To France With Love
Mistakes and Matches
Every other day at the open was going the same way. Wake up, practice, do stuff with Maria, do stuff with Rafa, eat, sleep, and repeat, until the 25th, the day before the tournament began.
It started in the afternoon after practice with Maria. I was mad when I was coming off the courts. I hadn't practiced well, and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was tired and I don't even know what was wrong.
I walked into the lobby, seething. "Great." I mumbled when I saw Rafa waiting for me in the lobby. Any other day I would've thought it was cute. He looked excited to tell me something. I walked past him and he caught up to me.
"Guess what." He said excitedly. I rolled my eyes.
"What?" I said giving in to him. I stooped to hear what he had to say.
"I made seventy-seven shots back and forth across the baseline in a row." He said. "And I didn-"
"That's great." I snapped. "I probably hit three over the net today." I sighed and started walking again.
"Oh." He mumbled, obviously taken back by my agression. "I'm sorry. I bet you'll do bett-"
"Yeah I know." I growled. "We all can't be the fabulous ‘King of Clay'". He stepped in front of me, cutting me off and making me stop. He looked me in the eyes.
"Emelie, that was the first time I get that high since my knee had me out for months and it didn't hurt at all." He said very calmly. "But thanks for ruining that." He paused to stare at me for a few seconds. He looked so crushed and hurt. Finally, he turned away and walked out of the lobby.
I just stood there. I really screwed that up. I had completely forgotten that he had been telling me his progress. He had been getting better every week. He had been waiting there to tell me how he had done. I was supposed to encourage him. Help him get better. Shit. I really cared about him and I just flat-out stomped on his huge accomplishment. I probably couldn't make seventy-seven in a row when I was fully in shape!
When I could finally move, I ran into my room and cried. I honestly could not believe I could've been so heartless and mean. Tyler walked in at some point, saw me face down in bed sobbing, turned around and walked out. He didn't deal with girl stuff.
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I heard someone knocking on the door. I debated not answering, but the knocking didn't stop. I got up and answered. Maria walked right in. She gave me a sympathetic look and sat down on the bed with me.
"Are you mad about practice?" She asked. I sighed. I wish that was all I had to be upset about.
"No I screwed up," I said, "big time." I proceeded to explain my story to Maria. Pretty much every time I added one of the bad parts her face looked more and more sympathetic. After I was finished I saw the look on her face. "Yeah. I know." I mumbled.
"Just apologize and give him time." She said. "You're together now. I don't think you would break up over that." I hadn't thought of that. What if he did break up with me?
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Rafa avoided me at dinner that night. I tried to talk to him, but every time I got near him he walked away or found someone else to talk to. Maybe it was a good sign. Maybe it meant that he wasn't going to talk to me he wasn't going to break up with me. Or maybe he was building up to the break up.
I tried to stop thinking about him, but every time I tried to push him out of my mind, I remembered the look on his face fight before he left me standing alone in the lobby.
The next day was better. I didn't have to see Rafa at all until that night and I swore I would corner him then. I had other things to worry about. Today was Maria's first match! I sat in the stands with Yuri and Alex to watch her play. She looked really good during her warmup. She was playing Nina Bratchikova.
The match started. Maria won six straight games to win the first set. Then she went on to win the second set, only giving up one game. She took the match in straight sets!
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"What a way to start it off!" I said as I hugged the beaming Maria. She had all night to be happy about it, but everyone knew it was back to practicing tomorrow.
We chilled out in the rooms for a while then changed to eat downstairs for dinner. We ate pretty early. The plan for tonight was to lay low and rest so Maria could be ready for her next match.
Rafael wasn't at dinner. I assumed that it was because he was playing tomorrow, or just avoiding me again. I really needed to talk to him, but I had to see him in person. I couldn't just text him.
We ate and went back upstairs. Maria stayed in our room for a while to watch TV. We turned to the sports channel. They were showing highlights of today's matches they put up the women's draw. It showed Maria advancing on to the next round. I nudged her elbow when they said she'd won it in straight sets.
The next thing on the show was pre match coverage for the men who were playing tomorrow. They talked about Novak Djokovic being a big contender as well as Rodger Federer, and finally they got to Rafa they started talking about his match tomorrow. Maria looked over at me.
