Chapter 15

The racket

Dr. Mendoza arrives home, as usual, between 20:30 and 21:00. Today he has gone to play padel and that explains why he arrives a little later. When he goes to take the racket out of the trunk he realizes that he has forgotten it in the club and curses, he gets very angry. It was new and not exactly cheap. He waits for the elevator to take him up from the garage to the house and reviews the places where he might have forgotten it. Just in case he gets it back on Thursday when he goes back to class. “Fuck!” he shouts pressing the button that orders the doors to close, “the fucking new racket!”.

At home, Dr. Mendoza greets his wife and walks quickly and straight past her to check if he still keeps the old Varlion in the sports stuff drawer. She approaches him and asks with the intention of getting some information to explain why she has been left without her kiss: if everything went well at work, if something special happened today at the hospital. 

  • The one in 404 – the doctor answers while looking through the drawers – I don’t know if you remember – she shakes her head – Yes, the one I told you about having a degenerative disease that…
  • It rings a bell – she answers, cutting off the conversation so that her husband can move on.
  • His son came today to sign some papers. A consent to start his palliative treatment, nothing can be done for him.
  • And that makes you angry – says the woman when she hears her husband snorting as he tells the story.
  • No, honey, it’s not that. It’s just that I’ve lost the racket.
  • The new one? – He nods – What a head you have!

Finally, after pulling out the drawers of shorts and balls, he finds his old racket.

  • At least I’ll be able to get by with this one until I find the other one – he says before getting up and kissing his wife – how was your day?

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