Giverny's Story

Chapter 4

At Tanner's, Claudette brooded over her lemonade as the finals began in earnest.

Her sister really did play excellent tennis. After all those summer lessons they had both taken, Claudette had been the one to play for her university but she had stopped soon after leaving school. Giverny had never played competitively- only socially. Nevertheless she was an astounding athlete, even when it came to running and swimming. And she looked really good in her short white shorts and shirt.

So did Christian.

Claudette didn't know why she'd chosen not to play the game herself. No one in the tournament would have been serious competition. She knew that. Maybe she just didn't feel like being sweaty and icky. Somehow her sister made it look sexy, but she knew after a tennis match she looked like a hot red tomato in a cotton skirt and blonde bangs. If she was going to win Chris's vote this weekend, she would have to look her best. That, she decided, was why.

"I've never seen you so focused on a game you're not playing," a voice said behind her.

She looked up with a frown, but smiled the moment she recognized the person who'd spoken. "Hello BB. Sit down and chat a while."

"Now that I've seen your sister's here, do I have a choice?" he said good-naturedly. "How are you, CJ? And how's Illinois?"

"Brilliant. I'm as happy as a feather."

"Feathers don't have feelings."

"Shut up, Bruce. I'm fine. How're you?"

"I'm jealous."

"Why?" Claudette asked curiously. In her books, there was very little BB didn't have, so what could he possibly be jealous of?

"First of all who's Adonis playing tennis with Giverny?"

"Christian Smyth."

"Ah?" he sounded interested, but said nothing else.

Giverny was serving. Bruce's eyes followed her every move and when she aced the serve clean down the middle, he whistled.

CJ rolled her eyes.

Bruce was an absolute fool for her little sister and the girl hardly recognised what an opportunity it would be to marry Bruce Benton. Or maybe she did and that wasn't good enough for her.

Giverny had always had the choice pick of suitors and perhaps she knew something CJ didn't. Maybe there was a genetic flaw she had discovered that wouldn't turn out so well for their children. Lord knows how much Claudette dreaded a situation like that.

Which was why she wanted Giverny to do the tests as soon as possible so that she could turn up the interest in Christian or drop him like hot potatoes. She hoped it wouldn't be the latter because she was running out of time and she didn't want to make any rash choices about her life partner. She needed to be secure in knowing he was compatible and that they could proceed. Why couldn't Gigi understand that?

Giverny, in the meantime, was fuming. Why Claudette was being such a bug, she couldn't understand. It wasn't as if she was flying back on Sunday!

She lobbed the ball, aimed her racket to hit it and aced it once more.

"Thirty-love. Serve."

She knew how much time it took her to do serious comparisons, marker analyses and such.

"Forty-love. Serving for the set." Pause. "And game. Serve."

She aced it.

"Great set, Giggles," Christian said. "You had me resting on my laurels here."