Page 35 of Best Year Ever
After finishing my meal, I take him on a walk in the backyard, where the sun is finally starting to creep down the sky for the night. As Grover’s doing his business, I feel my phone vibrate.
“Keep going, Grover,” I say. “Let me see who this is.”
He looks at me like, “whatever,” as I pull the phone out of my pocket.
The message there is five little words, whichmake my night.
RORI: Call me when you can.
Call? She wants me to call her? I don’t actually talk to anyone on the phone, unless it’s business.
For Rori, I’ll use the phone like I’m a full-on Boomer.
“Okay, now you have to hurry, Grover,” I say.
Happily, he’s done quickly. Within four minutes, I’m on my couch, dialing Rori.
“Hi,” she says, her voice full of energy. “I’m so glad you called.”
“Well, I’m just following orders,” I joke. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” she replies. “Really good—the event was spectacular today. And you made it even better.”
“Oh?” I say, liking what I’m hearing.
“Yes, Landon, it was so generous of you to make that donation. I’m really grateful. I know we have a…uniquerelationship, but it was so beyond kind of you to do that.”
Her voice is vibrant and sincere. It makes every dollar I donated that much more valuable.
“I know how much the cause means to you. It was absolutely my pleasure,” I say.
Her next words sound a little further away and fuzzy—she must have switched to speaker. “And how cool is it that Grace won! It was so great to meet her.” There’s a little rustling in the background. “Sorry, I’m making some food. I just got home and am starving. I barely had time to eat today, it was non-stop.”
“It’s all good. Make your food, I can keep you company too,” I say.
We end up talking for about fifteen minutes—bouncing around topics like sports gossip, a movie we both want to see, and stories about our last few days.
I like this woman so much.
“Oh, Landon,” she suddenly interjects. “My aunt is visiting, and she just came back from an errand. I really need to go, I’m sorry. She’s only here one more day.”
I feel a little disappointed, but family is family. “No worries at all, enjoy your time with her,” I say, ready to hang up after she says goodbye.
She pauses a beat and then starts speaking again. “Wait, Landon. I…It was nice to catch up.”
Her voice’s a little uncertain, like she’s weighing something.
“Yes, it was,” I say, trying to give her the space to say whatever’s on her mind.
“And also…” she says. “Also, after I get back from our next stop in California, I have a tournament in Miami, in late March. My last big one before I go to Europe for the clay court season. Would you want to come to a match?”
I respond, not missing a beat. “Absolutely. That would be awesome.”
“Okay, great,” she says, confidence back in her voice.
Just like that, I’m going to see Rori again soon.
The next couple of weeks follow a largely predictable pattern for the off-season. Most days I work out and then hang at home with Grace or some of the guys. True to my word, I fly Rawley in for the weekends. He’s obsessed with Johnson’s place, especially his workout facilities and backyard with the regulation field. So we kill a bunch of time there on Saturdays and Sundays.
