CHAPTER 20

Kendra couldn’t afford a trip to Italy. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Her network wasn’t covering the international event. Volleyball, both indoor and beach, while popular across the country, was only starting to be aired on prime time. Beach volleyball had been on TV every weekend of the season during the heyday of the previous pro league for about twenty years or so, but when that league collapsed, there was a gap before the new one popped up, so it was only starting to get popular again for networks to air. An international event, though, which most people weren’t even aware of, wasn’t going to be covered on any of the major sports networks. That meant that Kendra wouldn’t be paid to go to Italy to cover the event, and since she couldn’t afford to take a trip like that after just buying a house and starting to do work on it, she’d be watching Aspen’s matches on her laptop, since it would only be streaming, and at odd hours due to the time difference. She had one trip to Portland to cover an NWSL match that would be during the middle of the tournament for Aspen, but other than that, she’d be watching at home.

As she stared at her computer, with the website telling her with a black screen and a short message that the event would start shortly, Kendra thought about maybe making the trip to Berlin. The network still wouldn’t be covering it, but she could ask for some time off and at least go for a few days, get a hotel room with points, and use some of her frequent-flyer miles to get a free or cheap flight. She supposed she could’ve done that for Italy, but she’d already been booked for a local NWSL match for Angel City FC and the one in Portland, so she probably wouldn’t have gotten the time off. In addition, spending all those miles and points on a tournament that wouldn’t earn Aspen and DJ an automatic spot in the Olympics didn’t seem worth it. Not to mention, the hotel points and flight miles would only take care of so much; she’d still have to pay for everything else. So, if she was going to do that, she’d rather do it for Berlin, when Aspen and DJ could lock in an Olympic spot.

“You’re acting like she’s your girlfriend,” she said to herself as she took a sip of her merlot. “She’s not your girlfriend. You’d just be that weird person tagging along to support a relatively new friend. She might even think it’s weird for you to be there.”

Her screen changed to a volleyball court, and she set her wineglass down on her table quickly.

“Come on, Aspen.”

In their first match, Aspen and DJ were playing a team from South Africa. They’d gone with two tall players, both over six feet, and that was a strategy. For a few teams, it worked, whereas for others, it usually didn’t. Aspen and DJ were introduced, and they took their spots on the court. As Kendra took Aspen in from thousands of miles away, she thought about how she’d told Aspen things about herself that she hadn’t told anyone before her. Only her teammates back in school, because they’d been there when it happened, and her parents knew some of what she’d told Aspen. Her teammates didn’t know about her later surgery, though, and her parents never understood how much being seventeen and nearly dying, losing her entire life plan on top of that, had negatively impacted her.

She hadn’t shared everything with Aspen, but she’d opened up to her, and it wasn’t even all that hard to do. How had she gone from having a girlfriend for two years and not being able to tell her anything like that to telling Aspen a lot of her story over hot dogs? Kendra couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, whatever it was that Aspen had that made her want to tell her things no one else knew, but it was there. And with Aspen being on the other side of the world, she missed her.

Aspen and DJ opened the match with an easy win and went into the second set looking good. Then, Aspen jumped for her serve, trying to get them their ninth point, and she stumbled a bit on her landing. She got up and made a play when the ball came back over the net, but they didn’t get the point and took an injury timeout.

“Shit,” Kendra muttered, wishing she were there because she’d be getting information on the injury to relay to the people watching at home.

This streamer hadn’t provided any commentary, though, and she was watching a somewhat blurry screen, so she had no idea how bad the injury was. She sat there and waited, trying to watch Aspen’s face as the trainer took a look at her ankle, but it was impossible to tell. When the timeout was over, Aspen and DJ went back out onto the court, and Aspen seemed to be moving okay. The match resumed, and they served Aspen because they wanted to take advantage. She passed it up, DJ set it, and Aspen smacked it down, earning them a point.

“Yes!” Kendra cheered to no one.

She was okay. At least for now, Aspen was okay. They won the second set by three and shook the hands of the other players. Then, the screen went black again, and a message telling Kendra that the event had ended popped up. She hated being at home. She wanted to walk up to Aspen and ask her about her ankle and how it felt to get the win after going down with an injury. Instead, she reached for her phone and decided to send the woman a text, congratulating her and asking her if she was okay. Kendra knew she wouldn’t get a response right away. And it was late her time, so she should’ve gone to sleep, but she finished her wine, dropped the dishes from her late-night snack in the sink, and went to her bedroom, waiting for Aspen to message back. When her phone dinged, she was holding it and staring down at it, but she was still unprepared. She jumped a little, promptly dropping the phone, and it landed on the floor.

“Jesus!” She picked it up and pulled up the message.

Aspen Ashley: Why are you awake? It’s late there.

Kendra Bowie: Because I was watching you win. Congratulations!

Aspen Ashley: Call?

Kendra smiled and replied quickly.

“Hi,” she greeted.

“Hey,” Aspen said.

“How’s the ankle?” she asked and settled back against her pillow.

“Fine. I rolled it, so I had it massaged, and I’ve got ice on it now. We don’t play again until tomorrow, and it’s still early today, but I have time for it to relax.”

“Where’s DJ?”

“She went to get food. I came back to the hotel. I wanted to get my foot up and rest.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. It’s only ten in the morning here, and I had breakfast before we played, so I’m all right. DJ will bring me something back for lunch later. You really stayed up late to watch?”

“I did, yeah. It’s always a different experience watching on my laptop than being there in person. I couldn’t tell how hurt you were. I… got worried, Aspen.”

“I’m okay. I landed on the line and got caught, but I’m okay. One benefit to playing indoor over beach, though, is that the lines are painted on the gym floor. In beach, they’re just stuck in the sand, and I got my toe caught.”

