no if you'd rather I didn't."
Sometimes, golfers got distracted
when followed by people they
knew. "I won't say a word, I
promise."
"Are you kidding? I'd love to have
you there. You can walk with Mom
and Dad."
Marty nodded, and looked to Pat
for approval. The coach would
have the final word.
"It's okay by me," Pat agreed.
"Great! Let me go tell my friends
where I'm going to be. Break a
leg, kiddo!" Marty chucked the
young woman in the arm and turned
back toward the bleachers.
"I missed you again today," Louise said as they returned to their
room on Friday afternoon to
shower and rest a bit before
dinner. For two days, they'd seen
each other only in passing as
Marty had followed Tami Sparks
along the course. Louise tried to
follow as well, but eventually
returned by herself to the
bleachers on the 18th hole, not
wanting to interrupt her partner's
concentration as she talked softly
with the girl's parents and
watched the young golfer grapple
with her shots.
"I missed you too. Tami's playing
great! She's definitely going to
make the cut."
"Yeah, she's only one over, and
that's just six back from the
leader. She's ahead of a lot of big
name players."
"Yeah, but most of those big name
players have a lot of tournament
experience, and they can turn it up
a notch when they have to. She'll
need to do that too."
"Wonder who she'll be paired with
tomorrow."
"I gave Pat the number here, and
she promised to call tonight when
they announced the tee-times for
tomorrow." Marty pulled off her
shirt and tossed it onto the bed,
adding her shorts and underwear
to the pile. Naked, she opened the
drawer in search of the oversized
t-shirt and shorts she usually
wore to relax.
"You looking for these?" Louise
held up the faded black shirt and
the baggy gray shorts. She was
enjoying the view of Marty in the
buff. She didn't get this view very
often, even less since the shorter
woman had put on weight.
"How'd they get over there?"
"I guess I forgot to pick them up
and fold them and put them away
last night when you threw them in
the floor," the taller woman
answered with just the barest hint
of sarcasm.
"Louise Stevens! What ever will I
do with you?" Marty teased,
catching the tossed items.
"Well, I have an idea or two, but it
doesn't involve those clothes."
Her eyebrow shot up suggestively.
Marty smiled softly and shook her
head. "How can you look at me like
that when I look so awful?"
Louise's face fell at once. "Marty,
don't you know that you break my
heart when you say things like
that?"
"I… don't… mean to do that, Lou.
It's just that I…" She held the
shirt to her chest, suddenly
modest.
"Listen to me." She crossed the
room and put both of her hands on
Marty's bare shoulders. "The
body that I want to touch, the
body that excites me and turns my
knees to jelly," she placed one
palm directly over the blonde
woman's chest, "is the one that
surrounds this heart. Isn't that
the way you feel too?"
"Of course it is. But you're not
carrying a spare tire like I am,"
Marty reasoned.
"Maybe not, but should I start to
feel self-conscious about my flat
chest? Or my gray hair? Or the
veins on my legs? Or the…?"
"No, Lou! I think you're beautiful."
"And I think you're beautiful too.
Really, I do." Louise dropped her
hands to caress her lover's
backside.
Marty tucked her head beneath
the taller woman's chin and
sighed. Sometimes, she was almost
overwhelmed by her realization of
how lucky she was to have Louise
Stevens' love. "I really turn your
knees to jelly?"
"Uh-huh."
The lovers held one another for a
long time, finally sidling into the
bathroom to discuss the merits of
water conservation.
"Wow, look at this sports car!"
Marty exclaimed. One of the
major sponsors of The Dinah was
an auto manufacturer, and the local
dealer had arranged to have
several models on display, rotating
their positions on the course each
day.
"You'd look good in that, Marty,"
Shirley observed.
"Nah, not enough room for golf
clubs. I liked the SUV they had
here yesterday."
"Yeah, that one's out by the
entrance this morning. Oh, that
reminds me! I almost forgot,"
Shirley gushed with excitement.
"Linda and I were looking at the
ones out front yesterday and
there was this woman talking on
her cell phone with somebody
about where to put the cars today.
She had on a sponsor tag, and I
swear to God, Lou, she looked just
like you did the first time we met
you and Rhonda at that dance."
