Page 21 of Playing the Field
‘Adam’s going to be so gutted he wasn’t here for this,’ Bob says, his arms still round Marge and Dad’s shoulders.
‘It is his wife’s birthday,’ Marge reminds him.
‘I don’t think that would have stopped him if he’d known,’ Bob says, laughing.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell us straight away,’ I say to Dad.
‘And miss out on this moment?’ We survey the carnage around us. ‘Okay so I might need a new rug and a couple of new pint glasses, but it was worth it for that reaction. I actually wish I’d recorded it so I could watch it again.’
‘We could reset the scene and try to recreate it,’ I suggest, thinking it would make a good reel for our Instagram page as well.
But Dad laughs and shakes his head. ‘I’m not sure my heart could take it.’
‘It’s going to be so good telling the team,’ Cassie says dreamily. ‘Although we should probably wait till after we’ve finished tomorrow’s session. They’ll be distracted enough having Pryce there without throwing this at them as well.’
‘Why don’t we organise some kind of celebratory get-together over the weekend, hold off from putting anything online yet and break the news to them then?’ I suggest. ‘Ben does think the team will play a lot more cohesively if they get to know each other better.’
I realise my mistake as soon as the words have left my mouth and I catch Cassie eyeing me suspiciously. I can only hope it’s because she thinks this is Ben trying to push his own ideas on us and not because she’s clocked I used his first name. But luckily Dad takes this idea and runs with it before she can ask me about it.
‘We could set up a game of rounders in the park,’ he suggests. ‘Or some other kind of game.’
‘Drinking games?’ Barbour suggests.
‘If they’re up for it, why not?’ Dad says. ‘It will help us build bonds with them too. I want every one of us, players and management, to feel like one big family.’
‘Uh-oh, Dad’s about to get sentimental,’ Cassie warns.
He rolls his eyes. ‘You can mock, but that’s how I feel. This wouldn’t be happening without all of us working together, and I’m so appreciative of how you’ve all pitched in. You’ve given up so much of your time and—’
‘Dad!’ Cassie exclaims. ‘Don’t kill the mood!’
‘I’m just trying to say thank you,’ he protests.
‘And we get it, but let’s stick with the upbeat vibes.’
‘Fine,’ he concedes. ‘But let me just raise a glass to all the legends sitting round this table. Whatever comes next, we should never lose sight of what we’ve achieved.’
13
Ben arrives early for the training session on Thursday evening. He wants to talk to Cassie before the players arrive, to assure her he isn’t trying to suggest he can do a better job than her. When I called him last night to tell him he’d got the green light to join us, I was honest with him about her reservations. And I can tell she’s still got her defences up from the way she folds her arms across her chest.
I don’t know how I feel as I watch him walking across the pitch towards us, his muscular body more obvious today under a tight orange T-shirt. Conflicted, I suppose would be the best way to put it. I can’t pretend it’s not very distracting when he flashes his gigantic smile at me, and after our chat on Tuesday evening I am more curious about him. He really wasn’t what I was expecting when it was just the two of us, but I remind myself that tonight he’s just here to be part of the team.
‘Ladies,’ he says by way of greeting, then to Cassie, ‘I’m genuinely honoured to be here.’
‘And we’re happy to have you,’ I say quickly, when it becomes evident Cassie isn’t going to respond. I nudge her in the side and she glares at me.
‘Perhaps you’d like to start by telling Cassie your thoughts on what you saw of the Tuesday session,’ I suggest to Ben.
‘Sure.’ He turns his grin her way. ‘When we train at Millford, they start us off with stretches, lateral lunges, high kicks, short bursts of running, then we go into game play, and it looked like you had that spot on. I wasn’t there to see the whole thing, but Lily tells me you finished off with penalty practice, which is nice because everyone feels good when they score or save a goal, so it means everyone has the opportunity to go home on a high.’
‘Anything you might switch up?’ I ask, while Cassie maintains her stubborn silence.
‘Just that it was all quite serious, and while you want everyone to stay focused and work hard and be the best they can be, in these early days it’s just as important to work on building team spirit and making sure the players have that real sense of a group effort, so you don’t have anyone trying to stand out at the expense of the rest of the team.’
‘Is there anything you’d suggest?’
‘At Millford they do these little initiations when someone new joins, like everyone doing a performance of their favourite song or a party trick or whatever, anything that gets the rest of the players either laughing or joining in. I did find it helped break the ice for me when I first joined.’
