"Are you guys about ready to go?"
Joyce asked, fishing in her pocket
for the keys to the van.
"If it's okay, I wouldn't mind
stopping in the ladies room,"
Louise answered.
"Me too," Marty agreed.
"We'll meet you out front, then."
Marty and Louise headed up the
back steps into the nearly
deserted clubhouse. Entering the
ladies room, Marty remarked,
"Finally, no line."
But two of the three stalls were
occupied, so Louise went first
while Marty waited.
Suddenly, one of the stalls opened
and Marty found herself face to
face with one of the most
beautiful women she'd ever seen -
a tall… dark-haired… blue-eyed…
younger version of Louise Stevens.
Wide-eyed, they both stared at
one another until the second stall
opened. As if the shock of seeing
her partner's clone was not
enough, Marty found herself
opposite her own carbon copy, a
blonde, green-eyed woman who
looked for all the world like she
had thirty years ago.
"Lou, you need to get out here,"
was all she said as the three
women continued to gape open-
mouthed at one another. And when
Louise finally appeared to
complete the picture, the shock
was almost too much.
"Oh, my," was all she could say.
Finally, the younger brunette
spoke. "I'm Anna Kaklis, and this
is my partner, Lily Stuart."
Marty nodded numbly, finally
finding her tongue. "I'm Marty
Beck, and this is my partner,
Louise Stevens." Gesturing toward
their badges, she continued,
"You're sponsors."
"Yeah, those are my BMWs out
there. I own the dealership here
in Palm Springs."
"They're very nice."
"Thank you. Are you… from around
here?" Distant relatives?
"I'm from Michigan. She's from
West Virginia. But we live in
Florida now."
"Oh. I just wondered because we
kind of…" Anna's voice trailed off.
"Look alike," Louise finished.
"Yeah."
"Well, they say everyone has a
twin," Marty concluded. But what
would be the chances of her twin
finding Louise's twin?
The women stood silently for a
few moments longer, still amazed
at the sight before them. But what
else was there to say? They were
strangers, despite their
appearance.
"Well, it was nice meeting you
both," Lily finally offered.
"Same here," Marty replied, "and, uh… good luck to you." That
brought broad smiles from the
younger couple, who seemed to
understand exactly what the older
woman meant.
"And to you."
Marty and Louise watched as the
pair washed up and left the ladies
room.
"That's amazing, Lou. I mean, first
we hear that there are women
here who look like us. But who'd
have guessed in a million years
that they would be a couple?"
"It sort of makes you wonder,
doesn't it?"
"Wonder what?"
"I don't know… if there's
something natural about people
like me being drawn to people like
you," Louise explained, not really
understanding herself what she
was asking.
"Maybe we're the ideal. Carol and
Joyce read a lot of lesbian fiction,
and they say a lot of the couples
are like us."
"Well, none of them are as cute as
you, Marty Beck."
The golf pro almost blushed. "Nor
as dazzling as you, Lou Stevens."
"Are you ready to go back to work
tomorrow?" Louise unpacked their
suitcases, separating clean from
dirty and putting everything back
in its place. First thing tomorrow,
she'd go pick up her sweet little
Petie from the kennel.
Marty had tucked their clubs
away, sorting her own bag to make
sure she had everything she
needed for work. "Yeah, but you
know what? I think we should plan
another vacation soon. Just you
and me, and maybe to some place
besides a golf course."
Since her revelation on the 16th
hole yesterday afternoon, Marty
had been thinking about how
Louise had expanded her life
beyond that of a golf pro. There
were many things she wanted to
experience with Louise, not the
least of which was to get to know
her better by visiting West
Virginia and Pennsylvania to see
her lover's old haunts.
Louise couldn't believe her ears.
Marty never wanted to be far
from a golf course. "What did you
have in mind, sweetheart?"
"I don't know. Maybe we can drop
our things off in North Carolina in
May and drive on up to
Pennsylvania. I'd like to meet your
brothers if you're ready for
that."
"Do you mean it?" Louise was
suddenly excited. She'd been
after her lover to make that trip
with her, but had resigned herself
to go alone.
