Miniature Golf

"You gonna be okay?" Neil asked the beautiful woman who was totally drenched.

"I've never been better in my entire life," she told him in a way that said to Neil that she meant those words. And that's because Madison did mean them.

"Same here," Neil told her before saying she really did need to get in the car.

"Will you text me?" she asked before getting in.

"I will," he promised.

She kissed him again, smiled happily, then said, "Goodnight, Neil."

"Goodnight...sweetheart," he told her over the noise of the rain.

He couldn't possibly have seen the tears of joy welling up in her eyes once she got in and drenched the cloth driver's seat, but they were there, hidden by the water rolling down her cheeks.

Neil tapped on the glass and waved to Kenny who smiled and waved back. He never moved until they were completely out of sight, and that's when Neil Monroe realized he was in love with Madison Hall.

He closed up the course, set the alarm, then laid a huge towel down on his seat before climbing in and heading home.

"You looked like a drowned rat," his dad said when Neil came in. He'd stripped down to nothing and had the towel wrapped around his waist.

"Yeah, I suppose I do," his son replied. "But it was so worth it."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Totally," Neil said before giving his dad the 'nickel version' of events.

"Invite them over for dinner," the elder Monroe suggested. "I'd love to meet her and that boy of hers."

Neil said he would and did so a little later once he was dried off and alone with his thoughts and his phone.

"I'd love to," Madison texted back in reply.

Neil assured her he'd explained the age difference as well as how his father had responded, and that reassured her enough that she was looking forward to meeting him.

"Is Saturday evening okay?" Neil asked.

"Yes. Any night would be okay," she told him along with several pink hearts.

"You said I didn't scare you off tonight with all my 'shop talk', but if I scare you off now, please forgive me, but I want you to know I'm really falling for you, Madison."

The sudden change in the conversation's direction surprised her, but the surprise was the best kind. Her heart fluttered when she read his words, and in return she told him she was also falling for him.

They texted for a few more minutes when Neil told her he absolutely had to study for a test, and Madison assured him she understood.

This time, when Neil said 'goodnight' to her, she texted back, "Goodnight, honey," adding an entire row of hearts, as her own beat faster.

"I love that you wrote that," he told her.

"I loved writing it," she replied, unable to stop smiling.

Neil forced himself to focus, and got all of his studying done while Madison lay in bed wide awake, too excited to sleep. She knew all of this was happening very fast, and she even laughed when she thought, "But it has been a week or so," just as Kenny had said.

Fast or not, she already trusted Neil, and she allowed herself to finally believe she might just have found that special someone; someone who would not only love her but her son, too. And with those thoughts and feelings swirling around in her head, her left hand somehow made its way to a place it hadn't been in a very long time.

Kenny was sound asleep, and Madison allowed her mind, and her heart, to roam freely as she just made gentle circles somewhere that was now very swollen and tender. It didn't take long for her body to tense as hard as it ever had before releasing and tensing again several more times as a flood of chemicals flowed through her brain bathing it in a warm glow of loving feelings and creating even more desire for the handsome young man she now knew she loved, too.

Madison wore a light-gray sweater and a dark-gray skirt to the Monroe's home that Saturday evening, along with a pair of 2 1/2 inch matching heels she felt were appropriate but still attractive.

From the moment she walked in, Keith made her feel like she was part of the family, and Madison loved his dry sense of humor and his genuine kindness and concern. Like his son, Keith Monroe was wonderful with Kenny, and he found himself having as much fun with Neil's dad as he had with Neil himself.

Keith showed the boy his 'I love me' wall, the one room in the house that was a tribute to his 30 years of service to the nation. There were photos of CH-53s picking up huge loads of cargo or filled with Marines as well as his original commission, his promotion to colonel, and his retirement certificate signed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

"This is SO cool!" Kenny said before asking if he could see the older man's uniforms.

"I haven't seen my dad like this since my mom was alive," Neil said as they headed to a back room to look in the closet where the uniforms were hung and neatly spaced exactly three inches apart.

"Why is there a chicken on your uniform?" Kenny asked, causing Keith to laugh heartily.

"That, my young friend, is an American eagle," Keith gently corrected.

"Sorry. I thought it was a chicken," the boy said, looking up at him with just one eye making contact. Keith smiled back at him, clapped him on the shoulders then said it was time to go eat.

