The Tennis Partner

David begins his internship. Abraham spots him at a mall with a woman who is not Gloria. The next day, David calls to set up a tennis date with Abraham. On the way, David talks about how he is finding his rotation in family practice extremely easy and complains about his AA and NA meetings impinging on his time. His sponsor thinks he has an attitude problem.

Abraham brings up the woman at the mall, and David sheepishly admits he is seeing her. Emily is also an AA member. Her struggle is with food. Emily is the reason David’s sponsor is irritated with him, as there are rules against members dating each other. David shrugs off Abraham’s questions about Gloria, claiming he has undeniable chemistry with Emily. Abraham notes that although David has been honest with Emily about his past, he has not been honest about Gloria’s expectations of him, or with Gloria herself.

David introduces Emily to Abraham a few days later. He also reveals he has decided to apply for an emergency medicine residency after his internship. Abraham agrees to write him a letter despite his private disappointment. Emily and Abraham chat after David leaves, and she claims that David really looks up to Abraham; he is David’s only friend.

Emily begins to accompany David everywhere, from waiting for him after his and Abraham’s tennis games to accompanying them to Dolce Vita. Abraham likes her and does not resent her company, as he expected to. However, he wonders about the eventual repercussions of Gloria finding out about Emily.

Bjorn Borg’s coach, Lennart Bergelin, is woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a racket snapping. Bergelin gets up to cut the strings, contemplating the ritual he and Borg follow in which they lay out all 30 of Borg’s rackets so they can meticulously test each of their strings. He picks and ranks six, which are to be used in that order precisely. The one that has snapped tonight is the fourth one; they will have to pick a replacement the next day.

After putting the rackets away, Bergelin is unable to sleep; he has an idea for a new type of racket, strung in a way that the player can adjust the tension with a knob at the base of the handle. Bergelin has already named it “the Protagon.” Being Borg’s coach had brought him greatness and success, with Borg winning a record number of Wimbledon and French Open titles. However, Borg now appears to be getting bored of the game, and Bergelin wants to prepare for life after Borg as well. The Protagon will be his own legacy, a racket meant not for a touring professional, but for “a club player, a man with some other profession—a doctor or a lawyer” (221).

David tells Abraham that Gloria’s brother spotted David out with Emily and told Gloria, leading Gloria to end their relationship. David initially appears distraught, but then declares he was making plans to move in with Emily even before Gloria’s brother saw him. This confuses Abraham, especially when David proclaims his bond with Gloria is special, and that he would go back to her instantly if she called him. Abraham realizes David is unable to separate his feelings for different women. The next evening, David moves in with Emily and is happy and cheerful. Abraham realizes David has begun to think of Gloria’s break up causing his move-in with Emily, despite the events not being related this way.

David and Emily move in together, and Abraham does not see much of him for a while; they do not play tennis together for a whole month. David is interviewed by the directors of emergency medicine at Texas Tech. They have some reservations about David’s history, but if he does well at his internship and keeps up with his meetings and urine screenings, he will get the residency.

When Abraham and David eventually meet, they discuss Julius, a previous ER resident who was dropped from the program because of drug use and recently died of an overdose. Julius is why the ER doctors were apprehensive about David. David speaks disparagingly of Julius, which surprises Abraham.

David and Emily invite Abraham to see their new place, which is beautiful. Abraham envies what David has found with Emily; however, he also observes that David looks trapped by all the domesticity. Abraham heads to Mickie’s after, reflecting on how David has a newfound confidence bordering on arrogance. Mickie opines that David does not know himself well enough; he is not ready for a relationship, whether with Gloria or Emily. As Mickie talks about David’s past drug use, Abraham is amazed by how little he really knows David.

David begins his surgery rotation, and from afar, Abraham notices an atypical obnoxiousness and insolence about David’s mannerisms. After a week of trying and failing to set up tennis dates over the phone, Abraham and David finally run into each other at the hospital. David tells Abraham he and Emily are not doing well. She found and read the journals he keeps as a part of his recovery process. They contain thoughts and feelings that he has never disclosed to anyone. There is stuff about Gloria in the journal, which Emily finds painful. Abraham privately wonders about David’s culpability in leaving the journals lying around.

David’s mother falls critically ill and is admitted to the ICU back in Sydney. David’s sister calls him home, but he is reluctant to go. He claims the surgical chief resident is not happy with David taking time off, but Abraham convinces him to go, even lending him money for the flight. However, David returns within just a couple of days, claiming the chief resident was pressuring him to return.

David seems detached from his mother’s situation, almost angry at her for falling ill. Emily confirms this to Abraham but says David will not talk to her about it. Abraham asks how she is doing, and she tells him about reading the journals. She did so because she felt David getting restless and pulling away from her. She was shocked and hurt to find explicit and intimate things penned about Gloria in the journals. Emily confesses that they barely talk; after reading his journal, she does not trust him anymore.

David’s mother dies a few days later, on a day he and Abraham had scheduled a tennis game. David does not cancel; he gives Abraham the news of his mother’s death at the court. Equally dispassionately, he tells Abraham that he proposed to Emily; they will get married after his internship.

Gloria returns to El Paso to work at Thomason. David and Abraham run into her separately; when Abraham next sees David, he appears completely shaken. Abraham suggests a tennis game, and David eagerly agrees. However, David does not turn up. He later tells Abraham he assumed the game was off because of bad weather.

Arthur Ashe passes away in February of 1993, and David calls to check on Abraham. They have not played together in six weeks because of the weather, though it did not stop them the previous year. A couple of weeks later, David seeks Abraham out at the hospital to tell him he confessed to Gloria that he still loves her, but she rebuffed him. Later that day, David asks Abraham if they can play a game. David seems distracted, and Abraham suggests they play a set again. For the first time, Abraham breaks David’s serve and goes on to win the set. David appears proud and congratulates Abraham on his first victory.

After the game, David tells Abraham that Emily is moving out but does not elaborate further. Abraham is sure it has to do with David’s encounter with Gloria. David leaves hastily as if to avoid any further questions. Abraham lingers at the court a little longer, wishing he could discuss with David the game they just played and pondering how their relationship has changed.

David begins his final rotation in internal medicine. Abraham spots him before rounds one morning, but as he approaches, he notices David does not seem keen on talking to him. Abraham observes David’s quickened pulse and dilated pupils and deduces that he has been using. Abraham pulls David aside for a private conversation. David admits to shooting up over the weekend; Emily was out of town. He is tearfully regretful, and Abraham is furious. They both know Abraham is not going to turn him in, however, and Abraham realizes this is why David confessed in the first place. They return to their rounds, and as Abraham observes how well David does with the patients, he wonders why “doctoring (had) not been enough for David” (260).

Abraham asks David to meet him for tennis that evening. At the court, David assures Abraham he will not use again. As he tells Abraham the details of the weekend, Abraham realizes David had been planning this for hours before he actually used. He also has not called his sponsor yet, as they will undoubtedly report him to Dr. Binder. Emily does not know, either. Abraham leaves the court without playing, telling David he will call later.

The next night, a scared and worried Emily arrives at Abraham’s with news that David is using again. Abraham calls David but gets no answer. He then calls David’s sponsor, Jim, who is unsurprised; he had seen the relapse coming for months. Jim manages to get through to David, but he is in denial, so Jim hangs up on him. Jim asserts to Abraham there is nothing further they can do; they are not responsible for David. Jim calls Dr. Binder, who asks David for a urine sample; David immediately confesses, and Dr. Binder puts him on a plane to a rehab center in Atlanta.