"Yeah. And then we could head up
to Michigan and maybe see my
sister. I'll show you where I grew
up and where I used to play golf.
I'll even take you out to the lake
and show you where I lost my
virginity."
"Marty Beck! You never told me
you lost your virginity!"
The blonde woman laughed, loving
her partner's playful side. "Gosh,
Lou. Does it bother you to find out
that you weren't my first?"
Louise pulled her close, her smile
fading to a serious look. "Being
first is no big deal, Marty. I want
to be your last."
"You will be, Lou. You're all I ever
want." How could she ever have
thought that she needed more
than this? Louise Stevens loved
her through and through, and
returning that love was the best
feeling in the world.
Best Ball
AUGUST 1980
LOUISE STEVENS AND her
brothers walked somberly into the
bright sunlight in front of the
courthouse, stopping to talk
privately for the first time since
reviewing the papers. The clerk of
courts had confirmed what they
already concluded about their
father's estate—it consisted of
little more than the one-story
frame house and a few personal
effects. Floyd Stevens had never
believed in borrowing money, so it
was no surprise that he had died
without owing a
cent. His simple
will stated that his property
should be divided equally among
his three adult children—William,
Hiram, and Louise—with Hiram
designated as executor.
"I guess the first thing we should
do is find a real estate agent
who'll take care of selling the
house," Hiram said, taking the
lead. As an attorney, he had
served as executor of countless
estates.
"I think we should go together to
the house first and start going
through the closets and drawers,"
Louise suggested. "There's no
telling how much stuff is in the
attic. We should divide that up so
we all get things from both Mama
and Daddy. I know Mama has some
old—"
"I want the house. I don't care
what ya'll do with all the junk in it.
I just want the house." William
hadn't said more than ten words
to his siblings all day until that
very moment.
"Well . . I think we could probably
work out an arrangement," Hiram
offered. "We'll need to get it
appraised, of course, but I'm
certainly willing to sell you my
part."
"I don't want to buy it from you. I
want you to just let me have it. You
can have everything else."
"It doesn't work that way, William.
Daddy left it to all three of us,"
Hiram argued. He and Louise had
never gotten on very well with
their older brother. Louise wrote
it off as their age difference, but
Hiram always thought it was
jealousy.
"I don't care who he left it to. You
have a house, and Louise has a
house. I don't have one." William
and his wife, Glenda, had lived for
over thirty years in a trailer park
on the outskirts of Wheeling.
"We have houses because we
bought them," the younger
brother said stiffly. "Nobody gave
either one of us a house."
"No, but Mama and Daddy sent you
both to college so you could get a
fancy job and buy things like that.
Neither one of you knows what
it's like to have to really work for
a living."
"Aw, you've been beating that
drum your whole life. I'm sorry
you had such a miserable
upbringing, but it's not my fault
and it's not Louise's either.
You're fifty-eight years old,
William. It's time to grow up."
William made a fist and reared
back as if to strike. Hiram put up
both of his dukes and waited for
the blow.
"Stop it! Both of you." Louise
looked around the parking lot to
see if anyone was watching the
childish scene unfold. "You're
grown men, for goodness sake. Act
like it."
Hiram dropped his fists and
straightened his suit jacket. "Let's
get out of here, Louise . . before
one of us does something he
regrets."
Hastily, they walked to Hiram's
car and got in. William stared
angrily at both of them until they
drove away.
"He's really something else,"
Hiram said, shaking his head. "I
can't believe he thinks we ought
to just hand over our part because
he doesn't have anything. He's the
one that had seven kids he
couldn't afford."
For as long as she could
remember, Louise had been
scared half to death of her oldest
brother. But something today
showed her a different side, and
it made her sad to realize that
William had nothing to show for
his forty years working in the coal
mines.
"His life must have been really
hard, Hiram."
"I know, Lou. But like I told him,
that's not our fault."
"But he's right about Mama and
Daddy giving us an education.
William never had the same
chances we did, because they
didn't have much when he was
growing up."
Hiram sighed and grudgingly
nodded his agreement.
