Regina was sitting on the porch steps when Summer returned from the park with a waterlogged Michael in tow. “How’d your swimming lesson go, Mike?” Regina asked.
“I got my face wet,” Michael answered as he threw himself on Regina’s lap. He was happy to see Regina and grinned up at her.
Summer settled next to the pair on the top step and gave Regina a blow-by-blow description of her date with David.
“He sounds too good to be true,” Regina sighed. “What about his friends? Any tall ones?”
“He mentioned a boy named Charlie. I’ll ask all the necessary questions when we play tennis today.”
“Just don’t be too eager when you tell him about me. And don’t say I’ve got a great personality,” Regina warned. “He’ll think I’m a dog. And be casual about it. If the opportunity doesn’t come up, wait until Ann’s party and then ask him.”
“Okay, okay,” Summer said. “Regina, I do know how to be tactful.”
Summer was so excited about David, she felt like jumping up and doing a little jig, just the way Michael did when he was told he was going to get some special treat. “Oh, Regina, David is almost perfect. He does have one little, tiny flaw, though,” Summer began.
“What?” Regina asked.
“You’ll think I’m being stupid…”
“So?”
“Well, he tells these really terrible jokes. I mean, they aren’t funny at all, but he thinks they are. After he tells the punch line, he laughs so hard his shoulders shake, and I don’t think he even notices that I’m not laughing. Honestly, Regina, he told one bad joke after another all the way home. I think he has a hidden ambition to be a stand-up comic,” Summer concluded.
“That’s not such a bad flaw,” Regina said. “I thought you were going to tell me something gross. Now, drooling, twitching, belching all the time…those are definite flaws.”
“Be serious,” Summer demanded.
“Okay,” Regina replied. “If telling bad jokes is David’s only flaw, then I still say he’s perfect. At least he has a sense of humor.”
“You’re right. He is perfect,” Summer agreed. “Now, let’s get down to business, Regina. How am I going to learn to play tennis before four o’clock?”
David was prompt. At exactly four o’clock he knocked on the screen door. He was also thoughtful. He produced an entire pack of Juicy Fruit gum and handed it to Michael, who immediately tore into the package with squeals of delight.
“Want to walk to the park?” David asked.
“Sure,” Summer agreed.
“Hey, Mike, is that a new towel you’re wearing?” David looked as though he was about to laugh, but Michael didn’t seem to care or notice that David was teasing him. He was too busy stuffing sticks of gum into his mouth.
“It’s my cape,” Michael explained between bites.
“Come on, Michael, it’s time to leave,” Summer called after him.
“I need my glasses Grandpa gave me,” Michael yelled back. He appeared a minute later with a pair of white children’s sunglasses perched on his nose.
“Want to ride on my shoulders to the park, Superman?” David asked.
When Michael nodded, David lifted him up over his head and placed him on his shoulders. Michael locked his boots under David’s chin.
“David, you’re really good with kids,” Summer said. She was secretly pleased that David wasn’t embarrassed by Michael’s attire. “You take things in stride.”
“Thanks. I like kids; they’re so natural and honest. You always know where you stand with them.”
“That’s certainly true of Michael,” Summer said.
David laughed. “There’s a swing set right next to the tennis courts. We’ll be able to keep an eye on Superman while we play.”
Summer found herself getting all nervous again. “Remember, I don’t know much about the game,” she said. “Oh…maybe when we get there you could find someone else to play with, and Michael and I could watch you. I mean, well…I wouldn’t want to slow you down.”
“I thought you said you’d played before,” David said while he readjusted Michael on his shoulders.
I would have said anything to go out with you, Summer secretly admitted. But after his remarks about liking Michael because he was so open and honest, she instinctively felt that telling him the truth wasn’t such a hot idea. “I have played,” she blatantly lied, “but it was years and years ago. I’m not too coordinated when it comes to playing tennis. Maybe you could give me a few pointers.”
David was watching her closely, and so she tried to flutter her eyelashes the way Regina suggested, hoping she looked innocent and cute at the same time.
“Do you usually wear glasses? We could go back and get them,” David asked, leaning down to have a closer look.
Summer immediately quit blinking and shook her head. So much for cute! “No, I don’t wear glasses.”
“Don’t worry about tennis,” David advised, changing the subject back. “I’ll be glad to teach you. I’m not very good either. We’ll just take it slow and easy.”
