Chapter 17
DORIAN
Ihad never been a particularly impulsive man.
The Navy had trained any recklessness out of me, and running a bookstore in a small town required a different kind of patience.
Thus, I could hardly believe I’d suggested an overnight trip for Annie’s game.
Regardless, I was like a kid at Christmas. I could not wait.
I’d packed for one night in Cliffside Bay as if preparing for a minor military operation.
I had beach towels, sunscreen, a small first-aid kit, directions to the soccer field printed and folded in the glove box, bottled water, blue sports drinks, and a bag of sour gummies I’d noticed Annie liked.
I’d also read Soccer for Dummies from cover to cover in preparation.
By the time I pulled up in front of Delphine’s cottage, the morning had turned bright after a gray dawn. The front door opened before I reached the porch. Annie came out in her team warm-ups, cleats in one hand, a duffel slung over her shoulder, a yellow ribbon tied around her ponytail.
I took the bag from her and put it in the trunk next to mine.
“I’m so excited. Thank you again for this.” Annie hugged me.
Delphine appeared with a small suitcase. She wore white shorts that showed off her long, tanned legs and a sleeveless navy blouse, sunglasses pushed into her hair.
“You both look great,” I said. “Let’s get on the road.”
“Daylight’s wasting,” Annie said, laughing. “I heard that in a western Tyler made me watch.”
I took Delphine’s suitcase to put in with the others, surprised how heavy it was. “What’s in here?”
“I like to be prepared,” Delphine said, flushing. “You never know what kind of shoes you need or what the weather will do.”
I put her bag in the trunk. For a moment, I looked at our three bags lined up together and thought, it looks right, all of them there together.
The drive to Cliffside Bay followed the curves of the coast, past stretches of blue water broken by cliffs, cypress trees, and natural grasses that swayed in the breeze. We turned on an eighties playlist, occasionally singing along.
About fifteen minutes into the trip, Annie, from the back, held up the Soccer for Dummies book I’d thrown in at the last minute. “What’s this?”
“Oh, just a little homework. I read the whole thing, but I’m not sure how much I retained.”
“Dorian, that’s, like, so sweet,” Annie said.
“I want to understand the game,” Dorian said.
“Why?” Annie asked.
“Because it’s important to you,” I said.
“Oh, well. Okay.” Annie grinned at me in the rearview mirror.
Soon enough, we reached Cliffside Bay. There was no road sign to welcome anyone to town, but I knew where to turn anyway.
“The locals take down the road signs,” Annie said. “So no one can find Cliffside Bay.”
“I’ve heard that,” Delphine said. “But people find it anyway.”
The soccer field sat on a bluff above the water, bordered by wind-bent cypress trees on one side and a low wooden fence on the other.
Beyond the far goal, the ocean was a hard blue beneath the noon sun.
Parents had already begun setting up along the sideline with folding chairs, umbrellas, and coolers.
Annie went into game mode the moment we arrived. The joking girl in the back seat became focused, alert, and somehow older. She tugged on her cleats and started doing stretches.
“She looks different out there,” I said. “All grown up.”
“She does.” Delphine unfolded her chair but did not sit. “This is her happy place.”
Bella came over to say hello, tanned and athletic, brown hair up in a ponytail. Delphine had mentioned earlier that Alex was coaching Peter’s baseball game back at home and Gillian had decided to stay home with the baby.
“You okay without your parents here?” Delphine asked.
“Totally. They see almost all of them, so I’m good, but thanks for asking.” She gave us a smile before heading over to the rest of her teammates.
The game began with a whistle. Like the first game I’d seen, Annie was a clear leader.
She was always turning her head, always scanning, always moving into the space where she would be needed next.
There was a discipline to it and a kind of imagination too.
She saw not only where the ball was but where it was going, where the other players were likely to be two seconds later, what might open if she moved before anyone else had thought to close it.
About twelve minutes in, she intercepted a pass near midfield, turned away from a defender, and sent the ball through a narrow gap to a teammate breaking down the left side.
“Yes,” I shouted before I could stop myself. “Well done, Annie!”
The shot missed by inches, hitting the outside of the post, but the parents around us clapped anyway. Delphine was on her feet too, one hand pressed against her chest.
“This is so nerve-wracking,” I said.
She looked at me, a hint of surprise in her eyes. “It is, yes. I’m glad you’re here. And I’m glad you read that book. It means a lot. To both of us.”