"I'm going to give him my part of
the house."
"What?"
"I said I'm going—"
"I heard what you said, but why?
The house isn't much, but it's
worth at least thirty thousand
dollars. That's ten apiece, and it's
more than William ever had in his
hand at one time."
"But Mama and Daddy gave us that
much and more to go to college, if
you figure in inflation. William
never got a gift like that, and he's
been bitter his whole life about it.
You said so yourself." Louise could
see from her brother's face that
her argument was getting through.
"I have what I need to get by and
be happy. Sure, ten thousand
dollars would be nice to put in the
bank, but it wouldn't mean as much
to me as having a real house would
mean to William."
Hiram slowed the car and pulled
off into a parking lot. "Judy always
said she wanted that oak hall
tree."
"And I want the wash stand and
the silverware."
"Maybe we just do what William
said … go through the stuff
ourselves."
"You think we ought to drive over
to William's and tell him?" Louise
was pleased that Hiram had come
around so easily.
"Yeah, but you better be the one
that goes in. He's liable to shoot
me on sight."
JULY 2005
"HERE YOU GO, sweetie." Louise counted out five quarters and
dropped them into Marty's open
palm.
Marty leaned out the car window
and handed the coins to the
attendant. "Do I get a sticker or
something?"
"Excuse me?" the attendant said.
"Sorry … just a joke. Never mind."
"What was that all about?" Louise asked. "Settle down, Petie. It's
okay." She guided the Boston
terrier back into her lap.
"I just thought I ought to get a
prize or something, like a sticker
that said "I survived the West
Virginia Turnpike.'"
Louise shook her head in dismay.
"I can't believe how much you're
like Rhonda sometimes. It's
uncanny."
"Why? What'd I do?"
"She pulled up to that window once
and held out her hand like she was
the one who was supposed to get
the money."
Marty laughed. "I would have
loved to have seen that."
"The man in the toll booth was not
amused."
"Aw, that's because nobody has a
sense of humor these days."
Louise's eyes
went wide and her
jaw dropped. "That's exactly what
she said!"
"Stop! You're creeping me out."
Louise suddenly grew concerned.
"Does that really bother you,
honey? When I compare you to
Rhonda like that?"
"Pffft! Of course not. Why should
I mind being compared to someone
you loved?" She winked at Louise
and got a smile in return. "Calling
her name out during sex is a whole
different matter."
Louise squirmed. "I've never done
that … have I?"
Marty burst out laughing, causing
Louise to chuckle with relief.
"You want to stop for a bite to
eat?" Marty asked. She was always
up for a snack.
"I'm not hungry. Besides, Judy's
cooking a special dinner tonight
for us, so I don't want to spoil my
appetite. It's only three more
hours."
Marty turned her head to hide
her disappointment, her mouth
watering at the thought of those
honey-roasted peanuts … sitting on
the shelf in that store they had
just passed …begging to be eaten.
But she grudgingly admitted to
herself that traveling with Louise
was good for her, since she
couldn't sneak away to the vending
machines like she did at work.
"I think you'll like Judy. She was
in my class in high school. She and
Hiram started dating when we
were juniors."
"Hiram's older, right?"
"One year exactly. We have the
same birthday."
"That's amazing." Marty reached
for her bottle of water and took a
swig.
"Not really. Nine months
backwards was Daddy's birthday."
Spew! "You should have warned
me!"
"Sorry." Louise quickly wiped the water off the dashboard.
"What about your other brother?
When's his birthday?"
"Sometime in December. But he
was born back when Mama and
Daddy first got married. Hiram
didn't come along for another
seventeen years."
"That must have been like two
families."
"In a way it was. We never saw
much of William growing up. He
went to work in the mines just like
Daddy, and he moved out on his
own before I was ever born."
"You don't talk about him much."
"We weren't very close. To tell
you the truth, he always scared me
a little. He was usually gruff, and
he didn't want much to do with
Hiram or me. Then as we got
older, our lives were so different.
William never had very much, but
Hiram and I both got to go to
college and get good jobs."
"Are you going to see William
while you're here?"
Mulligan Page 16
