What They Left Behind

by Karen Teagarden

It wasn’t easy to get Ben to come out of his bedroom for anything except going to school, but after five days, Gennie finally convinced him to do something with Malcolm and Colleen. They all went to the mini golf course in Castro Valley.

  Gennie noticed a lady waiting at the entrance with two clubs and two golf balls. It looked like she was getting impatient. They got their clubs and balls and walked past her.

  When Ben was placing his ball at the tee, the lady approached them.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” she said. She looked about eighteen years old but her voice and the way she dressed seemed very mature. She was thin, yet she had large breasts, which seemed a little too perky for their size. She had very straight and fine red hair and green eyes. She wasn’t really dressed for mini-golf. She had a white leather mini skirt on with matching boots and a white ruffled blouse that was tied into a knot at her waist, showing an inch of midriff. All the guys were staring at her, including Ben and Malcolm.

  “Of course,” Malcolm replied. “The more the merrier, as they say.”

  Colleen frowned deeply, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Thank you so much,” she said. “My date was supposed to meet me here an hour ago, but he didn’t show up. By the way, my name is Val.”

  “Nice to meet you, Val,” Malcolm said. “This is my wife, Colleen, and our kids, Ben and Gennie.”

  Val smiled slightly. “So nice to meet you all.”

  The first hole took a while because neither Ben nor Malcolm could concentrate. It seemed to be a problem with all the males there. Gennie and Colleen tried to ignore it, and made some small talk with Val. Ben hardly said anything, spending most of his time looking at Val’s breasts.

  When they approached the seventeenth hole, they couldn’t help but chuckle. Whoever designed the next to last course had a sick sense of humor. A wood plaque of an old lady’s backside blocked the hole on the other side. Val went first. Gennie noticed Ben watching her bend over and position the ball. She made the shot between the old lady’s legs, but it only traveled about halfway to the hole. It took her three more tries until it fell into the hole. Gennie, then Colleen, took their turns and each scored a par three. Malcolm got a par two. Ben went last. He hit the ball so hard that it bounced off the old lady’s backside and landed right back at the tee. He hit it again and it did the same thing. The third time he swung even harder. It flew over the old lady plaque and landed right into Val’s blouse. Gennie, Colleen and Malcolm burst out laughing.

  “Oh my lord…” Val said, looking underneath her shirt, “it landed right between my breasts!”

  “Would you consider that a hole in one?” Malcolm asked, laughing even harder.

  Ben turned a bright shade of crimson. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly to Val.

  “Don’t worry, Ben,” Val said, giggling. “It happens all the time.”

  She plucked the ball from underneath her shirt and handed it to Ben.

  “That one’s a keeper,” Gennie whispered to him.

  “Shut up,” Ben replied.

  The very last course, involving a miniature Ferris wheel with multiple holes, took about a half hour to finish. Gennie got two points off her score, Malcolm got three, and Colleen got one. Val managed to get one point, while Ben’s ball landed into a hole labeled LOSER. Gennie, Malcolm and Colleen burst into laughter again.

  “You guys are going to pay for this,” Ben said, clearly irritated. Everybody laughed even harder.

  After they added up their scores, Malcolm was a clear winner, with Gennie a close second, Colleen third, Val in fourth place and Ben dead last.

  “We’ll have to bring Val to every game,” Malcolm said.

  “Maybe we can go get some ice cream?” Gennie said. “Since Ben’s the loser, he has to pay.”

  “Whatever,” Ben grumbled.

  “Why don’t I pay?” Val offered. “Since you were all so nice to let me join your game.”

  “You don’t have to,” Malcolm said.

  “No, really, I insist,” Val replied.

  They walked across the street to Haman’s ice cream parlor. Once their ice cream was ordered they sat at one of the covered picnic tables and chatted.

  “You sound like you have a southern accent,” Malcolm said to Val.

  “Well, I grew up in Texas,” Val replied. “In a little town probably a hundred and twenty miles south of Dallas.”

  “Are you visiting here?” Colleen asked.

  “I just moved here last month,” Val replied. “I’m staying with family in Hayward until I can find a job and an apartment of my own.”

  “That’s interesting,” Gennie said. “How do you like the Bay Area so far?”

  “It’s very nice,” Val replied. “There’s so many things to do.”

  “What kind of job are you looking for?” Malcolm asked.

  “Well, I used to be an Avon lady until I was married. My husband Jesse didn’t want me to work, so I didn’t. I’ve been looking at different sales positions but nothing’s stood out for me. I have some money to invest so I was thinking of starting my own business.”

  “What kind of business do you want to get into?” Colleen asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a boutique…or a restaurant.”

  “A restaurant would be a good idea,” Ben said.

  “Well, I don’t know much about cooking.”

  “You could hire people to cook for you,” Ben replied.

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “If you need someone who can cook, Ben here is practically a gourmet chef,” Gennie said.

  “Oh my goodness! Really? Do you just barbecue or do you do other things on a stove?”

  “I can do both,” Ben said proudly.

  “I hope you all don’t mind, but can I have your number?” Val asked. “If I do decide to start a restaurant, I’m going to need some good cooks right away.”

  “Sure,” Malcolm said. “I’m an accountant, so I can help you set up your payroll system, if you want.” He took a napkin from the dispenser on the table. “Anyone have a pen?”

  Val took one out of her purse and handed it to Malcolm. He scribbled down their phone number and handed it to her.

  “I’ll call when I need some help,” Val said.

  When they finished their ice cream, they all said good-bye and left.

  “What did you think of Val?” Gennie whispered to Ben as Malcolm drove them home.

  “She’s hot,” Ben whispered back.

  “I thought so.”

  “I think she’s a little too old for me though. She’s already been married and has a lot of money, so she has to be at least twenty-five, maybe thirty.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I think she’s a lot older than you too, but she was a good distraction, though.”

  “And I might get another job out of her.”

  “You feel better?” Gennie asked.

  “Yeah, a little bit.”

  “I know this is hard to believe but there is life after Charlene.”

  “I don’t want to talk about her.”

  When they arrived home, they saw the paperboy coming down the street.

  Ben and Gennie waited outside to grab the paper. When the paperboy saw them, he threw the paper in the driveway and took off.

  “He’s kind of late today,” Gennie said.

  “Kind of lazy, too,” Ben replied. “He could have thrown it a little bit closer.”

  Since Ben was nearer, he grabbed the paper and unwrapped the rubber band tied around it. The sections were mixed up, with the wedding announcements on the front. Ben stared at it, dumbfounded.

  “What’s wrong?” Gennie asked.

  Ben didn’t say anything. He just handed her the paper and went into the house.

  When Gennie glanced at it, she couldn’t believe what she saw. The biggest announcement was ‘John F. Briggs weds Charlene M. Conrad’. Next to it was a photo of Johnny in a three-piece suit and t
ie standing beside Charlene in a simple white dress and a pillbox hat with a veil covering her face. Both smiled slightly, though it was obvious neither of them was particularly happy. So that’s what her family was planning, Gennie thought, a nice arranged shotgun wedding with someone fit for Princess Charlene. Of course, it happened to be Johnny.

  She threw the paper out into the street, where a car ran over it. She went inside the house and slammed the door shut.

  Chapter 30: October 9