Decisions, Decisions

After dinner, the games came out. I looked around and saw Arnie sitting alone for the first time all day so I walked over and took the chair next to him. "Look at her, Brian, that's one nice lady," he said. I looked and saw Sabrina playing Cornhole with the kids.

"Yeah, she works with Les."

"You think she'd go out with me if I asked her?"

"I'm pretty sure she would, but the only way to find out is to ask."

"Yup, you're right; I'm going to ask her as soon as I can pry her away from my kids. I think they've already adopted her."

His demeanor changed slightly before he spoke again. "Would you believe Sara asked if she could come when I picked up the kids at the house?"

"She did?" I don't think I masked the shock in my voice very well.

"Yeah, you believe that? Am I glad she didn't ask in front of the kids. If they had pleaded with me to let her come, I would have possibly caved for their sake."

"Are you thinking of reconciling?"

"No, heavens no; every time I look at her I think of her and Tony together. I don't think that'll ever go away. I could never live with her again, not even for the sake of the kids." I was glad to hear that. There was no way I could ever be civil to Sara again.

"Well," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm going to put some dance music on... give you any ideas?"

"A few," he replied. I went inside and stacked a selection of LPs on my old refurbished turntable and flicked the switch for the outside speakers before hitting the washroom to take a leak. Everyone was dancing by the time I got back outside including Sabrina and Arnie. I looked over at Angela and Evie who were watching them and grinning from ear to ear.

Later that night, both Les and I were too tired to make woopie so we settled for some pillow talk. I could tell what was coming by the grin on her face. "Arnie and Sabrina sure seemed to hit it off today."

"What do you want, a medal?" I joked.

She chuckled, "I'm telling you, Honey, those two are made for each other. Did you see how Angela and Evie took to her? Did you see them hug her when they left?"

"Honey, I was standing right there with you, it would have been hard to miss. I do have to admit, Arnie was the happiest I've seen him since he found out about the affair."

"So--how's the crow sandwich?"

"Ah, I think it's a little too early for you to be patting yourself on the back just yet, but I will admit, they looked good together."

"Speaking of looking good together, Julie thinks Levi is trying to muster the courage to ask her to marry him."

"Oh, did she say what her answer will be?"

"She's still a little nervous but she's going to say yes."

"Really, did she say that?"

"Yeah, I asked her straight out and that's what she told me."

"Good, I really like Levi. We're going golfing on Sunday."

"You are? That's news to me."

"Not anymore," I said with a smile. "With everything going on today, I just didn't think to mention it. He tells me he has a six handicap; that's twice as good as my twelve. Maybe he can show me a few things."

"Is Arnie going?"

"No, I asked him but he doesn't want to give up his time with Angela and Evie."

"I can't blame him for that."

"Yeah, me neither." We talked a little more before we both slipped off to slumberland.

The rest of the week was the same old thing. Saturday was my day to complete as many chores as possible from my ever-increasing honey-do list while Les did the shopping and the laundry.

I was looking forward to Sunday. I hadn't swung a club since the shit hit the fan. Levi picked me up and we arrived at the course half an hour before our seven-thirty tee time. Steve, the golf pro, gave me a warm welcome and asked where I'd been. I told him our usual foursome broke up, then introduced him to Levi. He said the course was still pretty empty, so we could go as a twosome or wait to get matched up with the next couple to come in. Levi asked what I wanted to do and I told him I'd rather not wait.

At the end of the round, I surprised myself with a ninety-two; not bad, I thought, for not playing for a whole year. Of course, it was a far cry from matching Levi's eighty-one. He wasn't BSing about his game, he was good.

Another thing that surprised me was the time; we walked off the eighteenth green a little before ten and Levi even took the time to give me a few pointers for getting out of the sand. When I played with our usual foursome, we never finished in less than four and a half hours. Part of that was due to Arnie, he had a tough time breaking a hundred, but even so...

It was too early for lunch, but they were just opening the bar so Levi and I sat down for a quick beer. "So, when are you going to pop the question?" I asked.

"In two weeks; we're going up to Door County, Wisconsin. I looked at an astronomy chart to find out when the next full moon would be."

"Damn, you're going all out, aren't you."

"Yup, I want it to be a night we'll both remember."

We finished our beers and headed for home. As we approached my house, I saw a blue Toyota in the drive. Damn it, I cussed under my breath, without a doubt, I knew who it belonged to.

"Hey, Levi, drive a little past my drive and pull over. I'll get my clubs out of the trunk and walk back."

"What, why?"

"There's someone there who I want to surprise."

"Okay," he said.

I quietly walked around the side of the house and laid my clubs in the back yard then tiptoed up to the back screen door. I could barely hear voices which meant they were in the living room. Ever so gently, I opened the door and slipped into the kitchen. From there I could hear clearly. Leslie was speaking...

"I'm glad you didn't come; I'm not sure what Brian would have done. You're not his favorite person, you know. He hates the fact that we're still friends."

"I'm sure glad you're not like that, Les; I don't know what I'd have done if I'd lost you too."

"I guess I'm just more forgiving."

"I wish Arnie was more like you. The girls told me he met someone at your party. They didn't stop talking about her for three days. I guess I can forget about ever getting him back."

"Did you really think there was a chance for that?"

"No, not really, just wishful thinking I guess. I'll tell you, Les, if you're ever tempted to have a little fling, don't do it. At first, it's kind of exciting, but I'll go to my grave regretting what I did. I've lost everything, and whether I ever find a new guy or not, it'll never be the same. Every time the kids come back from a weekend with their father, I have to face the fact that he's no longer living at home because of me. Even after all this time, I still sometimes cry myself to sleep."

"You don't have to worry about me. Brian is the only man I want to have a fling with. We've been talking off and on about having a baby and I've decided to run out my birth control pills and not get a refill."

"That's wonderful, Les."

I'd heard enough so I quietly slipped out the way I came in. I picked up my clubs, walked to the front of the garage, and entered the code to open the overhead door. I knew Les would hear it. I came in through the garage entrance just as Les was shooing Sara out the front door.

"Is that Sara's car in the drive?"

"Yes, but she's leaving already so you don't have to throw her out." I just shook my head.

"How come you're back so early; didn't you play?"

"Yeah, but it was just Levi and me so it didn't take as long as it does when four of us were playing."

"How'd you do?"

"Not as bad as I thought I would. Levi's every bit as good as he said he was. We were talking about putting a regular foursome together. He has someone he works with in mind and I think I'll ask Jack Slater."

I again thought about expressing my displeasure with her maintaining a friendship with Sara, but then I thought, what's the use? All it will do is get us angry with each other again, so I kept my mouth shut.

As the summer progressed, things worked out. Levi and I put a foursome together and set up a standing tee time every Sunday morning; he and I were becoming good friends. Leslie, of course, accepted his proposal, but insisted on a long engagement. A month later, they eloped to Vegas; so much for the long engagement.

Epilogue:

Les says Sabrina can't stop thanking her for introducing her to Arnie. They've been dating hot and heavy since the party, and she joins him and the kids on the weekends. She was able to keep the house after the divorce, and has already asked Arnie to move in with her. I asked him if he was considering it and he told me he was already looking for someone to sublet his apartment.

It still wrangles me that Les has kept her friendship with Sara, but she has never favored her over Arnie or Leslie, nor has she slighted them in any way, so I've just backed off from saying anything, especially now. Les is off the pill and we're diligently working toward our first child.

I haven't seen or heard from Tony since that night in Plato's. I guess because I had known him the longest, his part in the whole mess hurt me the worst.

As my dad always says, "The only constant in life is change."

The End.