"You still wanna go?" She asked. I nodded. Of course I did.
It started in the afternoon after practice with Maria. I was mad when I was coming off the courts. I hadn't practiced well, and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was tired and I don't even know what was wrong.
I walked into the lobby, seething. "Great." I mumbled when I saw Rafa waiting for me in the lobby. Any other day I would've thought it was cute. He looked excited to tell me something. I walked past him and he caught up to me.
"Guess what." He said excitedly. I rolled my eyes.
"What?" I said giving in to him. I stooped to hear what he had to say.
"I made seventy-seven shots back and forth across the baseline in a row." He said. "And I didn-"
"That's great." I snapped. "I probably hit three over the net today." I sighed and started walking again.
"Oh." He mumbled, obviously taken back by my agression. "I'm sorry. I bet you'll do bett-"
"Yeah I know." I growled. "We all can't be the fabulous ‘King of Clay'". He stepped in front of me, cutting me off and making me stop. He looked me in the eyes.
"Emelie, that was the first time I get that high since my knee had me out for months and it didn't hurt at all." He said very calmly. "But thanks for ruining that." He paused to stare at me for a few seconds. He looked so crushed and hurt. Finally, he turned away and walked out of the lobby.
I just stood there. I really screwed that up. I had completely forgotten that he had been telling me his progress. He had been getting better every week. He had been waiting there to tell me how he had done. I was supposed to encourage him. Help him get better. Shit. I really cared about him and I just flat-out stomped on his huge accomplishment. I probably couldn't make seventy-seven in a row when I was fully in shape!
When I could finally move, I ran into my room and cried. I honestly could not believe I could've been so heartless and mean. Tyler walked in at some point, saw me face down in bed sobbing, turned around and walked out. He didn't deal with girl stuff.
.........................................................................................
I heard someone knocking on the door. I debated not answering, but the knocking didn't stop. I got up and answered. Maria walked right in. She gave me a sympathetic look and sat down on the bed with me.
"Are you mad about practice?" She asked. I sighed. I wish that was all I had to be upset about.
"No I screwed up," I said, "big time." I proceeded to explain my story to Maria. Pretty much every time I added one of the bad parts her face looked more and more sympathetic. After I was finished I saw the look on her face. "Yeah. I know." I mumbled.
"Just apologize and give him time." She said. "You're together now. I don't think you would break up over that." I hadn't thought of that. What if he did break up with me?
.................................................................................
Rafa avoided me at dinner that night. I tried to talk to him, but every time I got near him he walked away or found someone else to talk to. Maybe it was a good sign. Maybe it meant that he wasn't going to talk to me he wasn't going to break up with me. Or maybe he was building up to the break up.
I tried to stop thinking about him, but every time I tried to push him out of my mind, I remembered the look on his face fight before he left me standing alone in the lobby.
The next day was better. I didn't have to see Rafa at all until that night and I swore I would corner him then. I had other things to worry about. Today was Maria's first match! I sat in the stands with Yuri and Alex to watch her play. She looked really good during her warmup. She was playing Nina Bratchikova.
The match started. Maria won six straight games to win the first set. Then she went on to win the second set, only giving up one game. She took the match in straight sets!
..................................................................................
"What a way to start it off!" I said as I hugged the beaming Maria. She had all night to be happy about it, but everyone knew it was back to practicing tomorrow.
We chilled out in the rooms for a while then changed to eat downstairs for dinner. We ate pretty early. The plan for tonight was to lay low and rest so Maria could be ready for her next match.
Rafael wasn't at dinner. I assumed that it was because he was playing tomorrow, or just avoiding me again. I really needed to talk to him, but I had to see him in person. I couldn't just text him.
We ate and went back upstairs. Maria stayed in our room for a while to watch TV. We turned to the sports channel. They were showing highlights of today's matches they put up the women's draw. It showed Maria advancing on to the next round. I nudged her elbow when they said she'd won it in straight sets.
The next thing on the show was pre match coverage for the men who were playing tomorrow. They talked about Novak Djokovic being a big contender as well as Rodger Federer, and finally they got to Rafa they started talking about his match tomorrow. Maria looked over at me.
"You still wanna go?" She asked. I nodded. Of course I did.