by Bob Blanton
Matthew groaned, putting his hands on his hips and arching his head back, “Jason, that was low even for you,” he said.
Alex shook her finger at Jason. “That was totally cheap; you can’t expect to win that way.”
“You should play the point over,” Emily said. “This time play it for real.”
Jason smiled and spread his arms apart, the racquet in his right hand. “OK, but you girls are going to have to umpire it if you’re so concerned about fair play.”
“Sure, now you go back over there and play nice,” Alex said.
Jason hopped back over the net and set up for his serve. Matthew positioned himself for the return and waited. “I hope Jason doesn’t make me look too bad here,” he thought.
“Are you ready, Matt?” Jason called out.
“Just serve the ball,” Matthew hollered back.
Jason served the ball just in the inside corner of Matthew’s backhand side. Matthew moved neatly to intercept and return the ball down the sideline. Jason deftly moved into position and returned the ball deeper to Matthew’s backhand. Matthew had to really scramble to get to it, but was able to hit it crosscourt to Jason’s forehand. Jason had neatly positioned himself for the return and was able to lace it down the line before Matthew could get himself across the court for a return.
Jason hopped over the net, “Is that fair enough for you?” he said, walking up to Alex and giving her a kiss.
“I guess, at least you didn’t cheat that time.”
Matthew walked up, smiling, “I don’t mind losing as long as I’ve got a glimmer of a chance.” He popped Jason on the back with the edge of the racquet.
“That wasn’t too bad,” Emily said, looking at Matthew. “I didn’t know you played.”
“I’m just learning. Jason’s mom is giving me lessons.”
“Oh, does she coach tennis?”
“No, she just offered to coach Matthew if he’d force me to play more.”
“Well, you looked pretty good,” Emily said to Jason. “Are you going to be on the tennis team this year?”
“No, I’m a country club player. Competitive tennis is just too much work for me.”
“Are you guys done for the day?” Matthew asked as he put his racket into his bag.
“Yes, we just finished up.”
“Do you want to grab a soda and a snack by the pool?” Jason asked as he gave Alex a hug.
Alex pushed him away, “I’m all sweaty.”
Jason licked her ear, “And salty too.”
“Let’s go grab a soda,” Alex said before Emily could say anything.
Emily shrugged her shoulders, “OK by me.”
Matthew, all grins, gathered up his stuff and followed behind as they moved toward the café.
“Hey Alex, have you seen Jason’s new car?” Matthew asked.
“I sure have, he drove it over yesterday. He couldn’t wait to show it off.”
“You didn’t tell me Jason got his car,” Emily said to Alex. “What did you get?”
“It’s a Lexus SC, midnight blue,” Jason said as they picked out a table at the poolside café.
“I didn’t think they offered that color.”
“They call it Indigo Ink, but that’s the same as a midnight blue.”
“That does sound better,” Alex said.
“Let’s figure out what we want to order before the waiter shows up,” Jason said. “The service can be a little slow here this time of day.” He handed each one the menus he’d picked up when they passed the hostess stand.
“I’ll just have a diet soda,” Alex said.
“Well I’ll have a soda and French fries. I’ve got to keep my calorie intake up while I’m training,” Emily explained.
“Well, I’m with Alex, just a soda for me,” Jason said.
“Matt, you’ve got to order something to eat,” Emily said. “I can’t be the only one eating at the table. I’ll look like a pig.”
“Don’t worry, I never turn down food. I’ll have the chicken fingers and fries. I’ve got to eat four or five times a day just to keep from losing weight.”
“I wish I had that problem,” Alex said pinching the skin on her thin waist. “I just have to look at food to gain weight.”
The waitress walked up at that time and chimed in, “Not one of you knows what weight is. You’re all just as thin as can be,” she said. “There’s not enough fat among the four of you to make a decent set of love handles. Now what are you having?” she said as she propped her arm on her stomach to write.
