Miniature Golf

"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time," Madison said at the 8th hole.

She looked right at Neil then said, "Thank you."

The comment was so sincere it moved him.

"My pleasure," he said back just as sincerely.

For a second, he was almost certain she'd been 'looking' at him. Not just looking, but...looking. But just as he became away of it, she looked away and called out to her son to make his next putt.

"Are you from Bellingham?" Madison asked.

"No. I'm from pretty much all over," he told her without any explanation. "You?"

"No. I grew up in Portland, and Kenny and I moved here last year."

Madison wasn't wearing a wedding ring, but that didn't mean she wasn't married or living with someone, and Neil wasn't going to ask, but he sensed she wanted to say something so he waited patiently until she spoke.

"I moved here after Kenny's father walked away," she said.

That answered one question, but raised another. Why? Why did he walk away?

"There's a new surgical technique for amblyopia—a lazy eye—and I wanted us to start saving for it, but my husband felt it was a waste of money. He said Kenny just needed to toughen up and learn to deal with it the way other kids dealt with other physical issues. I was so shocked by that I didn't know what to say. I mean, when he was little it didn't matter. But the last three years have been really hard on him. The teachers try and stop it, but you know how many times a day kids have the opportunity to say or do something when no one's looking. Anyway, that just kills me. He pretends like it doesn't matter, but I know it hurts him when he gets teased. And the older he gets, the worse the teasing will get. So, long story short, it became such an issue my husband just packed up one day and walked out."

With that question now answered, too, Neil wanted to ask a question about the surgery, but Madison kept him from talking.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know you, and here I am going on and on about my personal problems. I should have just answered your question and stopped talking."

"I'm glad you didn't," Neil told her. "I've always tried to put myself in someone else's shoes whenever they get teased or bullied. It's hard enough for an adult to deal with some major change in their appearance, but a child? I honestly can't imagine. So, for what it's worth, I agree with you completely about doing anything you can to make life better for your son."

"You're very kind, Neil," she said very sincerely. "I would love to meet someone as kind and compassionate as you, but I haven't had much luck in that department lately. Well...ever."

When he tried to respond, Madison said, "See? There I go again. I'm not normally like this, I promise you."

"I like you...like this," Neil told her with a smile.

Feeling emboldened he said, "And why keep looking for someone like me now that you've met the real thing?"

He made sure to keep smiling so she wouldn't think he was conceited.

Madison laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh as she said, "If you were a few years older, I'd..."

She stopped speaking, looked away, then said, "Where's that boy of mine?"

Kenny'd wandered off the course and was looking up at something.

"Kenny! What are you doing?" his mother asked once she found him.

"Look, Mom. There's a bird's nest. See?" he said, pointing up above.

Neil was right beside Madison and said, "I'll be. It sure is."

"It's probably a finch. Finches are very popular here in Washington," Kenny announced.

"Once he gets something in his head that becomes the truth," Madison said as she leaned toward Neil.

"He might be right," Neil replied as he watched a bird fly into the nest.

"Come on, buddy. We've got one more hole to go," Madison told her son.

"Okay. I'm gonna make a hole-in-one this time, Neil! Do you wanna watch me?"

"I do," Neil told him as he put his arm around the boy's shoulder.

Madison stayed a step behind and allowed herself to enjoy watching her son have a good time. She tried not to feel sorry for herself, but it really was hard meet a decent guy. The truth was that even many decent guys wouldn't want to raise another man's child especially one who needed a very expensive procedure.

She nearly laughed when she told herself that she'd actually just met a decent guy, but he was much too young to even think about in that way. But as she watched him walk with her son, she had to admit he was an awfully handsome man, albeit a very young one.

Kenny made his hole-in-one in just six shots, but no one mentioned that when the putt finally went in. Both Neil and his mom cheered for him and said, "Great job, honey!" and "Nice work, dude!"

Kenny hammed it up and bowed, and both adults laughed which only made Kenny act up even more.

"Thank you. Thank you, very much, ladies and gentlemen," he said as though he were playing to a much larger audience.

"Okay, kiddo. You ready to go home?" his mom asked.

His smile disappeared, and Madison felt terrible.

"Do we have to?" he asked. "Can't we play again?"

