Page 10 of In the Safety's Zone
“Nothing. Did y’all need me for anything else? I need to get Terri on the phone and go over a few things.
I hated asking permission to do anything but since I still lived under their roof I gave them the respect of living by their rules. I had more than enough money from winning to move out, but loyalty I shouldn’t feel toward people who didn’t deserve it kept me at home.
A change gone come.
Predictably, my mother’s nose wrinkled and I could already guess what she was going to say next.
“I don’t understand why you insist on dealing with that girl. She was a scholarship student at one of the tennis camps. Why you insist on collecting strays is beyond me.”
My father thought my coach Teresa was a stray just because she didn’t grow up rich. So, of course, my mother couldn’t stand her either. Never mind that my mother herself was the great-granddaughter of sharecroppers and had grown up so poor she only wanted to marry rich. Her image was the only thing that mattered to her, which is how she ended up trapped with my father. I didn’t fault her for that, but I faulted her for her shitty attitude toward people she thought weren’t important enough and the fact that she allowed herself to stay trapped. Her being caught up meant that I was too.
But not for much longer.
I brushed off her words knowing that extolling the girl’s virtues wouldn’t do anything but irritate her more. She only wanted me to agree to her thought process because our home, meaning me, was the only place she felt any modicum of control. And even that power could be subverted based on what my dad wanted.
I pray for the end of being collateral damage in their weird-ass relationship.
“I won’t be long. You know I’ve got that long line of play coming up and I’ll be just focused on playing. You always talk about wanting me to find someone. How will I do that if I spend all my time stuck in the house? She’s helping me balance the commitments I have so that I have more time to live a little. I’ve been working hard since I was fourteen years old, I think I’ve earned it.”
Since I’d spoken on something she wanted for me, there was little my mother could say against me speaking with my coach. Her only goal for me seemed to be to get married and she could not care less about my professional goals. Even though those goals meant she got to live the life she wanted.
“Talk to her, but make sure she schedules you some more practice time. I’m going to be sending over those notes based on the last match and what I saw today. Give me a few days and then be ready to implement them.” He leaned over and gave my mother a kiss on the cheek that I’m sure she took as affection but I saw as manipulation. “I’m about to shower, and then I’ve got to head out. Come on upstairs before I leave.”
It was sad watching her face light up knowing he was only appeasing her now so he could leave her later.
“I’ll be downstairs if y’all need me.”
I didn’t wait to hear their response, but grabbed my stuff and headed to the entrance of my floor. Their relationship was themain reason I felt so jaded at the thought of love and my only experience reinforced how fucked up it could be. Making history was at the forefront of my mind and I would never be like my mother and let a man knock me off my square.
“You’re the latest Australian Open winner and it looks like you’re going to take all the majors this year, how does it feel to have that type of year laid out for you?”
The interviewer was a young woman who had a quirky reporter look. Big, wide glasses were on her face with the Clark Kent rims and multi-colored hair I was sure she only got to rebel against whatever staid version of herself that her parents wanted her to be.
Been there and done that, can’t blame her.
I put a smile on my face cognizant of who was sitting next to me and their negative energy. “I’m just grateful that I can play the game I love. The Australian Open was difficult but I could power through. I have an amazing coach in Teresa Sabors and—”
“Aphrodite knows that if she wants to sweep the majors this year she has to work harder than she has so far. Making history isn’t for those who don’t want to put in the work to be excellent at every aspect of their craft.”
My father had to sprinkle his negativity in order to draw attention to himself. Why he felt as though he couldn’t get the same attention from them by being supportive was something I would never understand.
The interviewer, named Ashlei with an i, as she informed us, looked surprised at my father’s ease at downplaying what I’ddone so far this year. Sensing that she might be onto something deeper than what she thought was a fluff piece, I saw her face brighten like a shark’s would when it smelled blood in the water. She turned to look at me and that smile was far more genuine than it had been before but for all the wrong reasons.
“Have you been playing it safe against your opponents and not giving your all to your trainings this year, Aphrodite? Is it that you feel that the sport has gotten too easy for you or that your opponents just aren’t on your level?”
Oh, this bitch was gonna be messy and I channeled all my media training to keep the smile on my face despite her disrespect.
“I put my all into every avenue of my life. From training to competing, it is all about having the right mindset and I never take my position in rankings or any of my competitors for granted. Everyone who plays Aphrodite Harper is getting her all. I haven’t been able to compete for almost a decade by being lazy or not treating this game with the reverence that it deserves.”
She looked impressed by my answer and nodded her head but I knew she wished I’d said something far more arrogant or telling. I had to silently thank Billy, for the excellent media training I’d undergone when I was younger. After winning my first grand slam, everyone wanted to be in my face with offers and questions. Her agency back then had been small and very boutique but she was thorough. Her hands on method of helping me curate answers to fall back on until I got mature enough to parse out what was genuine and what was seeking negativity helped me curate my image as not only a powerhouse on the court but someone that was being called a role model for girls everywhere. That wasn’t necessarily my aim, but I would take that and a controversy-free life over one that was marred with bullshit that meant I was hounded by paparazzi wherever Iwent. I’d left that life behind when my father started being more discreet with his side chicks and I wasn’t going back for anyone.
“That’s good to know. We’d hate for the crown your father is trying to pass down to be marred by your lack of desire for excellence simply because you feel that you have a genetic advantage. I’m sure his name alone already opened up far more doors than say someone just getting started in the sport for fun.”
I grit my teeth through her digs and visualize slapping this bitch in my head to keep me grounded.
“I would never do that. My father has been a shining example of what can come from hard work and I don’t want to rest on that, I want to take it to the next level so that I too can be someone’s good example.”
“Speaking of. Mr. Harper—”
