Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
SAM
Cincinnati, Ohio – August
Cincinnati Open
Despite knowing I was going to Ohio without an official coach, I’d somehow forgotten that no one else knew I was coachless.
My presence in Montreal was noticed. There was no way it couldn’t be.
I wasn’t hiding, but it had been written off as a training exercise or something.
I’d stopped checking what people were saying about it when I accidentally read a terrible comment about Naomi and vowed to stop looking because nothing good was coming from it.
The media was generally quite kind to me, but ever since I’d been tied to Naomi, things had taken a weird turn that reminded me just how awful the media could be to women. Especially women of colour.
However, the core of the articles wasn’t wrong.
It was a training exercise of sorts.
To see if Wyatt could split his time effectively between his sister and me.
It was easy at this point in the season because he could train us together and use the fact that we were hitting partners in his favour.
It meant we were doing longer sessions, although they were still shorter than what I’d become accustomed to, so half could focus on what Naomi needed and the other half on me.
In the process, we were also learning more about how to support each other when we finally took to the court on the same side.
Wyatt had kept me in a different kind of bubble while we were in Montreal, but reminded me on the flight to the next one, while Naomi slept on my shoulder—and I only felt a little bit bad about leaving her pressed into my side, because she deserved the rest—that I was going to have to face the music about my change in situation.
Once Alisha had finished her thing, she helped me craft a statement, which she sent off to a friend who worked in the media and would just present the facts rather than invite speculation or gossip.
She checked if I wanted to run it past my dad first, but I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d fired him and thought it would be a bad idea to get in touch about this, so I told her to run with it.
She also suggested I keep it vague. I didn’t have to outright lie, but she reminded me that I didn’t necessarily owe anybody any details about what was going on in my life professionally, so I could keep it light on details.
And added that if I wanted, she could announce the change.
I was probably going to leave it to her to do it her way because at least I knew she’d be nice about it.
The article about my dad leaving had gone live while I was asleep, and I was doing so well at not reading the reaction to it until lunchtime.
While Wyatt and I were trying to figure out a plan after a light practice session to help Naomi prep for her first match of the tournament, my phone lit up with a notification saying ‘Albie Reed speaks out about shock split from son, Sam Reed’.
I clicked the banner and read the article.
I was surprised that it had taken nearly two weeks for someone in my former team to tell the press.
But seeing as I was due on court in Ohio for the first time since the split, I’d half-read the article and caught a couple of quotes from my dad saying that we’d achieved a lot in our years together, but it felt like the perfect time to move on to different things.
Considering the way things actually ended, what my dad had to say was better than I expected. He made it sound like a mutual decision and not me blindsiding him. The civil nature was probably just for the press.
Every time I’d spoken to either of my sisters, we all decided to ignore the elephant in the room, but it left me feeling hopeful that when I was finally in the same city as my dad again, we might actually be able to get our relationship back on track.
“You good?” Wyatt’s voice cut through and brought me to reality. I locked my phone.
“Yeah. Dad has made a statement about everything.”
“And it’s…?”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “It’s fine. Better than I might deserve.”
“Maybe some distance has made him see things differently. And look, there is no good way to break up with your parent. Naomi and our mum didn’t speak for three months when she ended things, and then they had a nice sit-down conversation about it.”
I laughed humourlessly. “I think that makes me feel better.”
“You know what else might make you feel better?”
“Enlighten me.”
“As it stands, you’re only going to be coachless from post-Aus to the desert, then I’m yours. Not quite full-time, but enough of the time.”
I frowned. “How’d you figure that one out?”
The answer did not come from him. “I’m calling time on my season after the US,” Naomi said as she dropped into the seat next to Wyatt, pre-match pasta in her hand.
“Oh? Why?” There was no hiding the sadness in my voice. A feeling that made no sense for a variety of reasons. The main one being, I wasn’t going to see her that much anyway once we left New York.
A shrug of a shoulder. “I’m tired and miss my bed. Autumn into winter is my favourite time of year in London, and I don’t care about the points. It’s not like I’m gonna be around to defend them next year.”
Unhelpful thoughts of Naomi taking romantic autumn walks crossed my mind, and I tried to bury them by focusing on the present moment.
“Although Wyatt, you tell a small lie. You won’t be in Madrid because we’re in Tuscany. Mum and Dad will disown you if you aren’t there.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Shit, I forgot about that.”
I caught up to what Naomi just said. “Wait, you won’t be in Madrid next year?”
She nodded while she finished chewing. “Yeah, the timing is terrible, but how were Mum and Dad to know that their thirtieth wedding anniversary holiday was going to happen at the same time as the Madrid Open? And the idea that I’m not going to step on Madrid clay before doing it in a Team GB kit is only a little bit terrifying.
But it is what it is, and I guess that’s what therapy is for. ”
That reminded me. I still hadn’t made the first steps to start therapy. I made a mental note to reach out to Naomi’s friend to get the ball rolling before I sat down to watch her match.
“So, you’re coachless for most of February, some of March, and two weeks in May, but otherwise, you’re golden,” Wyatt said.
“Are you golden?” Naomi asked her brother, and for a moment, it was like I wasn’t even at the table.
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s a new challenge. A good one. I’m excited. Plus, let’s be real, Mimi, what more can I do for you other than maintain?”
She hummed before turning her gaze to me. “Look after my little brother, Sam. I’m trusting you with him,” she said with an accompanying wink before returning her attention to her pasta, although I could see her eyes had glazed over with moisture.
I was helpless to stop the blush that crept up the back of my neck, and no doubt made itself visible on my cheeks.
Wyatt just rolled his eyes and focused on me. “Anyway, let’s talk about your next opponent because he seems to have your number, and honestly, he shouldn’t.”