless commenting.

***

The cool night air caressed her naked skin and gave her goose-bumps. It was getting cold, but Amanda felt no urge to close the window. She had no intention to get up or even move an inch or talk. She just wanted to be held by Felicia in the stillness of the night.

There would never be enough time for them, Amanda thought. Even though she had already decided to stay for a couple of days longer after she had lost her match today. It was the only way to squeeze out a few more hours with Felicia. The singer would also stay for some days. Not because of Amanda though. Unlike the Australian, Ted Curry was winning his matches and was still in the tournament. Felicia would sit in his box and pretend to support him like she had done today.

Yes, it bothered Amanda, even though she didn’t say it. Since the one day when they had met, Felicia had never sat court-side for Amanda’s matches again. That was just fair, Amanda had to admit. With her record racing up the charts, Felicia generally attracted a cloud of photographers and people while Amanda was happy to avoid the spotlight whenever possible. And still – the relationship had become an affair of closed hotel room doors, as Felicia spend most of her free time posing with Ted, supporting him at his matches or even joining his practice. Not once had Felicia joined Amanda and her friends when they went out in the evening. Not during the Australian Open and not here in Indian Wells. Her friends had already stopped asking about Felicia, assuming it was just an affair and nothing serious.

“Have you thought about Charleston?” Amanda had asked Felicia to join her for a week at the Family Circle Cup. Laying on her side and watching the sky outside of the window Amanda could feel Felicia shifting uncomfortably behind her back.

“I’m not sure yet, baby,” Felicia answered. “I don’t think I can cancel my appointments in New York. Maybe I’ll make it for a day or two.”

“Maybe for my birthday?”

Amanda felt cheap mentioning the date. She had suspected that Felicia had forgotten about it. It was pathetic to blackmail your own girlfriend, but what could she do?

“Sure,” Felicia chirped. “I’d love to be there. I’ll see, what I can do.”

Amanda turned around to face her girlfriend.

“I just want to spend more time with you,” she explained. “I understand that you have to plan your European tour and have to work with the musicians and all. And,” she paused to take a deep breath, “of course, you have to spend some time with Ted to cover for him. That’s very nice of you. But in fact, I want
you
to spend more time with
me
. Not with Ted.”

There, she had said it. She had blurted it out and now waited for a surprised Felicia to respond. She was sure that Felicia understood the loneliness and longing she felt on the tour. Felicia spent so many months herself now on the road. She was suddenly glad she had said it.

Felicia reached out and took Amanda’s hand.

“Well, I know you don’t like Ted,” Felicia said. “But he’s the reason I can be here with you, right?”

Amanda was aghast. Felicia had gotten in all wrong! Besides, Amanda liked Ted, but she didn’t want him to be the reason Felicia was here. She began to shake her head but Felicia had already pushed her back onto the cushion.

“You are cranky because you lost that match and worry about your ranking. That’s ok. I’ll make you forget your stupid match,” Felicia purred while kissing Amanda’s shoulder, then her neck and her ear.

Amanda closed her eyes. It was not what she wanted from Felicia. But for the moment she would take it.

***

Reluctantly Elise entered the little café. It was 9 A.M. in the morning and she was about to have breakfast with her good friend Agnes. However, she was nervous. As nervous as she was before an important appointment. She also felt bad about lying to Agnes about the
Tennis Nurse
novel. She had waited for a good moment at the players’ party in Melbourne and she really had been determined to talk to Agnes then, but there had been a constant coming and going of people at the doubles player’s table and when Elise had finally given her the novel back she had become so nervous that she was unable to say anything. Agnes had just looked at the crumpled novel and had said nothing – until yesterday, when the older player invited her to this cozy coffeehouse, before Elise took a plane back to Florida.

Agnes was already sitting at a table near the window. The morning sun warmed the scene and Elise all of a sudden felt comfortable again. This was her friend Agnes. They had known each other for about fifteen years now, ever since Elise’s father was Agnes’s coach and Elise was just picking up a racquet looking up to the Top 10 player, Agnes once was. Elise sat down and they instantly engaged in a cheerful and animated conversation. Their usual conversations were about the tour life, training methods and Elise’s dad, as Agnes knew his quirks and was very talented in imitating his pep talks. It always made Elise scream with laughter.

Elise had also known for a while now that Agnes was in a relationship with a woman, even though she had never seen her with someone. Also, they had never talked about their private lives. That was just the way it was – everyone knew about it, no one talked about it. But there had to be a way to talk about private things, Elise thought. But how to address it, she didn’t know.

“Do you like pets?” Was that a good way to start? Elise wasn’t sure.

“Yes,” Agnes laughed, “but you know that it’s almost impossible to have a pet when you are on the tour. We feed the stray cats though, when we are at home.”

