Page 132 of Off Court Fix

Ted turns his head, looking at me over the reading glasses he’s slipped on while he pulls up the pre-match coverage on his phone. “What do they call that? Fangirling?”

“I’m the president of the damn fan club,” I say, turning the magazine in my hands and taking in the cover. I’m not surprised at the least that I start grinning so hard my cheeks ache.

That’s my girl.

Unlike the last cover ofIn SportsMagazineMaxine was on, this time, it hits differently, and it’s not because Maxine herself is different. She’s just finally letting the world see her for who she is.

Bold.

Strong.

Determined.

The look on Maxine’s face, as she stares dead on at the camera, the slightest tilt to the right corner of her lip—the look she gives, I know, when she means business—is a far contrast from the puckering of her glossy lips and shimmery eyelids that were front and center on the cover she shot last year. This time, the photo matches the headline.

ON AND OFF COURT—YOU CAN BET ON DRAPER TO WIN

My eyes take in the beauty and force this cover exudes—from Maxine—without the help of makeup or a flashy, skimpy outfit. The only skin, apart from her face, that shows is her neck and collarbones that peek out between the open teeth of the white half-zip she wears. And between her collarbones is the necklace holding the ashes of the past, the only secret of the past Maxine and I keep with us in the present.

She stands out despite the bold background—my hydrangea bushes, the blooms a vibrant purple.

“Are you seeing this?” I turn the magazine toward Ted so he can admire the cover. “My flowers look great, don’t you think? They should’ve given me set-design credit.”

“I am seeing it,” he says, relatively bemused. Then, with a smile, he adds, “It’s spectacular. So is the article, for the most part.”

I flip through the magazine to the page where the article begins, and I read it silently, the introduction about Maxine’s home in Southampton, where the shoot took place.

“It’s been quite a career for Maxine Draper, who has faced tragic loss, severe injury, found controversial love, and woke up at the center of tennis’s largest match-fixing scandals. But Draper, who was once told by doctors she might never play another professional match after suffering from a grade-four Achilles tendon tear, has learned that there’s no struggle too big to overcome and no shame in speaking out. Today she sits down withIn Sports’Samantha McDonnell.”

I skim silently through the first few initial questions, chuckling at Maxine’s quick remarks.

“Oh, here we go,” I say to Ted before looking away from the page. “How bad is it?”

Ted shrugs, continuing to pay attention to his phone. “Could be worse. For both of us.”

SM:Congratulations on winning the tournament at Indian Wells for the second time in a row, the third time in your career. That’s quite the victory.

MD:Thank you. I have to admit, even though I was feeling better physically this year, it was a very challenging tournament for me, so I’m thrilled with the outcome.

SM:You must also be relieved it came without any controversy.

MD:(chuckling) Well yes, but I look at the cheap shot taken at me last year differently now. It sparked a larger conversation.

SM:It also sparked something else.

MD:You’re talking about my relationship.

SM:I am.

MD:To be honest, it’s not all that interesting.

Yeah right,I chuckle to myself.

MD:My relationship with Crosby began after that. Really, after he had resigned is when things got serious between the two of us. And I’m sure you know there was an investigation. We both complied with it. No one found any fault with how that match was umpired apart from the issue regarding me changing clothes. That was the first and last time Crosby and I met on the court, and he didn’t referee a women’s match after that.

SM:Some people might speculate—

MD:You said it, speculate. And really what they speculate about might say more about them than me and my relationship.

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