Valley of Sinners Ch. 05

"My doctor calls it nest flight depression, and wants me to stuff a drug down my throat but that's not the answer. I've leased a horse to get back into riding again, but that has a side-effect, it's making me sexed up again and really I'm not ready for that feeling like this."

"Right, I've got something in mind for you," said Hope, remaining mysterious. Two days later when collecting the mail from the roadside letterbox Maggie sorted through the bills and livestock catalogues and found a letter in Hope's handwriting – Hope had paid Maggie's joining fee to the golf club, her first six months' subscription and six golf lessons, the first to start the following Monday.

"Come over for lunch tomorrow and I'll tell you about course clothing, course etiquette and other stuff," wrote Hope. "Don't bring Basil."

Maggie and Basil had occasionally gone to the golf cub on Sunday nights for dinner and she had enjoyed those outings, knowing quite a few of the golfers and other visitors. Hope provided a great lunch and Maggie went home in just in time to meet the school bus really excited, partly because of the wine. She'd not been drinking thinking it would only add to her depression, and her doctored had agreed. But Hope thought otherwise, that Maggie should try hard to get back to her old self of being a larrikin, boozing, chasing men and going out more with Hope just like in the old days before pregnancy.

"This is the renaissance of our life-long friendship," Hope laughed, opening the second bottle of wine. Maggie laughed, feeling a lot lighter in spirit, but she knew the docile, worried looking stranger she'd become would be back in the morning.

But there had not been time for that. Next morning Hope arrived just as Maggie was finishing making Alayna's sandwiches. Alayna went running to Hope yelling, "It's Mrs Honeybun!" Alayna was very found of their closest neighbor whom her mother was always saying was the most glamorous person in the whole of the district.

"Come on, Alayna, I'm taking you to wash your face and clean your teeth. Then I'll brush you hair and put on this new ribbon I've brought with me then I'll drive you down and put you on the bus. Maggie, get ready – we're going into the golf warehouse in the city to kit you up. Bring your credit card."

On Monday Maggie waited nervously at the appointed time for her first golf lesson. She was relieved that the pro had an all-weather facility that was not in full view of the clubhouse as she knew she was going to be terrible. Apart from horse-riding – she could jump well on a strong horse - she was next to useless at sport.

Maggie saw the club professional approaching, carrying a mug of coffee. Hope had said he was third-rate, as that was all the club could afford, but he was an adequate teacher and "wink, wink, nudge, nudge."

Sexy? I don't think so, thought Maggie, looking at him closely. The big bushy eyebrows gave him an automatic downgrade for a start and he had a moustache! Yuk.

"Good morning Mrs Tait, and how are we today? Ready to give it a go, I would think?"

How fucking patronizing, fumed Maggie. Come on, Mr Third-Rater; let's get swinging!

But he didn't have that in mind. First he described the fundamentals of the swing, and said it was broken down into elements too numerous to describe right now as it would only confuse her. He asked Maggie to take her five iron from her bag.

"Which one is a five iron?" asked Maggie.

"You have three woods with covers on in your bag, plus – hmmm – you've got eight irons and a putter.

"The iron with the number '5' stamped into the metal head facing you is the number five iron," he said, dryly.

"Oh, that's clever," replied Maggie without a hint of embarrassment. She knew nothing about golf, although Basil watched it on TV. This Mr Alec Rowlands was being paid to tell her everything."

"The lesson continued, and after fifteen minutes he did what Maggie had expected to occur in the first ten seconds of the lesson – he placed a ball near her feet.

Pointing to a flag on a stick fifty yards away he said calmly, "Now, keep your eye on the ball just swing back and through slowly like we have been practicing in the general direction of that flagstick. Commence when you are ready – don't rush at it."

Maggie was whipped up; she'd show Mr Rowlands she'd taken everything in and know knew a five iron from whatever the other clubs were called and that any idiot would hit a ball fifty yards with a big club like this. Why, she could putt that far.

Accomplishing a wobbly back-swing, Maggie managed to drive down and through with some power. As she looked up at the flagstick to see her ball land, but heard a din to her right. Was that her ball that had hit the tractor shed?

"Yes, well. It's not ideal to start off with a s...s..."

"Start off with what?"

"A s...s...shank." He seemed terrified when he eventually said the word.

"Oh, really – does teaching that come in a later lesson?"

Mr Rowlands looked aghast but he pressed on.

