Boron

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Boron

Excerpt from novella

Sulfur Springs

“Thanks for coming with me to play golf.” Tommy drove the golf cart towards the first hole of the golf course near the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World.

“You’re very welcome. But remember to forgive my golf skills, or lack thereof.” Victoria winced just thinking how bad her game was.

“There’s nobody behind us, so we have plenty of time.” He stopped the cart at the first hole.

“Maybe you could give me a lesson.” She thought of Tommy’s arms around her under the pretense of improving her swing.

“Anything for you, my dear.” Walking to the back of the cart, Tommy read the sign at the first hole. “Par three, 177 yards.”

Knowing her horrible swing, she pulled the Florida Gator golf club protector off the driver and walked towards the ladies’ tee.

Tommy pulled out a five iron and said, “Uh, my dear, you don’t need a driver on this hole, especially from the ladies’ tee.”

“Oh, trust me, I do.” After teeing her pink golf ball, Victoria slightly bent her knees and extended her club to the ball.

“I’ll watch your technique on the first hole, then give you tips on the second.” Leaning on the club with his right arm fully extended, he crossed his legs, prepared to spectate.

Nervous with him watching, she told herself, “It’s just a game.” She took two practice swings before she sliced the ball into the woods.

“Told you I’d never make it to the green.” She banged her driver on the ground like a frustrated golf pro.

“It’s okay. Here, let me help you.” Tommy pulled a five iron from Victoria’s pink golf bag.

Giving her the club, he stood behind her. The warmth of his body consumed her. His hot breath on her neck gave her goose bumps. “I warned you.” She bent her knees to follow his stance.

“We’ll improve your game,” he whispered into her ear with a sexy, bedroom voice. Grasping her hands, he maneuvered her fingers. “Keep your fingers laced around the club, like this.”

“Oh, I just kinda held it awkwardly, but this feels so much better,” she said with an enlightened tone.

“Keep your feet a shoulder-width apart, then swing back.” He kept his hands on hers while she swung the club up behind her.

“Now, keep both feet on the ground, and keep your eye on the ball. Then swing the club all the way around, like a pendulum.”

“Oh, I just stopped once I hit the ball.” Now she envisioned herself hitting the ball perfectly with his arms around her.

“I noticed. It’s called ‘following through.’ You’ll want to end your swing back up where you started—above your head.” Tommy stepped back to watch her.

Holding the club above her, she kept her eye on the ball and swung the club all the way around.

Whoosh.

Holding her hand over her forehead like a visor, she lost sight of the ball in the setting sun. The ball dropped onto the green near the edge of the rough.

“Nice. That’s our goal on a par three—first shot to the green, then two putts to make par.” Tommy gave her a high five.

“It was your excellent teaching.” She stepped back with Tommy to the men’s tee.

“Normally, furthest from the hole hits first, but I wanted to watch your swing. Now, watch my technique and try to keep this stance and posture.”

Whoosh.

Tommy’s white ball flew towards the sky and dropped onto the green. Rolling to the hole, the ball disappeared.

“Where did it go?” she asked.

“Oh my, God, I just got a hole in one!” Grinning, he hugged Victoria, picked her up, and swung her around.

“Wow! Congratulations. You made it look so easy.” She kissed him while he set her back down.

“You’re my good luck charm. That was my first hole-in-one. This is the first time using these new clubs. They have boron in them. It’s supposed to make them stronger.” Tommy escorted her back to the cart.

Grabbing the rail of the golf cart, she slid in next to him. “What do they do for a hole in one?”

“I don’t know. Each golf course is different. Some give trophies or plaques with the golf ball incorporated into the trophy. Some have a wall they add your name to. Surely Disney will do something nice.” He drove the cart to the far side of the green, just before the second tee.

“Let’s get your ball.” Climbing out, she pulled her putter out of the bag and held it up. “I know this one is right.”

Tommy laughed and walked towards the hole. Pulling out his camera, he took a snapshot of the ball inside the hole.

“Do you mind?” After handing her the camera, he pulled the ball out of the hole and held it between his thumb and index finger.

“Oh, sure.” Taking the camera, she stepped back a few feet and framed the shot, admiring the handsome man grinning ‘like a kid at Disney.’ Chuckling at the irony of the metaphor, she clicked the camera.

“Let’s see you sink this one.” Tommy pocketed his ball and stepped back.

Encouraged by his optimism, Victoria squatted to the ground and lined up her shot like a pro. Standing back up, she putted the pink ball and watched with enthusiasm as it rolled directly towards the hole and disappeared.

“Yippee!” She jumped to celebrate her birdie shot, ignoring the first slice into the woods, of course.

“Nice shot, babe. I’m impressed. They say putting is eighty percent of the game. We’ll just work on your swing, and you’ll be good enough for the LPGA.” Tommy high-fived her.

“My girlfriends and I played a lot of mini-golf.” She admitted and walked towards the golf cart to trade in her putter for a driver. Turning to Tommy, she held up the club for his approval.

“Yes, you’ll need a driver for this par five hole.” He hit his ball first, dropping it halfway towards the second green.

“Nice drive.” Victoria learned golf lingo quickly.

“Do you see that large oak tree to the right?” Tommy pointed.

“The one before the nearly-empty pond?” She squinted towards the late afternoon sun.

“Yes, drop your ball just before that tree, then you can cross the water on your second drive.”

“Okey dokey.” Trying to remember everything Tommy had taught her, she placed her ball on the tee and bent her knees.

“Now remember, you tend to slice towards the right, so don’t end up in the woods again,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Taking a practice swing, she tried to focus on golf being fun, not frustrating. “Okay, here it goes, to the left, but not too much.” She pulled the club back over her head with an awkward pause at the top. Then she swung the club like a pendulum.

Whoosh.

The ball sliced right into the woods, again. Dropping her head with disappointment because she’d tried so dang hard to do everything Tommy had taught her, she refrained from banging her driver on the ground, again.

“Must be a cursed club. Want a ‘do over’ with a three iron?” Using air quotes, Tommy laughed.

“No. I’ll play it where it lies. Or else I’ll run out of my pink balls. Something tells me I need to find this one.” Sulking, she walked into the woods with her head down. She walked at least twenty yards into the woods, surprised the bright pink ball didn’t stand out against the pine straw covered ground.

Turning back to Tommy, she couldn’t see him through the trees which grew denser as she walked further in. Don’t get lost in the woods like Snow White. Half expecting to find a cottage with seven little men, she plugged on. Finally, the bright pink ball lay on the ground ten feet away.

“Victoria? Any luck? I’m coming in to find you,” Tommy hollered from the second fairway.

Picking up the ball, she paused. The ground changed drastically ahead. The tops of the pine trees were on the ground, not thirty feet above her like the rest.

“Victoria? Where are you?” His tone grew desperate.

“Tommy, you’ve got to see this,” she hollered back. Continuing towards the anomaly in the forest, she picked up her pace with excitement. I think I know what this is. Stopping just short of the edge, she saw the pine trees which had fallen into a large hole. But sunk was a more accurate term to describe the fifty-foot hole in the earth.

“Ah, there you are. I’ve been running everywhere trying to find you.” Tommy jogged up to her and bent at the waist, slightly out of breath.

Turning to him, she nodded towards the big hole. “Check this out.”

“What? Another shiny object?” Poking fun of her tendency for distractions, he stood upright. His eyes widened once he saw what Victoria meant.

“I’ll say.” She smiled, thrilled to find one of these on her own.

“What is it?” Looking perplexed, he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a sinkhole.”