Chapter 43

A few days before the volleyball tournament was to start, Coach Meinert caught Cal after basketball practice. "I got a call from a woman who really needs your help. I told her I would see if I could talk you into it."

When Cal just showed a blank stare, Meinert said "I'll give you a clue: she's a coach." Still not seeing comprehension on Cal's face, he added "A volleyball coach." Seeing that Cal had finally caught on, Meinert laughed and said "Get your ass to Cheryl's first match. Her coach honestly believes you make Cheryl play better. That's an order!"

Cal and Cheryl usually arrived home from practice at about the same time. She was more than overjoyed at the news, and she was particularly touched that her coach had taken the initiative and called Coach Meinert. "Cal, could you see if there's any way Mom could come? I'll buy her ticket."

He was not exactly thrilled at the prospect of the trip with Darlene, but it was easy to hear how much Cheryl wanted it. When he called Darlene, she at first dismissed the idea out of hand. Cal pushed a little and finally got her to consider it. She would have to scramble to re-arrange her work schedule, and that could not be done until the next morning.

The first two rounds of the tournament, the sub-regionals, were played on the courts of participating schools. Four teams would gather at the highest seeded school in that sub-regional. Cheryl's team had posted a 24-5 record, but they had not beaten a ranked school along the way. They were seeded thirty-eighth in the sixty-four team field. Their first opponent had won fewer games, but played in a more highly-regarded conference. The highest nationally ranked team in their sub-regional was number nine, and Cheryl did not face them first.

Darlene got word to Cal at school that she could go, and Cal called the travel agent that his family used. They had to schedule two nights, assuming the team would win the first game.

The team was actually a good deal better than their record indicated. The losses to the ranked teams mostly occurred early in the season. Cheryl and Maddy were either not playing then, or the team had not completely adjusted to the different personality that they brought.

Wanda had just given up when confronted about the steroids. She had dropped out of school, a fact that no one on the team was happy about. At first, Bell and Chloe, her two followers, were very disgruntled, and that did not help the team's early performance, either.

With a couple of close calls early on, they managed to get their act together and win all of their conference matches and only lost two non-conference contests after the three early ones. By the last third of the season, Bell and Chloe had integrated quite well back into the team, and they had become a legitimate power house.

Elaine picked up Darlene and drove them to the airport. From when they first sat in the waiting area, it was obvious that Darlene wanted very much to improve relations with her future son-in-law. She reached over and took his hand as they waited, a completely unprecedented move for her.

"Cal, I'm trying to learn not to be a cold fish any more," she said.

That was one of those comments that even Dr. Julia Waxman would have had to carefully formulate a response to. All Cal could go on was instinct. "I never thought you were," he said. He raised their clasped hands as a little gesture.

"Thank you," she said softly, "but I was pretty bad. I wasn't raised like you. At home, it was like showing emotion was sinful. It's hard to break those habits."

"It must have been tearing you up inside," Cal observed.

"Not really. Only since Hal got hurt. Then a lot of things started to change. I assume Cheryl told you about what she did with Hal?"

"You mean when she pulled his pants down?" he asked. She nodded.

"I had never seen her like that. In spite of all of the earlier battles, that kind of woke me up. Then, she took charge and made me, um, take care of him." It sounded like she could barely get the words out. "She treated me like a ten-year-old who knew nothing about sex. It was humiliating and I was angry. It took a while to realize that she did it to save the family."

"And she did it out of love for you, too, Darlene."

"I would like to believe that, but I honestly think it was more to protect Shelley and Matt."

Cal lifted their joined hands again and looked at them. "You're not the same person as two years ago, Darlene. Not at all."

"Do you like the new me any better?" she asked.

Her fishing for approval was not even subtle. It had a note of desperation in it. He was not sure if he could speak right then, so he pulled her hand to him and kissed it, then smiled warmly at her.

As they were checking into the hotel, the same one where the team was staying, Darlene said to Cal "Make sure to get a room with two beds."

"Oh? Why?"

She fidgeted a bit, then blurted out quickly "If they win tonight and she can't sleep with you, I want to use your other bed. Could... could I do that?"

That request left Cal in a quandary. Why was she asking this? What did she really want? Need? Was she coming on to him? Was she just hungry for someone to talk freely with?

