Chapter Thirty-Three
SYLVIA
As soon as the lights turned off, Sylvia rushed to Adele. “What have you done?” she asked, panicked. “You do realize we are shutting the club down! It’s being repossessed by the bank mere days after you just proposed, on national television, that we will be hosting a televised tennis tournament.”
“I know it is a crazy idea, and I would have asked you first, but I couldn’t,” Adele said. “But if this works, maybe, just maybe, I could help you save the club.”
A rush of trepidation and excitement surged through Sylvia’s veins, but she tried not to get ahead of herself; she wasn’t even sure if this was possible. “We are not going to be set up for this kind of thing. We won’t have a staff or food or beverages. I’ve just canceled all of our vendors.”
“We have more than two weeks to arrange everything,” Adele said calmly.
“And seating. And who’s going to pay for all this? We don’t have extra money floating around.”
“I’m going to set up a meeting for tomorrow morning with everyone—Rutherford and his staff, you, Walter.…”
“Me.” Milly rushed over to join them. “I want to help however I can.”
“Walter’s not going to like this,” Sylvia said. “It’s been stressful enough.”
“What if we can raise enough money to keep the club running?” Adele said.
“And if we can’t?” Sylvia asked.
“Well, then this can be your last hurrah,” Adele said. “La grande finale.”
Sylvia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s say we can raise enough money to put on the tournament. How do we then make enough money to save the club?”
“Ticket sales, of course, but more importantly, there will be prize money, a purse, mostly coming from sponsorships, and they can be significant; winner takes eighty percent and loser takes twenty percent.”
“So you’re saying if you win, you’d put that money into the club?” Sylvia asked.
“Yes. We’d have to discuss the terms, but, yes, I could invest,” Adele said. “It’s not unheard of.”
Milly clasped her hands and squealed. “I think it’s a brilliant idea.”
“Yes,” Sylvia agreed. “That would be incredible.”
“You have done a lot for me,” Adele said.
“Both of you. You have given me my life back. Having the opportunity to coach you and the women at the club has made me realize what I’ve been missing.
It’s made me face my biggest fears. If I can help you now, I will.
It’s a long shot, but let’s at least try. ”
Sylvia was right: Walter was not thrilled about Adele’s impulsive announcement.
“This would have been a grand opportunity three months ago, six months ago,” he said as they sat down for dinner at their small dining table.
“I would have jumped for joy at this opportunity, Lamb Chop, you know I would. But we are not in a position to put on this kind of grand spectacle now. We’re about to hand over the keys.
” He reached over and took her hands in his.
“I’m sorry. We just need to let this go. ”
She nodded, taking in all that he said. Sylvia’s mother had called her after receiving her letter and said they could stay with her and her husband for a week in Barstow.
While the thought of it made Sylvia want to curl into a little ball and hide, she was glad that they had a plan and a place to go once all this was over and they handed the keys to the bank.
Walter had told her it would only be a matter of time before the bank came after the little cottage too, and Sylvia didn’t want Judith to go through a second round of humiliation.
At least now they were not going to be left scrambling, and she needed that security; she needed it for Judith.
But this little glimmer of hope that Adele had set into motion, it felt like a lifeline.
She had a feeling, a tingling in the pit of her stomach, that they could do this.
She wasn’t ready to give up this fight, not yet.
“Walt, you promised me that we were going to do things together from now on. We are the only club I know of that has a female champion coaching tennis. After that interview, Adele is going to be all over the newspapers.”
“She admitted to drugging a woman!” he said.
“But she didn’t have to. She was forthright and vulnerable. I think women will admire her honesty and strength, I really do.”
Walter seemed to consider that.
“This is the kind of publicity we could never have even dreamed of,” Sylvia continued. “People are already talking; imagine how many women might become interested in joining the club after this.”
“Not if there’s no club to join,” he said.
“Adele thinks there’s potential to raise a lot of money with this one event. She’s done these kinds of tournaments before; she knows what to do.”