Everyone ordered and turned in their menus. As the waitress walked off, the four of them snickered as Jason said, “She’s got enough to make love handles for a whole army.”
“Shish, don’t be mean,” said Emily. “What size engine did you get?”
“That’s what’s great about the Lexus. It only comes with one engine, V8 300 horsepower. I wanted to get a roadster, but Mom insisted that I get a car that could seat four.”
“It can seat four as long as two of them are legless midgets,” Matthew said.
“Hey, it’s got a full 27 inches back there; but what do I care, I’m the driver. It’s even got a dock for my iPhone.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Emily said. “I didn’t even know they were available on the Lexus.”
“Yeah, between that and the satellite radio, I never have to listen to commercials.”
“Yes, I love the satellite radio,” Emily said. “I didn’t get the iPod dock; didn’t think I’d need it with the satellite.”
“You didn’t tell me it had an iPhone dock,” Alex said.
“Why don’t I give you a ride home then, I’ll let you dock your iPhone.”
Matthew almost jumped out of his seat as he turned to look at Jason. He decided not to say anything. He’d walk if he had to. He wasn’t going to beg for a ride.
Emily noticed the startled look on Matthew’s face. “I’ll give you ride home, Matt,” she said as she looked at Alex, a little miffed, “as long as we’re playing musical cars.”
“Thanks, I was thinking that it was going to be a long walk.”
Jason turned and winked at Matthew with a knowing grin. “He knew Emily would give me a ride all along,” Matthew thought. “Man that guy is slick.”
“Here’s your food,” the waitress said as she walked up with a tray on her shoulder. “Two diet sodas and two regular Cokes. Hope you don’t mind the paper cups; the dishwasher broke so we’re using paper until they get it fixed. And here are your fries and chicken fingers,” she said setting the food down in front of Emily and Matthew.
“Hey, my man Matt and I are planning on going to the new Bond movie this weekend,” Jason said. “Do you two want to come along? I hear it’s a riot.” Jason leaned over and grabbed some fries off Matthew’s plate.
“What do you think, Emily?” said Alex, as she grabbed some fries from Emily’s plate.
“Sure, it’ll be fun,” Emily said, “Dutch treat. But how about Thursday? I’ve got an early match Saturday.”
“Sounds great to me,” said Jason. He grabbed more fries from Matthew. “Alex and I’ll set up the times and give you two a call. Hey Alex, since we’ve got our drinks in paper cups, why don’t we head out now?”
“Sure, why not,” said Alex. “We can cruise along 101 for a while if you have the time.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
“Perfect,” said Alex, as she grabbed some more fries off Emily’s plate. “Is that OK with you guys?”
“Sure, fine, maybe Matt and I could eat some of our food then,” Emily said as she pushed Alex’s hand away from her fries.
“No problem,” Matthew said pulling his plate away from Jason.
“Let’s go then,” Jason said as he stood up and walked around Matthew’s chair. He grabbed some chicken fingers while he picked up his bag. “See you guys later.”
As the other two left, Emily turned to Matthew, “I hope you guys didn’t have anything planned.”
/> “No problem, I’ve got to work tonight anyway. We were just trying to get a quick game in, and Jason wanted to show me the club.”
“Well, let’s eat what we’ve got left before it gets cold.”
“Yeah, can you believe those two? I only need a diet soda.” Matthew made his voice sound whiney. “They say, ‘I don’t want to get fat,’ but then they snarf up our food.”
“It’s pretty typical. I didn’t know you worked.”
“Yes, but tonight is just my side gig. I’m fixing someone’s computer. They messed it up so it won’t even boot.”
“That sounds interesting,” Emily turned toward Matthew. “Does it pay well?”
“I charge $75 dollars a visit or $50 dollars an hour, if it takes more than an hour to fix it. Usually I can take care of it in an hour.”
“That’s not bad. Do you stay busy?”
“I only do that five or six hours a week. My real job is at WebMasters.com. I work there about twenty-five hours a week.”
