Zapped

The sliding doors opened and Phil stepped over a yellow puddle of pee as he walked into Petco. It had been a while since he had been in the store and he remembered right away why. He was immediately hit by the smell of piss and the smell your clothes get when they’ve been worn outside for too long without a wash. It shocked the system and made his stomach turn. If there was a time to be wearing masks, it was right now. This was a hit-and-run situation. Get what you need as fast as possible and get the hell out of the store.

A scabby-bearded man wearing coke bottle glasses and a purple apron stood at the checkout and stared at Phil when he walked in.

He stared and didn’t say a word.

Phil looked the other way. He felt as though the doors were going to lock. What if they did? he thought. Then the lights went dark and creepy carnival music started to play like the ones from a merry-go-round. What would you do then?

He walked down the aisle and made a left turn. He passed a few more aisles and stopped when he saw a row of dog leashes. He examined the different kinds. He grabbed one and took it off the rack.

“Can I help you?” a girl said and Phil jumped back and almost dropped the box. She had pink hair and a nose ring.

“I’m just looking for some dog collars.”

“Ok. cool. Let me know if you need any help.”

“Alright. But, I’m good for now.”

Phil looked at the back of the box. He felt her eyes staring at him. Don’t make eye contact, he said to himself. Stay focused or she won’t leave.

“Well, I’ll be over here if you need any help.”

Phil nodded while he read the back of the box. These things aren’t cheap.

Yesterday, the idea had come to him while he was talking to his neighbor after work. After Phil had pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, he walked over and watched as his neighbor threw a ball and his dog chased after it.

“How was work?” the neighbor asked.

“The usual. This time of year it’s pretty stock.”

“You get a lot of tennis players who go inside with you?”

“Pretty much. Most of them do.”

His neighbor tossed the ball again and then Aussie took off after it.

“That’s probably not cheap.”

“It gets costly.”

The dog came back.

“Watch this,” the neighbor said and chucked the ball into the street. The dog took off.

Ten feet.

Fifteen Feet.

Twenty Feet.

Then it abruptly stopped.

Phil looked at his neighbor. His neighbor was holding what looked like a fob.

“Works like a charm.”

“What is that thing?”

“It’s a zapper.”

“Right,” Phil said. “It’s been a long week. I should have guessed.”

His neighbor laughed.

They talked for a few more minutes.

“Have fun with your zapper,” Phil said and walked away.

“I will,” he heard his neighbor say.

Phil heard birds chirping in the store. He looked up and saw a back room full of cages and birds fluttering about. A worker in front of the aisle grabbed a bag of dog food off of a pallet and dropped it on the floor. It made a load thump and the pellets inside rattled.

He looked back at the collars and stared at the price tag. He thought they would be around twenty dollars but all the ones he looked at were seventy-five and up.

He walked away holding only one. After he paid for it, he left the store and breathed the fresh air as he walked out.

Fifteen minutes later he arrived at the indoor tennis club. He grabbed his tennis bag, slung it over his left shoulder, and started to walk across the parking lot. He looked around at the cars to see if any of the ladies were there yet. He saw the White Mercedes SUV that was driven by Margaret. He also saw the Blue Lexus SUV driven by June. He didn’t see the other two cars.

After he walked through the second door, he saw the ladies chitchatting in the lobby as he walked up the stairs.

“Hello, Phil,” the both said and then carried on with whatever they were talking about.

Phil smiled and said hello back and walked around the desk to look at the court sheet. He wanted to make sure his afternoon lessons were written down and he wanted to make a mental note of what court he was going to be on. Then and now.

“Court eight,” he said to the ladies as he walked across the lobby, down the stairs, through another door, and behind the green tarp at the back of the court. He stopped at his hopper cage that held the balls and a pair of his sneakers. Ever since he forgot to put his sneakers in his bag, he started leaving them in the hopper.

He put his bag on top of the cart and pushed it towards the last court. When he got to court eight he pushed the hopper through the crease in the tarp and walked it across the court. He took out his key and unlocked the cage. He thought about what the ladies were going to work on today as he changed sneakers.

The ladies were chatty today. They always were.

“What are we working on today?”

“You’ll see.”

After the warmup, Phil put them into a standard one up, and one back position.

June was on the far side baseline on the Deuce side. Margaret stood at the Ad side service line. The other two were in the same position on Phil’s side.

“I’m going to feed the baseliner on that side. The baseliner has to hit the first shot down the line and then the point is played out. June! When you hit down the line, don’t think of it as a rally. Try to win the point right away. You can use the whole Ad side. Try to trip her up. Go left or go right. Got it?”

“Yup.”