Serving Into the Sun

Mark adjusted the brim of his hat, shielding his eyes from the brutal afternoon glare. The padel court shimmered with heat, the green surface blurring where the rubber met the synthetic grass. He hadn't played well today. Neither had Elena.

"Your serve," she said, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at her phone, thumb hovering over a notification.

"Elena."

She slipped the phone into her pocket. "Sorry. Go ahead."

He served into the net. The ball died with a soft thud.

"I found them," she said quietly. "The vitamins. In your gym bag."

Mark stood frozen, his racquet lowered. The silence between them grew heavier than the humid air.

"I didn't want to worry you," he said finally. "The doctor said—"

"That we should try together. That's what she said." Her voice cracked. "You're taking fertility vitamins alone, Mark. What are we doing?"

He walked to the net, not meeting her eyes. "I'm trying. Isn't that something?"

"Trying without me isn't trying. It's… something else."

Elena approached slowly, her movements deliberate. She reached across the net and took his hand. Her palm was damp, his trembling. She'd been the one to suggest they stop trying. She'd been the one to say she was done with doctors and pills and the monthly devastation of hope. But here he was, secretly dosing himself with something meant for both of them.

"You're still hoping," she said, and it wasn't an accusation anymore. It was understanding.

"I'm scared to stop," he whispered.

She squeezed his hand. "I know. Me too."

He pulled his hat off and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. The sudden vulnerability of the gesture made her chest ache.

"One more game," she said. "And then we go home. Together."

"You'll take the vitamins with me?"

"No." Elena smiled, sad and fierce. "But I'll watch you take them. And I'll hold you when you cry. And when you're ready to stop, I'll be there to catch you."

Mark nodded. The sun was dipping now, casting long shadows across the court. He bent to retrieve the ball from the net, and when he straightened, he didn't put his hat back on. Let the light hit his eyes. Let himself be seen.

"Your serve," he said.

And this time, when she served, they both watched it land in.