“Webmasters.com,” Emily repeated. “What do you do for them?” She polished off the last of her fries and sat back in her chair.
“I build web pages and customize Java applets for them. I can do most of it at home, so it’s easy to work around my schedule once school starts.”
“You mean you keep up that schedule even during school?” Emily sounded surprised.
“No, during school I only work fifteen hours a week at WebMasters. The side stuff I usually fit in on Sunday.”
“That sounds like a lot of time.”
“It’s not too bad. I still have plenty of time for my Kung Fu and school. But now I have to figure out how to work tennis in.”
“That sure sounds like a lot. When do you do your homework?”
“I just don’t watch much TV.”
“Between school work and tennis, neither do I, but your schedule sounds crazy.”
“It’s not that bad and the money’s good.”
“I can’t believe the money is worth all that, why do you bother?”
“We need the money,” Matthew made his voice deep. “Since my father died, we’ve got a lot of bills. Everything I earn helps.” Matthew tried to sound very adult.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot about your father,” Emily blushed. “I feel so stupid.”
“Don’t worry, it’s no big deal. It’s been almost a year now. What about Michael, he’s in our class and he lost his father last year, too. He’s doing fine. We’re both hanging in there.”
“I’m glad. Hey, let’s pay and get out of here.” Emily grabbed her purse.
Matthew got up, gathered his stuff and waved to the waitress for the check.
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” the waitress said, “your friends took care of it already.”
“That’s nice of them.”
“It’s the least they could do after eating half of our food and ditching us.” Emily gathered up her stuff. “My car is right out here, the red Porsche Boxter under that tree.”
Matthew followed Emily to her car. “Nice car.”
“Thanks, we can put our stuff in the trunk.” She pressed the button on her key ring and the car tweeted and unlocked all the doors. She opened the trunk and threw her bag inside.
Matthew stowed his bag in the trunk beside hers and climbed down into the passenger seat. “Sure is close to the ground.”
“Yeah, makes it seem like you’re going a hundred miles an hour. It gives me goose bumps every time I drive.”
“Haven’t you had it for about six months?”
“I got it last March right after my birthday,” Emily said as she started the car. The little Porsche Boxter roared to life, and she quickly backed it out and sped out of the country club parking lot. “Don’t you live just down the street from Jennifer Reeves?” asked Emily.
“That’s right, two houses down,” Matthew yelled over the roar of the engine and the rushing air. “I didn’t know you knew Jennifer.”
“My mom’s on the same hospital board with her mom. She’s had me drop some stuff off at their house a few times.”
“Oh, amazing how small the world is, isn’t it?”
“Just six degrees of separation.”
Emily turned the stereo up and the music blasted away, making it impossible to talk so Matthew just sat back and relaxed, enjoying the ride with Emily.
When they pulled up in front of his house, Emily popped the trunk. “I’ll see you on Thursday at the movies.”
Matthew jumped out and grabbed his bag. “Right, Thursday, bye,” he said as Emily pulled away. She drove down the street with the engine whining and the stereo blasting.
Emily on My Mind
Matthew woke up on Thursday anticipating his date with Emily that night. He couldn’t help but think about it the entire day. He didn’t get very much accomplished at work, just fixed a couple of problems with a customer’s web site and finished up an applet for WebMasters.com. He tried to stay focused, but he’d catch himself daydreaming about Emily, just staring at the screen. The screen saver was on so he’d known it was at least twenty minutes since he’d faded away.
“Not being very productive today Matt, my boy,” he said to himself. “Well they get their money’s worth out of me most days. I’ll have to work extra hard next week to make it up. I can’t fall behind before school starts.”
Matthew finally packed his stuff and went home. He usually worked Thursdays until 8:00 p.m. since it was the only day, he regularly went into WebMasters.com’s office. The rest of the time he worked from home on his laptop. As he was leaving the building Simone, the office administrator, looked up, “Leaving early tonight, what’s going on?” she asked. “Do you have a hot date?”