He had no idea what to do, but he suddenly thought 'What would Cheryl want me to do?'. He knew that she was almost as puzzled as he was about her mother's metamorphosis. He also knew that Cheryl seemed thrilled at every new evidence of closeness to her mother, and he made a quick decision.

The hotel was not too heavily booked, and he was able to change from their reservations, since they had arrived in the early afternoon. After a few minutes, he came back to her and asked "I can get a two-room suite. The second bed is a hide-a-bed in the sitting room. Can we make that work out?" She eagerly agreed.

Cheryl had been watching out for their arrival. The first game of the day would start very soon, but her game was the later one and the coach had given her the leeway to greet them. She came down to the lobby just as they were heading for the elevator. They had to wait a couple of cars because the hugs and kisses could not wait.

When they entered the room and it dawned on Cheryl that they were sharing it, she got a puzzled expression until he explained. Then, she burst into tears and hugged him fiercely. After a moment, she pulled him over toward Darlene and enfolded both of them in a hug.

When she stepped back and wiped at her eyes, she said "Those other guys are toast tonight. I gotta go join the team to watch the first game. Sorry."

Cal and Darlene both knew what the coach's expectations were, so they did not feel slighted.

The inability to evaluate a team's improvement when doing the seedings was evident that night. The opponents truly were toast, never mounting a serious threat in a three-game sweep.

Darlene and Cal were in a group of only about thirty-five supporting the team, but they did their best to make up for the lack of numbers with sheer enthusiasm.

Cal could not help remembering the first time he had practically dragged Darlene to see Cheryl play. The subdued, almost sullen woman who had watched silently that first time bore no resemblance at all to the wildly cheering, glowingly proud mother now beside him. The woman who had stood back silently and watched everyone else congratulate Cheryl after that first game could not have been the same one who dashed shrieking across the floor to hug her sweaty, victorious daughter.

Cheryl came back to the hotel on a separate shuttle after a short team meeting. She came right up to Cal and Darlene's room. They ordered some room service for her and generally helped her unwind from the high that the dominating win had produced.

When it was curfew time, Cheryl reluctantly went back to her assigned room. To save money, there were three girls in a room, two in the regular two beds, and a third on a roll-away. When Cheryl opened the door to the room, Teri, the senior, met her.

"Sorry, girl. One of the other teams was short a bed and the hotel didn't have any more. We gave them the roll-away. Guess you'll have to find somewhere else to 'sleep'."

Cheryl had not even gotten in the door. She looked up and down the hall and saw the coach's face leaning out of another door, grinning. That's when she noticed that Teri already had her bag in hand.

Cal was surprised to hear knocking on the door, and when he opened it, he was surprised and nearly flattened when Cheryl leaped into a hug. "You showered?" she asked before he could say anything. When he said 'No', she dragged him right to the bathroom, calling over her shoulder "Sorry, Mom!".

Cal tried to keep the noise down out of consideration for Darlene, but Cheryl did not seem to share his concern. The shower, her second in ninety minutes, was playful and erotic. She giggled delightedly when he had to walk through the sitting room to the bedroom wearing just a towel.

They had gotten each other off in the shower, but he had not entered her. They corrected that very quickly once in bed. Then they corrected it again and again for good measure.

He was recovering and barely conscious when he heard "Oh, Honey, I shouldn't intrude."

Cheryl answered "It's not intruding, Mom. I want you here with me. This is... this is..." all he heard next was a loud sniff.

Then, he felt her pushing at him gently. "Move over, Sweetie. Need to make room for three." He was finally fully aware of what was going on.

Cheryl appeared not to be the least bit sleepy. "Oh, Mom! I hope the smell of, uh, you know, doesn't get to you," Cheryl said.

"It, uh, makes me jealous," Darlene responded.

"Making any progress with Dad?" Cheryl asked. That launched a shockingly frank, often emotional discussion between mother and daughter. Cal should have been turned off, but all he could think of was how wonderful is was that Cheryl could share it that level with her mother. It was a breakthrough.

Darlene must have had some of the same thoughts. After the two had chatted for a while, Darlene asked "Cal, are you still with us?" When he answered, Darlene went on "I hope we haven't embarrassed you too much."

"Well, I have to admit - I'm surprised at some of the things you've said in front of me. Apparently, it doesn't embarrass you."

Darlene was silent for a moment, then she said "Remember what I said this morning about trying not to be a cold fish? Well, all of this, um, intimate talk, this openness is as new to me as the emotions. I'm the baby, here. There's nothing I can tell Cheryl about sex and love. I'm just so thrilled that she's willing to tell ME things! I don't care what you hear. It's like you're already part of Cheryl."

