Chapter Six #4
On the local makeshift courts, Tyler “The Rocket” Demming was dinking pickleballs over the net to teenagers who rotated onto the court.
They were engaged in a competitive round-robin, each kid hitting a ball, then racing into the next position for Tyler’s return, then switching sides of the net before the ball could come back.
As they played, the teens were lapping it up, bubbling over with laughter and ribbing one another.
Ariana grabbed her camera out of her bag and raced for some shots, moving around the scene to capture different angles. At ease with his basic Spanish, Tyler joked with the kids and they gave it right back to him, unfazed by the reach of his fame in the US.
One of the teens looked up and poked another in the ribs. Whispering, they snuck glances at Ariana. Finally, one of the girls plucked up the nerve to sway over to the photographer. “My friend thinks you’re Ariana Mora. Are you?”
Beaming, Ariana posed with the girls, and play was suspended for ten minutes while the kids got their selfies. And when Tyler photobombed one of the pictures, the kids waved him out of the shot. Tyler, hands pressed to his heart, mugged a wounded expression, which cracked everybody up.
But soon the ball was back in play, and Lulu had to admit Tyler’s enthusiasm was contagious.
On the courts, Tyler popped ball after ball to teens waiting on the other side of the net.
Whether the kid managed an overhead slam or not, Tyler peppered the player with encouragement on every swing.
It was clear that the local kids sensed his genuine love of the game and desire to share it.
A twinge of admiration rippled through Lulu as she watched, and her reaction nudged the case she’d spent years building against him.
A guy who threw himself into a clinic for kids with such enthusiasm couldn’t be all bad, could he?
Beside Lulu, a middle-aged lady meandered over with Gwendy in tow. “Es un crack!” the newcomer said.
“Sorry. What?” Lulu asked.
“You must be here with the tour group,” the local lady said, switching to English. “I wanted to welcome you. I’m Marianela.” Dressed in leggings and a pink tank top, Marianela waved her paddle toward the courts. “I was just saying, he’s brilliant, isn’t he?”
“He is pretty good,” Lulu admitted.
“In the US,” Gwendy boasted, “he’s one of the top pickleball pros.”
“I know The Rocket.” Marianela smirked. “He is very popular. Especially with my book club ladies,” she quipped, her eyes twinkling.
Gwendy nodded enthusiastically and Marianela smiled broadly as she watched him. “Qué amable, to take his time to play with our kids here.”
“Did you want to play some pickleball?” Lulu asked Marianela. “I hope we’re not taking up your court time.”
“Tranquila. Don’t worry. It’s just nice to be here.” Leaning in toward Lulu, Marianela confided, “Some days I play, but other times I just come to watch. Makes the day less lonely.”
Lulu considered the woman. She was about the right age. No ring. Upbeat and friendly. Lulu slid her gaze to Marianela. “Do you know Fernando?”
“Who?”
“He was just here this morning…” she began, but Tyler was jogging toward them, waving for their attention.
“Join in,” Tyler said. “Give me a hand.” He flagged Lulu and Marianela onto the open courts.
Before long, Lulu found herself standing at the kitchen line, hitting baseline shots to waiting teenagers.
Every few shots, Tyler looked her way, and something told her he wasn’t assessing her pickleball skills.
Her skin warmed. Probably just the Costa Rican sunshine, she assured herself.
The teens’ balls flew high and wide, but Lulu found her old tennis reactions returning to her like natural reflexes, and she managed to redirect most of the wild shots back onto the court.
Now this, Lulu thought, this is a blast. Pickleball.
So fun. Who knew? Apparently, Lulu thought, reflecting on all of the pickleball hype of late, a lot of people.
And the kids were really getting into it, too. One teen could return Lulu’s hits better than all her peers, and the grin of satisfaction on the girl’s face made Lulu think of Zoe when she fitted a final piece into a puzzle or climbed up the slide by herself.
Lulu was reminded of herself as a teenager, too.
