Ping Pong Summer

But a few hours later, she wasn't regretting it quite as much when she saw Tommy get out his paddle and practice his stance and footwork in front of a mirror.

Inspired, Rachel went down to the basement and found a piece of plywood that was very flat and smooth, then laid it down on a couple of sawhorses that were pretty close to the height of a table so that the edge of the plywood butted up against a wall. Tommy could hit the ball Zach gave him against it just like he'd done at the 'Y'. This would also allow him to be able to volley if his shot wasn't too wild.

She went back upstairs and said, "Hey, buddy! I want to show you something downstairs."

"In the basement?" he asked, as though there was some other 'downstairs'.

"Uh-uh. Come on. And bring your paddle and the ball."

Tommy followed his aunt's voice downstairs, and before she could say anything, he called out, "This is SO cool!"

Rachel didn't even need to explain it. Tommy was batting the ball within seconds doing his best to use the proper footwork and correct strokes.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"I love it!" he said as tried hitting a kill shot which went high and bounced off the ceiling causing them both to laugh loudly.

She picked it up, handed it to him, and said, "Try again!"

Rachel stood there and watched him for several minutes before Tommy turned to her and held out the paddle and ball.

"You wanna try?"

"Um...yes. Yes, I do," she told him with a happy smile.

She carefully checked her grip, assumed the proper stance then hit one.

"Nice!" Tommy said even though it wasn't much of a shot. "Hey, maybe you and me can be on the Olympic team, too!"

Rachel managed not to laugh or correct his grammar.

"Who knows, right?" she replied as she hit another then volleyed several times before hitting the ball sideways so far it shot off and landed on a work bench; a bench where her husband used to work.

As Tommy scurried over to pick the ball up, Rachel's mind was flooded with memories. She missed him so much, and every time she thought about him, she longed for the security that came with being married. And although she wouldn't admit it, she missed the intimacy, too.

Okay, she actually could admit that, it was just the 'ultimate form' of intimacy she didn't care to articulate out loud. But that didn't mean she didn't miss it dearly or thoroughly enjoy lovemaking. Lately, she found herself laying awake late at night wondering if she'd ever be loved like that again.

She sighed loudly enough for Tommy to hear, prompting him to ask what was wrong.

"Oh. Um...that was such a lousy shot," she told him, not wanting to try and get into an adult discussion with a 12-year old boy. "Here. Let me try again."

After another try, Rachel handed him the paddle as she tried to remember where her husband's paddle was. She knew they still had it, and after racking her brain, she remembered. She pulled a box down, dug through it, and sure enough, it was right where she thought it would it be.

She lovingly took it out of the box and looked at it then held it close to her chest for a moment as she imagined it was him.

"Aunt Rachel? Did you see?" Tommy called.

She turned around and did her best to regain her composure.

"No. Show me," she said. "Oh. And look here!"

Seconds later they were taking turns hitting the ball then letting the other person return the shot. Far too many pinged off the 'table' or in some cases, never even hit the table, but they laughed like they hadn't laughed in so long Tommy's sides were hurting.

"Okay! That's enough for today!" Rachel said when neither one could take any more.

"That was fun!" Tommy said as his laughter waned.

"Yes. Yes, it was. And...the price was right!" she told him recalling how her father used to say the best things in life were free. And 'free' was how much she'd just spent on an activity they both enjoyed more than going to an arcade.

But the best reward came when Tommy hugged her and told her he loved her out of nowhere.

"I love you, too, buddy!" she told him as made the hug last as long as possible and enjoying every second.

As Saturday 'loomed', Rachel thought about canceling many times. The only thing that kept her from calling Zach was Tommy asking her how long it was until Zach was coming over. He was so excited about having an adult visitor that Rachel couldn't take that away from him. Especially someone older he looked up to.

And that thought made her realize just how much older she was than Zach which made her shake her head and wonder how she'd gotten herself into this mess. And that, in turn, caused her to remember how she had, and that brought memories of his smile and his playful ways, and the way it had made her feel.

So she not only didn't call, she did her best to try and see it as a positive experience for her nephew. She had no inclination to think there'd be a second...get together...but if Zach could inspire Tommy to want to play or just do something involving physical activity, it would be well worth their time.

Zach texted her Friday afternoon and asked her if Tommy was still young enough to go watch a kid's movie. When she texted back 'yes, but it depends on which one' he replied immediately.

