Page 70 of The Pickleball Girl Finds Her Match

The crowd jumped to their feet, erupting in screams and applause.

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Sebastian gripped the back of Paco’s collar, lifting up so Paco had to walk on his toes. Paco swiped his trophy behind him, through the air, trying to hit Sebastian.

“Congratulations, you two!” Steven Markowitz rushed up and clapped Sebastian on the back. He looked down at Paco with a kind smile. “Well done, son.”

“Thanks.” Paco blushed and looked at his feet. “Hey … I’m sorry I called you anabuelo.”

“Paco, I’d be proud to be yourabuelo,” answered Steven. “Let’s play sometime.”

Paco gagged, then with a grimace replied, “I said that I was sorry, not that I was crazy.” He pulled away from Sebastian’s grasp and skipped down the pathway.

Endy approached them, laughing, her eyes crinkled at the corners. She stood on tiptoe and pecked Sebastian’s cheek.

“That kid is wise beyond his years,” she said, watching Paco wiggling his rear end to the music still playing through the grounds. He pumped his fist holding his trophy in the air to the beat of the music.

Steven moved to an empty table, flipped it over, and began folding in the legs. Around them, volunteers stacked chairs and emptied trash cans, breaking down the event. Empty cups, left-behind T-shirts and paddles, and other forgotten items littered the grounds.

From outside the tent, Valentina called out, her hand cupping her mouth, “Endy, we need to get going home. Paco is actually supposed to be grounded this week.” Her mouth lifted in a half smile, and she shook her head. “Plus, we need to show off his trophy.” She placed her hand on Paco’s head, affectionately smoothing down his hair.

“Jeez, Mom,” complained Paco, twisting out of her reach and moving down the pathway toward the parking lot. He knelt and picked up something from under a bougainvillea shrub, then turned and ran halfway back, as if he’d forgotten something.

Facing Sebastian and Endy, Paco yelled, “Hey, loser, you better tell her.”

Sebastian nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Tell me what?” Endy smiled, looking into Sebastian’s eyes.

Sebastian wrapped her in his arms and placed his lips near her ear. “He wants me to tell you that—”

Clunk!A hard plastic ball flew through the air, hitting Sebastian solidly on the head. He reached up, rubbing near his ear.

And they watched Paco skip away, one hand hefting his trophy over his head, the other hand with his middle finger flipped high in the air.

“He wants me to tell you that …” Sebastian moved his lips near Endy’s ear and pressed a kiss against her head. “I love you.”

46

It still amazed Endy how quickly the weather in the desert could go from a beautiful, warm spring day with temperatures in the low eighties to a heatstroke-inducing, flaming-hot oven with temperatures in the low hundreds. She lifted her long hair off her sweaty neck and piled it on top of her head in a messy bun.

“Why are we headed to Costco?” she asked, turning in her seat with her eyes questioning.

Sebastian smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see.”

She angled the air vent at her face. “It’s so hot. Can’t we just go to your pool?”

“Maybe we aren’t going to Costco. And we will get in the pool, but after this,” he replied as he turned his car into the parking lot across the street. “Close your eyes.”

“What—”

“Just close your eyes. And keep them closed.”

Endy felt the car slow to a stop, and she kept her eyes shut. She heard Sebastian walk around the car and her door open.

His hand reached in for hers, and he pulled her out of her seat and then wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Don’t open your eyes.”

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