Walter shook his head and sighed. “I’ve never seen you like this before,” he said. “I see the glint in your eye. You have a feeling about this.”
“I do, Walt, I really do.” She ran her fingers along the top of his hand and down the side of his pinky finger, the one that had been broken and had healed at a slightly imperfect angle. “It’s our last chance to keep the club and stay on the island.”
“I just want you to be realistic. Even if we can pull this off, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll raise enough money to save the club. Adele said herself that she doesn’t even play matches anymore. Playing is very different from coaching. The chances of her winning are slim.”
“I know,” she said. It was an almost impossible feat, but she wanted to at least try, to give it everything she had. “Let’s do this, you and me together,” she said. “What do we have to lose? And at least if we go down, we go down fighting.”
Walter exhaled. “All right,” he said. “Let’s do it together.”
The front door swung open. “Mom?”
Sylvia tensed, ready to face the fury that seemed to have overtaken Judith ever since they moved.
Everything was Sylvia’s fault; she was taking the brunt of all of it, and she was trying to do it with grace.
It wasn’t fair for Judith to unload all of her misery onto Sylvia, but it was hard to be a teenager too, even without all the change and upheaval they were going through.
“Jude?” Walter called out. “Judith, can you come in here for a moment? Your mother and I would like to have a word.”
Sylvia looked to Walter, perplexed. “It’s time we start treating her like the young lady she is,” he said.
Judith walked into the kitchen and slung her satchel over the back of the chair, looking annoyed.
“Sit down, sweetheart,” Walter said.
“I’m meeting Margaret at Jolly Roger in five minutes; I have to get ready.”
“Sit down, Judith,” he said.
Judith looked from Walter to Sylvia and frowned, slowly sliding into a chair. “Oh my God, are you getting a divorce?”
“What?” Sylvia said.
“No, Judith,” Walter said. “God no. What on earth gave you such an idea?”
“It hasn’t exactly been peaches and cream around here lately,” she said, looking down at her hands and picking at her cuticles.
“That’s true, it hasn’t,” he said. “And that’s what we wanted to talk to you about.
Listen, Jude.” He sighed deeply. “I made a big mistake recently. Really big.” He looked up at her and she was staring at him expectantly.
“I got caught up in some gambling. That’s why we lost the house and it’s why we’ll likely lose the club too. It’s all my fault and I’m so sorry.”
Sylvia looked from him to Judith, shocked.
She’d expected to take this to her grave, to shield Judith from her father’s wrongdoings.
She couldn’t believe he was relieving her of that burden.
She felt the weight of it lift immediately and was able to take what felt like the first real deep breath she’d taken for days.
“Your mother has been working really hard to keep this family together, to put on the beauty contest and maintain our family’s legacy, to move us from our house to here, and to be a support for all of us during this really difficult time. So it’s time to stop sassing her.”
Judith looked up at Walter as if she’d been caught red-handed.
“I mean it, Judith. She is the reason this family is still functioning.”
Judith nodded slowly, then turned to Sylvia. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t, and this is a lot to take in.” Sylvia put her hand on Judith’s and squeezed.
“My mistake,” Walter continued, “is that I didn’t come to your mother and confide in her right away. But we’re working together now to make things right. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from this nightmare, it’s that you don’t have to go through the hard times alone.”
“Your father’s right. If ever you have problems,” Sylvia said, “and you will at some point in your life, please know you can come to us; we can support you, we can help you.”
“OK,” Judith said, looking slightly lighter herself, her shoulders less slumped.
Maybe it was the not knowing that had caused her to act out.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said. “I was really worried when I walked in here that you were going to tell me you were getting a divorce. Then my life would really be over.”
“Dear God, no,” Walter said. “We’ve realized now more than ever that money isn’t what matters; what matters is that we are together as a family.”
The following morning Jonathan and his TV crew, as well as Adele and Milly, joined Sylvia and Walter at the club for their first meeting.
“We have good news,” Jonathan announced once everyone was seated in the empty club restaurant. “We were able to reach Margery, and she’s agreed to the rematch.”