"Incredibles 2."

"Yes! He's been begging me to take him. He loves those guys!"

"Me, too," Zach texted back. "And no comments about my age!"

He let her know what time he'd be there and when the movie started, and Rachel smiled as she realized this might not be as hard to endure as she'd imagined.

For something she'd once hoped to just get through, she was spending an inordinate amount of time deciding what to wear. Summer in the Seattle area was warm but rarely hot. Today was supposed to get up to a 'blistering' 82 degrees so she wanted something cool, but she always got cold in a theater so she knew she'd need a sweater.

After spending way too long deciding, she went with jeans and a sleeveless, pink top which she'd bought with a matching cardigan. The other thing she spent way too much time on was doing her hair, nails, and makeup, which, by the time she was finished, looked amazing.

Tommy noticed immediately and said, "Wow! You look really pretty, Aunt Rachel!"

"Oh. Um...thank you, honey," she said as though it was how she looked every day even though it had been quite some time since she'd looked that nice.

By the time Zach showed up, Rachel was feeling something akin to nervousness. It bothered her that she was feeling anything, and yet, at some level, she was actually kind of excited. She chalked it up to being happy for her nephew and left it at that.

When the doorbell rang, Tommy flew off the couch.

"I got it!" he hollered even though his aunt was only a few feet away.

"Hey, dude!" Zach said when Tommy let him in. "High five?"

Tommy whacked his hand then asked, "What are we doing today, Zach?"

"Oh. Your aunt didn't tell you?" he said as Rachel walked over.

Tommy answered, but Zach didn't hear a word.

"Rachel. Hi," he said as he tried to take in this 'mini-transformation' and how amazing she looked.

What he didn't know was she was doing the same thing as she stood there admiring how nice he looked in a pair of dark-brown Dockers and short-sleeved, green, button-down shirt.

"You look amazing," he told her as he forced himself to only allow one 'up and down'.

"Thank, you," she replied. "You, too."

"Is uh, is everyone ready to go?" he asked.

"You didn't say where yet!" Tommy reminded.

"Oh. Gee. Sorry, buddy. Yeah, we're going into Seattle to the Westlake Mall area to watch a movie."

"Really?" Tommy said, his eyes wide with surprise. "Which one?"

Zach bent down a little then said, "Incredibles 2."

"No way!" the boy replied.

"Oh, yes. Way!" Zach told him. "I love those guys!"

"You do? So do I!" Tommy told him.

Just as Zach was standing up, the young boy threw his arms around Zach's waist and hugged him. He saw Rachel smiling happily as he hugged Tommy back.

"Okay. Let's roll!" Zach said, as he waited for Rachel to grab her purse and the pink sweater draped over it.

"I get so cold in theaters," she explained.

He briefly considered saying, "No worries. I'll keep you warm," but after seeing her like this, just the thought of saying anything so juvenile was out of the question. He knew she was beautiful, but now he saw her as...sophisticated. Not in any pretentious kind of way but in a way that was...elegant. And classy. The other word that kept running through his mind was 'desirable' and even that was meant in the most noble way possible.

Rachel locked the door then Zach walked her out to his car and opened that door for him.

She smiled and thanked him as Tommy climbed in the back.

"You all buckled up back there, my man?" Zach asked.

"Yep. I'm ready to roll!"

Rachel smiled then said, "I believe he's excited."

"Why wouldn't he be? I mean, who doesn't think The Incredibles are...incredible?"

"I do!" Tommy said.

Rachel laughed happily as Zach held his right up the best he could for another 'high five'.

As they drove, the adults talked about where they lived growing up and shared some basic facts about themselves as Tommy occasionally chimed in to do the same.

Rachel then asked him about ping...table tennis...and how he ended up on the Olympic team. He explained how he started playing when he was five at the very YMCA where he was now offering free lessons.

"I won a junior's tournament when I was seven, and I was hooked."

Zach had won many other tournaments, but Rachel had to pull the information out of him, something else she liked about this friendly, modest younger man.

Tommy's only interest in the conversation was about the trophies Zach had won and asking if he could see them.

"Sure. If your aunt says that okay," Zach told him.

"Can I, Aunt Rachel? Please???" Tommy begged.

"I'm sure we can do that. Just not today," she told him.

