Full Circle

"I'm going to study animal science, so I can work with wildlife." It was delivered matter-of-factly as if it was already set in stone.

"First I've heard about that," I stated. "What made you decide on that?"

"It's your fault Mum. That programme you did was amazing and I'd love to work in that field, conservation or research. I'd love to make programmes as you did, maybe, who knows."

"I think that's a great idea. Have you any idea where you're going to go. Which universities?" I asked.

The three of them looked at each other, Charlotte and Chloe gave the slightest of nods towards Constance and she answered. "We've talked about it and we fancy the idea of being together at the same university. You know, maybe renting digs, but ..."

"All at the same university? Okay, why the but?" I asked.

"The two universities here offer all the courses that we fancy and we think we have the grades to get in. It would mean that we could still live here. You know, keep our eyes on you two."

Olivia was trying not to laugh, "You seem to have it sorted and bang goes the idea of it being quiet around her."

Constance gave her a look that said as much as the words that followed. "Mum, you're a liar. You'd rather we didn't go away." Olivia just smiled and left it to me to answer.

"You're right, I was dreading it, we both were. The idea of any of you leaving terrifies us."

There was lots of conversation about further education and careers over the next few days, but they'd thought it through and that made us proud of them.

*****

I'd been a spin bowler. We tried to deceive batsmen or women by delivering balls that deviate from their original course as they bounce. The fact that they don't always deviate could be as hard to account for when batting as the ones that did. The balls that Charlotte had bowled were much faster, she showed promise as a medium to fast pace bowler and I expected that her deliveries might also swing through the air given the right conditions. They could be as hard to deal with as those delivered by a spinner.

I put her through the paces and got help from the men's pace bowling coach. It became obvious that she was accurate, consistent and could vary her pace from pretty rapid to the pace of a spin or slow bowler, without any great tell-tale signals, all of which was great. She was also good in the field, could catch almost anything and had a great throw-in from the deep, near the boundary.

Batting, however, was a problem. The fast balls terrified her and after being hit several times, she almost gave up. Nothing I could do seemed to help. She was keen to play, but batting was an issue that had to be sorted and I had no idea what to do about it. I wrestled with it for about a week and then realised that I could get some advice, so I picked up the phone.

*****

Charlotte was the first of the girls downstairs after getting changed and as she was fetching drinks for the three of them, I asked her a question, "Are you free for a training session on Friday evening? It's an extra just you and two of the others."

She didn't look up, "Sure, going to try and get me some more bruises I guess."

"No, the idea is to avoid bruises. I've got a special coach coming, one of the best."

Now she was interested and looked up, "Okay, who?"

"Graham, Graham Dowling has offered to do some coaching. He's seen it all and he was England's batting coach for years after he stopped playing."

"Uncle Graham, wow that's something."

Olivia had been listening, "Was marrying him part of the deal?" She was grinning widely.

"Nope, but you never know, he may ask when he gets here. Remember he fancies you as well. He has good taste."

*****

Graham took the three girls one at a time and sat talking to them for about ten minutes whilst the others did some stretching and bowling, but they were told not to touch their bats. Then he sent each of them down to the end of the nets and started throwing balls towards them. He told them just to watch each ball and move out of its path. Charlotte went first and initially, she and the two watching didn't seem impressed until he started throwing harder and aiming at the body.

After they'd all had a turn he said, "That's good, now you know that you can dodge the balls and didn't need the bat. Now try again and use the bat to fend the ball off, but this time we'll all go at the same time and use the bowling machines." I'd set the machines up and they started sending down deliveries. They got progressively faster and the type of delivery varied a bit. This had gradually increased their confidence so that Graham could go closer and work on technique. After two hours the girls were beaten and thanked Graham. He offered to do another session the following morning and all three of them agreed.

Graham came home for dinner with Olivia and me that evening. He refused to talk about cricket, instead, he wanted to know all about the girls and their plans. He was a delight to spend time with, but on this occasion, he flirted with Olivia outrageously all evening and had her giggling like a young girl.

