Weekend Goal

Chapter 1: Replacement Goalie

The fresh morning is a welcome change to the scorching temperatures of the past weeks. I thank the weather spirits for otherwise I wouldn't make it past the first ten minutes of practice. I've been looking forward to it since I got the confirmation that I could join the team. Well, at least train with them.

Time seems to slow down in Greenwood during the summer. The office was full when I started in May, but then I was one of the few in the office while everyone else went on vacation. In the following months, seeing everyone enjoying the outdoors in the company of others made me feel lonely, or maybe I'm just homesick.

I video chat with my mom often since I moved here from Amsterdam, but it isn't the same as having her around and enjoying a cup of tea together. It was my decision to take up the job offer; no one obliged me. Well, I was trying to forget him, but that played only a small part in my move to the other side of the world.

The need for human contact made me search for local sports clubs. I hate going to the gym with the big egos and the sweaty scents. A team sport was the best option, soccer in this case, which I have played since I can remember. I tried to call the club but didn't get through, so I sent an email asking how to join. I had forgotten about it until two weeks ago when I received an answer from Cooper Ryder, the coach. He basically apologized three times for answering late, told me every detail about his vacation and how when he came back his internet was down, then begged me to join the team.

This morning, I fussed about what to wear wanting to make a good impression, but then realized it wouldn't matter after I'm covered in sweat, dirt and grass stains. I settled then on arriving early. The walk to the club from my apartment is short and pleasant, and soon I found myself in front of the wooden doors of the Greenwood Foxes Soccer Club.

The entrance is unlocked, and I find an area filled with couches and small wooden tables with chairs. A giant flat screen TV covers the back wall and two more hang above the bar area. The rest of the walls have framed shirts and photos of the all-female team. Only the hum of a cooler can be heard, and for the rest, the place is dead.

"Hello?" I call out.

The tables have a thin layer of dust, and only one of the window curtains is pulled up. I entertain myself opening them to get a better view of the freshly mowed pitch.

"We are not open yet," a voice says behind me. I turn around to find a man with wavy dirty blond hair and whose light blue eyes widen at the realization when he looks at the duffel in my hand.

"Oh, hi! You must be Sanne," he places a stack of soft drink cans on the counter of the bar, then comes around it.

"Yes, I am," we shake hands.

"I'm Cooper."

"Cooper as in the coach?"

"Coach, club admin and indoor plants expert. According to the team also blind, deaf and know-it-all," he chuckles.

"I think I'm too early."

"Only a bit. The rest will be here soon. I haven't opened the place since the end of the season. Look at this," he rubs a finger on a table. "I just mowed the pitch and was stacking the bar."

"I can help. I like to keep busy."

"Heaven sent," he grins. "Can you help me clean these tables? I can hear Rose already complaining if she comes in and sees them like this."

"Who is she?"

"Best defender in the area. That woman is a wall. We could have won the championship, but our goalie was going through an unstable personal situation and was absent often. When I read your email, I almost kissed the screen from happiness. I was wondering where I was going to find a new goalie."