The next ball went along the ground for thirty yards, the next was skied.

"Very good," said Mr Rowlands. "You've struck all three balls, though with different results. But not to worry, we shall teach you to strike the ball fluidly and consistently. I think that should do us for the day."

"Fluidly? How can you hit fluidly when you're trying to do all these things?"

"These things, as you term them, will gradually become second nature to you. Look, allow me to stand behind you and take you through a fluid swing. Just hold the club and let me do the work – like this. There we go.

The ball left the tee-pad and hit the flagstick half-way down.

That excited Maggie but not half as much as having Mr Rowlands standing behind her. He was not third-rate at all. His after-shave smelt wonderful and she should feel the power being generated through his arms and shoulders as the club went back, down and through.

"Can we do that again?"

"Well, Cyril is standing over there waiting for his lesson."

"Come on Alec," she said, using her best sexy voice. "I believe I'm on the verge of learning the true meaning of fluidity in stroking a golf ball."

"All right, are you ready?"

When he had his arms around her to hold his hands over her hands, Maggie wriggled her butt in against him, and said, "Yes. Over to you, captain."

He chuckled and she felt the power flowing through into her hands as he unhurriedly took their hands back and through in a fluid, gently chip shot that had the ball arc up and fall to come to a stop just past the pin, missing hitting it by less than eighteen inches.

"That was magnificent, Alec."

"My pleasure, Maggie," he said, unclasping his arms after holding what would be described as a very long finish.

"Will I see you in the clubhouse from time to time?"

"Rarely, I usually drink down in the Ploughman's bar at the tavern to relax without having to talk golf. Are you thinking about joining the club?"

"I've already joined, Hope phoned all the committee members and they all emailed their approval of Hope's nomination of me to the club secretary. It will be confirmed at the next membership subcommittee, of course."

"Ah, Hope. She's a great...um."

"A great what, Alec?"

"A good golfer and a very nice woman."

"Yes, she is. I'll see you again tomorrow, then."

"Certainly, I'm looking forward to it. Bye Maggie."

Loading her clubs into the boot of her car, Maggie grinned. She knew she was ready to engage in sex again. Basil would be pleased, and so might Alec if she managed to land him. Perhaps Hope would put in a good word for her, it was worth asking.

Alec never managed to convert Maggie into a graceful golfer who played with great consistency. He reckoned, during one of their more intimate meetings, that she was a little too headstrong with virtually uncontrollable mood swings and adrenalin rushes. But she battled away and particularly enjoyed her twosomes with Hope. Golf seemed to draw them even closer together.

Shortly after Alayna turned eight, Hope invited Maggie to go with her and Sue Whitehead to New York for ten days. Sue was happy to go as a threesome.

Basil was reluctant for Maggie to go without him but one telephone call to Belinda fixed that.

"Oh mum, you've just got to go. It's a chance of a lifetime. I'll get it sorted by lunchtime. Sharon and I will be over for lunch."

Maggie wondered why Belinda sounded so excited. She soon found out.

Belinda arrived with seven-month old Sharon and after the grandparents had fussed over the sleepy infant she was put to bed and Belinda came out carrying a bottle of sparking wine from the fridge and three glasses.

"Mum, dad. It's all sorted."

"What's sorted?" asked Basil, mystified.

"Mum's going to New York, I've arranged for Alayna to go to the school farther long our street for those few days – I'm wildly happy that I'm going to have her all to myself, and dad, you can't miss out; look what I've found for you on the Internet! From next month the South Island Aberdeen Angus Breeders' Association is organizing a tour of studs each month for North Island members, leaving from the ferry terminal at Picton on Monday at noon. And dad," Belinda said, reaching into her shoulder bag, "this is a present from Rex and me."

She handed him across an envelop containing an email.

"What is it?" asked Maggie. "Quickly, I need to know!"

Basil took his time reading it and grunted.

"Very nice, Belinda Lovely really. It confirms that my membership application to the society is confirmed as they know who I am, and the receipt for my subscription paid online and my membership card will be forward by mail in the next few days."

"Darling, you'll be going, won't you; isn't this lovely of Belinda and Rex?"

"I'll think about it, Maggie."

"Dad!"

"I don't wish to sound ungrateful, but I said I would think about it, Belinda."

Maggie shook her head at Belinda and put her fingers to her lips.

"I'm going to the toilet," she announced.

