Author's note:
This is actually a second part to a story of a golf pro that seduces his clients. While this story can be read without reading the first part, there are references made to events in the first story.
*
I have to admit that it took me quite some time to get over Marie. Well, that isn't exactly true. I'll never get over Marie, but I have learned to live with not seeing her on a regular basis. She does bump into me at the club now and again. She and Jason are doing very well, and the girls are thriving. I am legitimately happy for her, but there are those little stabs of pain that jab me in the heart during these conversations. I guess a year is not a long enough period of time to heal all wounds. Well, I certainly did bring it on myself, but I have learned my lesson. I have taken to traditional dating, but nothing serious as of yet.
I was just walking out of the pro shop on the way to the car when my cell phone rang. I looked down at it, and saw that it was Marie. I couldn't stifle the smile that came across my face, and I sounded way too happy when I answered.
"Hello?"
"Andy? Hi, it's Marie."
"Hi Marie. How have you been?"
"I've been really good, but I need some golf help."
"Don't tell me you've picked up a slice on your drives again," I teased.
"Maybe a little. Jason and I have been trash talking with another couple that we play golf with, and we have a match scheduled for next month. Winners take the losers out for an expensive dinner. I don't even care about the money. I just want to rub winning in their smug faces. They are THOSE kind of people," she explained, laughing.
"So you need a little polish on your game, huh?"
"Umm, yeah. Andy, I know it's a little weird, but Jason would like a little help too. If it's too much, I'll understand, but would you work with the both of us?"
I paused for a few seconds before answering. "It's fine, Marie. I'd love to help out. Can you start this week?"
"Do you have anything open for tomorrow," she asked.
"I do. Frankly, I'm open most of the week. It has been a little slow lately."
"Well, I hear you aren't providing the services you used to," teased Marie. That had to have put a dent in your business."
"I'm doing just fine there, wiseass. Can you be here at ten tomorrow?"
"That will be perfect. Thank you, Andy. You really are a good friend."
"Okay. See you tomorrow," I said, and hung up.
The next morning rolled around and Marie and Jason showed up a little before ten. Introductions were made, and we got underway. Honestly, I wanted to hate Jason in the worst way. I completely understand that I tread in waters I had no right to, and that getting burned was my own fault and punishment. We aren't always all that rational though. By the end of the session, I really liked the guy. He was good natured, funny, and a pretty good golfer. They really seemed happy together, and I was happy for them.
They came several days that week, and several evenings each week over the next few weeks. We all got along famously, and I had even been invited and went to a couple barbeques at their home. I kept a respectable distance from Marie both in proximity and attitude. I really liked these two people, and didn't want to screw anything up for them.
One Friday night, Jason and I went to a local watering hole for a few beers. We had already had a few, when Jason turned to me at the bar. He shook his head and pointed a finger at me.
"I know about you and Marie," he said. "She told me all about it quite some time ago."
"Oh," I asked, not sure if I should confirm or deny. "She just decided to tell you...what exactly?"
He smiled and shook his head again. "Well, she walked in on me and one of the administrative assistants from work. The funny thing is, it happened on the day she ended things with you. She got home much earlier than I expected and caught us in bed. We had a long talk about everything. Everything. The funny thing is that you fucking my wife actually ended up saving my marriage. Had she not done the same thing, my ass would have been thrown out the door. Instead, we were able to address our issues, and move forward."
"I...I'm sorry Jason."
"Honestly, I wanted to fucking kill you, and I might have had I not have had a fling myself. It helped me understand how such a thing can happen. That, and the fact that it was her that ended up initiating the whole thing. It's funny that what really set it all off was Marie walking in on you fucking some chick on your living room floor."
"She does seem to have a bad habit of walking in on people having sex, doesn't she," I joked.
Jason chuckled. "You're telling me," he said. "Well, it worked out, so I guess no hard feelings," he laughed.
We continued drinking until about four, and were fortunate that we were able to walk, or should I say stumble, back to Jason and Marie's house. "Take the couch, Andy. I'm going to bed," Jason slurred. I crashed and was woken a few short hours later by a seven year old girl pulling up my eyelids and saying Uncle Andy over and over. It seems that an entirely unsympathetic Marie had woken the girls at seven and told them that Daddy and Uncle Andy were taking them to Busch Gardens for the day. Jason came out of the bedroom looking like hell, and he plopped down into a chair in the living room.
"Like I said last night, totally your fault," he said. We both burst out laughing despite our hangovers.
The following Friday evening, they were coming to the club for a final tune up before the match on Saturday. Marie was coming in her own car, because Jason was coming directly from work. The final lesson was scheduled for seven, and by seven forty-five, Jason still had not arrived. Marie had called Jason several times, but he did not pick up. She had gotten worried, and was reaching for her phone again when it rang. She pulled it out of her bag, touched the answer button, and put it to her ear. I stood there and watched the expression of a woman for whom I deeply cared for change from worry to horror in the space of a few seconds.
"No."
" No. No. No. No. No. No. No", she cried, throwing the phone down and dropping to her knees.
"Marie, what happened," I asked as I bent down to her. "What's wrong?"
She looked up at me in horror, tears streaming down her face, sobbing. "Jason...Jason...he's dead," she cried. "Jason is dead. Fucking drunk driver in a pickup truck...." She collapsed onto the ground and I sat next to her, a hand on her back, trying to comfort an inconsolable woman. At some point, moving on autopilot, I carried her to my car, and drove her to the hospital.
Her sister Winnie met us there and thanked me for bringing her. I gave Winnie my card and she looked down at it. "If you or Marie need anything at all, you call me. I'm serious. Anything. Any time. I'll have someone at the club help me bring Marie's car to the house for her. I walked over to Marie, who was just sitting there sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Marie. So sorry." I wrapped my arms around her and held her for a moment, and told her the same thing that I had told Winnie. She shook her head as if she understood, but nothing I said had registered with her at all. She was in shock.
The ensuing days were very difficult for Marie. I did what little I could to help, but in cases like this, there really was nothing anyone could do to make it better. I was heartbroken for her and the girls, but there was little I could do other than be a friend that was there when she needed me.
The weeks passed to months, and Marie started coming back to the club to play a couple times each week. I ran into her there one day, and we chatted for a while. Little by little, the girls were adjusting. She was trying, but she had times that it was all too much for her to deal with. She stuck with the golf, because it let her be outside and just not have to think about it all too much. It was healing for her.
In that way that time just flies by without you realizing it, it was now more than a year past the accident. The driver of the other vehicle was charged with vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to prison. Of course, that didn't bring Jason back. I understood that Marie was doing better, and I was happy for her. One day, I was sitting in my living room logging into my account on an online dating service, and I saw I had a message. My jaw dropped when I read it:
Wow . Things must really be bad at the golf club these days. An online dating service? Really, Andy? I thought these things were only for divorcees and widows. How about you come over for a barbeque some time, huh? Give me a call.
Marie
I sat there staring at the screen for a long time. Finally, I reached for the phone and dialed Marie's number. She answered on the third ring.
"Hello"?
"Hi Marie. It's Andy."
"Oh hello stranger. To what do I owe the honor of this call," she joked.
"Well, it appears that you have been stalking my online dating profile, and asked me to call. So I guess you can thank yourself."