The Club

Chapter 21 - Passage

We left the hotel by bus at 8:30 a.m. It was a rainy morning in Sydney and the trip to the airport was slow as molasses. Savannah had the girls in impeccable order. They all wore matching team tracksuits for the journey, looking as though they might break into a basketball game at any time. We herded the girls through the airport, past security, and to our gate lounge. The Qantas flight to LAX was on the board and a few of the girls got out their cameras and took a picture of their final destination.

Rhonda Tong was definitely the most nervous flyer; she was uneasy at every step and needed to be reassured that she was moving in the right direction.  Julie Hudson continued to be the most needy and immature of the group and I could feel Savannah biding her time before having a chat with her. Lucy Jones was tall. Alone, out on the course, it didn’t seem out of place but with a group of girls in matching warm-up suits the contrast in height was stark. She towered over the group. If she wasn’t six feet tall it wasn’t by much. She carried herself somewhat awkwardly and I predicted she would be the first member of team to open the first aid kit on the trip. Lynn Evans and Jennifer Wasik were a quiet and serious duo. They had become quite chummy while rooming together over the past three days in Sydney and seemed to make conversation easily.  I knew Lynn from working with her in Melbourne but hadn’t paid much attention to Jennifer until last week, but I was impressed with her game and her approach. I could see both of them being assets to the team in Chicago. Lorna was calm and relaxed; she kept the atmosphere light and mixed well with everyone in the group, including Julie Hudson who became a bit more tolerable when Lorna was around. Savannah was in fine form; she was still super organized and earnest but she had lightened up a bit since Melbourne. I hadn’t really hit my stride yet. I was responsible for organizing the practice sessions and keeping the players focussed. I felt as though I was floating a little as there wasn’t much I could advise the players on until we got to Chicago and I had seen the conditions and the course. As for the travel, that was Savannah’s area and I was just along for the ride.

I texted Deirdre and let her know I was at the gate. I decided I would buy a new sim card for my blackberry when I got to Chicago so I could communicate with the world back home. Savannah and I had a good conversation before the flight. We would be staying at the Omni Hotel in Chicago, not far from Michigan Avenue, for the first couple of nights. During our two days of practice we would shuttle to the course for our practice rounds and walk with the players to get them used to the conditions. After the first two nights we would be staying at a hotel 5 minutes from the course. After the tournament the players assumed that we were going home right away but actually we were stopping over in Las Vegas for a night before heading home. Savannah swore me to secrecy. We discussed the room assignments for the girls in Chicago and I must confess I had no concrete convictions on the matter at all. I suggested that we keep Lorna and Julie together but Savannah felt that it would be better to have Julie stay with Rhonda; she wanted to pair Lorna with Lucy and keep the dynamic duo of Lynn and Jennifer together. I had no basis on which to disagree.

Our flight was boarding when I finally realized that I was going to spend the next 14 hours in a tiny seat. I generally have trouble making it through a 2-hour dinner without getting antsy and there was no way I was going to sleep a wink on the flight. On the other hand I had 4 books of poetry to read in my bag so I had the 14 hours covered.

The plane raced off the runway and the journey had begun. Savannah picked up her headset and launched into a movie on the screen in front. I figured her for watching a four-hour documentary on the street names of Chicago. I was a little shocked when she selected an off-the-wall sophomoric comedy. I couldn’t resist a smile.  I opened up my copy of The Victorians – An Anthology of 19th Century Poetry; Savannah cast a similar wry smile in my direction.

I’m not sure why the Victorian era in literature appeals to me so much. Perhaps it is because it contains themes of a conflicted sense of self.  I enjoy the modern adaptations of epic heroes as a metaphor for the type of self-analysis I was going through in my own life. Was I an athlete or a coach, an artist or a teacher? Time would tell. Around the three hour mark of the journey I felt myself nodding off to sleep and I think I ended up getting 45 minutes of shuteye. I looked over at Savannah and she was fast asleep. I decided to get up and walk around the plane in an effort to relieve the stiffness that I was now feeling in every fibre of my being. Nine hours to go seemed like an eternity.