The conversation was happy and lively until Keith mentioned his late wife during the course of the evening. Madison got very quiet then told him how sorry she was. She still had no idea how Beth had died, and when Keith explained, it brought tears to her eyes. Neil wasn't sure, but it almost looked like his father, who was 'hard as woodpecker lips', might have glassy eyes, too.

"So...how about a glass of wine?" Keith suddenly suggested to lighten the mood.

By the time she left, Madison herself felt like she really was a part of this family. It was amazing to her how completely comfortable she felt after spending just three hours with Keith—and Neal.

As she was driving home, she had no idea Keith told his son he'd be happy to watch that young man of Madison's if they ever wanted some alone time.

"Wait. You...babysit?" Neil said.

"Don't look so surprised there—Candidate," his father said, pretending to address him like Neil was back at OCS. "I watched you more than a few times, and I'd say you turned out...reasonably okay."

"If you're serious," Neil replied.

"He's a great kid," Keith said. "It's a damn shame about that eye."

Neil explained the new procedure for correcting strabismus, a term he'd never heard before Madison mentioned it, and his dad said, "You know the Marine Corps will pay for that, right?"

Neil understood immediately. Were he to marry Madison, they would have first-rate healthcare, and access to anything Kenny needed.

"Right. Yes it would," Neil said, wondering why that thought hadn't crossed his mind before. Then it hit him that he'd been too busy falling in love with Kenny's mother to think about such things, but his father was correct.

"Dad? How long would you be willing to watch Kenny?" his son asked, knowing his father would 'break the code' immediately.

"Long enough," came the reply with a little 'you rascal, you' kind of smile.

When Neil pitched the idea to Madison, her heart did more than flutter.

"Are you sure he's really okay with that?" she asked even after Neil had assured her he was.

"Yep. One-hundred percent."

"And you and I can...have some alone time?" she asked, her smile now even more beautiful than Neil could ever remember.

"Uh-huh. Just you and me. Alone. Together."

Madison purred and told him, "In that case, I accept. And please tell you father 'thank you'."

"You uh, you know he knows why, right?"

Madison stopped smiling briefly then said, "Oh. Oh, my."

"He likes you, honey. A lot. And he remembers what it was like to be in love, so..."

She smiled again then said, "So does that mean...you're in love?" as she put her arms around him before quickly apologizing for saying it.

"There's nothing to apologize for because I am," he told her. "In love. With you."

Her eyes were moving quickly between his, and as she once again felt the deep sincerity in his words, she quietly said, "I...I love you, too, Neil."

That next Friday, Keith did watch Kenny. In fact, he went out and bought a video game console called XBox and had it set up by Geek Squad so that he and his favorite young man could play video games, watch sports, and do what guys do.

So while he and Kenny played one kind of games, Neil and Madison played another; one in which they explored every inch of the other's body in every way two people in love possibly can.

"You are...amazing!" Neil told her as she lay curled up beside him.

"Me? Oh, no. That would be you, Mr. Stamina!" she replied with a little laugh.

She looked down at him and laughed.

"Oh, look! Someone is ready to go again already!"

Neil looked down and saw Mr. Happy smiling at him and said, "I believe you may be correct," as he pulled Madison on top of him while she effortlessly lowered herself onto his waiting shaft, moaning softly as he re-entered her.

The following morning, the 'boys' were up early and went to IHOP for breakfast. They were back and playing video games again by the time Neil and Madison got there, and Kenny was having so much fun he barely said 'hello' when his mom walked in.

"Keith? Thank you so much for watching him," Madison said, hoping he wouldn't look at her 'like that'.

He not only didn't, he playfully buried Kenny with his elbow and upper body as he tried to get his video guy to kill Kenny's and said, "It was my pleasure. I mean, who doesn't like getting beat every damn...darned...time by a ten-year old kid!"

"I'm only nine!" Kenny said as he laughed so hard it nearly made his mom tear up again.

She let him play for another 15 minutes before taking him home, knowing he would talk non-stop the entire way. But his mom couldn't have been happier as she listened to him tell her what a great time he'd had. She, of course, couldn't explain anything she'd done with Neil beyond going to dinner and having a 'great time', too. Kenny didn't ask for details, and Madison breathed a sigh of relief when he went back to telling her how cool Mr. Keith was and how much he liked being there.

When Madison walked into the beauty parlor on Monday morning, Gabby knew something was up.

"Okay. Spill!" she said.

"Spill what?" Madison asked, pretending there was nothing to spill.

"Someone is positively glowing, and even though it's been forever since the last time I glowed, I know what that look means. So...spill!"

Madison not only spilled, she gushed. She let it all out, and even admitted she'd fallen in love with Neil.

And then she asked, "Can this even be real? Can anyone fall in love this fast?"

Gabby saw the concern in her friend's eyes and told her, "All I know is that love is a big mystery. It seems to have a mind of its own, you know? It does its thing in its own way, and when it taps you on the shoulder it doesn't want to know how long you've known someone."

"Do you really believe that?" Madison asked, more for her own benefit.

"I do. And your eyes tell me this is real, sweetie. So it doesn't matter how long it's been or what age you guys are. All that matters is how you feel about each other."

"Really?" Madison asked just as hopefully.

"Yes. Really," Gabby replied as she reached out and hugged her best friend. "And I better be the Maid of Honor at your wedding!"

"Wedding? What wedding?" Madison asked, now able to accept there might actually be one.

"What wedding. Listen to you! You and I both know it's now just a matter of time now."

"You think?"

"Uh-uh. I know," Gabby told her. "Now let's get to work before we get in trouble. Unlike you, I don't have a handsome, younger man to provide for me if I lose this job!"

Both of them laughed and hugged again before getting ready for their first customer of the day.

*****

June 8th, 2020

"Candidate Monroe. Raise your right hand and repeat after me," the retired Marine colonel in dress blues ordered.

His son raised his right hand and waited.

Colonel Monroe paused after every few words to allow his son to repeat the oath of office for commissioned officers as he said,

"I, state your full name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

His father smiled and said, "Congratulations, Lieutenant Monroe. Who would you like to pin on your gold bars?"

"You and my wife, sir," he told his father as Madison stepped forward holding one of the large bars her husband of two weeks had handed her before the commissioning ceremony.

Gabby, her Maid of Honor, and her parents, who now loved Neil like a son, were there, too, filled with hope for their friend, daughter, and grandson.

"Madison?" Keith said as they each stood at one side of the new Marine.

Neil helped hold Kenny so he could help his mom, and as usual, the boy was beaming with happiness as he helped his mom put the bar in place on the man he now happily called 'dad'.

The one Keith put in place was exactly where it was supposed to be while the one Madison and Kenny put on was too far in and a little bit crooked, but the newly-minted lieutenant didn't notice or care as he then saluted his father then kissed his wife and hugged his son.

"Lieutenant Monroe? The floor is now yours," his pride-filled father said.

"Thanks, Dad," he said as he let Kenny down.

"Wow. This has been quite a year," Neil began.

He pulled Madison close and put his arm around her in spite of being in uniform and said, "I had no way of knowing that the day this beautiful woman and her amazing son pulled into the parking lot of the miniature golf course I worked at while going to college would change my life. But today, that beautiful woman is my gorgeous wife, and with any luck, this handsome young man here will legally be my adopted son in another couple of months or so."

As Madison listened to her handsome husband, she too reflected on that day when her son turned nine and no one came to his birthday party. She'd been as sad as she could ever remember for him and for herself as she lived alone with very little hope of things every turning around.

And then they went to play a round of miniature golf, and her entire world was turned upside down. She heard very little of what Neil said but all that mattered was that Madison Monroe was now his wife and deeply in love with him. That he also loved her and her...their...son, the same way, was enough to make her feel like her heart might burst from the happiness that had filled it over the course of the last nine months; a happiness that had replaced the emptiness and loneliness she'd felt so strongly she couldn't imagine it would ever go away.

But as she looked up and the amazing man in the dress-blue uniform of the United States Marine Corps, Madison realized it had, and that she was happier than she'd ever been before.

A year later, Neil was in flight school, and had just learned that he'd gotten helicopters. As wonderful as that news was, the Monroes had just received approval for their son, Kenneth R. Monroe, to have the procedure done that would straighten his lazy eye and again change his life for the better.

By the time his dad finished learning to fly the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion, Kenny's eye was perfectly straight and his 37-year old mother was four months pregnant with a baby girl that Kenny would love and dote on almost as much as her parents and grandparents.

And all because of a single round of miniature golf one warm September evening.