by Jack Waddell
Conor could only nod a yes, startled at Gino's outburst.
"That's right," Gino continued. "So I want you monkeys to mind your own goddamn business. This ain't some ladies aid society here. I hear one more word about them clubs and I'm sending you home. Got it?"
Eyes wide, Pissquick and Stovepipe nodded in unison.
"Now Mick, you bring that bag over here. I'll keep it inside the door here for you. You don't want any of these numbskulls messin' with them."
Conor picked up the bag and brought it to Gino who murmured "I'll talk to you later about these," as he lifted them over the bottom door and put them next to his desk.
Conor gave a little nod and went back over to the bench and sat next to Stovepipe who followed him with a quizzical stare. "Why you be movin?" Stovepipe asked.
"'Tis closer to here I'm trying to get," Conor lied, his face reddening slightly.
Satisfied, Stovepipe merely nodded, gave an "Oh," and turned back to the card game. Pissquick narrowed his eyes and gave Conor a quick appraising glance before doing the same.
* * *
Conor was waiting at the putting green holding their bags up on either side of him when Meg and Annie walked down the path from the clubhouse. As they approached he could not take his eyes off Annie. He could see her stealing sideways glances at him as she chatted with Meg. Both were smiling warmly. So was he.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Conor sang out as they neared, "'Tis good to be seeing you this fine day."
"Hello, Mick," Meg began. "Or is it Conor we can call you now?"
Taken aback, Conor's eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Well, I wouldn't… I don't…" he began to stutter.
Meg interrupted. "It's all right. Annie here knows all about our little secret, don't you Annie?"
"Yes, and I think it's marvelous," Annie smiled.
Conor's cheeks reddened slightly. "Oh, well, 'tis a wonderful chance I've to be given. Mr. Graves has been most kind and generous. I only can hope Billy and I can repay his faith."
"I'm sure you will," Meg replied. "Annie and I have faith in you too, don't we?"
"Indeed," Annie agreed, holding back all she wanted to say.
Conor was still trying to make sense of Annie knowing about the Calcutta when Meg pressed on.
"Now, before we begin, Robert asked me to ask you if you've had a chance to pick up the clothes and the shoes he wanted you to get."
"Aye, Billy came by Saturday and found me some shoes in the pro shop. To be sure they are very fine spikes so please tell Mr. Graves I am most grateful. The clothes…well, I have not the luck with that yet. I've not found the proper place. But perhaps tomorrow I will."
"Do you need some help with that?" Meg asked. "I mean, I'd be happy to take you to a store and shop with you if that would make it easier?"
"Thank you, Ma'am, but no. 'Tis not a problem. Handle it tomorrow I will."
"Very good, then. But be sure to get something nice. I know Robert wants you looking to be as fine a golfer as you play."
"Well, yes, I will, and thank you both again. You are both too good to me."
"Nonsense. We just both know you'll be wonderful in the tournament. We're just so excited about it. And you are too, aren't you Annie?"
Annie smiled at Meg then turned her smile on Conor. "Yes I am. Most assuredly I am."
* * *
The three of them floated through the round very much enjoying the day and one another. Conor was as much cheerleader and coach as caddie. Meg and Annie chatted and giggled like girls, applauding each other's good shots and laughing at the bad ones. When they finally caught up with the groups in front of them and had to wait from time to time they stood and talked excitedly about the Calcutta coming up. All the while Annie was careful not to make too much eye contact with Conor. She needed to be in control of herself and knew that if she gave in to what she felt Meg would surely notice. Meg was indeed watching carefully but she saw nothing except the enjoyment of the moment. And that reassured her. She would have to tell Robert there really was no problem after all.
When the round concluded Conor stood with the bags at the side of the eighteenth green as Meg and Annie laughed and walked off the green toward him arm in arm. They had quickly become good friends. Meg was the first to reach into her bag, take out her wallet and retrieve his fee and tip. "Here you are, Conor," she said handing him the money. "Once again thank you for a lovely time on the links."
"'Tis surely my pleasure, Mrs. Graves," he responded. "You two ladies have well become my favorite carry."