If Cal had ever thought that Darlene was remote and clueless, that impression had just been shattered with great finality. "After hearing the ways you two talk about poor Hal, I'm worried about how you talk about me," he said, trying to make it sound humorous.

Darlene took it very seriously. She sat up and stared intently at Cal, who could just see her in the dark room. "If I let myself think about the things she has told me about you, I couldn't stop myself from coming over there and attacking you."

Darlene was probably sorry she had said that, and Cheryl and Cal were both shocked. All of them were quiet for a while, then Darlene spoke again "See, I'm just not good at all this frank and honest business. It's like I'm hungry for it, and I don't know when to shut up." Both teens spent a while comforting and reassuring the woman before they all fell asleep.

Cal woke up very early and managed to get out of the room without waking the women. He could not resist standing for a minute, looking at mother and daughter sleeping peacefully with various parts touching. He had thought many times that Darlene provided a wonderful promise for his lover's mature beauty. As he viewed them, the similarities were quite remarkable. When he returned from his run, Cheryl had gone to join the team for an early breakfast.

Most of the team was already in the little private dining room when Cheryl walked in. The coach was right at the door, greeting everyone as they entered. Sue, the senior captain, hurried up to Cheryl and said loudly "I've never had a night as good as yours must have been."

That brought laughter, whistles, catcalls, and various other suggestive noises from the team. Anyone watching would have seen a combination of confusion and nostalgia on the coach's face.

As Cal was cooling down and doing some light katas, Darlene stepped out of the bathroom in bra and panties - very revealing bra and panties. "Oh, Cal! Sorry. I didn't know you were back." The fact that she did not try to cover up or turn away told him that she most certainly did know that he was back. She was not very subtle, but he found the little drama poignant. And she was certainly not hard to look at.

"Darlene, you certainly don't have to cover up for my sake. I'll have to think of other ways to sneak in on you." He was rewarded with a flaming blush, but still no attempt to conceal what the lingerie displayed so fetchingly. "Tell you what. I'll order breakfast from room service and shower while they're fixing it. BUT... you have to stay just like that. Deal?"

"Cal!" she exclaimed, trying to sound indignant, but failing miserably. "Uh, OK."

When he came out in just clean boxers, the food had not yet arrived, and she was sitting, looking forlorn. "You must think I'm pathetic," she moaned.

"I think you're starved for appreciation and approval," he said quickly, "and I think you look sexy as hell."

Any response from her was interrupted by a knock on the door. She scampered into the bathroom while he went to open it. It was a young girl bringing the food, but she did not seem upset by his state of dress, and he was soon able to call Darlene out.

As they ate, she said "You know, that's a big part of why I want to work at the club."

"What is?"

"Guys look at me like... like..."

"Like they want to take you to bed?"

"Um, yeah. I can't help it! It makes me feel good. A couple of weeks ago, a guy whistled at me. Can you believe that's the first time in my life? I almost... I almost..."

"You almost had an orgasm on the spot?"

"Cal!"

"Come on, Darlene. After your talk with Cheryl last night, what is there to be embarrassed about. Any guys get hard looking at you?"

"Cal!"

"You said that already. Did they?" Her face color answered for her.

When she regained a little composure, she said "All the women who have been referred to the club by friends ask for Jeremy for their trainer. Guess what? A lot of new men are asking for me?"

"Smart guys. You'd make me push more weight, too?"

"Oh, you!" she said with a slap on his arm. He wondered how a fortyish, formerly uptight homemaker could learn girlish flirting behavior at that stage of her life. It was wonderful to see, though.

They chatted and teased a while longer until Cheryl returned. She stopped just inside the door with her mouth agape. Cal was a little worried about her reaction to their dress, but he did not know how to reassure her. It wasn't necessary. She put her hands on her hips and adopted the most angry look she could while stifling a grin and demanded "Mom! Are you trying to steal my man in that slutty underwear?"

"Oh, no, Honey! I would never..." Darlene started to protest. That's as far as she got when Cheryl broke into a grin, walked up to her mother, and pulled her to her feet.

"I don't have anything that sexy, Mom. I'm jealous. Where did you get it? How much did it cost? Has Dad seen it?"