"No, sorry. We only paid for nine holes, so that's it."

"Not even one more?" the boy pleaded.

"It's okay with me if you don't mind," Neal said quietly, his head turned so Kenny couldn't hear. "No one else is here, and I'll be closing up soon anyway."

"Are you sure?" Madison asked.

"Positive. Besides, I kinda like hanging out with the two of you," he told her, only this time he smiled.

His reply surprised her and caused Madison to tilt her head a little before saying, "Well, okay. Maybe one more?"

That was the only thing Kenny heard, and he immediately called out, "Yes!" before running off to find his favorite hole with the windmill.

As Neil was putting the putters away a few minutes later, he again told Madison how much he'd enjoyed spending time with her and Kenny.

She gave a different kind of look but didn't respond. Instead, she smiled and asked how much they owed.

"Nothing," Neil told her.

"No. That's not right. We didn't come here expecting something for free," Madison said as she pulled her wallet out of her purse.

"It's Kenny's birthday, so this is my present," Neil told her with a slight bow of his own and a smile.

Kenny's face lit up then, without warning, he stepped toward Neil and put his arms around his waist.

"This was the best birthday ever!" he said as he hugged the tall, older man.

"Yeah?" Neil replied. "So maybe you'll come back and see me then."

As Kenny spun around to ask his mom if they could, she shook her head and said, "Oh...I...I don't think so, honey."

Money was a huge issue, and even a few dollars was a big deal to her.

Neil opened the cash register then pulled out two tickets for a free round and asked, "Will this get you to come back?"

Kenny went to take them then looked at his mom who wanted to say 'no', but the look on her son's face forced to say, "Okay. But please tell Neil thank you."

Kenny not only thanked him he hugged his favorite new friend again. This time, Neil bent down a little and hugged the boy back.

As Kenny let go he said, "Neil? Will you be my friend?"

Madison thought about saying that wasn't a polite thing to ask, but before she could Neil was telling him, "Are you kidding? I'd love to be your friend!"

The nine-year's face lit up again as Neil handed him the tickets.

"Make sure your mom brings you back here soon, okay, new friend of mine," Neil told him.

"I will. I promise!" Kenny told him.

Not surprisingly, no one had shown up, so Neil walked Madison over to her car. Kenny opened his own door and got in, and once he did, Madison finally said something that was on her mind.

"Neil? You...you were wonderful with Kenny this evening, but...well, I...if we come back, I'm just concerned that he's going to get attached to you, and..."

"I understand. Your fear is he'll enjoy being around me, but I won't want to take the time to be around him," he said, supplying the missing words to complete her thought.

"I'm not implying you're a bad person. You're obviously not. But Kenny will kind of...glom on...to any man who shows him any kind of attention."

"Then the obvious solution is for us to spend even more time together," Neil said, causing Madison to laugh just a bit.

"Right. You and me spending time together. Okay. Sure," she said, in a playful-yet-serious kind of way.

Neil stopped smiling then said, "I wasn't joking, Madison. I'd actually like spending more time with you, and I'd love to spend even more time together—with you."

He paused, looked inside the vehicle where Kenny waved at him, then said, "And with Kenny."

Madison stood there and looked at him for a couple of seconds then said, "You...you're not...are you...are you serious?"

"You sound surprised. Maybe even shocked."

"I...I kind of am," Madison told him.

Neil smiled again then said, "Okay. I get it. You can't see yourself with a guy who hands out putters. That makes sense. I mean, a beautiful woman like you could do a whole lot better than a guy who works at a place like this."

He knew that was likely a part of it, but most importantly, he was clearly a lot younger than her, and although she looked young and beautiful, Madison didn't look 21 or even 25.

"I don't know you at all, but I can tell you're a very intelligent young man, Neil. So I'm quite sure this isn't your final destination in the world of work. But that's not the issue."

"Okay. I understand," he said, waiting for her to relax.

"Thank you," she replied. "I didn't want to have to spell it out for you."

Neil kind of hung his head then scuffed his shoe on the pavement before saying, "I get it. You're an incredibly beautiful woman, and I'm just your average Joe, so..."

"What? Hold on. What did you just say?" Madison asked, his little ruse working perfectly.