At halftime, Annie jogged over, red-cheeked and sweaty. “Hey, guys.”
I handed her the blue sports drink. “It’s hot. Drink this.”
She took it, smiling. “Thanks.”
Delphine handed her a towel. “You’re playing wonderfully.”
“I messed up that touch near the sideline.”
“You recovered it.”
“I should have had it the first time,” Annie said.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” I said. “You’re impressive out there.”
“I try my best,” Annie said, ducking her chin modestly. “But thanks.”
Her coach called her back, and she started toward the field.
Delphine sank into her chair beside me, smiling. “You’re right about this being nerve-wracking.”
“She seems to take it in stride, though,” I said.
“She has a good attitude, but she can be super critical of herself,” Delphine said. “Which is why I would never in a million years be that kind of mom. Like my mom was.”
“You’re a great mom,” I said. “And she’s a great kid.”
She thanked me, but I could tell I’d embarrassed her. She’d better get used to it. I had no plans of keeping my admiration for either one of them to myself.
The second half was more physical than the first. The Cliffside Bay team pressed hard, and twice Annie went down after a challenge, popping up both times before Delphine had fully inhaled.
I could feel the tension coming off her, though she kept her voice calm.
When Annie stole the ball near midfield with six minutes left and sent it ahead to Bella, who drove it into the corner of the net, Delphine grabbed my forearm without thinking.
Her fingers tightened around me as Annie’s team erupted.
The final whistle blew a few minutes later, and, for one brief, sunlit moment, the whole field seemed suspended in joy. Girls shouting. Parents clapping. Grass bright beneath them, ocean beyond, Delphine beside me with her hand still on my arm.
After the team huddle, Annie came toward us with grass on one knee and happiness all over her face.
“Great job.” I handed her the bag of candy I’d brought. “Just in case you need a little sugar.”
“These are my favorites,” Annie said. “How did you know?”
“You brought some to the store a few times,” I said.
Annie opened the bag and offered one to me first. The sourness hit with startling violence.
“These are awful,” I said.
Annie watched my face with delight. “Too sour?”
“I’ve had survival training, but yes,” I said.
Delphine took one next and fared no better, though she made a more dignified effort to hide it. But her watering eyes gave her away.
Annie bent at the waist laughing, and I found myself laughing too, in one of those completely joyous moments that come out of the blue and make life worth all the hard times.
When we’d sobered, Annie said to me, “Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for letting me,” I said.
A teammate called Annie’s name from across the grass. She ran off to join the others for pictures, the bag of gummies still clutched in one hand. Delphine moved closer to me, close enough that her shoulder brushed mine.
“You are a good person, you know that?” Delphine asked.
“I try to be.”
“You make it seem easy, especially to someone like me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s no secret that I can be a little … difficult.”
“You’re not to me. You’re a force, don’t get me wrong. But that’s what I like about you. One of the things anyway.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep,” I said.
Across the field, Annie lined up with her team for photos. Delphine slipped her hand into mine while we waited.
The team finished their pictures, and Annie came jogging back. “Okay. Resort now?”
“Let the resorting commence,” I said.
I packed the chairs and slung them over one shoulder while Delphine gathered the cooler and Annie’s bag.
We drove the short distance to the resort with the windows down, Annie recounting the game in detail from the back seat.
She explained the other team’s weak left side, Bella’s finishing ability, and why their coach should have changed formation earlier.
Delphine listened, nodding occasionally, asking questions. I kept quiet, just taking it all in.
The Cliffside Bay resort appeared at the end of a cypress-lined drive, white walls and wide balconies perched above the water as if someone had built the place out of sunlight.
Bougainvillea climbed along the entry, its color almost indecent against the white stucco.
Hydrangeas crowded the beds near the front steps, their blooms beginning to turn blue at the edges.
Below the terrace, the ocean struck the rocks in bursts of white.
Annie leaned forward between the seats. “I can’t believe we get to stay here.” She flopped back against the seat. “I feel like a rock star.”
“Soccer star,” I said.
I pulled up near the entrance, waiting for the valet. I glanced at Delphine. She was looking at the resort with a delighted smile on her face. That and Annie’s grin in the rearview mirror made me glad I had risked suggesting the trip.
“This is going to be one of the best days of my life,” Annie said.
Mine too, I thought. Mine too.