Hazel stood alone near the service line while Evelyn deliberately turned the tennis-ball machine toward her.
/
Chapter 12 / 17
Chapter 12
Hazel stopped wanting tennis.
That was predictable.
I almost removed the court equipment permanently.
Cora stopped me.
“Let her decide.”
Good advice.
So we did nothing.
For two weeks, Hazel refused to go near the conservatory or court.
Third week, she asked to watch from the window.
Fourth, she walked onto the court holding my hand.
No machine.
No rack.
Just us.
She picked up one tennis ball and threw it badly.
It bounced three feet.
She laughed.
That sound mattered more than every family meeting I had attended that month.
Cora stood near the gate.
Hazel looked at her.
“You throw.”
Cora did.
They played catch.
No lesson.
No scoring.
No correction.
I stayed out of it.
May you like
Healing is not always a program.
Sometimes it is letting an object become harmless again.
