Beautiful Pt. 06

I could almost feel the heat from my partner rise as her anger built, her hand gripping mine ever tighter. But it was Dani who answered, evenly and with tremendous gravity in her quiet voice. "What she needs are parents who love her and accept her for who she is, the amazing person she is, instead of demonizing her over something she has no control over."

Ms. Collins asked the next question. "And how did Coach Dalton advise you, Miss Williams?"

"She encouraged me to sound out my parents, to talk to anyone in my family that would be supportive. I don't know how they're going to react." Her voice cracked as Dani turned towards her parents. "This isn't how I wanted to tell you. I'm sorry." Tears flowed down her face as her mother stood and moved towards her daughter. They embraced, Dani crying in her mother's arms.

They moved away and sat down, the murmur rising sufficiently for the chairwoman to bang her gavel. "Quiet please." She sighed. "I guess it's time to get to the heart of the matter. Coach Dalton, would you please?" She motioned to the speaking area, and Sandy stood up, straightening her polo and making her way over.

"Coach, thank you for being here, I know this isn't easy. Is it true that you advised Kaylin Ellis not to inform her parents of her sexuality?"

"Yes, in accordance with my understanding of the current thinking on that matter. None of my medical peers or anyone else would advise an LGBTQ minor to come out to their parents when they know they will face rejection. To do so would be foolishly reckless and dangerous."

"We have the right to know!" Mary Ellis ignored the banging of the gavel. "If you didn't have things to hide you would have told us."

Sandy turned on her attacker, and Mary Ann's face blanched. I knew exactly the look she was getting. "Your child's safety trumps your 'rights'." Her voice was hard as steel. "LGBTQ children face stress every single day. They face ridicule and ostracism. They are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, and it gets worse when they come from families who refuse to accept them. In that case, the results are better, more of those children survive," she put intentional, harsh emphasis on the word, "when they do not come out until they have a measure of independence, when they are older and more emotionally stable, and able to stand up for themselves." Sandy looked pointedly at Mrs. Ellis. "Forcing a child through conversion therapy doubles that suicide rate."

"And you're confident in that?"

"Not perfectly. Those are the statistics, but there is no one size fits all, no test to see what's going to be best in a given case. No two people, families, or situations are the same. But given the same information, I would make the same recommendations. This is something that I've seen throughout my career, both in medicine and in hockey.

"I have been playing and coaching field hockey for over thirty years. I've been on countless teams, and I doubt there has ever been a single one that didn't have lesbian players on it. Not including me, of course. And almost inevitably, the ones with supportive, loving, accepting families are more stable, happier and generally well adjusted. The ones without usually carry deep emotional scars.

"My sexuality is not important to my coaching. I don't announce it or make it an issue. I doubt many straight coaches begin their first practice telling their teams that they are not gay, so I don't see any reason why I should do the opposite. But I am not ashamed of who I am, or whom I love." She looked at me and smiled. I returned her expression, pressing a hand to my heart. "I will not live in a closet so that you or anyone else can feel more comfortable about life.

"When I took this job I told everyone that I wanted two things, to turn out strong, confident young women, and to win. We've accomplished the second part, beyond everyone's expectations. The first part is not possible unless these girls are confident in who they are, including their sexual identity. They have to be able to explore that, and they need to know that whatever they choose to identify as, there is a community, a family that supports them."

Mary Ellis stood up, her voice unnaturally high. "See? She just admitted it! She's a pedophile! She wants to sexualize our children!"

Sandy's voice was hard and cold as granite, brooking no opposition. "Anyone who believes teenagers aren't sexual beings has never been one themselves. Ignoring that simple biological fact is idiocy, not to mention recklessly dangerous."

Before Mrs. Ellis could respond, Chairwoman Dobbin called for order. A younger, clean cut man, Hendon Smith by his placard, leaned forward. "That all may be true, but what concerns me is the relationship you have with one of your player's mothers. That seems, well, suspect."

"It's how her daughter got the captaincy. They start 'dating', and suddenly Paige is captain." As Renee Perry butted in, I looked at Adrienne, who hunched down, looking like she was trying to disappear into her chair.