"Ahh!" Tommy whined.

"Cheer up, buddy. Your aunt didn't say 'no', she just needs to find a time that works for everyone, okay?"

Rachel very much liked the way he stood up for her without hurting Tommy's feelings. And the way he smiled at her didn't hurt, either.

Parking was always a problem downtown, but patience paid off, and Zach found a spot within a block from the theater. The meter gave them three hours after he chunked in some coins, and the three of them headed toward the mall.

"Cool!" Tommy suddenly said as they got closer.

Some kids a little older than him were break dancing and Tommy asked if he could run ahead and watch.

"Okay, but don't get too far ahead," his aunt told him.

"He's interested in break dancing?" Zach asked.

"Um...I don't know. He's never even mentioned it before. It's more likely that just seeing it being done looks fun to him."

"I loved break dancing when I was his age," Zach mentioned as though everyone did it.

"Wait? You used to break dance, too?" she asked. "Seriously?"

"You make it sound like that's hard to believe," Zach replied.

"No. I didn't mean it like that. Not at all. I guess I'm just a little surprised. That's all."

They caught up to Tommy who was spellbound watching a boy of about 15 going through a routine.

"Can you do that?" Rachel asked. "Sorry. Could you do that back when you were break dancing?"

Tommy spun around, his eyes again wide in disbelief.

"You can break dance?" he asked excitedly.

"I can still bust a move," he said with a smile.

"Can you? I mean, will you?" the boy asked.

"I don't want to horn in on them," Zach said. "They're having fun, and they don't need an old guy stepping..."

Rachel made a snorting sound at the 'old guy' comment. She quickly apologized, but Zach was having none of it.

"Okay. That's it," the said.

He stepped inside the circle indicating he wanted to be next, and in spite of a few crass remarks about his age, no one stopped him when the kid finished his routine.

Zach listened to the music coming out of an old-style boom box for a few seconds then began to move. Slowly at first then out of nowhere he really did 'bust a move'. Several of them.

His rhythm and timing were excellent, and so were his skills. Within seconds the kids in the circle where cheering and applauding and Tommy was so excited it made his aunt happy just watching him. Except that she couldn't take her eyes off of the table tennis pro-turned break dancer who was on his back, his head and all over the place as his entire body moved with the music.

He cut an old routine short and got a huge round of positive 'shout outs' from the crowd as the younger kids gathered around him. Zach saw Tommy beaming from a few feet away and waved him over. Without even looking for his aunt's approval, he bolted toward Zach who put his arm around him like he was his best friend.

He answered a few questions about how long he'd been 'breaking' before saying, "Sorry, guys. My main man and I are goin' to see a movie so we gotta roll, okay?"

As they emerged from the small crowd, Zach's arm still around her nephew, Rachel was fighting back tears of joy at seeing her nephew so happy.

"Aunt Rachel? Did you see that?"

"I did. I saw everything," she told him.

"Zach was SO good, huh?" he bubbled.

"Yes. Yes, he was," she agreed as Zach reached over and mussed up his hair.

As they walked up to the entrance, Rachel said, "That really was impressive."

"Oh, gosh. Thank you, but I haven't done that in...years. I stuck to one part of a routine I did so many times I thought I could still pull it off. It wasn't very smooth, but I think it was okay."

"I'm no expert," Rachel told him. "All I know is it looked amazing to me."

"Do we need tickets?" she asked as they got to the booth.

"Nope. I already bought them online. We have the best seats in the house," Zach told her.

By the time they got inside, the smell of buttered popcorn hit them, and is if on key, Tommy asked if he could have some.

"It's on me," Zach said quietly. "If it's okay with you."

Not wanting another battle, or her nephew's good mood to end, she gave in and let him have some.

"But only if I can pay," she told Zach.

"I paid for the tickets so I suppose that's fair," he told her with a smile.

As Zach led them to their row, Rachel realized he was right. They had three seats in the middle of the middle of the theater, her favorite place to sit. Zach motioned for her to go ahead so she went first then he did the same to Tommy.

"No, you go ahead," Tommy told him.

Rachel heard say, "No, that's okay," and said, "Tommy? Come on, honey. You need to sit next to me."

He was going to argue, but instead did as he was told. At least partly. He waited for his aunt to find her seat then quickly slid into it underneath her.

"What in the world was that?" she asked after nearly sitting on him.

