The Tennis Partner

Abraham reflects on how every medical examination begins with checking the patient’s pulse. He describes the process and all the details it can reveal. He constantly worries that one day he will encounter a patient with a congenital but diagnosable and treatable condition called coarctation, but will miss it because of an incomplete pulse check. It is not a completely rational obsession but is comparable to a ritual like “not stepping on the lines between points during a tennis match” (113).

Abraham finds an apartment five minutes away from his current house and takes the boys to see it. It is a small, one-bedroom unit, but the boys are thrilled to have a second place to come to and examine every inch of it eagerly. Abraham packs up and moves the next day, taking barely anything from his and Rajani’s shared possessions. Manuel, the mover, guesses Abraham is separating, and reassures Abraham that one day he will move Abraham into a bigger place where he will be happy again.

Abraham goes to the house for the boys’ bedtime, as is the plan, and reassures them he will still see them every day. A few minutes after he returns to the apartment, David arrives, and the men spend the rest of the evening together.