Service Games

The dog lay panting on the cool tiles, his golden fur matted with humidity, watching us with those eyes that saw too much. Max had stopped eating two days ago—since the phone call, since the voicemail from Elena's sister saying she was pregnant with twins. Since I realized I might never be a father.

"Your serve," Elena called from across the padel court. She was beautiful in that merciless way of people who haven't been crushed by their own desires yet. Her white dress was already stained with sweat, her grip on the racquet casual, almost cruel.

I hit the ball into the net. It bounced twice, dying on the blue surface like something small and broken.

"Again," she said.

We were supposed to be celebrating our anniversary at this resort in Marbella. Instead, we were playing padel in the dead heat of September while Max's life hung in the balance back home, while our marriage withered on the vine of unsaid things. The fertility specialist had given us odds. Elena had decided she couldn't live with those odds anymore. I was still calculating them in my sleep.

"This is pointless," I said, dropping my racquet.

"Everything is pointless," she replied, walking to the net. "That's not an excuse to stop playing."

Later, I found her at the pool. She was floating on her back, hair spreading like dark mercury, the moonlight turning the water into something otherworldly. She looked like a painting of a woman who had already drowned. I stood at the edge, toes curling over the lip, and wondered how far down I'd have to dive to find the version of us that still believed in forever.

"Max isn't coming back," she said without opening her eyes. She'd known somehow, before I even checked my phone.

The pool's surface rippled. I thought about how love is like playing padel with someone who's better than you—you keep returning the ball, hoping for a mistake, praying they'll eventually let you win. But some games, you only realize you've lost when you're standing alone on the court, wondering where everyone went.

I sat on the edge and let my feet dangle in the water. Elena didn't move. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked once, sharp and lonely, like a question with no answer.