How she had wanted to be the best. How winning and playing tennis and having a crush were the center of her happiness.
She looked toward Tyler, who was engrossed in his game.
As he joked and played with the kids, his face glowed with boyish joy.
It almost seemed…dare she think it…sweet, to watch him take pleasure in sharing his passion.
The afternoon heat pressed down on the blacktop, and Lulu tipped the last drop from the plastic water cooler. She checked her phone, surprised to find that four hours had passed since their arrival on the courts. She snapped a selfie and sent it off with a text to her aunt and uncle.
Pickling! How’s everything? Hug to Zoe. She felt a tug at being away from her little girl and stared at her phone a long moment, hoping she might have caught them at a time when they could chat.
But just then, Alejandro returned to the courts and signaled to the group to pack up.
Gwendy and Bill loaded up the paddles and balls while Ariana scrolled through her collection of shots.
But before climbing into the van, Lulu caught up with Marianela.
“Tomorrow, can you come by the courts in the morning?”
“I thought your group was moving on.”
“We are. But I hear there’s a friendly group playing around eight.”
The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “Tomorrow?” Marianela asked, packing up her paddle and balls.
“I’ll have to check my schedule.” Her gaze slid to the side.
“Nope. Nothing on the calendar. Not tomorrow. Not the day after…” Lulu smiled at Marianela’s candor.
“Thanks for the tip.” The older woman clasped Lulu’s hand.
“I’ll be here. It was lovely to meet you. ”
Spotting Ariana waiting alone in the van, Lulu sidled into the seat beside her and watched over her shoulder as Ariana flipped through her photos from the day’s pickleball session: Tyler hitting to an adoring crowd of teenagers.
Tyler demonstrating the proper form for a group of girls.
Fist-bumping a tween boy, the kid’s smile so wide he could have swallowed a pickleball whole.
But even more profound than the joy expressed by the students was the pure delight she saw on Tyler’s face in the images.
“Wow. He does such a good job with those kids,” Lulu said, a new appreciation kindling in her chest. “I didn’t know this side of him.
” Charming, yes. That was always part of the allure of Tyler Demming.
But his selflessness and the pleasure he took in sharing his skills with those kids?
That she had not expected. “Kinda…sweet, right?” Lulu admitted.
Ariana looked up from her screen, her expression cool.
She exhaled a long sigh. “Look. I like you, and I don’t think it’s fair for you to be operating without all the facts so…
” She pressed her lips into a tight line while Lulu braced.
“I guess I’ll just say it. Do you wanna know why Tyler’s marketing people were so quick to get on board with me shooting this tour? ”
Lulu waited, her teeth set. Ariana shrugged. “They told me to do what it takes to compile a reputation cleanse.”
“A what?”
“That’s why they hired me,” Ariana clarified.
“To help him get back onto the pro tour.” Confusion flitted across Lulu’s features.
“I mean, I don’t have a problem with him or anything,” Ariana explained.
“But there’s a lot of bad press going around.
So I’m supposed to take pictures of him doing nice things for other people so he doesn’t look like such an entitled prick. ”
Lulu could feel the blood pumping against her throat. Her lungs squeezed out a slow stream of air. So. Spending his afternoon helping teens learn pickleball was a publicity stunt.
“To be fair,” Ariana continued, “it’s not like it’s staged or anything. But if ever anybody needed a marketing makeover, it’s Tyler Demming. Maybe these videos will show his audience that behind all those crazy stunts he pulls is just a playful guy who means well.”
Just then, Tyler stuck his head in the van, jovial as ever. “Look what the kids gave me!” He pointed at the Liceo Tres Equis baseball cap topping his head. “Cool, right?”
Reflexively, Lulu nodded, and Tyler’s face lit at her approval.
What was she supposed to make of this guy? Maybe Tyler was just a kid at heart.
Or maybe he was an entitled prick.
In Lulu’s opinion, the jury was still out.