How I Stayed in America (Part 9)

The final stop on our honeymoon was Milan. Why Milan? Actually, my husband’s agent was living there at the time, and while we were   enjoying our honeymoon, he was working on Andrei’s contract. After   the summer camp, it was obvious that Utah wanted  to  admit him, and   a rookie contract for 3 years plus 1 is guaranteed. We went to Milan to sign the contract. For me, it did not seem that exciting — my pregnancy completely relaxed me, and also brought a certain degree of dullness  into my everyday life. I knew that this was important for my husband,   his career and, ultimately, our future. A rookie contract isn’t just a story in the NBA. Any athlete starting his path had to go through it, even LeBron. In some way, this contract means facing a big risk, especially for European players. This was definitely a risk for my husband. In the next four years, his salary would be much less than he could have earned in Europe. Furthermore, no one guaranteed that over these four years, his career would only go uphill without any interruption and would be crowned with the signing of a greater, more advanced contract. Despite everything though, Andrei envisioned himself only in the NBA. I, as a matter of fact, embarked on the biggest adventure of my life. The next four years I would have to spend in a country that I hate, in a city that is marked with a “skip” in my heart by a cartographer — in the capital of Mormons, who, in the opinion of many, tend to be polygamists.

We were driving via A8 from Saint-Tropez to Nice, and my husband was trying to describe to me what it’s like in Salt Lake City. “There are almost the same mountains as here,” he tried to calm me down… As well as himself, apparently. Years later, he told me how he came to the Utah camp. American hinterland, unfamiliar or rather “unknown” people, tasteless or rather unusual food, a 3 by 3 hotel room and low ceilings.

And bathrooms… Specific shallow bathtubs without a hand shower. I still can’t get used to it. The shower is a “head” that is fixed in the wall. How to wash your bathtub? Or shouldn’t you just wash it at all?

Before the 2002 Olympics, there weren’t even decent hotels in Salt Lake. There was no round-the-clock room service. And why should there be one, if everyone goes to bed at 10 pm at the latest? In America, people tend to go to sleep and get up very early. By early I mean 6 am. I’m not talking about exceptional places like New York, or Vegas, or Miami, where people tend to have a hard time maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, New York for me is not America at all. They have their own rules, laws, traditions. But more on that later. In general, there was nothing decent in Salt Lake before the Olympics. One nice restaurant… However, there was one big plus for the lack of entertainment and events — everyone loved the Utah Jazz team very much.

We arrived at Principe Di Savoia. This time, we had a presidential suite.  It was covered in some kind of gold. I got excited! Well, let this be my kind of agony before being sent to the land of the Divine on the final days. Our agent came to see us. While entering our room with the documents, he smiled and said: “In Utah, it will be completely different. Enjoy!” Andrei put his signature on the contract. He shone from happiness!!!

Author: Masha Lopatova