“You’re not just saying you’re okay?”

“No, I really am okay. I got back out there, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“And we won.”

“I know. I saw. Your sets were off, though,” she teased.

“They were, were they?” Aspen laughed a little. “Do tell.”

“DJ likes them high, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, she does.”

“You were setting her a little lower than usual. Was that part of the game plan for some reason?”

“No, I was struggling with my sets off of her passes. Her passes were short today. I don’t know why. We’ll talk about it when she gets here. Did you not notice that? Only my errors?”

“I noticed.” Kendra smiled. “Just thought we could focus on you since DJ’s not on the phone with us.”

“Would you like me to call her and have her join the chat?” Aspen laughed.

“No, I just want to talk to you.”

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?” Aspen asked.

“I do. But it’s a travel day. Heading up to Portland to cover the Thorns.”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping, then?”

“For my two-hour flight that doesn’t leave until one in the afternoon? I think I’ll be okay,” she replied. “When is your match tomorrow?”

“It’s in the afternoon. Four my time.”

“I think that’s, like, six or seven in the morning here. The game I’m covering doesn’t start until six at night, so I should be able to watch your match before I head out, assuming the hotel Wi-Fi isn’t terrible. Who are you playing?”

“Number two team from Sweden. They’re good. They’ve got one of the best defensive players in the world in the backcourt. We’ll have to figure out a way to get the ball around her because she’s fast.”

“Just mix up your shots a lot,” Kendra suggested.

“Oh, that’s all?” Aspen chuckled. “All we need to do?”

“Well, if she’s extra fast, you have to make her work hard. Get her to run a lot. Tire her out as much as you can. If you mix up your shots, even if she gets to them, it’ll be exhausting. May not be a big deal for her in the first set, but it’ll hit her in the second, at least. Give her some tips, too. Make them high to give you time to get back and ready for defense. DJ is the best blocker on tour, so she’ll be able to get you a few points that way, and you’ll be there to pick up anything else. Go line a few times in a row. Make her feel safe back there. Then, hit her with a poke, a cut, a poke again, a line shot, and keep mixing it up. Don’t play off wherever she is. Play to her if you have to in order to keep the mix.”

“You’re suggesting we aim right for her instead of the sand?”

“I’m saying she’s going to stand where she’s going to stand, but you still need to mix up your shots. So, if you’re due for a line shot, and she’s there, still hit her with it. Don’t back off of the strategy unless you really have to. Make sure DJ puts a few over on two. You, too, should put a couple of sets over on two; all the way to the backcourt. Make her really run back there to get it.”

“I’ll talk to DJ,” Aspen said. “Maybe we’ll give it a try.”

“You already know all of this. It’s not like it’s new.”

“It’s nice to hear from someone else who knows how we play and knows the sport. We lost our coach, remember? We’ve been on our own ever since. And it’s okay, but we’ve been missing someone telling us what they see, you know?”

“How’s that going? We haven’t talked about it in a while.”

“We haven’t brought anyone out in a minute. We just wanted to get through this and maybe a few more tourneys before we try again. There aren’t that many great coaches out there.”

“But you’re the number one US team. Don’t coaches just fall at your feet?” Kendra joked.

Aspen laughed and said, “Maybe. But even the ones who are good and willing to leave who they’re with now aren’t always going to work for us. They have to be able to deal with me and DJ, and we’re a handful.”

“I can imagine,” Kendra replied.

“How are things there? How’s that grill you bought but haven’t used yet?”

Kendra smiled and said, “It’s all set up and ready to go. I just need someone here to cook for. Know anyone?”

“I know someone who’s not there right now, but who will be soon. She’s interested.”

“DJ?” Kendra teased.

Aspen laughed again and said, “Not DJ.”

“Then, who? The Swedes you play tomorrow? I didn’t know they were coming to town.”

“Yes, that’s who I was talking about,” Aspen replied sarcastically. “I guess I’ll just watch you three have dinner on your patio from my own backyard;.”

“That sounds sad, Aspen. You can stop by for dessert, at least,” she joked.

Aspen laughed again, and Kendra really missed her.

“Maybe I can be there, too… with the Swedes. I could bring merlot or an appetizer or something.”

“You could just bring yourself,” Kendra suggested.

“What about the Swedes?”

“I imagine they’ll be just fine back in Sweden.”

“So, no wine?”

“You could bring the wine, too, if you want, but it’s not a requirement.”

“When are you back from Portland?”

“Before you get back to LA.”

“Can we do something when I get home, then?”

“Are you going to wake me up at five in the morning bouncing that ball on that box thing?”

“No, but I might wake you up at seven.”

“Then, maybe you can come over, and we can do something,” Kendra smirked at no one.

“I’ll make it eight in the morning, then. If I do that, can I change that maybe to a yes?”

“I’ll consider it,” she said, smiling now.

“Well, if I win tomorrow and make it eight, can I change the maybe to a yes?”

“Just win tomorrow, Aspen. We’ll see about that yes when you get home.”

“Okay. I’ll do that, then,” Aspen replied.

“Good.” She yawned and tried her best to cover it up.

“You’re tired,” Aspen said.

“Yes,” she admitted. “But I can stay up if you want to keep talking.”

“I should let you go. DJ will be back soon with food.”

“Oh, okay,” Kendra replied.

“But I wish you were here… covering the event. We could be in the same room right now.”

“I wish I were there, too. Will you please be careful with your ankle?”

“I will. Will you please have a safe flight tomorrow?”

“That’s up to the pilot, but I’ll do what I can.”

Aspen laughed a little and said, “Sleep well, Kendra.”

“Have a good day, Aspen.”