Her Teammates Cheered the Save Nobody Else Saw
Brian Armer
Nina had one hand on the pool ladder when she heard, “Could we do one more?” At the far end, their goalkeeper was still between the posts. The last shot had slipped past her, and she had been looking at the water ever since. Nina let go of the ladder. “Liv?” “Just one.” Liv pushed her cap back into place. “If you’re not in a hurry.”
On the deck, the clock had moved past the end of practice. Nina’s towel was waiting on the bench. So were her shoes, her bag, and a sandwich she had been thinking about for twenty minutes. She turned toward the two teammates still in the water. They looked at Liv, then at one another. Jess retrieved the ball. “Same sequence?” she asked. Liv nodded.
They reset without calling the coach back. Nina took her position and watched Liv settle. During practice, it was easy to notice a goalkeeper when a ball went in. Nina had done it herself, turning toward the net before thinking about the pass they had failed to stop or the shooter they had left open. Liv always waved them back into position. “Next one,” she would say, even when she was the one fishing the ball out.
Now the pool was quiet enough for Nina to hear Jess draw a breath before the first pass. They moved the ball across, quick and clean. Liv followed it. When the shot came, she rose, reached, and got her hand to it. The ball struck the water outside the post. Nina’s cheer bounced off the empty stands. Jess threw an arm up, and their third teammate shouted Liv’s name.
Liv looked from one face to the next. Then she laughed, breathless, and let her shoulders sink back into the water. “Okay,” she said. “Now we can go.” They swam toward the ladder together. Nina waited while Liv climbed out, then passed her a towel. Liv dried her face and glanced toward the clock. “Sorry I kept you.” “You didn’t.” Nina picked up her bag. “I know you wanted to get out.” Nina looked back at the goal, then at her. “You stay back there for us all practice. We can stay for you.”
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