"You said I have to sit next to you. So if you sit down there, I'll be next to you," he said pointing to the seat she'd wanted him to sit in, knowing that would put her next to Zach.

Rachel looked down at her nephew who was smiling sheepishly then over at Zach who only shrugged.

"Don't look at me," he said. "I didn't put him up to this."

"Sit down, Aunt Rachel," Tommy said, tapping the empty seat to his left.

"Okay. Fine. I'll sit here," she said as she gave her nephew 'the look'. But he'd seen the real look enough times to know this one wasn't genuine, so he only smiled when she tried using it on him.

"I think someone considers himself a matchmaker," Rachel said quietly as she leaned Zach's way.

He smiled then leaned her way and said, "I don't have a problem with that."

Rachel pulled away and gave him the look which caused him to laugh.

She shook her head then said, "Yeah, right!"

Zach looked at her for a couple of seconds until she got serious, wondering if something was wrong.

Then very seriously Zach said, "I'm hurt. Deeply."

Until he smiled, Rachel wasn't sure whether or not he was kidding. When she finally knew, she leaned back over and said, "Stop that!"

"I will when you stop hurting my feelings," he told her as he tried not to laugh.

Rachel shook her head but couldn't help smiling as she did.

Zach remembered what she told him about always being cold in a theater, so he leaned over again and asked if she was chilly.

"Oh. Actually I am," she told him. "I just forgot about it momentarily because someone kept giving me a hard time."

He leaned very close to her ear then whispered, "Yeah. Guys do that when they like a girl. Or so I've heard."

Rachel pulled away again then looked at him.

"Well, if you start punching me as a way of expressing your love, I'm outta here," she teased, referring to the way boys sometimes did that on school playgrounds.

He was making a face that said something like 'I'm so sad' and when she saw the puppy-dog eyes, she laughed out loud.

Almost immediately she sat up straight in her chair, covered her mouth, then said, "Shhh!" as though someone else made the noise.

"So...are you cold?" he asked again.

She glanced over at him then said, "Oh. Right. Um...yes."

He reached across her and lifted up the thin sweater then helped her with it.

"Better?" he asked.

She smiled at him then said, "Yes. Much better. Thank you."

Previews started a few seconds later, and both of them were watching Tommy watch them. He was fixated on the screen as he popped one piece of popcorn into his mouth after the other.

"He's a great kid," Zach whispered.

Rachel was unaware he, too, was looking at Tommy, and when she turned her head, Zach's face was right there. As in—right there.

"Sorry," she said as the side of her face gently bumped into his nose.

"Don't be," he whispered. "That was kind of nice."

She moved away a little and repositioned herself then whispered back, "Getting whacked in the face is nice?"

Zach smiled at her then moved very close to her ear again and said, "It all depends on who's doing the whacking."

She smiled and forgot about her nephew as Zach sat there staring at her, a warm smile on his face, too. Unable to hold his stare, she first looked down then turned away, aware her tummy had done a kind of 'flip-flop' thing.

About an hour into the movie, Rachel realized Zach was looking at her again. She wanted to look at him, too, but still hadn't recovered from whatever had happened earlier. Just then something funny happened, and the entire crowd laughed to include Tommy. When Rachel also laughed, she finally glanced at Zach to see if he was, too.

He was smiling, but not laughing. He was looking right at her then raised his hand and held it out in an unmistakably way.

She looked down at it then looked at him, then down at his hand again.

When she looked back at him, he gently raised his eyebrows, and when he did, her tummy flip-flopped again as she watched her hand move over, and, as if by itself, take his. Or rather, she laid hers in his as Zach gently wrapped his fingers around it before changing positions and interlacing his fingers with hers.

Tommy never noticed, and Zach never let go the rest of the movie. When it ended, Tommy looked over to say 'that was the best movie ever', and when he did, Rachel pulled her hand away so fast it startled her nephew.

It took his brain a second to realize what had happened, but once things 'clicked' he smiled at Zach then at his aunt but didn't say another word. He didn't have to because Rachel knew exactly what he was thinking; that his plan had worked.

Whatever feelings she'd been experiencing were now replaced with confusion. Those feelings, in turn, made her wonder why she was feeling confused, but those feelings were followed with conflicting answers like, "There's no reason to feel confused" and then, "Of course you're confused. You're acting like a fool."