As we were getting ready for bed, I called Olivia a flirt. She danced as she pulled on a nightdress, "Jealous?"

"No, I thought it was funny and it was nice to see you enjoying yourself. I think that he'd have run a mile if you'd done anything. He's been a great person to have in my life. But I've had you in my life all these years, I never thought that we'd be lovers, but things happened and pushed us together. I think that we're lucky."

"We're both fortunate to have had our special people and we both know that if Hayley or Karen walked through the door at some point, what you and I have would end. That said, I love you with everything that I have and hope that this lasts forever. Now kiss me."

*****

I worked with Charlotte regularly over the next year, teaching her the variations she would need in her bowling and I spent hours bowling at her in the nets. There wasn't much she needed to learn about fielding, she was a natural. She played in lots of club games where she was usually the star fielder and had an uncanny ability to work out where a ball was heading and to be there. We'd had a long conversation about cricket with Olivia. I explained that she had lots of promise and might be able to make a living playing professionally. Charlotte wanted to give herself every chance, but said that it would have to fit around her degree studies, "I made myself a promise that I'd follow in Karen's footsteps and teach. Earning my living playing cricket would be great, I love it, but who knows how long it would last, so I'll work hard to get my degree, do my teacher training and have that to fall back on."

I was delighted, her plan made sense. Hayley and I were lucky to have the lengthy careers we had and to then go on to coach, not many would be so fortunate.

*****

I wouldn't have thought that Olivia and I could be any closer than we had been, but I was wrong. We had our own work and interests, but loved each other's company and being with the girls. Karen and Hayley's family accepted our relationship, although it took time. My Mum simply treated Olivia as if she had always been her daughter and she would have climbed over mountains for any of the girls.

I went to fold some laundry and collected two glasses of wine as I headed back to the lounge. I thought that Olivia might have gone to change, but as I stood looking out of the window, I saw her across the lawn in the garden room, Hayley's Folly. She was talking to the girls and stood with her back to the window. There must have been music playing because Olivia was moving her hips very slightly, I guessed in time to whatever the music was. I admired her legs; they were slender but shapely. I'd been surprised when she left this morning because she was wearing a floral dress, that was unusual for her and it was shorter than she normally wore for work. She turned and saw me, so I raised a glass and she waved in response. Two minutes later she headed back, her full skirt swinging as she walked along the garden path. She'd also slipped her heels back on. I admired her, she was gorgeous, a mature, elegant woman, full of confidence in her work, but funny and very caring at home. She smiled when she realised that I was watching her.

I handed her the glass of wine, "I just wanted to check something with the girls, thanks for the wine."

"I was watching you. You're lovely and I fancy you."

"Later." She kissed my cheek. "I fancy you too."

"A very long time ago, it must have been about the time I Mum and I moved in with Amy, I remember hoping that the three of us would remain close, it bothered me because I was living much further away from you both. I hoped that we'd be close for the rest of our lives. It seemed that school friendships for many people ended after education and I hoped that wouldn't happen to us. It didn't ..."

She stroked my arm, "No it didn't, but I bet you never expected Karen and I to become a couple."

"No, and I never expected you and me to become one either."

"We didn't plan it like this and ..." She wasn't able to finish.

"I know. Somehow, if Hayley and Karen were watching us right now, I think they'd approve."

She smiled at me and it melted my heart, as she added, "I know that they would."

We had an active sex life, but it was never wild or experimental, just straightforward, passionate and satisfying.

*****

After a summer of madness, the girls had all started University. First, there had been the celebrations after their exams were completed. Then it was planning the university courses and quite a few parties. Constance and Chloe had spent a month travelling to various parts of France by rail and ended their trip with a few days in Paris, where Charlotte joined them.

Apart from those days in Paris, Charlotte had stayed behind all summer to play cricket. It was mainly for the reserve team, where she'd been very successful. Her confidence with bat and ball had grown and I believed that she was a real prospect for the future, her bowling was fast, accurate and she'd developed a couple of changes of delivery that would mean the batters could never be entirely sure what they were going to face. It had been nice to have her around whilst the other two were away and she'd been with me for most of that time, either at home or during training. I felt as close to her as I was to Chloe.