"The issue. The one you don't want to have to spell out. I...I get it. I broke the code. You're out of my league, and I can't argue with you. But I really do have higher aspirations for my career, and that spills over into my search for a future partner to travel life's road with. Obviously, I've set my sights a little too high, so...I get it."

Beginning to understand what was going on, Madison smiled then laughed. It wasn't a loud laugh nor was it long, but it was a laugh.

"Okay. I see what you're doing here," she said, now smiling herself. "That was actually very convincing acting for a moment there. You trying to play the poor, innocent 'I'm not handsome enough' thing to avoid talking about the, um...the elephant in the room."

Neil stood up very straight, opened his eyes widely, then said, "So I...am...handsome enough?"

Madison tried not to laugh, but this time, his charm was too much.

"You're...quite handsome, Neil. And I'm sure there are all kinds of girls your age who'd love to spend time with you," she told him.

"But I'd prefer to spend my time with you," he replied, the smile now gone.

Again, she stood there just looking at him and wondered why he was doing this.

"You do know I have a nine-year old son, right?" she said, hoping that would help him understand her point of view.

He looked back into the car, and again, Kenny waved at him, a big old smile on his face.

"Yep. I figured that one out all by myself, too. And for the record, I enjoy spending time with him, as well," Neil told her, still smiling at her.

"No. That's...that's not it," Madison said, now getting frustrated that he was being so stubborn.

"No?" Neil replied as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Neil, please," she pleaded. "Just add it all up. A boy who's nine means I'm...old—er."

"Old..er...than what?"

His reply was exasperating, and she let out a loud, "Ugh!" then said, "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "At least nothing that I'm aware of anyway."

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were."

"Or maybe I'm right and you're just afraid to admit it?" he asked with another, smaller shrug of the shoulders.

"You're not going to stop, are you?" she said, a new kind of look on her face.

"I will once you agree to go out with me," Neil told her as he moved a step closer.

Madison was so completely taken aback, all she could do was stare at him.

"One date," Neil said, his smile back in full force. "After that, if you ask me to leave you alone, I will."

When Madison neither spoke nor changed the expression on her face, Neil said, "Scout's honor," as he held up three fingers in the Scout salute.

"Wait. You're not seeing someone, are you?" he asked as the human statue continued to stare at him.

"No. I'm...I'm not seeing anyone," she told him, her words quiet and almost monotone.

"So that means there's no reason we can't go out, right. And it's just one date."

Neil moved a bit closer, smiled again, then said again, "Right?"

"Does putt-putt count?" she managed to ask, as her eyes began moving quickly between his.

Neil kind of closed one eye, scratched his head, then looked up at her and said, "Um...no. I'm not seein' that. Don't get me wrong. I'm hoping you'll use the tickets I gave you, but no. That definitely wouldn't count."

"Are you...are you even old enough to...to go to a bar?" she asked, her voice still small, and her throat now very dry.

"I am," he told her as though it was obvious. "Why? Is that where you'd like to go on our first date?"

"First date?" Madison asked, the emphasis on the word 'first' being very strong.

Before Neil could reply, Kenny opened the door and called out, "Mom! What's taking you so long?"

"I'll...I'll be right there, honey," she called back.

Kenny was looking at them between the crack of the door and the frame of the car and said something that shocked his mother even more than Neil's attempts to ask her out.

"Are you guys gonna kiss or something?" Kenny said rather loudly.

"What? Oh, my...goodness!" Madison said as she shook her head. "This...this is completely out of control!"

Neil moved close enough that he was now just inches in front of Madison then said, "If you'll say 'yes', I promise I won't kiss you until after our first date."

When her jaw dropped, and her eyes bugged out, Neil managed not to laugh.

"That offer won't last long, Madison. I suggest you say 'yes' and end the torture."

She made a kind of scoffing or snorting noise then said, "Torture. That's exactly what this is. This...this is just...torture!"

"So was that a 'yes'?" Neil asked, as he looked down into her eyes and smiled.

Madison was so shaken up, she looked away and tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go.

"Okay. Yes," she said without looking at him.

"Yes? Really?" Neil replied, as he bent his head sideways to get her to look up at him.