Meg chuckled. "We have become quite a pair, haven't we? Well, then, Robert says you're practicing in the evenings. Is that right?"
"Yes, Ma'am, 'tis. I'll be leaving to practice as soon as I take care of the bags."
"Well I hope we haven't kept you too long." Then, turning to Annie she asked, "Do you have time for some tea before you have to leave?"
Annie had suddenly formed an idea. "Oh, Meg, I'm sorry, but I do have to get back home. Franklin may be bringing some guests in for dinner this evening and I really should be there."
"I understand, dear." Meg said, "Then maybe next week? And Robert and I should really get together with you and Franklin sometime."
Annie gave a little laugh. "Yes to both," she said. Then she turned to Conor and handed him his fee and tip. "Here you are Conor, and thank you so much for all your help today. You really are like a coach, you know? It's just so helpful to have you along."
"Again, my pleasure, Ma'am," Conor smiled while wishing he could say more to her.
"Oh, and one last thing. Could you please wait for me up by the bag rack out in the front? I have some balls and tees in the car I want to put in my bag before you put it away."
"Not to be any problem, Ma'am. I'll see you out front."
"Thank you. I won't be long."
Meg and Annie walked together back to the clubhouse and into the locker room. They changed their shoes. Annie said she needed to stay and freshen up a bit before she went home to her company so they said their goodbyes. After Meg left Annie did freshen up, washing her face and reapplying her makeup and a dab of perfume. When she was sure enough time had passed for Meg to drive away she gathered her purse, climbed the stairs to the first floor and walked out the lobby to the front entrance. Conor was standing off to the side at the rack with her bag.
At the sight of him Annie suddenly became anxious. She knew she was taking a chance, perhaps too big a chance. She approached him slowly then quickened her steps as she regained some nerve. "Conor, thank you so much for waiting. Let me go to my car. I'll be right back."
"My pleasure, Ma'am," Conor replied, thrilled at her presence for the hundredth time that day.
Annie went to her car but came back empty handed. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I've been so forgetful lately. It seems I didn't remember to put the balls and tees in my car after all. What a bother! I'm so sorry to delay you from your practice."
"No, no! 'Tis always my pleasure to be at your service," Conor objected. "Besides, fact of the matter is, with the sun fading as it 'tis, I'll probably be practicing here."
"Oh, really?" Annie said, surprised. She'd understood from Meg that Conor was to be practicing somewhere else.
"Aye. Mr. Graves has made some arrangements. But I have to do it out of sight of here. Members aren't to know. I'll likely go to the far side of the course tonight. Fourteenth hole. Will be chipping and pitching I would suspect. Too dark soon for much else."
Annie paused briefly to bite her lower lip. She tried to summon some courage. Looking past Conor out onto the course she finally managed to say, "I would so love to watch you practice.”
Conor was struck silent for a moment. Could he have heard that? Could she mean that? "Flattered I am, Ma'am. But 'twould be most boring for you to be sure."
"No, really I would. I could learn so much just watching you. Please?" Having stepped across the line Annie would not turn back.
Conor still could not b
elieve what he was hearing. "Forgive me, Ma'am, but I thought I heard you say to Mrs. Graves you were to have company tonight?"
"Oh, that. No, there was a message waiting for me. I don't have to be home right away. I have time. Please let me watch you. Please, Conor. Just for a little while?”
When he heard her speak his name he surrendered to the thought. His heart began to race. "'Tis a far walk out there, to be sure."
"I don't care."
"Maybe there's to be another way.”
They made a plan. Conor would return her bag to the pro shop and pick up his own clubs. Then he would walk the perimeter of the grounds to reach the fourteenth green. Annie would drive her car out the entrance, down La Habra and then turn left on Spring Valley. A short way down the road she would see the service road on the left leading down to the greenkeeper's barn. She would drive down to the end, park by the barn and then cut through the hedge to the fourteenth green. They would meet there.
* * *
Conor left Annie's clubs outside the bag room then went through the gate into the empty caddie yard. He went to the open door and called out for Gino.
Gino emerged from the darkness of the bag room and walked down the hall to the door. "Where the hell you been?" he demanded. "I been waiting for you!"
"Sorry, Cap'n, but I first had to help Mrs. Burke with something."
"All right, but you better get busy, the day's fading. Here, let me get your clubs." Gino lifted the bag over the bottom door and handed it to Conor. "And here's something else." He reached down and picked up a shag bag full of practice balls. "Mr. Graves said to give you this."
Conor took the shag bag from Gino and peered through the open top. It was full of brand new balls. "Thank you, Cap'n. Will put these to use tonight!”
"Good. Now I'm done and out of here. See you tomorrow." Gino moved back to close the top door then stopped, remembering something. "Oh, Mick, one more thing. We can't be keeping your clubs here so here's what you do. There's a cellar door back of the Bogey House that leads to a crawl space. Stow your clubs and shag bag in there. They'll be safe. Nobody goes in there."
"Do that I will." Conor replied. "I'm much obliged for everything."
"Yeah, well, you can thank everybody by winning this thing with Billy. So off with you now."
"Aye, Cap'n."
Conor watched Gino close the top door and heard him bolt the latch. Carrying the clubs and the shag bag he hurried through the gate then broke into a trot. He couldn't get to the fourteenth green fast enough.
(back to top)
Chapter 14
Practice
Tuesday, May 6, 1930
Annie stopped her car behind the greenkeeper’s barn, turned off the motor and the lights and waited. It would take Conor a few minutes to walk all the way out to the far end of the course. She thought about what she had done, what she was doing. She couldn’t explain the attraction, but it was real and it was overpowering. Thoughts of him had haunted her these past two weeks. But this was crazy. She was married. This was a fact. As was the fact her life was tied to her husband in every way. That she hated him did not change the facts. And Conor was but a caddie barely able to sustain himself much less take her on and be part of the kind of life she wanted. Yet despite all she had, all she had ever wanted – the money, the clothes, the house, the glamour, everything – there was a hole in her soul that begged to be filled. Her body craved a man, her heart a mate. Was this simply lust or the beginning of a love? That was the real question. Either way it would be right to find out.
Her heart was pounding as she got out of the car and walked to a gap in the hedge behind the green. She tried her best to hide herself in the foliage wishing she hadn’t worn such a brightly colored outfit. She shivered slightly and clasped her arms around her shoulders. The air was cooling quickly with the setting sun. It was a few long minutes before she saw him. He emerged over the brow of a hill to the left of the green carrying his bag over his shoulder and another bag in his hand. He started to gallop sideways down the steep slope toward the green. As he did so she came out from the hedge to greet him.
Conor saw her and instantly tried to slow his pace to a more dignified gait. But his right heel caught in the grass as his left foot slid forward. He fell on his side and tumbled down the hill, the golf bag flying one way and the shag bag the other spilling all the practice balls down the slope. He finally rolled to a stop at the bottom of the hill surrounded by balls and clubs.
Annie couldn’t help but laugh so loud she had to bend over and put her hands on her knees. When she finally caught her breath she cried out “Oh, no!” and ran to him. “Are you all right?” she managed to giggle when she reached him.
Lying on his back Conor looked up at her fully chagrined. He managed a wan smile. “’Twas not much of an entrance, now was it? Perhaps I should be practicing my walking?”
Annie reached down her hand to him. "Here, let me help you."
Conor took her hand and rolled himself to his knees and stood up. "Thank you, Ma'am," he said still a little abashed. Then, still holding her hand, he said, "I don't suspect that's what you came out to see."
Annie laughed again. "No, I came to watch my champion golfer caddie at work! And please, call me Annie. 'Ma'am" makes me feel like some old maid."
"Aye, then Annie it 'tis, for you are far from that."
"That's better," she said as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and let go. "Here, let me help you pick up all these balls!"
"No, 'tis quite all right. I'll just be pitching them up from where they lay. 'Twas quite my intention to scatter them about like this," he grinned.
"Oh, I see," Annie deadpanned. "Well you did a very good job of it."
