Monday 13th February – My Car Smells Like Dog (In a Good Way)

No issues with our trusty Walmart camp this time, we were away without issue, straight to a Maccas so Bernie could get his essential morning coffee and make a few phone calls before his big game. After we’d been talking last night about how much trouble he has falling asleep, he slept like a log, despite being a little delirious when I got up in the middle of the night to pee. He kept asking if it was morning and I shut him up eventually by saying I didn’t know what time it was. Then he asked me to get the doughnuts he’d bought out of my car and put them in his in case he needed them. Funny guy, he went straight back to sleep.

At McDonalds, I blogged and he plugged in his Mac tank and sent some emails. The rest of the time he spent outside smoking on the phone, so I cleaned up his computer for him. There was decade-old gunk all over the screen and keyboard, so I got to work with some wet napkins to keep myself entertained. Everyone that Bernie was on the phone to heard about the wonderful Australian girl that is with Bernie.

Soon enough, it came time to head to the Meadows. The carpark was packed, expectedly so for such a big event. They had 190 players competing in the Super Senior Grand Prix. As we pulled in, I recognised Rich, a friend of Bernie’s that I’d met and hit with at Payne Park. He was competing too! Inside the complex, there was a lot of people mingling around and the courts were quiet. First matches were on at 11:30am. I found John and Chester straight away and went over to him and met John’s friend Walt, a previous doubles partner. There were friends meeting old friends everywhere. And a lot of people were looking at me, probably wondering if I was lost.

After some pre-amble talk from Don the dickhead director (pompous arse), some names were called along with court numbers and the players started dispersing from the crowd, Bernie among them. John, Chester and I followed Bernie over to a back court and settled in some chairs under a hut in the shade. By the time they started, there was another spectator siding with the opposing team and a few games in, another chap rooting for the other guy, which made it the most highly attended match out of the dozen or so going on! Bernie was in good stead at the start, breaking his opponent John’s serve, but the little guy on the other side of the net (John would have been lucky to be 5 feet tall) broke back, but it wasn’t enough, Bernie won the first set 6-3. While he managed to hold his tongue mostly during play, with only a few inward comments to himself, during breaks, he would shoot his mouth off consistently, mostly about how the match was going. His opponent John, didn’t seem phased, he didn’t speak a word either on the court or off, only when forced.

During the set break, John and Chester and I walked over to centre court to see how Walt was going. Unfortunately he was a set down and fighting it out in the second. We stuck around for a few games and chatted in whispers while we watched in awe of some really decent shots, egging Walt on whenever we could. Back at Court 14, everything was on serve in the second set and it was getting hot. The games were getting longer and Bernie was getting a little more vocal when he made a bad shot, but he still had the advantage. After what John and I were sure was a scoring error, the set ended with a tie break. Bernie had the upper hand from the start and he didn’t let it go. He dominated the tie break and won it 7 points to 1. The players shook hands, Bernie was through the first round.

Have I mentioned that my fate is now tied to Bernie’s performance in the tournament. Still not completely sure about what to do with the Space X launch, I proposed to Bernie that I would let him dictate my departure. I would stay as long as he was playing in the tournament. While that would mean double disappointment for him resulting in a match loss and loss of me, but we will see.

Chester was going mental at John because his blood sugar was low so I fixed him up with a Gatorade before he went home, then Bernie and I went out to the cars for lunch. After parking up in the shade, I made myself a wrap and the champion got a bacon and egg sandwich per his request. As I cooked out the back of the van, we had many people come over to check it out and tell me how I was doing exactly the right thing. Well, obviously I am if I’m enjoying myself this much!

We hung out in the shade eating and talking, then after an hour or two, decided we should be inside watching some tennis. As we walked inside, John called wondering where we were and we met him at the clubhouse. There was no more tennis action, but we made some new friends. There was a retired Irishman there who was a professional athlete and still holds the Irish record for the shotput, set in 1992 at 20.4 meters! His Russian wife, Stella (imagine boob job and face lift), was keen for a hitting partner, so we met and organised for a hit tomorrow morning before the men’s games. John and I talked while Bernie talked with the new friends, then the three of us (and Chester) sat down and talked some more.

John asked if we could take him round the corner to do some shopping and we were happy to oblige. Him not having a car, it was a pain for him to get an Uber just to go around the corner. John climbed into the backwards-facing seat of the van and Chester made himself comfortable on the living room floor and we were off. Obviously not very legal, even though John had the seatbelt on, not that it would have done much. On the way home, Bernie had suggested we go to a field and throw a tennis ball around for Chester. Something he’d never really done before because he’s a service dog, but he got the idea immediately, chasing after the ball and dropping it right back at our feet. He was like a puppy, he was having so much fun. I hope it’s something John does more with him.

Chester in the car panting like a maniac, I took John back to his place and helped him carry the shopping up the stairs of his condo. Chester had some water and his panting slowed just a little, the excitement of the ball catching clearly still running through his veins. John decided to stay in for the night so I said goodnight and went back to the Meadows bar to join Bernie. He was already enjoying a glass of wine. Our thoughts turned to dinner and we thought pizza would be a good idea, since we’d seen a place next to the supermarket we’d been to. When I called to order, they were asking $27 for a large pizza, which we balked at so told them we weren’t interested. I found out there was a Pizza Hut right next door so I ordered two pizzas for $14. Winner? Yes because they were also delicious. I went and picked them up while Bernie talked on the phone and just as I walked up to our outdoor table, he walked out of the bar with two beers in hand. Honestly, we’re such a good team. The pizza went down well and the beer, even better.

Come closing time (around 8:30pm), we meandered back out to the cars and back to our camp for the night. Bernie’s next match is set for tomorrow at 1pm and it’s against the number 1 seeded player in the drawer, so we may be saying goodbye soon.