"I...I must be losing my mind," she said quietly as she looked into his eyes. "But, okay. I'll go out with you. Once."

Again, there was a very strong emphasis on one word at that word was 'once.'

"Well, that was easy," Neil said, only adding to her exasperation.

"May I please leave now?" she asked, as she really looked into his eyes which made her heart flutter.

"With or without the kiss?" he said, pretending to be very serious.

"Without. Definitely without," she said, not just pretending to be serious.

"May I at least get your phone number?" Neil asked, adding insult to injury.

"Will that let me get away from you?" she replied, her heart beating faster as he stood close enough to her that she could almost feel his warm breath on her face.

"Uh-huh. Yes, it will," he assured her.

Madison said each digit then asked if Neil was going to write it down.

"No need. I won't forget," he told her before stepping aside and opening the door for her.

As she stepped around him and got in, he leaned in and said goodbye to Kenny.

"Bye, Neil!" the boy said excitedly.

"Remember. Come back and see me soon, okay?"

"I will!" he told him.

Not sure what to do next, Madison just sat there until Neil smiled at her and said,"Drive carefully."

He closed her door, waved goodbye to Kenny, then just smiled at his now very-rattled mother who couldn't believe she'd just agreed to go out with...a kid. But as she drove away, she smiled when she thought to herself, "A very handsome kid, though."

The truth was, Madison did have trouble with men. Meeting them was hard enough, but the real issue was Kenny. He not only had the issue with his eye, he was more than a little socially awkward, something she knew he'd outgrow in time. She knew that if they could align his eyes, he was actually a very cute boy who would one day be as handsome as his father, a very attractive man himself, but hopefully not as shallow.

Madison's confidence had returned by the time she got home, but it took another big hit when she saw a text from none other than Neil when she got inside.

"Hi, Madison. I wanted to apologize for the rather...odd conversation...but I knew the only way a woman like you would ever agree to go out with a guy like, well...a guy my age...was with a little...cajoling. If that came across the wrong way, it wasn't meant to at all. And the truth is I do recognize the difference in our ages. I understand that might be a 'bridge too far' for you, but it doesn't matter to me in the least. So my hope is you'll give me an opportunity to prove to you I'm not just some 'college boy' hoping to swoop in then run away, but a thoughtful, caring guy; one who, by the way, happens to find you incredibly attractive. I had a whole lot of fun tonight playing putt-putt with you and Kenny, and I really am looking forward to going out with you. And if you'd feel better by bringing Kenny with you, that would be fine by me. In fact, I'd actually prefer it if it was all three of us. So if I haven't scared you off, I'd love to know what kinds of things you enjoy. I'm happy to decide, but I think decisions made together are usually better. I look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you again—soon."

"Mom? Are you listening?" she heard Kenny say, knowing she hadn't been.

"Oh. Sure. I'm listening," she replied before asking, "What did you just say?" proving she hadn't been.

As her son looked at her, his left eye, as always, was about 30 degrees to the side. And, as always, it nearly broke her heart. He was far more than this one issue, but the reality of life was that other boys—and girls—wouldn't see anything else unless that was corrected. And as of right then she had a grand total of a $157 in her savings account and no insurance that would cover that kind of procedure.

"Sorry, honey. I...I was just distracted. Can you please tell me one more time?"

"When can we play putt-putt again?" he asked.

"Oh. Right. That," she said as she recalled the events of what was perhaps the most unusual evening of her entire life. "Um...soon, okay?"

"Okay!" he said, satisfied with the answer before running off having no idea the confusion meeting Neil Monroe was causing his mother.

When Neil got home he sought out his father as soon as he set his keys down.

"Did Tiger Woods stop by tonight?" his dad asked as soon as Neil walked into the living room where he was watching TV or at least had it on to keep him company.

"No. Not tonight, Dad. But I'm not givin' up hope," his son replied.

"It's really amazing how his whole life unraveled after his wife found about his...philandering," Keith said about the world's one-time greatest golfer.

"Yeah. He lost his marriage and hasn't won much of anything since."

"I have to assume playing under the pressure of keeping things secret might have been some kind of powerful motivator that helped keep his mind sharply focused."

"Geez, I don't know, Dad. Seems like it might be the opposite, but what do I know?"