Pippa's Fantasy by Donna Gallagher Page A

on the eye. Tall and muscular like most rugby forwards, he had broad shoulders and bulging biceps. Pippa could picture him in R.M. Williams boots, hat pulled low over his blond hair, shading his blue eyes from the sun, and his arm muscles bulging from lifting bales of hay back on the farm, instead of the metal weights he was now lifting in the gym.
    Pippa also learned more about Gareth’s apparent sadness. He had left a woman back home, which she had guessed. The tale was difficult to hear and her heart broke for him as he told her of his Emily.
    “It’s a lost cause, Em and me. I just need to move on and forget about her,” Gareth admitted to Pippa one night as they sat together amicably, feigning interest in the television, but really both just needing to connect with another soul.
    It was clear to Pippa that ‘moving on’ had not happened for poor Gareth yet. The city seemed not to have lessened his loss at all. Gareth was not just a very talented footballer—he was also an all-around nice guy. He gave one hundred per cent on and off the field, and was always one of the first to volunteer for any good cause.
    “Is it really that bad? You don’t think there is any chance of her waking up and realising how much she is missing out on? Gareth, you’re a great guy. I can’t believe anyone would let you go… She’s crazy, in my opinion. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”
    “Thanks for the endorsement, Pippa, but I have to learn to live with it, ’cause being miserable is getting mighty tiresome.”
    “Here’s to misery, then, and friendship.” Pippa raised her teacup and tapped it gently against Gareth’s sports drink.
    Pippa understood misery and being apart from the love of your life, and especially the feeling of being rejected by that love.
     
    * * * *
     
    Pippa had been relieved to find that she liked most of the team—the men, ranging in ages from late teens to late twenties, were good-natured and polite. Some of the guys were a bit cocky and sure of themselves. But then, that was to be expected with the way the fans treated them like royalty one minute and the devil incarnate the next, depending on the team’s successes.
    Life had settled into a routine. Cassie had started her teaching position and was enjoying her role at the local high school. She had made an immediate impression on her students by talking about spending time with the Jets players and coaching staff, and admitting her best friend was the team’s physio. She told Pippa that she would use any advantage to get the kids to take an interest in what she had to teach them, but was sick of spending half of every lesson fielding questions on what Rook was really like and how Gareth’s hamstrings were, and would he be fit for the first round?
    Cassie and Riley were spending a great deal of time together. Riley was back at university, studying sports management. He also worked at the local pool—the same pool at Leichhardt that he had trained and competed in as a youngster—teaching learn-to-swim classes and coaching the more talented swimmers. Most nights, though, Riley spent with Pippa and Cassie.
    Pippa could see that the pair were growing very close, which just made her feel even more heartbroken and lonely. Gareth had joined them on a few occasions, as he seemed to enjoy the family feel of their home—especially the home cooking, he had commented on that fact more than once—but Pippa just felt he was as lonely in life as her and was reaching out for companionship. Cassie and Pippa both enjoyed cooking, and it was always more satisfying to cook for an appreciative guest or two, so it was no hardship. And of course, Cassie could get another snippet of team-talk to tell her students the next day.
    Gareth had even organised with Brodie for a few of the players to go along to the school and give the students some tips on participating in sports and staying healthy. Cassie had scored some brownie points with the school principal