Justin joins us on the benches next to the tennis court. He has a big smile on his face, and I think he doesn’t even realize it.
He sits next to Joy and me.
Master Mind takes his place on the court. Madelyn is already waiting for the serve, her racket resting on the arm rests of her wheelchair.
“Pirate,” Master Mind calls out to Justin. “I require a racket.”
A tennis racket appears in Master Mind’s right hand. Two tennis balls appear next to his feet.
As Master Mind examines the racket, Joy says with excitement, “It’s really hard to choose who’s going to win. Madelyn’s amazing, but who can beat Master Mind?”
“Yeah,” I agree. After all, this is the guy who can fire with accuracy from a distance of a few kilometers. He is the one capable of jumping meters in the air and landing with accuracy without ever losing his balance.
“Can’t beat Master Mind,” Justin agrees. “I wonder why he wanted to play.”
“Are you ready to play, Madelyn?” As I hear him say her name, I am sure I hear him separating the first syllable of her name. As if he called her Mad Delyn. Does he think her first name is ‘Mad’?
“I am ready, robot,” she answers with confidence in her French accent.
“I will annihilate you. I will destroy the ground you roll on. I will make you wish you were never born,” Master Mind says.
Justin buries his face in his palm. “Oh, no,” he whispers.
“What?” I whisper, even as Madelyn says, “You can try!”
Justin looks up and whispers, “This is where his evil half can come out without him hurting anyone.”
“Really?” Joy whispers.
“Let’s see,” Justin whispers.
Master Mind throws the ball and hits it hard. The ball flies so fast, it bounces off the ground and zooms past Madelyn faster than any human could be expected to react.
“Fifteen love,” Master Mind says. It’s amazing how fast he got the rules. “I will demolish your self respect and jump on it just to feel better.”
Madelyn laughs. “That was pretty good,” she says cheerily. “Again.”
Master Mind serves again. Madelyn is unable to even get to the ball in time. She laughs again.
“Thirty love. Your ability is trash,” Master Mind says. “And I am your trash compactor.”
This time Madelyn is able to hit the ball back. Master Mind answers it accurately, and Madelyn misses.
Master Mind wins another point, and then wins the first game.
It is Madelyn’s turn to serve.
“Your serve will be as slow as two snails taking a nap,” Master Mind trash-talks again.
He is right. Compared to his speed, she might as well be a snail.
After a few points lost, Madelyn is able to exchange a decent back and forth, but eventually loses the point. Madelyn loses the next game. And the next. And she laughs after every point and tries harder after every loss.
But she doesn’t get even a single point. Master Mind never misses, is fast enough to reach any ball, and is always accurate, strong, and fast.
When it’s three zero, halfway through the six games required to win, Justin stands up and shouts, “Time out!”
He runs over to Madelyn and whispers something in her ear. She looks surprised. They talk in whispers, then Justin, smiling, returns to sit next to him.
“What’d you tell her, Dad?”
“Oh, I just told her, if she didn’t know, that this is a dream, and she’s a dreamer.”
“Ohhhh,” Joy leans back, smiling. “This will get very interesting now.”
“Yes, it will,” Justin says.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt