Miniature Golf

And although she was also unaware of thinking it, her brain had clearly heard and understood Neil's comments about his parents. So while that still seemed very unlikely, she was okay with knowing that was always an option were the unlikely to somehow become more likely.

"I have 80's hair, don't I?" she asked rather than acknowledge the compliment.

"Um...not really," Neil told her. "You kind of had 80's hair when it was, you know..."

He held his hands way out to the side of his head to indicate how big her hair got, and she found herself laughing again and feeling like nothing had changed. That wasn't exactly true as she realized things had changed. They'd just changed for the better.

As they walked around the last few exhibits, Madison waited until Neil looked at her then glanced down as she held out her hand. Neil smiled and took it immediately and held it until the got back out to the car.

"That place was awesome!" Kenny said once they were outside.

"I'm glad you liked it," Neil told him.

"I had fun, too," Madison let him know.

"Enough to maybe get together again with me in the not-too-distant future?"

"Maybe," she said in a playful way.

"I now know you well enough to know that that meant 'yes'," Neil told her as he opened her door.

"Oh, really?" she replied as though he had no actual idea.

"Yep. And I also know you kinda like me now."

"Well, well. Someone is awfully sure of himself," she teased as she slid in.

"That's me. Confident but not cocky," Neil told her before closing the door just as she smiled at him in the sweetest way she had so far.

"Can Neil come inside?" Kenny asked when they pulled into their place.

"You have school tomorrow, my friend," his mom reminded him.

"Ahhh!"

"Hey, I let you stay up over an hour past your bedtime so we could go out tonight, so no more 'ahhs', okay?"

"Okay," he said without enthusiasm.

Neil insisted on walking her to the door even when she told him that wasn't necessary.

"By 'not necessary' you really mean you want me to, but you don't want to make me feel like I have to," Neil told her.

"Wow. Your ESP is really working tonight, huh?" she replied, a warm, happy smile on her beautiful face.

"I don't know about that, but I do know I want to walk you to the door," he told her as Kenny got out.

"Okay," she replied just as sweetly as she'd smiled at him.

Kenny asked for the key, so his mom gave it to him. What she didn't know was he was planning on going inside so his mom could be alone with Neil. And with any luck—maybe kiss him goodnight.

"Where did my son go?" Madison asked when he unlocked the door and disappeared right after telling Neil 'thank you' and that he had a great time as he ran ahead of them.

"Me, too, bud..." he tried saying as the boy zipped inside.

"I had a very nice time tonight, Neil," Madison admitted with another smile.

"Same here. And I really would like to see you again."

"I have the putt-putt tickets," she reminded him.

"Right. And I'll be working there tomorrow night."

"Well, maybe we'll see you there then."

"I'd like that."

"Yeah. I think I would, too," Madison told him, the same sweet smile still directed at him.

There was an awkward moment after their eyes locked and just before Neil slowly leaned her way. He made sure to stay on the side so she wouldn't pull away then kissed her on the cheek. Madison continued smiling and told him goodnight after thanking him again.

What she didn't tell him was that she wished he'd have actually kissed her, another thought that brought on a different-but-equally frustrating kind of confusion as she walked inside.

As she did, she saw Kenny pulling away from the window as the curtain fell back into place.

"Oh, my. Were we spying on our mother?" she asked.

"Kind of," Kenny said, a big smile on his face, and as always, one eye pointed away from her.

"Come here," his mom said.

She hugged her son and told him she loved him then said, "Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, okay?"

"Mom? You don't have to tuck me in anymore," he informed her.

"What? Where's that coming from?"

"Well, I'm gonna be ten in next year, and isn't that too old to be tucked in?"

"Hmmm. Maybe," his mom said. "But as long as none of the guys know, it won't matter, right?"

Kenny thought about for a second then smiled.

"Right!" he said as he hugged his mom again before skipping away, happier than she'd seen him in years.

The reason for his good mood was so obvious it didn't need to be said. The only question needing to be asked was whether or not she was making a huge mistake. For now, at least, it didn't feel that way, Neil's age aside; an age she couldn't even allow herself to say out loud or to herself because it might tarnish the shine of her own amazingly good mood.

Neil's post-date reception was also positive as Keith Monroe asked his son how things and went. Neil told him 'great' and that he really liked her and her son.

"Fantastic. You seeing her again?"

"Yeah. They're coming back to the putt-putt course tomorrow evening."

"Good deal," his father said, and with that, their 'discussion' was over before adding, "Oh. The weather guy said summer's over tomorrow. Things are turning to shit in the next 24 hours, so keep that in mind."

"Great," Neil muttered before going upstairs to finish the reading he had to get done before the following day's classes.

The only problem was he couldn't concentrate. He read the first paragraph of the first page three times and realized if it wasn't about Madison he wasn't interested. He looked at his phone then pulled it out and decided to send her a text.

"Medusa, are you still up?"

He added a bunch of silly emojis then continued.

"I'm having a very hard time concentrating because all I can think of is this beautiful woman I just went out with. Any advice?"

He didn't get a reply right away, so he tried going back to his reading and managed to get through a few pages before his phone buzzed. He dropped the book immediately and grabbed his phone.

"Medusa, huh? Gee, thanks—buddy!"

She added some smiley faces, too, then continued.

"That's so weird because I'm experiencing the same thing. I did manage to get my son in bed which is why I didn't answer you right away, but other than that I've got a one-track mind. So I wish I could help, but whatever you have seems to be going around."

She added some smiley faces then sent it.

"Is it okay if I call you?" Neil wrote in reply. "If it's too late, I understand. I guess I'm just thinking that if I'm gonna lay here thinking about you, it might be nice to actually talk to you."

Madison smiled at his text then responded.

"If you think that might help, I'm game."

Her phone rang seconds later, and before she knew it, it was nearly midnight. She didn't want to hang up, but she had to get some sleep.

"That's okay. I really need to get this reading done, and now I'll at least be able to concentrate," Neil replied.

"Again, thank you for a lovely evening, Neil. And I think I learned more about you on the phone the last couple of hours than I did during the other times we spent together. I really appreciate your being so open and honest with me."

She hesitated then said, "Oh, and after all this I can honestly say that I definitely like you."

Neil was mostly unaware he'd been hard the entire time they were talking as he visualized her pretty face and her new hairstyle. And her body and her...

"You just made my day. And night," he told her. "And in case you forgot, I like you, too, Madison. I...really like you."

Madison smiled happily then said, "Goodnight, Neil. I'll see you at the mini-golf place tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Madison, and I'm already looking forward to seeing you again. Sweet dreams."

Madison no sooner stepped through the door at work the next morning when Gabby nearly jumped her.

"So? How did it go? Tell me everything!"

What could have been a very short description of events took nearly ten minutes as Gabby stopped her friend at every turn asking what this or that meant or how it made Madison feel.

"I had a really nice time, Gabby, and as long as I don't let myself think about our age difference, I think I really like him."

"And Kenny loves the guy, right?"

"Oh, my goodness! Every single thing he says involves Neil."

"So this is a good thing, right" Gabby asked, hoping to hear a very strong 'yes'.

"Like I said, he has no plans of staying in Bellingham or even the local area, so along with our ages that concerns me. Then again, we've only gone out once, so it's not like I'm planning a wedding or anything. But I have to say our phone call was pretty wonderful."

Gabby's face was filled with expectation as she said, "But who knows, right? You could be planning a wedding. I mean, it's at least possible, isn't it?"

Rather than laugh her off, Madison got serious.

"I honestly don't know, Gabby, but we're using our free tickets for miniature golf tonight, and I guess we'll see how it goes from there."

"Maddy? I am so happy for you!" Gabby told her BFF even though Madison had made it clear things were still tentative because of her two, very-big concerns.

"You know, my brother was a Marine about 15 years ago. I'm gonna ask him some questions, because like you, I really don't know anything about the military other than they march around and shoot guns and stuff."

Gabby had no idea how little she really knew, but then, there was no need for her to know. As long as she could enjoy the freedoms people like her brother and Neil's father had provided, she was content to leave the details to those who had some reason to know. But she did want to see if her brother could possibly tell her anything that might be of help to her friend.

The only person not exhausted the following morning was Kenny, who talked non-stop starting with breakfast and ending only when he got to school. He went back and forth between the 'electricity place' and their return to the miniature golf course; the golf course where Neil worked. Neil. His new best friend.

Too tired to say much more than, "Yeah," or "Uh-uh," the entire time, his mom was content to let her son talk as she sat there thinking about how her feelings about her own new friend, who also happened to be named Neil, had somehow changed so rapidly and so dramatically.

As she expected, her son was all-Neil, all of the time from the time she picked him up from school until they finally got home. And the time the spent at the putt-putt course was the 'best' as Kenny almost never took a breath except when he was hitting the ball, and even then he usually kept on jabbering away.

"He really doesn't talk like that," Madison told Neil during a rare moment of silence.

"But you did say he's pretty much happy all of the time, right?"

"Yes. Almost always. The only exception being when someone teases him about..."

"Tell me more about this new procedure," Neil said as they walked around by themselves. There was a younger couple that stopped by around 8pm, but otherwise they had the place all to themselves again.

"It's done while the patient is awake. The ophthalmologist puts sutures into the eye muscle needing correction. The patient then gets up so the doctor can see whether or not the muscle needs to pulled a little more or less. Once the eye is aligned it's over."

"Wow. That seems a lot smarter than having to have several surgeries hoping to get it right," Neil observed.

"Exactly. But it's very expensive and the salon doesn't offer anything more than basic healthcare, so a procedure covering strabismus—a lazy eye—is something that's going to take a very long time for me to save up enough money."

Neil started to say something supportive when Madison apologized for bringing up her problems again.

"Why?" Neil asked in a very gentle way. "I really like you, Madison, so anything you think is a problem is something I want to hear about."

"I'm going to apologize again, because this time I'm about to bring up my ex, so please understand," she said, setting the stage.

"No, that's fine, too. You were married before, and that won't ever change. I'm not the jealous type, and he's still Kenny's father, so please feel free to mention him anytime the situation dictates."

Madison loved the way Neil talked. It was one more thing that made her feel younger whenever she was around him.

"I was just going to say that I would have given anything to hear him say what you just said about something that concerns me being a concern to you or however you put it."

"Well, that's true, and it always will be," Neil said.

"Always?" Madison said very sweetly with a little smile.

Neil smiled back then said, "Do you have any idea how much I want to k..."

"Mom! Neil! Did you see?" Kenny hollered out and catching them both by surprise.

"Uh-oh," Madison said, smiling happily as she knew exactly what Neil almost said.

"I did it! I made a hole-in-one for real this time!"

"Wow. Nice shot, buddy!" Neil told him as they high fived.

"Neil? Do they have putt-putt golf on TV?" Kenny asked.

"Oh, wow. You know, I don't think so. But if you were really, really good, who knows?"

Kenny beamed from ear to ear and said, "Awesome!" as he happily moved on to the next hole.

Madison came up alongside of Neil and took his hand.

"Oh, hello there," he said.

"Hi," she replied, still smiling. "For the record I really wanted you to kiss then, too."

"Oh?" Neil said, his right eyebrow way up high.

Madison laughed then told him, "Uh-huh."

"Do you...still want me to kiss you?"

"Uh-huh," she replied as she moved to face him.

"Well, then be it far from me to disappoint a beautiful woman."

Neil smiled at her, put his hands on her upper arms then kissed her softly for the first time.

Madison had no idea she was so hungry for human contact and especially from a very handsome, male human being like Neil Monroe. She wanted to put her arms around him and not only kiss him more passionately but maybe even a little more.

But being a good girl she settled for a very nice, very sweet first kiss.

"Was it worth waiting for?" Neil asked hopefully.

"Oh, yes. Very much so," she told him as he took her hand to go follow Kenny.

The boy wasn't putting, though. He'd stopped to watch, and when they turned his way, he was all smiles.

"I do believe my son just saw us kissing," Madison said as they walked toward him.

"Do you think he's okay with that?" Neil asked just as Kenny told them it was about time.

Madison laughed a happy laugh then said, "I believe he is," as Neil squeezed her hand then put his arm around her.

Kenny's next question, however, threw them both for a loop.

"Are you guys in love?" he naively asked with a shy smile.

"What?" his shocked mother asked as she watched Neil trying not to smile.

"Don't look at me," Neil told her.

"Well, no. I mean, we really just met, so we can't be in love yet," his mom tried to explain.

"You guys met a long time ago," Kenny countered. "It's already been like a week ago or so."

"He has a point," Neil told her, unable not to smile.

"Don't feed the beast," Madison told him as she looked up into his eyes.

"I'm not a beast!" Kenny told her, assuming that's what she'd meant.

"No. Honey, that's not what that means. It's just a saying."

"Well, Kenny IS a beast on the putt-putt course," Neil said, saving the day. "You did see his hole-in-one, right?"

Kenny was beaming again and all was well. And as Madison looked up at this handsome younger man, she felt like all was well for the first time in ages.

"My son is pretty amazing, isn't he?" she told her...boyfriend?

Since no one was there Madison stayed with Neil until closing time. Kenny surprised her by being able to sit quietly with them and talk without needing to interrupt or get up and do something every other minute.

"So...what will you be doing in the Marines?" Madison asked.

Neil didn't tell her that Marines never said 'in the Marines'. They used both words almost every time they spoke of the Corps or just referred to it as 'the Corps'.

"I want to fly. Helicopters. I'll take jets but I really want helos. Almost everyone wants jets, but my dad loved being a rotary wing pilot, and that's what I want, too."

Madison had question after question as each new topic came up.

"So where is that? Where would you go if that happened? How often are you gone? Will you have to go to war?"

She didn't realize until later she was doing the same thing her son had been doing only on an adult level. And just like before, Neil fielded each question and provided thoughtful responses. In the rare case where he didn't know he didn't try and blow smoke up her skirt, he just told her he'd have to find out.

Like many civilians, Madison assumed all servicemen and women lived on a shoestring budget, supplemented by food stamps and other government programs. She didn't know a general from a private or a major from a sergeant major, so Neil did his best to explain the rank structure in a simple, easy-to-understand way. Even so, Madison still didn't 'get it', but she was extremely surprised to find out that officers made a whole lot more money than she'd ever imagined. In fact, it was more money than she'd ever seen in her life.

"So in five years or so, I'll be a captain, and with flight pay, a family could live very comfortably on just what I make."

"A family, huh?" Madison said with that beautiful smile of hers.

"Uh-huh. Even a ready-made family," Neil told her as he smiled back.

"I wanna fly planes, too!" Kenny said out of the blue, interrupting a very tender moment.

"Well, just keep working hard in school, get good grades, then graduate from college and OCS and you can fly, too," Neil told him.

That prompted a question about what OCS was, and as Neil tried to explain, Madison sat there and realized this young man was so much more than just a 'pretty' face. He had character, goals, high moral standards, good values, and commitment. And by the time she got ready to take Kenny home, she had a huge amount of respect for him even though she really had no idea what he'd be doing day to day other than flying.

As Neil opened her door, he asked if he'd scared her off with all of his Marine Corps talk as he put his arms around her.

"No. Just the opposite, in fact," she told him, a warm smile on her pretty face.

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

"So you DO like me, don't you?" he teased.

"I guess I do," she teased back. "And who knows, maybe I might possibly...more than just like you."

Imitating Kenny, but not in a mean way, Neil did a fist pump and said, "Yes!"

Madison laughed a happy laugh then pulled herself close to Neil and stood there with him unaware her son was watching and smiling the entire time.

"I kind of more than just like you, too, Madison," Neil told her quietly as he stroked her long, silky hair.

"Yeah?" she said, just as he had moments ago.

"Uh-huh," he replied, using her response.

"Enough to kiss me again?" she asked, her eyes bright and alive.

"Way more than that," he told her.

Just as their lips met, the first plops of rain began falling, and Neil remembered what his dad had about the weather turning bad.

"No! Not now!" Madison said as Neil pulled back.

"I'll make it up to you soon," he told her.

"You promise?" she asked as the rain picked up.

"Yes. I promise. Now get in before your beautiful hair gets all wet."

"I don't care if it gets wet," Madison told him, wanting him to kiss her again more than she wanted anything else.

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh," she replied as the skies opened up and it began to pour.

Neil kissed her and Madison hungrily kissed him back, immediately offering her tongue, and as the two of them got soaked to the bone in less than a minute, they never stopped kissing. Or wanting each other.