Naked Hero - The Journey Away

way to the players’ lounge? Head towards the main stadiums, then ask any of the officials, they’ll point it out. I’ll arrange for a pass at the door and see you there in about half an hour. Is that okay?”
    “Sure. I’ll find it.”
    “Good, I’ll see you then.”
    “See you, Lewis.”
    The call was ended and Lee Porter smiled. Oh yes! This was definitely much, much, better!

Chapter 20
    As Lee was leaving the court he was watched by Jim Murdoch, who had made his way over to the opposite stand where Scott Taylor was waiting for him. Mike had already left, at Jim’s request, to try to catch some of the Mierskoff match, and do a bit of scouting on the coach’s behalf. Jim wondered who the man was. He knew that it was him that had shouted out when Lewis was all but beaten, and he had seen the impact of his words. The final words that Jim himself had used once to similar effect. Where had those words been for him today? That was just one of many questions that Jim Murdoch would seek an answer to. But it was a question for later - there was a different question that needed an answer now. He turned his attention to Scott Taylor, hoping that it would be a good one.
    “Thanks for coming along, Scott. And for saying what you did. I’m not sure that Lewis would have got through that without your help.”
    Scott had seated himself, having stood for longer than he cared to in order to watch the match. Ex-champions might be able to go where they pleased, but they weren’t necessarily guaranteed a seat when they got there. Jim took the chair beside him, and prepared himself for the verdict.
    “It was embarrassing to witness,” said Scott. “The crowd that is, not Lewis. He did well to block it out for so long. Something should have been done way before I intervened. But it wasn’t really me who turned it around for him. Do you know who that guy was?” Scott Taylor had also watched Lee Porter leave and had a few questions of his own.
    “No, but I suspect that Lewis does. It was weird how he knew exactly what to say.”
    “Boyfriend?”
    Jim was flustered by the notion, but he would no longer hide from the reality that was Lewis’s life and answered as honestly as he could. “No. I don’t know very much about what goes on with Lewis at times, but I would know if there was someone he was seeing, regularly like. No, there’s no boyfriend. I’m sure of that.”
    “Well, he certainly helped - whoever he was.”
    “As did you, Scott - as did you... Have you made a decision? Will you help him some more?”
    “What exactly would you like me to do, Jim? And are you sure that Lewis would welcome my involvement?”
    Jim threw up his arms and waved off the ridiculous notion that Lewis would object. “Of course he would. He was a huge fan of yours when he was a boy - watched you endlessly. He actually cried when you lost the Wimbledon final.”
    “You’re making me feel old, Jim.”
    “There’s older than you still out there. It was a sad loss when you retired. It would be great to see you back again in some way - really back, not just... Well, you know what I mean: back in the game, if only for a fortnight. Here - where it all started for you.”
    “You still haven’t told me what you want me to do.”
    “Whatever you can!” exclaimed the coach. “But if you’ve got the time, what I’d really like is for you to practice with him tomorrow morning, and then let us know what you think we need to work on for him to get through the rounds... for him to get to the final. Were you here earlier for the first match?”
    “I only caught the last set. Lewis should beat him, we both know that. We just need to ensure that there’s no trouble from the crowd again. I’ll be having some words with Cliff Drysdale about this fiasco today. He won’t want a repeat, and he certainly won’t want the reputation of the Australian Open to be put into question. He knows that I’m in a position to raise those questions. The world will be watching the next match, and watching the crowd. I don’t think Australia wants to be shown in that sort of light. He’ll sort it out.”
    “I asked him to sort it out for this match, but he played ostrich. Are you sure he’ll act differently for you?” asked Jim.
    “He’ll act differently because it’ll be on television. I’ll make sure that it is.”
    “Thanks, Scott. I appreciate that… So can you make it tomorrow? We’ll be here at ten. I can text you the court number