The Game Changer by Embassie Susberry

Author:Embassie Susberry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2024-07-12T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Down the line—hitting a tennis shot from where the tennis player is standing

What Hettie told Althea was that she needed to think on things and try to come up with a plan. After they finished eating, Hettie paid for the meal, but knowing she still had a ways to go before Althea would feel even remotely comfortable with her, she asked Althea if she still enjoyed going to the movies.

“I still love flickers. I see every single one I can.”

“A favorite of mine has returned to the Apollo. Want to go?”

“Which one?”

“I’ll let you be surprised.”

“Just so long as you’re paying.”

“Of course. Where are you staying, by the way?”

“With Will’s family,” Althea told her as Hettie left a few bills on the table.

“That’s not awkward?”

“I met him through his sister Rosemary. His family is like my family. It’s not awkward at all.”

“Why not get your own place?”

“With what money?”

They left the store, waved to the waitstaff and stepped out into the snowy evening. “Do you play tennis ’cause you like it?”

Althea released a huff that materialized as a cloud before her. “Tennis is the door to other things opening up.”

“Like . . . ?”

“I want to sing.”

“Sing?”

“Yep. I’ve played around in a recording studio before,” Althea said smugly. “If I do well this year, maybe I’ll be on the big screen myself.”

“You mean like Hollywood?”

“I’m suffering now to get paid later.”

It wasn’t the worst plan in the world, but there certainly was no guarantee that those doors would open. “What happened with you almost joining the military? That surprised me.”

“The year I graduated from college was rough. Everyone was tugging on my sweater. The ATA, the USLTA, my coaches . . . they all had ideas for what I was supposed to do and all of that wears a body out. I just wanted some peace . . . and a steady paycheck. It’d be nice to be able to buy what I want when I want. It’d be nice to have my own place and maybe my own car.”

“It didn’t have anything to do with Dova Lee?”

Althea’s former boyfriend hadn’t just been in the military, he’d made it his career. “A little maybe,” she said after a minute. “He was presenting another option, if you will. And at the time it wasn’t a bad one. I was this close.” Althea created an inch between her fingers. “This close to signing the paperwork but then I got that call from the State Department asking me to play in Asia.”

“Did you make the right decision?”

“Absolutely. I’ve seen the world, Hettie, and in fine fashion. I wouldn’t change that for anything.”

They said little more as they marched the rest of the way to the subway in silence. It was a short ride to the theater and an even shorter walk to the building. Althea paused as she read the name of the film they’d be watching. “This would be one of your favorite movies, wouldn’t it?”

“Sometimes people say I look like her.

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