Chapter 18 #2
They won two more, then lost. “We’re still at five hundred, but we only have six games left. We probably need to win five … unless Chrissy and Shay lose all of theirs, then maybe only four. But they won’t lose all of them.… Now, if they win all of them…”
They lost again, then won the next two.
Jess sat bent over her tablet at her kitchen table.
“So if the Tweedles win today, and Sonja and Jonesy win, then we have to win all three remaining games. But if only one of them wins, we only need to win two. That’s good, because our last match is against Vivienne and Lee.
Wait, the Tweedles have a game in hand.… ”
“Jessss,” Tania groaned from the counter, where she was mashing avocado.
“Imagine being Vivienne and Lee right now? No pressure. They had a playoff spot locked up weeks ago.”
Tania pinched the bridge of her nose. “Jess.”
“Although they must feel pressure to win the whole thing.”
“Jess.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m begging…”
“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Jess resumed her task of chopping cilantro. “So … what’s new with you?”
Tania chuckled. “Not much. George’s aunt is visiting from Nova Scotia. Sounds like such a beautiful place. She keeps telling us to come visit.”
“That’s great.”
“You’re still doing Playoff Math in your head, aren’t you?”
“No. Yes.”
“Okay. That’s it.” Tania shook her head. “After we eat, I am getting your mind off of things.”
“How?”
“You’ll see.”
Tania sent a few mysterious texts while they were eating, then she herded Jess out her front door.
“Am I dressed okay?” Jess asked as Tania grabbed Jess’s keys from her to lock the door.
“Yup. Let’s move.”
“Where are we going?” Jess asked when Tania didn’t stop at George’s truck and they continued to march down the sidewalk toward the beach.
“Just walk.”
Jess thought they were going to the pavilion at first, but they veered off course. It was almost like they were headed to … “The amusement park?” she said when the gates came into view.
“I know, I know, you work here. But when was the last time you had fun here?”
“Um…” Then she saw Chrissy waiting for them, and Shay, Billi, Raya, Lee … and Vivienne. Vivienne, achingly hot, with windblown hair, a white bikini top, and jean shorts. Jess tore her eyes off of Vivienne’s long, smooth neck and muscled shoulders and grinned at the group.
“Welcome to Operation Fuck Playoffs!” Tania announced. “There are two rules this evening: No talking about volleyball—I mean it, Jessica—and have fun!”
They ran straight to the roller coaster and got seats right at the front, Jess squished in between Tania and Vivienne.
Vivienne’s skin was as warm as it was golden, and it gave Jess a shiver as it pressed to hers, ankles to shoulders.
She screamed at the first drop, arms in the air, letting any pent-up anxiety spiral loose into the darkening California sky.
Jess chose a gold horse on the carousel because it reminded her of Vivienne’s radiant skin. Vivienne sat next to her on a white horse with a pink mane. Billi and Raya fought over a purple horse, only pausing when Tania held up her phone to snap a group selfie.
After the carousel, they rode the giant swings, then the roller coaster again.
They played Whac-A-Mole and ring toss—Troy certainly made it look easier than it was, although Jess did manage to win a mini mermaid stuffie with black hair after a few tries.
They had churros, popcorn, and frozen lemonade.
And they laughed. They laughed until their sides hurt, laughed till they cried, laughed until the whole sky was a blanket of stars twinkling far above their heads, until the playoff math had dissolved away in adrenaline and midway bells, shared looks and pinkies brushing in the crowd, a head tilted back, a lazy smile, and a tongue licking a sparkle of sugar off a lip.
And the whole time, with Vivienne by her side, Jess felt her pull, like a comet around its sun, wondering how there was a time when she thought Vivienne was distant and cold.
“I can give you guys a ride,” Vivienne said to Jess when they got to her Mercedes at the curb after the park closed. “It’s on my way.”
It’s fine, we can walk, Jess was about to say, not wanting to make Vivienne go out of her way, but Tania jumped into the car and scrambled into the back seat.
“Oh, thanks,” Jess said. “That would be great.”
Jess rolled her window down and tipped her head back on her headrest, smiling in the breeze, the most relaxed she had felt in weeks. Then her mind drifted forward. “We play you on Saturday,” she said to Vivienne at a red light.
“Jessica! No volleyball talk!” came from the back seat.
Vivienne cast a look sideways at Jess. “I know,” she said softly.
“That game might decide if we make playoffs or not,” Jess added, eyes closed.
“I know,” Vivienne replied.
Tania grumbled from the back seat, but she had lost her steam.
“You won’t let us win, right?” Jess asked.
Vivienne drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “I would never.”
“Good.”
Jess and Tania waved goodbye to Vivienne from the curb, then Jess hugged Tania. “Thank you. I needed a night like this.”
Tania hugged her back. “You’re welcome. Sleep well tonight, Button.”
“I will.”
Jess set the mermaid stuffie with black hair on the shelf next to her jars of shells … twenty-nine wins, twenty-eight losses. And she did sleep very well indeed.
Friday, on the penultimate day of the regular season, Jess sat next to Tania on the bleachers. “Sonja and Jonesy won their match.…”
“And that means we have to beat Vivienne and Lee tomorrow to make playoffs,” Tania finished.
Jess nodded and settled back into her seat. “So let’s beat them.”