Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Paisley put down the pen she used to scribble new plays and closed the spiral notebook as her phone alarm went off.
It was almost time for her call with Dr. Linda.
She had arranged three weeks’ worth of appointments online, all before school started.
This would be her second session with the professional.
She remained at the kitchen table since Jen was still at work. Moments later, her cell rang with a FaceTime call. A good feeling washed over Paisley, knowing she was going to talk with her therapist again.
“Hey, Dr. Linda. You’re right on time.”
“Punctuality is my blessing—and sometimes, my curse,” the older woman said, laughing. “But a busy practice and having to get two teenagers who still aren’t old enough to drive places makes me lean toward the blessing side of things. How have you been since we last spoke, Paisley?”
“I’ve been busy with school stuff. Mostly coaching.
I met with Marsha Zelman, who’s the head girls basketball coach at the middle school.
She actually has a daughter who’ll be a junior on my team this year.
Marsha said Tessie is a fierce competitor and will do a good job for me.
My assistant coach and I have been working on the playbook.
Hope was only in her first year last year, and the previous coach relegated her to a bystander position.
Hope has a lot of great ideas, though, and I want her to be a full part of this team and my coaching staff. ”
“I’m glad you’re meeting those you’ll be working with and becoming comfortable with your new duties,” Dr. Linda said. “Okay, gonna sound stereotypical now, but let’s go back and talk a little about your childhood.”
Her belly tightened hearing those words.
“If it’s not something you wish to discuss, I respect that, but understanding who we were as children can help us understand more about who we are as adults. It’s a good place for us both to see what you were like and how far you’ve come.” The therapist paused. “But the decision is yours.”
It made sense. And she did trust this woman. Trust had never been something that came easily to Paisley. Because she did trust Dr. Linda, she decided to run with it.
“I’ve never thought about it that way before.
I’ll tell you right off the bat, it wasn’t a great childhood.
No dad ever in the picture. Not even named on my birth certificate.
I hadn’t realized that until I started playing professionally.
After my first WNBA season, I decided to play overseas and needed to apply for a passport.
That’s when I saw there was no record of my dad. ”
She opened up to her therapist, detailing as much as she could recall about her mom and then her time in the foster care system. Dr. Linda listened, occasionally interjecting a question for clarification, and Paisley finally wound down.
“Since we first spoke, I’ve done a little research about basketball and the different positions, just to understand better where you’re coming from, Paisley. Do you feel a point guard is the heart and soul of a team?”
“Yes. Each position has its own special responsibilities, but as a point guard, I functioned as the leader of my team on the court. Directing players where to go. Hoping they’d know what to do when the ball was placed in their hands.”
“That goes back to the beginning with you,” Dr. Linda observed.
“You talked about even as a small child, you had to do things for your mom. Bring her a can of Coke. Fetch her cigarettes and lighter. Covering her with a blanket when she’d fall asleep on the couch.
You were nurturing her even then, almost in a role reversal.
That pattern continued the entire time you played point guard.
You looked after others. You were the player who was closest to your head coach on the team.
Because you were the conduit for the offense.
It ran from the coach, through you. You were the one who looked out for all the players on the court. ”
“That’s a little mind-blowing,” she respond. “But it definitely hits the nail on the head.”
“You’ll step into a new role now, but you’ll still be the head of a team.
Of course, you’ll have some of your players who will do what you did.
Step up and be leaders at practice and on the court during games.
But these are still very young women. Teenagers are mercurial, changing constantly.
You’re going to want to impart lessons that go beyond athletics. ”
“Yes,” Paisley agreed. “You’re exactly right. I want to teach them about a game I love, but I want to teach them even more. Give them life skills. Help them learn how to deal with tough situations and even tougher people they encounter throughout life.”
“Tell me about your philosophy,” the therapist encouraged.
She spoke for several minutes about the culture she wished to establish with her program. The therapist didn’t interrupt her. When she finally finished detailing her ideas, Dr. Linda nodded approvingly.
“You’ve had a chance to learn from the best at all different levels of the game.
