‘Ha, very funny.’ I take the same stool in the corner from last week and throw a hundred euro note on the bar. ‘I’ll have a Heineken Zero please, and whatever these knuckleheads want. I would say get yourself one, but you already said you don’t drink.’
James smiles a hello at Maddy, but a frown flickers across his bushy eyebrows. ‘Who’s your friend?’ His tone is slighter cooler than earlier.
‘Maddy is one of the mams from Erin and Emily’s school. She has a daughter in Erin’s class called Zoe.’ Turning to Maddy, who returns with an uncapped bottle of Heineken Zero, I say, ‘Maddy, these are some of my former teammates, you probably recognise most of them, but this is Callum, James, Nathan, Eddie and Ollie.’
‘Teammates?’ Maddy practically squeals. ‘I was joking about that!’ She brushes her loose blonde hair from her face, sweeping it behind her ears to get a better look.
‘Seriously?’ Nathan raises one dark eyebrow quizzically. ‘Where have you been hiding?’
‘In all the wrong places apparently.’ Maddy laughs again. ‘Seriously, what sport do you play?’
‘The only sport!’ Callum feigns outrage, but his widening illuminous smile gives him away. ‘Rugby.’
‘Shucks. Rugby isn’t big in the States like it is here. We’re more baseball, basketball, soccer, you know?’
‘The difference between rugby and soccer is this: football is ninety minutes of pretending you’re hurt, whereas rugby is eighty minutes of pretending you’re not hurt.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’ Maddy smiles, but she doesn’t look entirely convinced.
‘We’ll have to bring her to a match,’ Callum proclaims.
‘Yes, our wives would really love that,’ Eddie says, pushing his way to the bar. ‘I don’t know about you fellas, but I do not have a death wish.’ He laughs, but it’s no joke. Yet, for some reason, with Maddy, I forget where the boundaries are. She’s just so easy to be around. Her sunny demeanour’s oddly infectious.
When everyone has a drink in hand, we return to the matter of business. Picking at the label of the bottle, I ask what I’ve been dying to ask since we stepped foot in this place. ‘Were you serious earlier when you said I should do the coaching?’ I don’t dare to look up for fear of seeing pity in their eyes.
Truly, I’m not made for TV commercials, commentator boxes and modelling like the rest of my friends here, but I am made for rugby – playing it, watching it, teaching it, living, sleeping, breathing it. From the second they suggested it, something clicked in my brain, telling me with a certainty that I haven’t felt since I stepped off the pitch, that this is what I need to do with my life. This is the direction I’m destined to go in.
An excited electric current pulses through my veins at the prospect of getting down and dirty on the pitch again, covered in mud, blood, sweat and tears. I’m a rugby player at heart. It’s just what I am, what I’ll always be. But I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.
Eddie, Callum, Ollie and James all instinctively glance to Nathan. He is their captain now, after all. He nods and their lips stretch into various sized grins.
‘You’re the only man for the job.’ Callum slaps my back hard. ‘Congratulations, coach, consider yourself hired. Once we get everything over the line, that is.’
Eddie exhales a long, low sigh of relief. ‘Thank god. It’s one thing agreeing to help fund and support this place, but if Emma got a whiff that I’d be down here coaching on my rare days off, she’d buy the place quicker than we could and turn it into beauty salon just to prevent it. And she’s right. We’re away from our families so much, it’s not fair to commit our time to much else.’
‘And on that note, as you know, we’re heading off on the Autumn Internationals, so we’ll have to leave you in charge, Marcus.’ James pulls out his phone and gets up the calendar. ‘Wednesday morning, you have an appointment with the council. They want the final drawing for our proposal. They’re already coming under pressure from Krawley Construction, who have offered to double their original offer on the property if their planning is approved. You need to make sure that doesn’t happen. Then you have an appointment with the solicitor in the afternoon. We’ll all sign a disclaimer before we leave the country to confirm we’re silent partners. You have our full backing, and complete power of attorney.’
This seems like a dream come true. I can’t believe it. Wait until Shelly hears about this, she’ll be thrilled I’ve finally found my post-retirement calling.
Then it hits me like a train. She won’t, because we’re barely talking. And there’s still the tiny matter of my broken promise.
‘Three o’clock, with Keira. She’ll have the paperwork drawn up. With any bit of luck, this day next week, our offer will be accepted.’ Keira is Eddie’s sister, she’s represented each of us individually for years. She’ll ensure everything runs smoothly, and defend any dispute from Krawley Construction, who likely won’t take this lying down.
‘Ah shit, lads. I have to pick the girls up at three.’ Even as the words fall from my mouth, I realise I sound like a housewife. ‘Would Nadine be able to help?’ I turn to James who shakes his head wistfully. ‘She’s coming on tour.’ He leans into my ear and whispers, ‘we’re ovulating next week.’ Like I even know what that fucking means.
Maddy hovers behind the bar, drying glasses and putting them back on their rightful shelves. ‘I’ll do it,’ she says simply. I could almost fucking kiss her!
‘Thank you! We’ll get you to a game yet!’ I don’t mention that it might just be one at the end of this road, instead of the Aviva.
