Chapter 17
Weekend Retreat
Nancy remained excited from Dana and Steve's party for several days and found herself trying to think of how she might host a "Game Night" of her own for the other couples they knew. When she saw Jeanne and Craig at their club's regular run the following Saturday, she sensed a change in their dynamic with her.
With their running club, Jeanne had always been very quiet and introverted; she rarely engaged in conversation and certainly not for very long. However, that morning, she was all smiles and came up to Nancy almost immediately to say, "Hi" and started to chat. Nancy found her to be engaging and full of dry humor as they spoke.
"Craig and I enjoyed our time with you at Dana's. How would you and Paul like to join us for an evening sometime?" Jeanne asked. She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby and giggled, "we didn't really get to see much of Paul other than his bare ass and dick."
Nancy gave a short laugh and replied, "We had a fun time, too. I've been thinking about that night ever since we got home and was hoping it wouldn't be too long before we hung out with you guys again. When did you want to plan to get together? "
"Not for a few days. Craig's mother is in town staying with us until next week."
"Just let me know whenever you're free and we'll make plans," Nancy told her. Then, they headed out with the rest of their club to start their five mile run.
When she returned home, Nancy mentioned her conversation with Jeanne to Paul and he said he looked forward to getting together with them as well.
Jeanne called that evening and they agreed that Paul and Nancy would come over to Jeanne and Craig's home the weekend after his mother left. Jeanne invited Nancy and Paul to stay with them for the entire weekend, but Nancy was noncommittal on that detail.
The next ten days went by quickly and on Friday, Jeanne called Nancy at home to verify that she and Paul were still coming over and asked if they were planning to spend the weekend or not. When Nancy started fumbling around for an excuse not to stay, Jeanne promised they would both enjoy themselves and said she was going to plan for the extended visit anyway. Afterwards, Nancy told Paul that they were invited for the entire weekend and he just shrugged his shoulders, "That's fine with me."
They drove out to Jeanne and Craig's home on Saturday morning and packed for two days. The couple lived in a small, private community and their house backed up to a beautiful lake that was part of a golf course. Craig came out to meet them in the driveway and explained that Jeanne was inside getting food prepared for cooking later and had her hands full. Nancy felt embarrassed at how much effort was being put into their visit and headed inside to help out. Craig helped Paul with their bags and showed him inside to the guest room.
Craig told him that they had a 10:00am tee time to play golf and when Paul protested that he didn't bring his clubs, Craig waved him off. "Don't worry. We're about the same size and I've got a spare set you can use." They went to the kitchen and joined the women who were just finishing all the food preparations and putting things away.
"Jeanne tells me we're all playing golf in an hour," she told Paul. "I tried to tell her I don't know the first thing about it, but she insists that I come along."
"Then I guess you're coming along," Paul said with a laugh.
Everyone gathered in the kitchen and welcoming hugs and kisses were exchanged. Jeanne was clearly interested in more than a hug and kiss from Paul, but just whispered in his ear, "I can't wait to take you!"
Craig offered everyone drinks and they all opted for beer, even though it was still mid-morning. Nancy was wide-eyed looking around the room. "You have a beautiful home," she told Jeanne.
"Let me show you the rest of it. We want both of you to feel at home here and if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to help yourself," Jeanne replied. Paul said he'd hang out with Craig and the two women headed out of the room chatting excitedly.
Jeanne walked her around the first floor of the house showing Nancy where the guest rooms were, a study, sun room, and formal dining room with a large table that comfortably seated ten people. Nancy was amazed at the size of their master bedroom and bath and admired the furnishings. When they came out of the master suite, she saw a set of stairs leading up to the second floor, but Jeanne pulled her arm to head back to rejoin the men. "I'll take you guys up there later. I think you'll like what we've done up there," Jeanne told her.
Thirty minutes later, they checked in at the golf pro shop, Nancy was surprised to see that Craig paired himself with Paul in one cart while she drove with Jeanne. She had assumed that they would be paired as couples. Jeanne explained that it was easier that way because she used a different set of tee boxes than the men did and it would give the two men a chance to get to know one another better.
Craig was easily the best golfer in the group, but Paul did well. Despite her apparent athleticism and normal graceful movements, Jeanne looked awkward swinging her clubs and stopped keeping score on herself after the second hole. Throughout the round, she was able to laugh at herself and everyone had fun.