Famous last words, Summer concluded an hour later. It had started out easy enough. Michael cooperated by playing on the swings with a couple of older boys. Summer was convinced that she was putting on quite a show, running like a graceful ballerina all over her side of the court. She even managed a few dainty back kicks and one rather spectacular spin. She missed hitting the ball, of course, but she was close to it. Acting as if she knew what she was doing was hard, exhausting work. Exhausting, but well worth it. David had to be impressed! Summer certainly was.
“Okay, Summer,” David yelled. “That’s enough warm-up. Let’s play a game now.”
She knew her mouth fell open, and she felt her knees try to buckle on her. What have we been doing for the past hour? she wanted to ask, but she was panting too hard.
“You serve first,” David instructed. He was tossing a tennis ball in the air with his racket, like a pancake on a frying pan, and looked completely relaxed.
Summer gritted her teeth, smiled, and nodded.
She glanced over at Michael, hoping she could use him as an excuse, but her little brother was calmly sitting on a swing, waiting for one of his new friends to give him a push.
The Fates were against her! Summer was good and stuck, and she knew it. Taking a deep breath, she picked up a bright yellow tennis ball, give it a good glare, and then imitated what she thought was a pretty good serve. It jammed into the tennis net, and David promptly yelled, “Fault!”
“You don’t have to be so critical,” Summer muttered under her breath. She smiled at David and picked up another ball, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and served again. “Double fault!” David yelled.
Summer felt like a three-day-old fish, spoiling fast. Her perky ponytail had definitely lost its perk; her blue shirt was stuck on her shoulder blades, and her tennis socks were losing their elasticity. In short, she was a mess.
And it was all downhill after that. David was patient as he yelled encouragement and suggestions. He tried to keep a straight face when Summer tripped over her tennis racket and landed on her backside, and he even jumped over the net to help her get back to her feet. However, a few minutes later, when she crashed into the net, he had to turn around so she couldn’t see him, but she could hear his laughter. She glared at his back until he recovered, but she could still hear a few choked sounds coming from his direction.
Then she stood up and squared her shoulders, aching from head to toe. When David turned around and looked at her, she yelled, “And just what is so funny?” He didn’t answer, and she, knowing in her heart that he would never, ever ask her out again, got good and angry. “Look, David, I told you I wasn’t good at tennis!” She folded her arms in front of her and whacked her elbow with the tennis racket.
David jumped over the net again and jogged toward her, and she noticed that there wasn’t an ounce of sweat on him. Every hair was still in place on top of his beautiful head. He was grinning like crazy, and she felt her frustration slip away. “I played the best game I could,” she explained. “What more can I tell you?” she added, extending her hands.
David jumped out of the way of her racket in the nick of time and then grabbed it from her. “I never realized that a tennis racket could be a lethal weapon,” he said, chuckling, “until today.”
“Very funny,” Summer replied. She looked down at her socks, now firmly anchored around her ankles.
David continued to chuckle and threw his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great time playing tennis. You’re something else.”
“I try,” she answered. “At least I didn’t broadcast to the whole world every time you messed up,” she added.
“What?” David sounded confused.
“You didn’t hear me scream ‘fault’ at you, did you?” she muttered. “It really isn’t very polite to point out another person’s faults, you know.”
“I wasn’t criticizing you,” he stammered. He started laughing again, and she shook her head in exasperation.
He waited until he’d regained some control and then said, “In tennis, saying ‘fault’ isn’t criticism. It’s just a way of keeping score. You’ll learn all that stuff when we play more.”
“You mean you want to play again?” she asked.
“Are you kidding? We’ve got to play again. I’ve had a great time,” he said. “And you’ve got potential. Really,” he added when she shook her head.
She could not contain her amazement. He really sounded as if he meant what he was saying. “You really want to try it again sometime?”
“Of course,” he replied enthusiastically. “Before you know it, we’ll be partners and playing in tournaments.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. What you see is what you’ve got.”
“I like what I see,” he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
Before she had a chance to answer, Michael came running toward them. “Summer, I’m tired,” he whined. “I want to go home right now!”
“I guess I should get going, too,” David said.
“I had a great time,” she said. She helped David pick up the duffel bag and the rackets and didn’t mind at all when he took hold of her hand.
“So did I,” he said softly. “I won’t be able to take you out again until the swim party.”
Summer must have looked disappointed, she decided, because he hurried to add, “I’ll see you at Mike’s swim lessons, though, won’t I?”
“Sure,” Summer answered, smiling.
“I’ll call you, okay?”
“Okay.”
He squeezed her hand, and Summer felt her heart pick up a beat. She was so happy she thought she was in heaven!