Sudden Death on the Back Nine-Part 1

Archie and Troy sat at the Nineteenth Hole knocking back few beers after a hot and long afternoon of golf.  The place was well lit for a bar, a luminescence brought on by all the directional lighting showcasing the club's golf memorabilia. 

Archie glugged down another swallow of the cold amber fluid from his mug and belched. "Oh, excuse me," he said, dragging out the word 'excuse' and smiled. "This was an awesome day."

"Only because you won," replied his partner.

"Oh, please," Archie stated, rolling his eyes. "You should have taken up volley ball."

"Volley ball?" Troy questioned.

"Yeah, you're a beach bum; you're either in the sand or in the water." He laughed raucously at his joke.

Troy hung his head waggling it side to side. "Well, you had an advantage with those magnifying glasses of yours. How thick are they anyway? Looks like two inches."

"More like a quarter-inch, thank you," Archie replied. "Maybe you need some. At least I can see."

Troy laughed. "I see just fine." He looked at his watch and let out an expletive. "I'm going to be late for dinner – again. Polly will be irate."

"That what you call it?" Archie asked. "Last week she threw a potted plant at me as I pulled out of your driveway. She almost nailed me too. You should take her golfing; she's got a hell of an arm."

"That's because she was pitcher for her college softball team. The first time she tossed me an apple it was nearly applesauce and it bruised my head where I saw how fast it was coming and ducked," Troy recounted.

"Could have been worse," Archie countered.

"I don't see how."

"Could have been an egg."

Troy let out a chuckle and clapped his friend on the back. "This one's on me," he said grinning. He tossed a twenty on the bar and nodded to the bartender.

Troy's wife sat at their dining table, arms crossed, scowling when he walked in the door. He washed his hands in the powder room off the kitchen and quickly sat at the table.

"Good game?" she asked sourly. "I hope so; dinner is cold."

Troy sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. Time got away from me."

"It always does when you're with Archie," she replied. "Eat your dinner before it's frozen instead of just cold."

Troy dutifully ate the meal his wife had spent so long preparing. It tasted different in an odd way he could only attribute to it's being cold, but wouldn't have asked her to, or done himself, microwave the meal to reheat it.

"Troy, can we go for a walk later?" Polly asked.

"Sure," he answered, trying not to let the apprehension show in his voice. This wasn't something they normally did; at least not for years.

Forty-five minutes later they were strolling along the walk path around the back nine holes at the country club. Only a few miles from home it had been a favorite place for them after Troy became financially stable enough for them to join. The air was cool, but not cold, and filled with the scent of the pine trees. Small solar lights illuminated the path just enough to see where one was walking without drawing too many light-attracted insects.

"This is nice," Troy said patting his wife's hand, which rested in the crook of his elbow. He smiled hoping this was the beginning of a fresh start for his troubled marriage. It had been two years since their once close relationship had grown cold. He'd never understood what happened.

Polly smiled back at Troy, a rare event, and leaned on his shoulder. "So, how have you been?"

"What?" The question took Troy by surprise. She hadn't asked him about his day even in so long he couldn't remember anymore.

"How have you been? It seems like forever since we've touched base."

"I know." He yawned suddenly. "Oh, pardon me. I don't know what's come over me. I'm not usually tired this early in the evening," he said.

"It's this relaxing walk. We should head back," she suggested. "Maybe I can wake you up a little," she added, giving him a small bump with her shoulder.

Troy smiled as they turned to go. Suddenly the lights went out and he crumpled to the ground.

Polly let him go rather than going down with him. "Well, that took long enough," she exclaimed. She grabbed his feet and dragged his limp body into the dense trees off the path, struggling along the way as his arms snagged the tree trunks. Finally, she found the shining battery-operated lantern that marked the hole her lover had dug earlier. She rolled him into it and refilled the grave with the pile of dirt next to it and tamped it down with the shovel he had also left for her. Then taking the lamp she found the ravine she'd been told about and gave the shovel a toss, watching as it went down. She made her way back to the path and replaced the border stones she had knocked ajar when she dragged troy's body into the woods.

Glancing around, she dowsed the lantern and ran back down the path to their car. No one was around so she climbed inside and drove home. She picked up her cell phone and hit speed dial. "It's done darling," she said. "A real hole in one."

To be continued...