"You're kidding!" Carol said.
"That's so weird! I mean,
especially after seeing that woman
the other day that looked so much
like Marty."
"I think you guys are pulling our
leg," Louise said skeptically. "We certainly haven't seen anyone like
that."
"If I see her today, I'll point her
out," Shirley offered.
"And we'll keep our eyes open for
that other one," Joyce added.
"I think we better hurry over to
the first tee and claim that shady
spot," Marty suggested. "You
gonna walk with me today, Lou?"
"If you want me to."
"Of course I want you to." She
liked having Louise close by.
Tami Sparks had a scorching third
round, coming into the clubhouse
at four under, now only three back
of the leader, who was still on the
course. Marty and Louise joined
their friends at the bleachers on
the 18th hole to watch the
remaining golfers finish the day.
"You know, I don't want to jinx
Tami or anything, but this is kind
of like that story you were telling
the other night," Linda said.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Marty didn't need to be reminded. She'd been
thinking about it all day, seeing
herself in the young golfer's
shoes as she took c
hances on the
course. From time to time, Tami
would talk quietly with Pat as they
walked to the next tee. Whatever
the old pro was saying, it was the
right advice, Marty thought.
"Are you going to see your friends
today, sweetie?" Louise turned
away from the others as she
asked the question, sensing that
Marty had developed reservations
about meeting her former
colleagues.
"I don't know, Lou. I haven't really
kept in touch with any of them
besides Pat."
"That's all the more reason you
should go, isn't it?"
"I guess." In truth, Marty had
started to wonder what good
would come of seeing the old gang
again; or rather, what good would
come of them seeing her. Here
she was, an overweight seasonal
golf pro, second banana at two
relatively ordinary clubs. Her best
chance to get back to the big time
was in the clubhouse, playing not
for her, but for Pat Shapiro.
"Maybe I'll just stop in and say
hello. I hate to keep all of you
waiting."
"We don't mind. Carol and Joyce
said something about a bargain
table in the pro shop. That should
keep us busy for an hour or so."
"Still, I don't think…"
"Stay as long as you want,
sweetheart. Or for as short as
you want. Whatever's right for
you is okay."
Marty looked at her sheepishly.
Somehow, Louise understood.
Were it not for Pat Shapiro's
familiar face, Marty would never
have found her group. None of the
women in the tight circle of
armchairs was immediately
recognizable as someone she had
played with almost forty years
ago.
"Well, if it isn't Marty Russell!"
The first woman to speak was
smartly dressed in a creamy silk
wind suit like so many of the
golfers their age wore. Her
abundance of makeup reminded
Marty of Pauline Rourke, their
friend back in Cape Coral. This
was… Fran Edgars!
"Fran?"
The woman nodded excitedly.
"Marty, you look great! It's so
good to see you again."
The blonde golf pro turned to look
at all of the other smiling faces.
Their names were coming back…
Becky Halstead… Mary Jean
Hunter… Candy Romarco. "Wow!
It's great to see all of you again!"
In no time, the excited group of
women caught up on the ages since
they'd played on the tour. Fran
left about the time Marty did, and
married Dale Thomas, a pro on the
men's tour. Dale worked now out
of a country club in upstate New
York. Fran had all but stopped
playing the game.
Becky won three small
tournaments in 1967, but shoulder
surgery ended her golf career.
She was a breast cancer survivor,
twice divorced and she now sold
real estate in Texas.
Mary Jean quit the tour after only
two years and went back to
college. She taught physical
education at a community college in
her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio.
She had a partner of 17 years
named Lana.
Candy played eight years on the
tour, finally winning a major in
1971. The next day, she announced
her retirement from golf and
married her childhood sweetheart
in Huntsville, Alabama. She and
her husband had nine children,
and Candy weighed almost 200
pounds.
When Marty's turn came, she
timidly told of her winters in
Florida, her summers in the North
Carolina mountains, and her life
with the retired schoolteacher
from Pennsylvania.
"Didn't you marry Wallace Beck?"
Interesting that Becky would
remember that, Marty thought.