Darlene's mouth moved, but before she could answer, Cheryl went on "I can see you've really trimmed your pubes. I know you had to keep the hairs from sticking out of your new swimsuit, but you've got it really short over the lips, too."

Darlene let out a strangled "Eeek!", then hid her flaming face against her daughter's neck. It soon turned into giggling from both of them. When the giggles wound down, Cheryl's looked over Darlene's shoulder at Cal with wet eyes and mouthed 'Thank you'.

The final of the sub-regional was also an evening match. Cal could see that Cheryl and Maddy were in a good game mood, and he was sure they would start off strong. He just hoped the rest of the team was with them.

His assessment was right. As had become their habit, Maddy and Cheryl worked a quick set to a blistering slam on the first ball to come to their side of the net. That set the tone for a satisfying first game win at 18.

By the end of the game, the other team looked a little shell-shocked. They were in the top ten nationally and these nobodies had wiped them out in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. There was a lot of shouting in their between-game huddle.

Cheryl's coach was composed but serious as she warned the girls that the next game would be a lot different. She knew her stuff. The opponents had earned their ranking, and they cranked up the intensity level.

The second game went on and on. Several times, there were five or more exchanges of serve without a point being scored. Their hitters were big and strong. Cheryl, Sue, Chloe, and occasionally Sharon played hard and well up front. Maddy chattered, yelled, scrambled, dove, and made perfect set after perfect set. The score see-sawed by and forth. It was so close and so intense that it seemed like hours before Cheryl's team lost at 28.

At this break, there was jubilation on the opponents' side. There was no anger or shouting on Cheryl's side. At first there was the coach's calm instruction, then Maddy's more energetic challenging and prodding.

Game three was almost a replay of game two, with the advantage changing back and forth, and the score seemingly stuck for many minutes at a time.

Maddy played with the conviction that no ball should ever touch the floor on her side. Before a match, she looked a little humorous with pads on knees, elbows, wrists and ankles. Her already generous hips were made to appear even wider with some extra padding that she wore there.

It never took more than a few points before everyone saw the reason for all of the pads. Maddy was constantly on the floor, rolling, diving, skidding, making save after save. The team was used to it now, and there was always someone right behind her, ready to put her save back into play.

At about the midpoint of game three, a ball went off of Sue's attempted block, headed way out of bounds. Maddy, with her great court sense and her cat-like quickness was right on it. It looked hopeless, but skidding on her front, Maddy got her outstretched fist under it, bumping it a few feet into the air, but a little farther out of bounds.

Cheryl played outside hitter, and the ball was on her side, so she was right behind Maddy. She dove over Maddy, and managed to get the ball eight or ten feet up and back toward where Maddy had stopped. While Cheryl skidded and rolled and scrambled to her feet, Maddy was up, and with a two-handed bump, she got the ball barely over the net at a sharp angle.

The opponents had made the mistake of relaxing, and a diving attempt at Maddy's shot found only the net. Cheryl abandoned her usual on-court reserve, and the two pals bounced and spun back to the court arm-in-arm.

Unfortunately, Cheryl's team fell heartbreakingly at 23. During the break, Cheryl broke her pattern of intense silence and almost snarled "We are NOT going out in four! We are NOT going out at all! They are NOT better than us. Let's do game one again!"

They did, only better. Whether the opponents thought the threat had passed or Cheryl and the team just went into an extra zone, the final score was an astounding fourteen and there would be a fifth and deciding game.

The match was on the opponents' home floor. Both the team and the crowd were stunned and a bit sullen at the break. There was shouting again, and the beginning of game five was just like games two and three.

Back and forth it went, all the way to a tie a 16. Then Chloe cramped up and had to come out. Sharon had already played her heart out in Chloe's place, and she gave it everything she had. She was tall, talented, and beautiful to watch, but she had not yet acquired the toughness that distinguished Maddy and Cheryl from the typical freshman.

The other players, with the exception of Maddy and Cheryl, started to show signs of tiring, as well. The opponents were eleven or twelve deep in players that would easily have made Cheryl's team. Cheryl's team could rely on only eight or nine. Over the course of five grueling games, that made the difference, and Cheryl's team was out of the tournament at 21.

The players all managed to keep their composure through the handshake. As soon as the lines had passed, Sharon broke into tears. When Cheryl and Sue tried to comfort her, she sobbed "I couldn't do it. I wimped out and we lost. God damn it! It won't happen again! Never again!"