Mr. Smith looked at Coach Dalton. "Is this true?"

"The captaincy was voted on by the players, and if I remember correctly it was nearly unanimous. I had nothing to do with it."

Renee huffed and continued. "Look, we all know how predators operate. Get close to the parent so you can abuse the child. And given the inducement I'd say it's prudent to be worried."

I stood. "Councilman?" He nodded at me. "I've heard this before. Ever since my divorce people have told me that I'm not worthy of love; that no one could ever possibly want to be with me because of my weight. But being with Sandy has been the most wonderful, supportive, beautiful relationship I've ever had. She is the finest woman I've ever known. We had no intention of making our relationship public until after the season, unfortunately that became impossible thanks to Mrs. Perry's snooping. None of you know Coach Dalton. I do, and I have no qualms about any of my children spending time with her. I think we, as a school, are stunningly lucky to have her coaching our girls. I'm so happy she's my daughter's coach.

"Paige has grown so much this year. She is more confident, happier, and I know a lot of that is due to Coach Dalton." I let my gaze travel over the members of the board. "The only reason we are even here is that Renee Perry decided her daughter wasn't being allowed to score enough, that she was being made to play as part of the team. Renee was so angry about this that she hired a private investigator to find something on Coach Dalton so she could get her fired. All she found was a photo of the coach and my daughter in an innocent hug, and the fact that Sandy and I are together."

"How dare you? You have no proof of that!"

"You sent Principal Harrison the photos, so unless you were sitting outside my house yourself." I shrugged.

"I did not, I had nothing to do with that."

"Yes she did." Adrienne stood up and stepped away from her mother. Her face was ghastly pale, but her voice was strong. "Everything Mrs. Pierson said is true. And if you, um if Coach gets fired or anything," Adrienne took a deep breath, "I won't play tomorrow." She stood a little straighter, lifting her chin as she ignored her mother hissing her name. "I won't play for anyone but Coach Dalton."

I sank down into my chair as Dani stood in response to Adrienne's declaration. "That goes for me, too."

Paige vaulted to her feet. "And me!"

One by one every Lady Panther in the room stood, echoing the sentiments of their teammates. Many of their parents stood with them. I looked at Sandy, who was turning in a slow circle, a tear rolling down her cheek as she watched her players literally stand up for her.

The meeting went on for a little while longer. We heard from several other parents, including Mr. Yew, Sherri's dad, and Brianna's mom, along with Patrick Harrington. But despite the unvarying support, when Chairwoman Dobbin called for the vote my heart was up in my throat.

"The motion to suspend Coach Dalton pending an investigation is on the floor. All in favor?" Hendon Smith's hand shot up, along with one other woman who had not spoken through the evening. Another hand started to rise but dropped, earning a nasty look from Councilman Smith. Ms. Dobbin waited a moment, but no more hands went up. "All opposed?"

Five arms went up almost immediately.

"The motion fails."

A hand went up from the white-bearded gentleman. "I motion to adjourn."

"Seconded!" That came from several members, and the subsequent vote was unanimous. Whoops and cheers went up from the players present as the board members stood and began to gather their things. I beamed up at Sandy, and we rose out of our chairs and embraced. She held me tight as people gathered around us, and when she pulled back slightly I looked up at her, meeting her kiss with a passion. Not too much, surrounded as we were, but everything in her body language said, 'I love all of the support, but the only one I really need is you.'

We stayed another fifteen minutes, shaking hands with players, parents, and board members. I could feel the fatigue from the last few days starting to seep in as we made our way out of the building, but unfortunately the reporters, who weren't allowed inside, were waiting for us there.

"Coach Dalton! Are you happy with the outcome?"

"One of my players tried to hurt herself, tried to end her life while it's just getting started, so no. There is no 'happy' here. Sport should be politics free. It should be culture war free. It shouldn't matter if you're black or white, rich or poor, gay or straight, sports shouldn't care. It should be a safe place, where we are all equal. A player of mine had that safe place ripped away from her by the people who were supposed to love her most. And that makes me so unbelievably sad. We still have a game to play tomorrow, but I can guarantee we'll be thinking about her."

