Golf Lessons Ch. 03

June looked down at the coffee cup on the table in front of herself, "I might be one of the few people who understands that."

I stood and offered June my hand, "I want to kiss you." When she stood up, I put my arms around her and kissed her gently, hugged her for a moment and whispered, "Actually, I like to do a lot more than kiss you, but I'll settle for a kiss this time."

"I'm not ... well, I haven't ... oh my. I'm not doing a very good job of explaining that I haven't been with a man since my husband's death."

I wasn't sure how to explain that I'd been monkish for the year following my divorce. I doubted she would accept that explanation as my very firm erection was pressing against her at the moment.

I heard them, but I didn't dare turn around to look at them. June pressed her forehead against the top of my chest, whispering, "We have an audience."

"I know," I responded as quietly as I could. "Wanna give them a show?"

June raised her head giving me her lips. I heard the applause and then I heard nothing as I reveled in the kiss this wonderful woman shared with me.

* * * *

By mutual consent, June and I took it slow because we both felt we had made what we thought were premature decisions when we married the first time. However, it was fairly obvious within a short time that what we had was the enduring kind of love. After a few weeks, June's brother remarked that he didn't understand why we were waiting for something to change. He said our children were more accepting of our romance than we thought.

Within a few days, we had moved all of June and Patty into our house. For the first time in her life, Patty had a big sister and a big brother and was the happiest young girl you could imagine. Cindy and Troy were so accustomed to having her around all the time they took the addition to the family in stride. Lulu's big smile returned to her normal grin in about a week.

After three months of no contact, the first time Stephanie called to request a weekend with Cindy, Troy, and Lulu, I had to apply some rather stern parental persuasion that they could not use having guests in the house as an excuse for not spending time with their mother. From what I learned, June answered the telephone when Stephanie called. She gave the telephone to Cindy who informed Steph that the stranger who answered the telephone would soon be her step-mother.

About the worst thing a mother can do, is make arrangements to pick up her children for a weekend but never show up and not answer her telephone when the children called. Later in the week, Steph called and gave an excuse that Cindy reported was less than believable.

The following weekend Stephanie called again and did show up as prearranged. However, it was quite a shock for her children to see their mother, who was obviously pregnant and wearing a wedding ring they knew nothing about. Moreover, her husband did not accompany her. It was several more months, the month before their half-brother's birth, before the children met their step-father. The relationship with their mother continued to decline, with none of the children seeming to miss her.

Following some late night discussions, some held after hours of love-making, I convinced June that she should marry me. Two weeks after the wedding, she finally agreed that four children were enough and I had a vasectomy. I did not want to risk that a pregnancy could do permanent damage to June's back.

Patty's custom of calling June, "Mother" rather than the less formal "Mom" or "Mamma" had Lulu calling her Mother within a few weeks. Troy took a little longer, but because he had always called Stephanie "Mom", he didn't feel disloyal using "Mother" for June. Cindy took a little longer. She spoke to June with more respect that I had ever heard her use with Stephanie. To her face, Cindy called her "Mother" but if she spoke to me, she used her given name.

I had given little attention to all of Lulu's forays into the old wooden boxes in the attic. I suppose I was aware she had found an old diary or journal. I certainly wasn't aware she had used the details of a courtship in the diary as the reference for a term project for her Creative Writing class. The teacher gave the paper to her husband to read. He was a human interest reporter for the metro newspaper of the nearest large city.

Lulu, the diary, and the house certainly captured the attention of a wide readership when the reporter appeared to look at the house. He and his photographer followed Lulu around the house as she pointed out the various places the diary mentioned as places where her great-grandmother and great-grandfather had held hands or stolen a kiss during their long courtship.

The newspaper articles, along with a short video on the evening newscast brought attention to the unsold land. Before Troy graduated from high school, all three of the children's college accounts were fully funded, the debt against my retirement was fully paid, and Stephanie had received her share.

The house was happy. That may seem like a strange statement, but it's true. The people who lived there laughed more often and the house seemed to absorb some of that joy. It also enjoyed showing off its unique style.

THE END