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She joined the rest of the group

Edith was correct: Pope did take his tennis seriously He was standing on the court holding his racket over his head, doing deep knee bends Jonny was laughing with Lindsay as he downed a glass of iced tea The Senator and the rest of the guests were gathered at a table under an umbrella Jonny spotted her and called out, “Hey, partner You ready to win?”

Lindsay explained the rules She and Pope would play Steven and Edith, then Pandy and Jonny would play the winner Frolanced at Pope when she said “winner,” it was patently clear whom that winner was meant to be

The first ressive Edith played a decent ga she’d had a lot of lessons but possessed no real feel for the gae and his inability to run as fast as Steven, Pope had real skills He was precise and, like a lot of oldall their lives, made up for what he lacked in speed with the placement of the ball

Lindsay was the opposite Pandy knew the type: Lindsay had probably played on her high school teareat she was This made her think she was a better tennis player than she actually was On the other hand, she really did like to win, and that counted for a lot

Steven and Edith were dispatched handily

It was Pandy and Jonny’s turn

“You want to hit a few? To warm up?” Jonny asked

Pandy shook her head “It won’t make any difference I’ll still be bad”

“If you talk like that, you will be,” Jonny said

Pandy shrugged and gave hi honest”

Pandy served first to Lindsay She delivered her usual puffball, which landed just inside the line It was an easy shot and Lindsay s the ball to Jonny’s feet Jonny leaped back, swung, and ed a look Jonny picked up the ball and tossed it to Pandy

“Sorry,” Pandy said, catching the ball on her open racket

“Doesn’ttoward the net He bent over, swaying back and forth Pandy looked at his ass and decided he must work out a lot

Taking a breath, she tossed the ball and swung