Then it was heads down to concentrate on their studies; Constance -- law, Chloe -- wildlife biology and Charlotte -- education. In the evenings, when studying was done, they played music or just chilled out. They were supportive of each other and truly a pleasure to have as a part of my family.

I kept the house when I wasn't coaching. I loved all of those domestic duties and taking care of that family, my family. Olivia worked hard and had been promoted to supervise the jury trials team. The two of us remained close as the months passed and I hated being away from her as happened occasionally. We loved one another, we made each other happy and were able to talk about Hayley and Karen without floods of tears.

One evening in June

It was a glorious, warm, early summer evening with clear skies. I stood on my own watching the girls go through their warm-up routines before the bowlers sent some deliveries down towards the batters in the nets. It gave all the players the chance to 'get their eye in.' Then they did some fielding practice before I shared a few final words and they went to get into their match kit.

The ground was filling up, the squirrel mascot was doing his stuff with the youngsters in the crowd and Gordon, the Stadium Announcer was doing his rounds reporting on events with a TV crew so that he could be seen on the big scoreboard screens. I saw him heading in my direction and for a brief moment considered making a run for it.

The camera pointed in my direction and his microphone was offered up. "Ladies and gents, I'm with Sarah Hardy, Bandit's legend and head coach. Excited to start a new season?"

"I'm always excited to start playing again, but also a bit nervous. What's great, is seeing such a big crowd here this evening and lots of families."

"So, what are the prospects for this season?"

"Hard to know right now, but I'm optimistic, we have a great bunch of girls, plenty of talent and I guess we'll have a better idea in a few hours."

"Some changes to the team since last season?"

"Yeah. Fans will be familiar with Amy Hastings who played last year as a batter and a fantastic fielder, she's taken over the gloves and will keep wicket. Lizzie Glenn has moved over from our neighbours, she's a great spin bowler and regular wicket-taker. We have a new opening batter; Ayesha Anwar, who's just finished a successful tour of South Africa where she scored lots of runs for the Pakistani team. And we have a new pace bowler, Charlotte Churchill."

"That's sounds exciting. I believe Charlotte is related to you?"

"She's my stepdaughter and took up cricket three years ago."

"Some people might ask if she's in the team because of your relationship?"

"She probably should have played at the end of last season, but I didn't want to rush things. Obviously, I think she's ready, but I consulted two trusted advisers before adding her to the team for tonight."

"That's intriguing, whose advice did you seek?"

I hate doing these interviews and Gordon knows that, so he'd been kind enough to forewarn me of his questions.

"Chris Read, the men's coach, naturally sees a lot of my team and we often discuss player selection. He also thought it was the right time. While we're speaking about the men, let's wish them lots of luck in their game this evening against our arch-rivals over at Danby."

"Of course, we wish them luck. Who's the second person you asked for advice."

"When I was starting out at sixteen, I was fortunate to bowl at Graham Dowling, whilst I was at Lords. As you all know he's an England batting legend and former captain, I met him again a few years later and he's acted as an unofficial mentor to me ever since. He's done some coaching with a couple of this team."

Charlotte had wandered over as Gordon responded. "Well, if an England legend thinks she's ready that settles that and here's the young lady in question. Ladies and gents, boys and girls, let's have a big hand for Charlotte Churchill who makes her Bandits debut this evening."

There was a big cheer, bigger than I expected. "Thank you, I'm excited to be here."

"I guess the rest of your family are here to cheer you on?"

"My Mum, sisters and grandparents are in a box, somewhere over there." She waved towards the big stand. I knew exactly where they were and could see them waving back.

"Good luck young lady. And good, luck to the rest of the team. A big hand for Charlotte and Sarah." With that, we were free to get on with preparations. As Charlotte and I walked towards the changing room I touched her shoulder, "Try to relax, it's your first game, but you're ready for this, enjoy it."

"I know, but I want to make everyone proud of me."

"Every single person in that box up there is already proud of you and so am I. It would be nice to think that Karen was up there watching."

"And Aunt Hayley, but they're not, sadly."

*****

We'd won the toss and elected to bowl first. It was normal to opt to chase a total in T20 cricket. My fears were centred on one thing, one person, Charlotte. I worried that if she had to bat late in the game and it didn't go well, it could knock her confidence in her first one and if we did well, she might not get to bat. But there was nothing I could do about it now; I'd coached them as well as I could and it was out of my hands. I took my seat in the 'dug out'. That had always made me laugh, there was no 'dug out' it was a shelter made of plexiglass at the side of the field where players waiting to bat and support staff could sit.

Jean, our Captain, had asked me if I thought Charlotte should take the second over, but we'd agreed that it might be best to bring her on as the first change of bowling. In the first four overs, The Devils scored 38 runs and we'd managed to have one of the batswomen caught trying to hook the ball. Charlotte had been busy, the ball seemed to follow her as she patrolled the boundary, but she'd done well and saved a few runs.

Jean tossed the ball to Charlotte for the fifth over and my nerves were pretty bad. Her first ball to the Devils' opener, Katie Spence, was wide. A wide means the ball was out of the batters reach and therefore they are awarded an 'extra' run and the ball had to be bowled again. An 'over' of six balls means six legitimate balls. The next one was full and trapped Katie on her back foot, so no run. The third was the same, but Katie squeezed a single run. That brought Michelle Long on to strike. Charlotte sent down a slower delivery and Michelle, expecting something much quicker, was through with her swing before the ball arrived, no run.

As she walked back to where she would start her run-up, I saw Charlotte glance in my direction and she made a discreet signal, I nodded almost imperceptibly. This should be interesting. Her run-up looked no different from the previous ones, but her arm whipped over. I didn't see the ball until the wicketkeeper took it into her gloves. Michelle looked around; she hadn't seen it either. Charlotte was grinning as she walked back again, this delivery was short and nearly took Katie's head off. The good thing was she didn't score, sadly she connected with the final ball and sent it to the boundary to score four runs.

I watched Charlotte trudge slowly back to her fielding position on the boundary and managed to catch her eye, give her a smile and a thumbs up.

Charlotte was ready at the end of her run-up for her second over and I noticed that she looked determined. The ball was shorter and lifted high, the batswoman managed to dodge it at the last minute. The second was full and hit the very bottom of the bat. Two balls, two different deliveries and no runs, this was good. I don't think anyone in the ground saw the next ball it was so fast, but they did see the middle stump cartwheeling backwards and Katie Spence staring at it open-mouthed. Charlotte danced down the wicket and was mobbed by her teammates. I sat quietly glowing with pride.

Her next ball did exactly the same thing and I doubt if anyone could believe that she'd taken two wickets in two balls on her debut. I certainly couldn't. There was a hush over the ground and a sense of excitement built, taking three wickets in consecutive deliveries, a hat trick, was rare, but the crowd roared as Charlotte ran in. There was a huge sigh of disappointment as the ball missed the bat and the stumps as it whistled through to the 'keeper. Sadly, her final ball of the over went to the boundary to score four more runs.

Things were going well; the bowlers had pegged the run-scoring back to under six an over. Charlotte had only conceded eight runs from her final two overs so far and I was delighted as she started to run in for her final delivery. The ball pitched short and climbed towards the batswoman who raised her bat to fend it off and in doing so, it took a fine edge and went to the fielder at first slip, next to the wicketkeeper. Elise Curran was a fine fielder and there was no way she would miss such an easy chance. She threw the ball up in the air and raced towards Charlotte, hugging her before the rest of the team piled on. I was delighted, in her four overs she'd conceded only 18 runs and taken three wickets, that was quite an achievement and I'd be pleased for any of my players, but this was Charlotte, she wasn't quite my daughter, but I couldn't have been any prouder of her. At least with her bowling done, I could concentrate and, hopefully, enjoy the rest of the game. As it happened Charlotte also took a great catch on the boundary. It would have gone over the heads of most of our other fielders, but being tall and with a great leap she not only saved a six, she got rid of the one batswoman who'd been scoring freely.