Matthew liked Simone; she was always helping him out when he was in the office. She took care of sending packages and other mail for him, and had to handle most of his telephone calls since he wasn’t in that much. They’d become good buddies.
“Not that hot,” Matthew said, “but at least it’s a date.”
“Well who’s the lucky girl?” Simone asked.
“Emily. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned her.”
“Oh, I know the name. It’s been written over all the scrap paper on your desk the last few days.”
Matthew blushed, “Oh.”
“Have fun now, you’ll have to give me all the details next week.”
“Sure, if there are any details,” Matthew said under his breath.
“Boy, there are always details,” Simone said. “That’s what’s wrong with you men, you miss all the details.”
She was still shaking her head after Matthew had gotten on his bike and started home. “Men and boys, they never learn.”
Matthew got home at 6:30. “Two more hours before Jason picks me up. I should have stayed at work. How am I going to kill time?”
Finally, he decided to go upstairs and work out on the heavy bag. At least that would keep his mind off Emily and use up some of his pent-up energy. Matthew changed into his Kung Fu workout clothes, a pair of long black pants, a tee shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. He fingered the stone around his neck trying to decide whether to take it off. He decided to wear it. He’d worn it almost continuously since he’d found it and it felt weird not to have it on.
Getting ready for his workout, he did some easy stretches getting his muscles loose. Then he started more dynamic stretches gradually increasing the range of motion, front, side, and back leg lifts.
Then he set himself up in front of the bag. First, he worked on quick, sharp hand strikes, one, two, and three strike combinations. He rested for ten seconds between combinations. “This is all about speed and explosiveness,” he said to himself as he worked on his hand strikes for thirty minutes. Then he did the same with his kicks, one, two, and three kick combinations, fifteen seconds of rest. “Stay relaxed and be direct,” he said to himself. “You don’t want to let the other guy see what’s coming.”
After thirty minutes he’d worked up a
warm glow of perspiration. Now he set his timer for two-minute rounds with one-minute breaks. During the first round he focused on punching, high-low strike combinations. He established an easy rhythm as he danced around the bag.
The timer went off and he stopped and relaxed, focusing on his breathing, pulling the breath in low and deep. He visualized the next round of kicks, reviewing each of the sequences he would do, the footwork between kicks.
The timer went off and he attacked the bag. Again, he worked to establish a relaxed rhythm coming in for three or four kicks, and then backing out. He concentrated on his breathing, making sure he wasn’t holding his breath as he circled the bag and used his legs to attack. A snap kick followed by a couple of power thrusts. Now a roundhouse kick high, followed by a speed thrust low. He circled the bag moving quickly but smoothly. He added strikes with his knees and shins as he kept adjusting the distance between himself and the bag.
When the timer went off again, he relaxed, focusing on his breath again. The next round he would combine both kicks and hand strikes. Beep went the timer. Matthew attacked the bag, kicking on his way in, adding two or three hand strikes then kicking as he moved out. He worked on circling quickly to the side then kicking or diving in with a punch, always trying to stay relaxed. While he focused on power in his kicks and strikes, his main emphasis was to make them smooth and fluid. Power only at the end, like a rock on a rope, everything is relaxed until it hits.
The next round Matthew picked up the pace, combining his kicks and strikes in quick, relaxed combinations. In close, bouncing out, always controlling his distance to the bag.
“Two more pace rounds,” he said to himself.
For the final round, Matthew forced himself to maintain a constant barrage of kicks and strikes for the entire two minutes. When the timer beeped, his lungs were burning and he was dripping with sweat.
He walked around for a while, relaxing until his breathing calmed.
“7:30 he said to himself, I’ll do fifteen minutes of stretching then some meditation as I cool down. That’ll take me to 8:00; a nice long shower and I’ll be ready to go by 8:40 with a few minutes to spare.”