With that she pushed through the small group of microphones and cameras, me trailing behind her hand in hand. Luckily no one tried to follow us or anything. I guess we weren't that big of a deal.

We made it back to the house, where Will and Charlie were watching an episode of the Bad Batch. I was a little surprised that Charlie wasn't up on his computer, but I got the impression that he was waiting for news.

"So?" His eyes were big as he looked back over the coach.

"Everything is good."

"All right, Coach! Way to not get fired!"

Sandy chuckled. "Thanks, Charlie." Will gave her a big thumbs up, too, and I admonished my sons to finish their episode and head towards bed.

Thirty minutes later I turned out the light in my bathroom, hanging up my robe and running my hands over the silky material of my green nightie. It stopped about mid thigh, and it was way sexier than anything I'd worn to bed only a few months before. But now there were reasons.

Sandy put down her phone and pulled off her reading glasses, lips parting as she watched me come to bed.

"God, Melanie."

I slipped between the sheets and into her waiting arms, sinking into the bedding as she kissed me deep and long. We were both exhausted, emotionally as much as anything else, so I knew it wasn't going to go any further tonight. But that was fine. This was more than enough.

Our kiss ended, and I looked into her eyes. "I was proud of you tonight. You sounded so strong, confident."

"I was just glad to have you standing next to me, holding my hand." She paused for a second, running her fingers down my arm until they were interlocked with mine. "I remember my high school coach telling me it was vital to always stay confident, in control on the field. Even if, especially if you didn't feel that way. And as a doctor you always have to appear confident. But I'll tell you a secret." Her voice was a whisper, and I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"What's that?"

"I'm not always brave. I get scared, and I need a hand to hold. Please don't ever stop holding my hand, Melanie."

"I won't, not ever."

A tear slipped free from her eye. "Okay." She pulled me close, and we slipped into dreamland together.

***

I got a text from Paige around noon.

Paige - Kaylin's been released from the hospital.

Me - That's wonderful, sweetheart.

Paige - The girls are so fired up. We're going to win tonight.

When I entered the stands I could feel what Paige was talking about. There was a hum in the air, a buzz in the stadium. I think that was partly due to the fact that the visitors' side was absolutely packed. Apparently the entire city of Greensboro had made the hour drive to the state capital to watch their Lady Warriors play this match. Our fans had turned out as well, and there was barely a seat to be had anywhere. There were cameras at multiple locations, as the game was being broadcast on local TV. All in all, it was as different as it could be from a run of mill regular season game.

The crowd roared as the Lady Panthers took the field. Sandy was wearing her most severe game face, but she let it slip slightly when she looked up at me, pressing her fingers to her lips and blowing me a kiss. I covered my heart with my hands, watching as she pulled her mask of concentration back over her features.

"I take it that was for you?"

I grinned and looked over at my dad, who was sitting next to me.

"Yeah. She makes me really happy, Daddy."

"I'm happy for you, Doodlebug." My dad put his arm around me, pulling me over so he could kiss my head. "Just promise me one thing?"

"What's that?"

"That you'll let me take you and your lady love to dinner so I can get to know her. And so I can make sure she's good enough for my little girl."

I laughed, letting the warm feelings of his love flow through me. "It's a date." Our opponents took the field, to a lusty chorus of good-natured boos from our fans, and in no time the game was on.

We scored in the first few minutes, a nice move from Adrienne earning a penalty corner that Paige buried from the top of the circle, but it seemed that for the rest of the first half the girls were under siege. The absence of our top defender was being sorely felt, and just after the start of the second quarter the Warriors equalized, and with less than a minute to go they took the lead.

The team seemed dejected heading into half time. Bill looked up at me from where he was sitting with Ashley, Georgia, and the boys. I shook my head, not knowing what to think. I didn't move, not even to get my normal Diet Coke, a combination of being too nervous and not wanting to fight the sizable crowds.

The girls seemed in good spirits when they took the field again, but everything changed when a young woman in a blue Lost Valley polo walked through the gate and onto the sideline. She was leaning on the arm of a man I didn't recognize, but I would have known who she was without seeing the bandages on both wrists just from the team's reaction.

