By the time I pulled up in front of Delphine’s cottage, the morning had turned bright after a gray dawn. The front door opened before I reached the porch. Annie came out in her team warm-ups, cleats in one hand, a duffel slung over her shoulder, a yellow ribbon tied around her ponytail.
I took the bag from her and put it in the trunk next to mine.
“I’m so excited. Thank you again for this.” Annie hugged me.
Delphine appeared with a small suitcase. She wore white shorts that showed off her long, tanned legs and a sleeveless navy blouse, sunglasses pushed into her hair.
“You both look great,” I said. “Let’s get on the road.”
“Daylight’s wasting,” Annie said, laughing. “I heard that in a western Tyler made me watch.”
I took Delphine’s suitcase to put in with the others, surprised how heavy it was. “What’s in here?”
“I like to be prepared,” Delphine said, flushing. “You never know what kind of shoes you need or what the weather will do.”
I put her bag in the trunk. For a moment, I looked at our three bags lined up together and thought,it looks right, all of them there together.
The drive to Cliffside Bay followed the curves of the coast, past stretches of blue water broken by cliffs, cypress trees, and natural grasses that swayed in the breeze. We turned on an eighties playlist, occasionally singing along.
About fifteen minutes into the trip, Annie, from the back, held up theSoccer for Dummiesbook I’d thrown in at the last minute. “What’s this?”
“Oh, just a little homework. I read the whole thing, but I’m not sure how much I retained.”
“Dorian, that’s, like, so sweet,” Annie said.
“I want to understand the game,” Dorian said.
“Why?” Annie asked.
“Because it’s important to you,” I said.
“Oh, well. Okay.” Annie grinned at me in the rearview mirror.
Soon enough, we reached Cliffside Bay. There was no road sign to welcome anyone to town, but I knew where to turn anyway.
“The locals take down the road signs,” Annie said. “So no one can find Cliffside Bay.”
“I’ve heard that,” Delphine said. “But people find it anyway.”
The soccer field sat on a bluff above the water, bordered by wind-bent cypress trees on one side and a low wooden fence on the other. Beyond the far goal, the ocean was a hard bluebeneath the noon sun. Parents had already begun setting up along the sideline with folding chairs, umbrellas, and coolers.
Annie went into game mode the moment we arrived. The joking girl in the back seat became focused, alert, and somehow older. She tugged on her cleats and started doing stretches.
“She looks different out there,” I said. “All grown up.”
“She does.” Delphine unfolded her chair but did not sit. “This is her happy place.”
Bella came over to say hello, tanned and athletic, brown hair up in a ponytail. Delphine had mentioned earlier that Alex was coaching Peter’s baseball game back at home and Gillian had decided to stay home with the baby.
“You okay without your parents here?” Delphine asked.
“Totally. They see almost all of them, so I’m good, but thanks for asking.” She gave us a smile before heading over to the rest of her teammates.
The game began with a whistle. Like the first game I’d seen, Annie was a clear leader. She was always turning her head, always scanning, always moving into the space where she would be needed next. There was a discipline to it and a kind of imagination too. She saw not only where the ball was but where it was going, where the other players were likely to be two seconds later, what might open if she moved before anyone else had thought to close it.
About twelve minutes in, she intercepted a pass near midfield, turned away from a defender, and sent the ball through a narrow gap to a teammate breaking down the left side.
“Yes,” I shouted before I could stop myself. “Well done, Annie!”