We. Elise knew she had to hold onto that straw, but how? She began playing with the salt shaker.

“You want to see some pics?” Agnes took out her cell phone and looked for the photo album. The pictures showed several cats on a porch. Then there were pictures of a woman. It was Candice Crantz, one of the communications managers. Was she the other half of Agnes’s
we
? Skipping through the album, Elise saw more and more pictures of Candice and Agnes. On one of them they even held hands. Elise took a deep breath. On the court there were moments when you had to take the plunge and jump in at the deep end. Sometimes these moments came in little sun-flooded cafés.

“Are you together with Candice?”

Elise regretted the question instantly. Surely Agnes found it impertinent and wasn’t it a taboo after all?

But Agnes didn’t give Elise much time to worry. “Yes,” she answered very matter-of-factly. “We’ve been together for six years now.”

“Six years. That’s very long,” Elise said sheepishly and surprised by Agnes’s straight-forward answer but also with admiration. How come she didn’t know about them? Six years! Would she ever have a relationship that long, Elise wondered. Well, first she should have a relationship at all. She sighed inaudibly looking at the couple on the display.

“Do
you
have a girlfriend, Elise?” Agnes looked at her young friend with a warm smile. Elise stopped breathing. Had Agnes really just asked that? But what had Elise expected? That’s what she was here for – to talk about herself. And Agnes knew it. That’s why she had come here while being afraid of it at the same time. After giving Elise a big hint last year with the
Tennis Nurse
novel the older player once again had reached out her hand and Elise only had to take it. She just needed a second to gather herself and grasp this moment.

It was the first time Elise was asked this simple question. How many times had she been asked about a boyfriend? How many times had she circumvented the question with an awkward smile and a lame excuse? Being asked about a girl felt so peculiar and so right at the same time, it made her smile. She looked at her older friend in relief, then shook her head.

“No,” she finally said. Elise laughed even though it was a bit sad and embarrassing. After all, she was already twenty years old. But then it didn’t matter at the moment. The sun was warming her face and she felt grateful and calm for the first time in months.

***

What is she doing?
This was all Gabriella could think for a couple of games now. Luella was about to serve. Holding tight to her racquet, Gabriella took a deep breath and waited for the ball, but Lulu’s first serve pitifully crashed into the net. For a change, Gaga thought ironically. The other three previous attempts had gone wide. Gabriella got ready again, but Lulu’s second ball never hit the court. Instead, the ball flew high into the air before landing somewhere among the crowd. What a shameful, embarrassing effort!

Trying to hide her disbelief, Gaga made it to the other side to now hopefully get a first serve from her sister. Perhaps they could even play a little. Perhaps hit the ball once or twice. They needed to play at least a little bit of tennis so Gabriella could lose the match. What was going on with Lulu? She was supposed to win and yet she seemed to have switched off her brain. The thought conjured a little smirk on Gabriella’s lips. It looked like the Enrique Martinez overdose had finally gotten to Lulu’s head. Even the crowd seemed to wonder what was happening. This match was a complete mess.

Against their agreement, Gabriella broke her sister after Lulu served a second double fault. But what was Gaga supposed to do? How could she play worse than what her sister produced for the last three games? It was impossible. She wasn’t even given the chance to hit the ball wide. She glanced over the net to catch Lulu’s eye. But her sister had turned away.

For a semifinal, this was just a big joke and a big waste of money for the people who had come here. It was also a big waste of tennis, Gaga suddenly thought. The spectators had to be very disappointed after watching a great match before. Earlier in the afternoon, Sasha had won her match against Angela, which hadn’t been surprising. Even though the German player had had a very good week so far at the tournament, Sasha was on a roll now and it seemed like nobody could stop her anymore.

Anger arose in Gabriella. Enough with the Galloway strategy! She was a tennis player first and if Lulu didn’t want to play then she’d give the crowd her best – serving an ace down the T. And prove to the whole world that she was the one – by smacking the ball back after Lulu finally managed to return one of her serves. She was the one with the impeccable forehand, the reliable serve and a rather dangerous backhand. She hit another relentless shot down the line and after another break the set was over.

“Game and first set, Gabriella Galloway,” Lynn Pebblestone announced.

Numbed by what she had done, Gabriella walked to her seat. She had just won the first set. And in a brilliant way, she should add. No, it wasn’t the match of her life since her sister seemed to be completely missing in action but still good enough to feel the excitement she loved so much, playing her game and going for her shots. Unhindered by a Galloway plot she could play like she always dreamed of playing. At the changeover she met Lulu’s eyes. What the hell are you doing, they seemed to ask. Gaga knew in what state of incomprehension her twin was stuck. Their little scenario had suddenly vanished. She didn’t care anymore who was on the other side of the net.