There was a collective sigh of relief, and, at the news, Walter snapped into business mode.
“We need to make sure it’s advertised well and that people know to buy tickets,” Walter said. “I have friends at the local and national papers, so I can call in some favors there, but your station should start running ads right away.”
“We’re already on it,” someone from the network said. “We need this to be a success as much as you do; we’re going to run TV and radio ads nonstop to get the word out.”
“What about sponsors?” Adele asked. “At matches I used to play, there were often posters and banners from businesses local to the area of the tournament. Can someone contact businesses in the area and see if they’d be interested?”
“I can do that,” Walter said.
“You’re perfect for that, Walt; you know everyone.” Sylvia was happy to see Walter taking charge again; he’d been moping around looking distraught for too long.
“I’ll be in charge of food and beverages,” Sylvia said.
“I’ll contact the vendors and make sure we’re well stocked for that day.
And I’ll ensure that we have enough staff.
” There’d be some confusion, as she’d already broken contracts with their suppliers and let most of the staff go, but she’d explain the situation and make it work.
“What about merchandise?” Milly piped in.
“I don’t know a thing about putting on a tennis tournament or running a club, but I do know fashion and I know people love to shop.
I imagine they’ll pay good money to take home a souvenir from the biggest women’s tennis match of the last two decades.
What about cardigans or sweaters with The Island Club on the back, or sun hats?
If it’s a hot day, we could sell paper fans. ”
“I love the idea, Milly,” Sylvia said. “But ordering personalized items takes weeks, months maybe, and we don’t have that kind of time. And it requires money up front that we don’t have at out fingertips.” Walter nodded and Milly looked disappointed.
“What about items from our local boutiques? Could we set up a makeshift gift shop with items on loan from stores in town?” Milly asked. “We only pay for what we sell; they get a cut and we get a cut.”
“I like it,” Sylvia said. “Can you be in charge of that?”
Milly nodded, looking happy to participate.
The meeting went on with people chiming in making arrangements, assigning jobs. The camera crew talked about specific needs they had for filming—they discussed building a platform structure they could film from—and Walter brought up the need for additional seating around center court.
“What about national tennis brands?” Jonathan asked. “If we secure one of those brands, they could cover any structural additions.”
“I had thought of that,” Adele said. “Babolat strings, Wilson rackets, Dayton, Spalding—but I don’t know if they’re going to sponsor an event with two washed-up tennis players.”
“Don’t say that,” Sylvia said. “Why don’t you and I work on that together, Adele, and we can talk to them about sponsoring you and Margery too.”
Sylvia had always loved to plan a party, to chair a committee, organize a charity gala—that’s where she excelled—but this was intensely personal.
As crazy and improbable as the whole thing had sounded at first, it was actually beginning to sound feasible, and, dare she admit it, quite exciting.
She knew it was unlikely they could save the club, but she liked being part of a team in this way and loved working in partnership with Walter.
Judith would see her parents working together to pull off this near-impossible feat, and they could at least walk away from it all with their heads held high.
When the meeting ended, Adele approached Sylvia and Milly.
“I need to train,” she said. “I haven’t played an actual match in twenty years, and I’ve only got a few weeks to catch up.”
“Yes,” Milly said. “But who will you train with?”
Adele laughed. “Robbie is not exactly my biggest fan, but I’ll see what I can do to convince him or the other coaches to hit with me. But until they agree, I was hoping I’d practice with you,” she said to Milly, then turned to Sylvia: “And you.”
“I hardly think we’re at your level,” Milly said and laughed.
“No,” Adele said, “absolutely not, but I have to take what I can get for now, and you two are it.” She shrugged. “So will you play?”
“Well, sure,” Milly said.
“All right,” Sylvia said. “Between putting on the biggest event I’ve ever attempted and preparing to uproot my family and move to the desert, sure—why not take on some extra tennis too?” Sylvia said.
“Good,” Adele said, not missing a beat. “Sylvia, you can be my eight o’clock. Milly, be ready at nine.”