The woman had shared many
whispered concerns with Marty
back then about the number of
lesbians on the tour. But even
before she realized her own
orientation, Marty had known the
risks of alienating sponsors on the
tour with a rumor here or there.
"Yeah," Marty sighed, "for five years."
"Boy, you should have gotten a
prize for that," Candy said.
Wallace had quite the reputation
as a ladies' man.
"I did, actually," the blonde woman chuckled. "My daughter Katie's 35
years old now, and I have a six-
year old grandson."
"Aw, that's nice," Fran said
sweetly.
Now it was Pat Shapiro's turn, and
Marty listened in envy as the pro
told of how nice it was to be back
on the tour again, this time with a
golfer who had a shot at making a
real name for herself. "And I have
Marty to thank for that, because
she's the one who steered Tami
Sparks my way."
Marty smiled meekly. "But she
took off under you, Pat. You're
the one that deserves the credit,"
she said nobly.
"Hey, remember that time…" With
Mary Jean's story of Becky's
stolen clubs, the reminiscing was
officially underway. More than an
hour passed as they recalled the
special moments and laughed over
shared experiences.
"Would you look at the time! I told
Dale I'd only be a few minutes.
the parking lot!" Fran stood and
picked up her purse. "It was so
good to see all of you again. We've
got to keep in touch."
Everyone nodded their agreement.
Pat was the one who had managed
to pull them all together here, but
it was clear that all but she and
Marty had whittled the game to
something much less important in
their lives than it had been forty
years ago. Still, the excitement of
a major tournament had brought
them all to Palm Springs, proof
positive that their glory days were
something they still held dear.
The soft buzzer sounded at 6:30
a.m. on Sunday, the last day of The
Dinah, and the last full day of
their vacation. Marty tapped the
snooze alarm and snuggled into
Louise's long body. "You feeling
any better this morning, Lou?"
Poor Louise had eaten something
yesterday that "disagreed" with
her, and had been up and down
half the night. Around midnight,
Marty had taken off in search of
an all-night pharmacy, finally
coming back with a bottle of pink
stuff to settle her stomach.
"I think I'm going to live
," she
mumbled.
"I guess that means you're better
then. Last night, you didn't want to
live."
"What do you think it was?" Louise struggled to sit up, gently rubbing
her stomach in small circles.
"I don't know. Maybe your piece
of fish was bad." They had grilled
Pacific salmon on the patio. "Or it
could have been that sausage with
peppers and onions you picked up
for lunch. That stuff sits out a
long time. It's a wonder more
people…"
"That's enough, Marty." The gray-
haired woman had a face to match.
"Sorry I asked."
Marty chuckled and stroked her
lover's back. "All things must pass,
eh?"
Louise smacked her playfully,
warning, "This will be you
someday, and I'm going to show
you the same sympathy."
"Sorry, babe. So do you feel like
going today?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
She managed to smile, and forced
herself out of bed. They all
needed to be out the door by
seven to get the good seats at the
first tee.
Marty fell back onto the bed to
watch Louise get ready for the
day. She'd laid out her clothes the
night before and was dressed in
no time. Next, she rummaged
through Marty's drawers and
pulled out one of her favorite
outfits.
"Will you wear this today?"
Marty eyed the dark green shorts
and green and white striped golf
shirt. It was one of her favorites,
too, but she suspected that Louise
liked it because the neck scooped
low. "You just want to look down
my shirt."
Busted. "I just… happen to think
you look very nice in these colors."
"Sure, Lou. Whatever you say."
Ten minutes later, they were
toasting bagels and getting their
bag ready for the day: camera,
film, water, sunscreen, and cash.
"Are you guys going to follow Tami
again today?" Linda was trying to
plan the best approach for Shirley
to watch the leaders as much as
possible. The woman's new hip
just wouldn't allow her to walk
much.
"Lou?" Marty wanted to walk with
her former protégé, but she also
wanted Louise to know that she
had some choice in the matter.
"Yeah, I want to see if she makes
another move." In fact, after
watching the young woman
yesterday, Louise had found
herself profoundly interested in
Tami's game. Some of the nuances
of her approach to the ball
showed Marty's influence, even
after all these years.