The team rushed to Kaylin, surrounding her, and I could see the tears in Dani's eyes as she wrapped her in a fierce embrace. Kaylin's hand slipped behind her girlfriend's head, holding Dani to her as she buried her face on her shoulder.

They held each other for a long moment as the team watched, and when Kaylin broke away she started to speak to the team. The team was hanging on every word, every face in rapt attention.

Kaylin held out her arms, showing everyone the bandages as she spoke. Her voice was strong and clear, somehow carrying up into the bleachers. "Life is awesome. No matter how screwed up it is, it's a gift. And you all get to play the game we love. That's your life for the next half hour. I'd give anything to be out there with you, but I can't. So do something for me. Make it amazing. Live it, with everything you got, all your strength and power. For me. For each other. Lady Panthers!" She raised her arm, palm facing outward, and the team pressed in as one.

"One, two, three, win!"

The team broke apart, fire in their eyes as they headed back to the bench. Dani held back a moment, holding Kaylin's hand for a second longer before she joined her compatriots.

As soon as they were away I could see Kaylin deflate, obviously exhausted. The man who was with her stepped forward, and she grabbed his arm, supporting herself on him as he led her off the field and into the stands.

The team started the second half on fire. They kept the pressure on, with Adrienne creating several chances for her teammates before she threaded a pass between two defenders to Dani, who buried the equalizer past Greensboro's sprawling goalie.

The teams traded goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter, another perfect assist from Adrienne, and as time ticked down I noticed the defense starting to play off her, expecting her to give up the ball.

During the next dead ball Sandy screamed Adrienne's name, and she jogged over. She nodded, eyes wide as her coach gave her instructions.

With less than a minute to go Paige intercepted a pass at midfield, breaking the other way, two defenders collapsing on her as she approached the top of the circle. She turned left, firing the ball in to Adrienne. Adrienne's head went up, looking for Dani streaking in from the right, but as her defender moved to block the passing lane Adrienne reversed her grip, drawing the ball back between her legs.

Her defender was completely wrong footed, and suddenly Adrienne was one on one with the goalie. Her stick spun in her hands, and time seemed to stand still as the goalie swung her stick in a desperate attempt to block the shot. She failed, and the net billowed as the ball made contact. Everyone on our side of the field erupted, the sound strangely muted in my memory as I rose to my feet. I watched my daughter be the first to reach Adrienne, jumping into her arms as the rest of the team mobbed her seconds later.

Sandy turned away from the field, her head bowed as she closed her hand into a fist, pumping it close to her body, trying to hide her enthusiasm. She turned back to the field shouting to her team that the game wasn't over yet. The girls lined up, and thirty interminable seconds later the game was over, and they had won.

I watched as people congratulated Senator and Mrs. Perry on Adrienne's goal, and I tried to let go of my animosity. Adrienne had played so well, and I'd lay any amount of money that Sandy had told her in the end to take her defender and score. It was the right play, one she'd earned by being a team player for the second half of the year.

I sat down, watching my daughter celebrate with her team. Several people patted me on the shoulder, and I greeted them in a daze. My dad put his arm around me, and I leaned on his shoulder. Kaylin was standing, clapping gently as tears rolled down her face, her arm still linked with the man standing next to her.

***

The players took a few extra minutes before emerging from the locker rooms, but eventually I got to hug my daughter and tell her how proud I was of her. Her father and grandfather did the same as we all gathered around her. I noticed someone else standing on the fringe of our little family group, the University of Virginia scout who'd invited Paige for her campus visit.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I wanted to give you this personally."

Paige's eyes went wide as she looked at the envelope in Coach Croft's hand. "Is that?"

"A scholarship offer? Yes it is. I hope to see you on campus in the fall. Congratulations, young lady."

"Thank you." Paige whispered as she reverently accepted the letter.

The scout withdrew as Paige endured another round of hugs. My daughter was wearing an ear to ear grin as we started to walk toward the cars, but she stopped when she saw Kaylin standing to her left surrounded by several of her teammates. Dani was by her side, her arm around her shoulders.