Conor began to pick up his clubs and put them back in the bag. Annie picked one up and handed it to him. It was his wedge and the one he intended to use to begin his practice session. "Thank you, Annie," he said. "'Tis the club I'll be needing. The balls will be easier to pick up after we get them all on the green."
"Oh, really? Well let's see you go to work then!"
The balls had ended up scattered in something of a row along the swale to the side of the green about twenty yards away. Conor laid the bag on the ground and then approached one of the balls, took his stance and addressed it. He made an easy half swing and lofted the ball into the air. It landed just on the green and then rolled to five feet from the hole.
"Oh my!" Annie exclaimed. "That was wonderful!"
Conor smiled and then approached another ball. He repeated the same motion and he and Annie watched as the ball finished near the first. They exchanged a look; he smiling and she wide eyed shaking her head slightly. Conor continued to pitch the balls settling into something of a rhythm as he did so; stepping up to a ball, taking a slow waggle, then swinging, then stepping to the next and repeating the sequence.
Annie watched enthralled as one by one the balls began to gather in a tight ten-foot circle around the hole. When there were two balls left Conor held out his club to Annie. "Here now, why don't you be trying a couple for yourself?"
She took the club and grinned, taking the challenge. "All right, then. But I don't know if I can manage to do as good as that.”
"Oh, surely you can." he encouraged. "Just let go."
Annie addressed the ball and imagined his easy rhythm and motion. She made her swing and watched the ball arc into the air and land softly on the green and finish just a few feet short of Conor's grouping.
"Just a bit more weight and you'll have it," Conor advised.
She swung again, this time with a bit longer swing, but with the same easy tempo. The ball landed just short of her first ball then rolled forward into Conor's grouping.
"That's it!" Conor cried out. "'Tis well to be done, indeed!"
"I told you before you're a good teacher," she smiled as she stepped to him to hand him the club.
As he took the club from her he saw her shiver. "You're to be cold. No doubt there's a chill. Here,
take my jacket." With that Conor took off his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
"No," she protested as he took it off. "You'll be cold."
"Nay, where I'm to be from 'twould be considered fairly balmy right now."
She liked the feel of his coat upon her. It was still warm from him. She could smell him in it, a musky scent with a hint of the witch hazel from his morning haircut. She grasped the lapels and pulled it tightly around her.
Conor picked up his clubs and shag bag and they walked together up onto the green. He took out his putter and swept the balls to one side of the hole. He took out the flagstick and handed it to Annie. "If you would be so kind as to hold this for me," he asked. Then he began to practice rolling putts of different lengths to the hole. When he would make one Annie would stoop down using the flagstick as a crutch and retrieve the ball from the hole and roll it back to him.
As he putted they chatted about the upcoming Calcutta and Billy Compton and what Robert Graves had done to put the two together. Eventually it grew too dark to play anymore. It was nearly a new moon and a thin layer of clouds had rolled in off the ocean to obscure even the brightest stars. The only light came from the glow of a light illuminating the maintenance yard on the other side of the hedge. They fell silent with the darkness as Conor used his wedge with one hand to deftly pick up the balls and flip them into the shag bag he held in the other hand. When he was finished he turned to Annie who had replaced the flagstick in the hole.
"'Tis most late. Kind you've been to keep me company. I hope I've not kept you from your husband. Please apologize to him if I have."
Annie cringed at the reminder of Franklin. "No you haven't." She hesitated a moment then said, "I must explain something, something I haven't told anyone else. So please don't repeat this to anyone. It's important."
Conor, taken off guard, could only nod a "Yes."
"I can tell you because you've met Franklin. You know what he can be like. You've seen it."
Now confused, Conor again could only give but another nod of understanding.
"You see, the truth is we hardly even live together anymore. He has someone else. He rarely even stays at the house. I'm ashamed to say I lied to you and Meg Graves. There was to be no dinner party tonight, there was no message waiting for me. In fact I don't even know where he is tonight. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to be concerned. I like you very much. And I needed to be able to tell someone." Then, trailing off as she realized how far she had gone she added, "I trust you. You seem honest and real. I hope you'll understand this. I hope you can be my friend.”