I can see you’ve cobbled your own philosophy from the stops you’ve made along the way and made it your own.
Your team—small or large—is going to benefit from your experiences.
What you pass along to them. Now, we have about five minutes left.
I think we need to address the elephant in the room. The Olympics.”
The opening ceremony was this evening, and Paisley had yet to ask Sawyer to watch it with her.
“TV will broadcast the opening ceremony tonight. I thought I might tune in and watch a little of it. See Team USA as they parade into the stadium.”
“Will you be watching with anyone?” Dr. Linda asked.
“No. I hadn’t planned on it. The first game is tomorrow, and I’m going to be eating with some new friends during it. I’m sure we’ll have it on in the background.”
Dr. Linda regarded her with kind eyes. “For so long, it’s been you against the world, Paisley. You might want to call upon one of those new friends to watch tonight’s opening ceremony with you. It’s not a sign of weakness to want someone beside you. More like a sign of solidarity.”
She swallowed hard, knowing the therapist was right.
“I haven’t really had a lot of close friends. No, I’ve never had any close friends,” she corrected. “I’ve always been the one who looked out for others. I’ve never bothered looking out for myself,” she admitted. “I do have one friend who offered to watch with me tonight.”
Paisley hesitated, not sure what else she wanted to say. Dr. Linda kept quiet.
Finally, she said, “This is a guy I met through West. His cousin. Sawyer played basketball in college, so we have that in common. He’s talked about wanting to be my friend. And possibly more than a friend.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Terrified. Excited. I know we don’t have enough time to go into it right now, but I’m going to drop a bombshell on you, Dr. Linda. I’ve never had a date. I’m thirty-two years old and devoted my entire life to basketball. I haven’t even been around men much.”
“What about this man?” Dr. Linda nudged.
“I like him. He’s a calm, steady type. He took me skydiving the other day.”
“Skydiving?” Dr. Linda burst out laughing. “What a fun thing to do. And not an activity I would associate with a calm kind of man.”
“It was the day I was supposed to be on the plane. Flying to Osaka. He knew I was upset. A little down. Sawyer told me he wanted us to do something pretty wild to take my mind off things.”
The therapist nodded sagely. “Then I would say he is a good friend. Someone who has insight into you. I’m not here to dictate what you should ever do, Paisley, but you need to seriously consider exploring this relationship to see where it goes.
At worst, you’ve made a very good friend who seems to understand you.
At best, you might have found someone you can trust and open up to. ”
Dr. Linda was right. She would be doing herself a disservice if she tried to handle tonight alone. Sawyer had volunteered to watch with her. He had offered because he wanted to be with her.
And Paisley really wanted to spend more time with the attractive attorney.
“Thank you,” she told the therapist. “I feel I’ve accomplished more in two sessions and learned more about myself than I did during the months I spent under my first therapist’s care.”
“It’s okay to lean on others, Paisley. You’re embarking upon a new life with this change of career, so you’re also going to have to develop some new and different skills for how to cope with situations you encounter.
Depending upon friends is something good, especially for a loner such as yourself.
Being in a new place, you’re lucky you’re already finding friends so quickly. We’ll talk more about this next time.”
Dr. Linda glanced down and back to Paisley. “I see we’re scheduled for next Tuesday at ten-thirty.”
“I’ll see you then,” Paisley said, ending the call and placing the phone on the kitchen table.
She knew Jen would be home in a little while. Her new roommate would be happy to watch the opening ceremony with her. Jen was a very positive, upbeat person. While Paisley liked that about Jen, she wasn’t certain that’s who she wanted to be around tonight.
Picking up her phone again, she texted Sawyer.
Hope it’s not too late to see if you’d like to watch the opening ceremony together tonight.
Paisley waited for a reply and was disappointed when she didn’t immediately get one. Then doubts began to plague her, and she sent another text to him two minutes later.
Don’t worry that you can’t make it. I’ll see you tomorrow.
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, forcing it down. Paisley decided she would have to depend upon herself. It was a familiar thing to do. All she had ever known.