Summer Vacation and Other Stories
by
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Sunday morning, when Al arrived at the club, she was sitting on the short row of metal bleachers where the club members waited until they could get into a game. She was dressed in a white t-shirt, baggy blue shorts down to her knees, and an elongated yellow beret that, starting from her hairline, floated backwards towards her shoulders, suggesting long but tangled morning hair underneath. Her knees were pulled up and she rested her chin on them. Her skin was milky white. To Al, it looked smooth and appealing.
Lois, an elderly woman with whom Al had played many times, greeted his arrival. “Al, I’m so glad you’re here. We need a fourth for a mixed doubles game. Would you like to join us?”
“I’d be delighted,” he said.
“Ellen is here,” said Lois, pointing to the woman on the bleachers. “Why don’t the two of you warm up for a few minutes. She is a very good player; she runs like a rabbit.”
Ellen acknowledged him with a nod and strode to the baseline.
Al approached the net from the other side of the court. He had seen Ellen several times before, although he had never talked with her, and it struck him as funny that she always wore that same beret. “Hi, I’m Al,” he said.
“I’m Ellen,” she responded. She was small but shapely. Her calf muscles bulged as she stretched them back, bending her torso towards one knee first and then towards the other. Her neck was thin and elegant. “I used to be a real good tennis player, but I took six months off everything to study for the bar exam. I’m just getting back into it. My timing is all off.”
“I’m sure you’re still a very good tennis player. That doesn’t go away. Just play your game and I’m sure you’ll be fine. You don’t need to impress anybody.”
She fixed her eyes on him and a brief smile fluttered on her lips. She hit a ball to start the warm-up.
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About the Book
Male-female relationships are at the center of this collection of thirteen stories. Roughly half the stories take place in the
A common thread runs through these keenly sensitive stories: the women take the initiative, and the men, willingly or unwillingly, follow their lead. At one end of the spectrum, Ari, 14 years old, is awakening to his sexuality, and at the other, Al, almost 70 and a former college professor, sees a potential affair with a young woman as his last opportunity to indulge his taste for sexual mischief. Along the way we also meet Dora, a free-spirited woman who, thirty years earlier, was in hot pursuit of Sergio, a married man, but who now holds a secret he is determined to uncover; Josh, home for the summer after having completed his freshman year in college, who is torn between family expectations and his attraction for Sofia, a Colombian immigrant; and a gallery of other unique characters.
About the Author
Born and raised in