Fast Break (Brooklyn Monarchs 1)

“What will you say?”

DeMarcus pulled up short. “I’m going to ask him about the rumors.”

“What good will that do?”

“If I’m going to turn this team around and start winning, I’ll need the general manager’s support.”

“Interim general manager. And if you don’t have his support?”

DeMarcus continued toward the door. “I’ll quit.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.” Jaclyn frowned at Violet Ebanks O’Neal.

Her friend and former WNBA teammate stood beside her, serving food to the hungry and homeless at Morning Glory Chapel’s kitchen and homeless shelter. Jaclyn added a serving spoon of mixed vegetables to an older homeless woman’s lunch plate.

Violet shrugged listlessly, then added a spoon of mashed potatoes to the plate. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jaclyn bit her lower lip. The situation was getting worse. Last week, Violet had claimed to be tired. Now her friend wasn’t bothering with an excuse.

Violet had been her teammate for three years and a friend for what seemed a lifetime. But Jaclyn hardly recognized the woman these days. Their teammates had nicknamed Violet the Beauty Queen. But the woman standing beside her had scraped her auburn hair into a stubby, sloppy ponytail beneath the hairnet. Her violet blue eyes were dull, and her porcelain skin was devoid of makeup. The Violet she’d known for the past eleven years had worn cosmetics on the basketball court.

Jaclyn glanced at the clock mounted to the wall across the recreation area. It was almost noon. One day a week for the past five years, she took a longer break to help the lunch c

rew at the chapel. She’d talked Violet into joining her almost two months ago. The activity wasn’t helping.

She served an older gentleman a spoonful of vegetables. “Is Dawnie OK?”

Violet had blamed her two-year-old daughter for her fatigue. The little girl had a truckload of energy. Violet’s parents claimed Dawn was payback for Violet having run them ragged until she’d been drafted to the WNBA.

“Everyone’s fine.” Her friend served the older man mashed potatoes. “It’s me. I’m bored out of my mind and driving everybody crazy, including myself.”

Jaclyn glanced at a young mother comforting her sobbing toddler daughter before returning her attention to Violet. Her friend looked bored and frustrated. And a little scared. “What do you want to do?”

Violet shrugged again. “That’s just it. I don’t know. But I’ve got to do something.”

Jaclyn’s shoulders tensed as she took on her friend’s frustration. “Something will come to you, Vi. You’ll figure it out.”

“When?”

She wished she had the answer. “Be patient. Maybe right now, you just need to get away from the house a couple of afternoons a week to just think. Dawnie can stay with your parents or Aidan’s.”

“I hope you’re right.” Violet shifted her troubled gaze to Jaclyn. “But, Jackie, what kind of mother wants to be away from her own child?”

Jaclyn shook her head adamantly. “Vi, just because you want a few hours to yourself doesn’t make you a bad mother.”

“I love my daughter. I really do.”

“I know.”

“Then why do I want to be away from her?”

Jaclyn continued to add vegetables to the plates of stewed chicken as guests moved down the serving line. “You’re not trying to get away from Dawnie. You just need a little time for yourself.”

“I’m not being selfish?”

“Of course not. A couple of hours away from you won’t hurt her. She’ll be with your parents. And it will help you relax so you don’t drive your family crazy.”

Violet’s chuckle wobbled. “Thanks. I’ll take your advice. Maybe then Aidan will stop looking at me as though he thinks I need therapy.”