Tennis Ace (9 page)

Mrs. Greeley gently put a hand on her husband’s arm. “Dear, the fact is that Steve has been sending us signals that he wasn’t
sure what he wanted to do, but we didn’t pick them up.”

Ted looked bewildered. “I don’t get it. You’d think I was being cruel and forcing Steve to do something awful, instead of
setting him up for a great career.”

“Dad,
you
met Billy Gardiner today,” Steve jumped in. “You talked to him, you heard him. Nothing matters to him but tennis. He’s traveled
all over the world but never cared enough to look around. All he’s ever done is tennis, and that’s all he ever wants to do.

“Well, that’s not
me
. I don’t want to hurt your feelings and I’m sorry if I have, but I don’t want to be another Billy Gardiner. Maybe I’ll decide
to get serious about tennis someday, and maybe I won’t. I do
love playing, but there are other things that matter to me, too. Please don’t be angry with me.”

“
Angry
?” Mr. Greeley repeated, sitting down slowly. “Son, I’m not angry with you. I only thought that — I figured that you’d jump
at this opportunity, that it would make you happy. I thought —”

He stopped suddenly. “You know what?” he said. “Maybe I didn’t really
think
at all. I just assumed that you’d want what I always wanted. But, the fact is, I never actually asked you, did I? I guess
I owe you an apology, son. I hope
you’re
not angry at
me
.”

Steve ran over and hugged his father. “No way, Dad,” he said. “I always knew you wanted what you figured was best for me.
There’s nothing to be angry at. But I had to tell you the way I felt.”

Mr. Greeley hugged his son back and then looked at Ginny. “Honey, I owe you an apology. I had no idea tennis meant so much
to you.”

“I understand,” Ginny said. “And I appreciate your saying that. And I’d appreciate it
more
,” she said, grinning, “if you’d give me pointers and work with me just like you do with Steve from now on.”

“That’s a deal,” her father replied. “You could be a star someday — if you want to be, that is.”

Vince slapped him on the back. “I had a hunch you’d react just like this. And I’ll keep an eye on both your kids in the future.
If they keep playing and want to work with me somewhere down the line, I think there will still be room for them.”

“We still have something to celebrate,” Mrs. Greeley reminded them. “And we have some delicious cake sitting here, begging
to be eaten. Why don’t we sit down and eat the cake as a tribute to our two champions? They’re very special kids.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mr. Greeley said. “And it’s not just their athletic talent that makes them great kids. They have brains,
too.”

“With parents like you two,” said Steve, “it figures.”

He took a forkful of cake.

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Baseball Turnaround	Football Fugitive
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Center Court Sting	Ice Magic
Challenge at Second Base	Johnny Long Legs