The Reluctant Wag by Mary Costello Page A

Ryan to the counter. They got their drinks and sat down at the window overlooking the river. Ryan was quite a talker. He rattled on about his time at Yarraside, about the games he’d played and the things he’d done in Melbourne since moving there from a country town in Tasmania. She tried to pay attention, to nod and smile at appropriate times and to ask the occasional question. But her whole mind was fixed on Cal.
    When had this happened? When had she fallen so completely for him? Was it the first time she saw him play? Was it while she watched him by candle light at the Spanish restaurant? Was it that night when he’d kissed her so ruthlessly? Or was it actually that very first day when he walked into Paige’s office and straight into her heart?
    She felt totally miserable now as she sat there, pretending to listen to Ryan’s ramblings. What was she doing, leading this boy on? He was only a year younger than she was herself, but he was a lifetime younger than Cal McCoy, and that was what counted. How could she ever really look at another man after Cal? No one could ever compare to him, she thought despairingly.
    And yet, she could never have him, because she was nothing to him. She was a pretty face – one of dozens who moved around him like dazzling satellites – but that was all she’d ever be to him, because he only had one thing on his mind, and that was football.
    The café was beginning to fill up and as the door opened again she looked up. It was Cal. She wasn’t sure if he’d seen her, then he was immediately approached by a group of young boys clamouring for his autograph. She expected him to refuse, instead he smiled warmly at them and spent the next few minutes signing their caps and jumpers, answering their questions and laughing with them.
    As they finally went off, delighted with their idol, Cal walked towards the counter and immediately spotted Merise and Ryan. His face fell. She felt somehow ashamed and lowered her eyes to the table. At the same moment, an old lady at the table next to hers called to Cal, ‘Hello, my darling. How are you going?’
    Cal drew his eyes away from Merise and turned to the woman with one of his killer smiles. Merise felt an almost uncontrollable urge to run up to him, throw her arms around his neck and cling to him. How could she possibly bear not having him love her for the rest of her life?
    He was talking to the old woman, bending down and holding her hand in such a gentle way. This was a side of Cal she’d never seen before. Was he really only doing it because the woman was a Wolves supporter? That was why he tolerated Merise, because she happened to strike a chord with the public and because she was good for the team’s image. Well, she’d made him think she fancied Ryan. Let him. That was a good thing. That way he would never guess where her heart truly lay. He must never know. He would think her foolish; he might even pity her, and she could never bear that. Better to have him feel indifferently towards her, and remember her as a great asset to the club’s marketing strategy, and nothing else.
    And the sooner she could get out of this arrangement with Yarraside and never see him again, the better it would be for her sanity.
    It was Erica’s birthday and Merise had offered to buy her lunch at a stylish Southbank restaurant. It was a sultry day and the girls sat on the terrace, overlooking the promenade beside the river, watching the passers-by.
    ‘This is great,’ said Erica. ‘The food’s beautiful and the view’s superb. Look – there’s Mia Guerrero – that new actress from Neighbours ,’ she hissed.
    ‘Is it? I don’t know her, but I recognised Angela Zouzoulas and Dinny Rankin from Breakfast the minute we came in.’
    ‘Yeah, so many celebrities come to this place. I’ve always wanted to eat here.’
    ‘Me too. But I can only afford it thanks to Yarraside Wolves,’ Merise said with a wry smile.
    ‘And just think – you’ll always be