Weekend Goal

Chapter 17: Meeting at Myrtle's

I don't want to read too much between Rose's words, but I'm curious about what she means saying it might be easier than we think. I find her ready to leave at her café, bag on her arm and two to-go cups in her hands.

"Here, your usual," she says as she hands me a drink.

"Thank you," I say and her gesture warms me.

"Let's take my car, we can park nearby and walk towards Myrtle's. I could use some fresh air after being stuck here the whole day."

I follow Rose to her car and after buckling myself, I take a sip of my warm drink. The scent and the flavour comfort me and I relax.

"For the sake of this strange friendship we are starting, I want to be transparent. Yesterday, I found myself at the club."

Rose tells me about the encounter with Willow and Cooper, and I don't know what to make out of it.

"Hope you are not pissed at me," she gives me a quick glance before returning her eyes to the road.

"No, not at all. If anything, I'm glad you are back to being our captain, but I'm worried that this is developing faster than we thought. Do you think Cooper's thrown the towel in for good?"

"I don't know. I hope not. He's done some shitty things lately, but he isn't like that. At least, he wasn't like that."

I get an idea, and maybe I'm wrong but I think this could work. I get my phone and type a hasty message before returning the device to my purse.

We make it to Myrtle's and find Lachlan there.

"Any developments?" He asks as he kisses my cheek while eyeing Rose.

"Plenty, you could say."

I put him up to date as our team members trickle in the shop. Once everyone has settled with something to drink, I stand up and motion for Rose to join me.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. We have gathered here, away from the club, to talk about our unfortunate situation. Our team has gone down several spots in the standing, people have stopped coming to the games and the club isn't making money. The board is making it clear that they are not happy with our performance, and we might lose the club, and therefore our team will cease to exist."

Shocked expressions fill the small room and I look to Rose to help me after delivering the bad news.

"I won't give up. We still have a few games left, and with or without spectators, we will deliver our best."

"But how?" Sage says. "I don't seem to be able to stop one ball! Cooper put Sanne on the bench when she should be the one out there. He even made Willow captain!"

"I fucked up."

Everyone turns their heads to look at the back of the room where Cooper stands. Lachlan stands up and I shake my head to let him know that it's okay.

"I invited him," I whisper to Rose who nods.

"I have no excuses. My decisions have been crap and now I'm paying for it. I'm sorry that I got you all involved in this."

"Cooper, we aren't doing well, but other clubs are doing worse than us. I don't see them closing their doors."

"It's more than just performance. I'm not the right administrator for the club. I'm not even the right person to take charge of my life."

Cooper's words send alarm signals to my brain. I've gone through Lachlan's depressive episodes in the past, and this is too close to those memories.

"You are not alone. You've never been alone," Rose says. "What you've been is too stubborn to accept help from anyone."