‘I always liked her,’ Maya’s mum says. ‘She’s so inspiring.’
‘She inspired me,’ Maya agrees.
‘Me too.’
I catch her eye again across the table, reaching out beyond the edge to take her hands in mine. We saw each other just last night, but it already feels like too long has passed. To be fair, we have nine years of lost time to make up for.
‘So, is this match also going to be on the news?’ Maya’s dad asks, peering between me and Maya. ‘Maybe this time, you two can get interviewed.’
‘We would rather it be about the kids,’ Maya says. We’ve both agreed that we definitely don’t want to be social media stars – or any kind of stars – in relation to this match, and the rivalry between us that people have played into. But now I wonder if that would change if I took the job as a coach. I wonder what else might change. If we would still have these dinners with my and Maya’s families, which we try to schedule every other month. Or if I’d be travelling, or if I’d have to move away. What would that even look like?
‘You OK?’ Maya asks, leaning forward to whisper it so that only I hear the question.
‘Yeah, fine,’ I say. I’m going to tell Maya about Jen’s call – the real news that she shared. But I don’t want to do it in front of everyone.
‘Well, I have some news,’ Ma declares all of a sudden. We all turn to her with a questioning look. I can’t even fathom what news she might have. ‘We were talking about inspiration before and I’ve been inspired too.’
‘By Jen?’ Deen asks with a frown.
‘No, of course not,’ Ma scoffs. ‘By the two of you.’ Her face softens as she looks between us. ‘You did what I thought was impossible. You continued pursuing the things that you love, and you made it happen. You achieved your dreams. And I want to do that too.’
Deen’s eyes widen, while I try to soak up her words. Try to understand what she’s really saying.
‘You’re going to go back to acting?’ I ask.
Ma nods. ‘Well, I’ll try. I’ll see what I can do. Even a few small roles would be good. I want to do something that brings me joy. I know I might be too old now to be some kind of film star, but maybe there’s still something for me out there. I gave up so quickly when I was younger.’ She gives all of us at the table a cautious look. ‘You don’t think it’s a bad idea, do you?’
‘No!’ Deen says quickly. ‘It’s an amazing idea. I think you should do it, Ma.’
‘I agree.’ I nod.
Maya and her parents offer their agreement too.
‘I actually know a few people who might be able to help you get your foot in the door,’ Maya’s dad chimes in. ‘There’s Bimi Bhabi’s daughter, right? Didn’t she study acting, and didn’t she do a bunch of theatre shows on the West End?’
‘Yes!’ Maya’s mum says, her eyes flashing with recognition. ‘You should definitely reach out to her. I bet she can set you on the right path.’
Ma smiles at us, her eyes full of hope and promise – something that it seemed my mother had lost before I was even born. It’s nice to see her like this.
‘So, what’s up with you tonight?’ Maya asks later on, after her parents and Ma have gone home and we’ve left Deen at the restaurant to close up. We’re walking hand in hand back to my apartment, the chilly air nipping at us.
‘I’ve just been thinking,’ I say.
‘About …?’
‘Jen’s call.’
‘I knew there was more you weren’t telling me about the call!’ She squeezes my hands and leans into me until her body is pressed flushed against me. ‘Tell me what she said.’
‘There’s a scout coming to the match next week.’
‘Oh, yeah. Ms Jacobs mentioned that might be a possibility at some point,’ Maya says. ‘She didn’t say which match they’d be coming to, though. They’re really coming to the one between us?’
‘Yes, that’s what Jen said.’
‘And it’s bringing up some bad memories for you?’ Maya asks, peering at me closely.
‘No, of course not,’ I say, though I can’t blame her for asking. I was caught up in the past for a long time and it kept me from moving forward into the future. ‘She said that the scout was also interested in me. She thinks she has a position for me as an assistant coach for a professional team. She wants to talk to me about it apparently.’
