Chapter 59
Chapter Fifty-Nine
NAOMI
Finding me in the bathroom while I was touching up my make-up—removing the traces of mascara that had smudged under my eyes from yet more crying—Alisha wore a gold medal around her neck.
“Look, we match,” she said as our reflections locked eyes, waving Sam’s medal around. I pulled mine out of my bag and waved it back at her.
Even though the dirt had settled and the sun had set, I still couldn’t believe I was an Olympic champion.
“Only took three Olympic cycles to get it,” I said sarcastically.
“Stop that. It can never be taken away from you. Why didn’t we bother to invest in a waterproof mascara?” she asked, and I noticed that she, too, had smudges under her eyes.
I laughed wetly. “No idea,” I answered as I reapplied my non-waterproof mascara. “What even set you off?”
I knew why I was tearing up at the drop of a hat. It was my birthday, I’d won a gold medal, and my professional tennis career was over. It was a big day.
Alisha wiped under her eyes.
“I saw a picture of the two of you that Wyatt took when you’d finally picked yourselves up off the ground, and you looked so happy and in love, and now here we are.”
“I can’t believe even after all this, the last image of me on a tennis court is still me crying in a heap in Madrid,” I joked.
She nudged her shoulder with mine. “Because you won a fucking gold medal. Can’t think of a better way to go out. Greatest big sister I know.”
I nudged her back. “Leesh, I’m your only big sister.”
“Fine. Greatest person I know. No one I would rather travel the world with and watch stoically give her blood, sweat, and tears to the court.” She raised an eyebrow.
“What is that look?”
“We’re not done travelling the world yet, are we?” she asked, almost like she already knew the answer.
I sighed and turned away from the mirror, resting on the sink. Alisha copied.
“I dunno. Are we?” I threw back.
It would be a lie to say I hadn’t been thinking about what was next after I officially put playing to rest. I had two options.
First, I go back to the life I had when I was recovering and be a full-time physio with a solid home base and regular clients.
Or the second: still be a full-time physio but continue to never quite know whether I was coming or going because the tennis tour never stayed still.
I hadn’t landed on which one I wanted more.
“You’re a quality-time person with a very specific set of skills, which I think are going to come in handy considering the owner of this medal has been borrowing your physio all year, and he seems fragile.”
“He’s not fragile,” I muttered, even though I was acutely aware that the same shoulder had flared up twice in eight months and was the reason he came to see me in the first place last year.
“He literally played today with a slight injury, which is a repeat of the one that took him out of Aus. Jamie gave you a year, and you’re not gonna leave Sam at the hands of the tour physios.
Wyatt is obviously his coach. So, the two people I spend the most time with are going to carry on travelling the world and probably eat the same two meals on rotation because I’m not there to feed them.
And I think it will be much more fun going around the world with you when you aren’t in active tennis-player mode.
Think of all the late-night desserts we could eat! ”
I laughed. “Of course that is where your brain goes. Although you make a good point. It will be nice to actually relax in the places we visit.”
Alisha laughed. “Mimi, you know damn well watching people you care about play this game is anything but relaxing.”
“True. But the sentiment still stands. The Sullivans are probably gonna return to the tour as staff only, if you’re up for it. We probably don’t need to commit to the whole tour, so we can still spend more time in our own beds with Logan.”
“I’m up for it, however it manifests itself.
But this is not the time to figure all that out.
We’re celebrating!” She looked at the gold medal around her neck.
“I’m proud of you, by the way.” My eyes blurred with yet more tears.
“Yeah, this medal is cool and all, but I’m proud of you way beyond that.
In ways I don’t think I would be able to sum up in words, which is annoying considering that’s part of what I do.
You are the greatest person I know, and incredibly, you’re also my older sister. ”
“Are you trying to make me cry on purpose?” I asked wetly.
“No. But hey, it’s one of those days. Now, I should probably return this medal to its rightful owner, and you should probably return to your own birthday party. But before we go, you do know that you haven’t formally retired, right?”
I picked up my own medal and put it back in my bag before wiping under my eyes one more time and taking my sister’s hand in mine.
“Yeah, so about that.”