Once inside Maggie phoned one of Basil's saleyard and cattle fair cronies. She returned outside.

"Clarrie says he's just has to go with you on that South Island tour. He's calling around to get some more of your mates to go. He reckons they'll jump at the chance to booze and look at pretty women but better still, they will be able to guts anything they like without being questioned about calories or carbohydrate content. You choose the Sunday you wish to leave Auckland and I'll ask Sue and Hope if they can dovetail our trip with yours."

"Maggie, I haven't decided yet if I'm going yet."

"Sorry, Basil. This is out of your hands. You are going."

An hour later as Basil was putting sleeping Sharon in her carrycot into the back seat of the SUV, Maggie clutched her daughter tearfully.

"What a wonderful thing you are doing for us."

"It's no big deal, mum. Throwing a bit of spare cash for a membership sub and taking care of Alayna for ten days is absolutely nothing at all, compared with what you guys do for Rex and me. Rex is looking forward to having her stay with us as he reckons she's such a scream."

Three weeks later the three women left for New York.

"Your excitement is infectious, Maggie," grinned Sue. "We're not normally whipped up like this when we travel."

"Put it down to the drinks we had at the airport," bubbled Maggie. "What we're drinking now is real champagne isn't it?"

Sue nodded.

"It was great that you got us upgraded, Sue. I owe you one."

"It's nothing, Maggie. Forget about it. My business is travel."

They arrived at their hotel in Manhattan from JFK Airport just as the sun was setting. Understandably, Maggie was agog while her companions had been to the metropolis before. Maggie was disappointed that the hotel suite was small, although it had three kingsize beds and a nicely furnished lounge.

"There is no swimming pool, nor gardens – it is really very basic."

"This is New York, Maggie, not Honolulu, Auckland or Sydney. Land here is terribly expensive and wages and property and other taxes are high – so just relax and accept what we've got," sighed Hope. "Now, Sue and I plan to take a shower and sleep for four hours and then book in for manicures and then a massage. Do you want to be in?"

"What, in-room sex?" Maggie boggled.

"No, silly, a real massage," Sue smiled. "We're aiming to go out at midnight for a meal and then to have a look at the action. It's 24 hours since we left our homes, and we're now in a very different time zone. We need rest – forget shopping. We can look at shops in the next day or so. If we tank up in a bar tonight you won't feel like doing much tomorrow until evening, anyway."

"How do you know?"

"Sue and I have done it many times before, Maggie. Just have confidence in us. We'll see you right."

Shortly after 10:00 Maggie was having her nails done by a Afro-American called Maxine. The woman was unbelievably tall, slender yet had an amazing bust and incredibly long fingers and she chatted with Maggie as if she'd known her all her life.

Then a blonde woman arrived called Olga. Maxine was now doing Sue's nails and Hope called to Maggie to have her massage.

"You get on the bed please, but first take off you clothes, eh?"

"Not bloody likely," Maggie snapped looking very defensive.

"Do it," Hope smiled. "She won't be a lesbo, her profession is hotel room massaging. You won't know yourself when she'd finished. She removes most of the travel weariness from your body."

Maggie complied, and almost fell sleep again until Olga began working on her backbone.

"You go have a shower please. Very hot," said Olga.

Ten minutes later Maggie emerged energized and feeling like a teenager, well, perhaps a young thirty-year-old. She dressed to kill but changed later when she saw her two companions wearing boots, jeans and colorful tops.

"How do we split the nails and massage charges?" Maggie asked.

"Hope keeps the tab," replied Sue. "We'll reimburse here during the long wait-over in Los Angeles.

They went into an Italian restaurant, lined in dark wood, crammed with wooden tables and chairs and the floor was stained the same dark color; the table clothes and knapkins were starched and fresh flowers on the table further impressed Maggie.

"What, we have to queue in order to eat, but I guess this is New York."

A handsome, dark man in a black suit and conservative tie came along the queue asking people how many were in their party. When he reached the trio from New Zealand he was told three and Maggie glimpsed Hope placing something into his trailing hand. It was done so deftly that she only just spotted it.

"Come this way, ladies" said the man in a foreign accent and seated them ever so charmingly. "Are you visitors to Manhattan?"

"Yes, we come from New Zealand," Maggie said proudly.

"Is that is the mid-West?" he asked, puzzling the Aucklander.

After he introduced their waiter and after their orders had been taken, Maggie said critically, "That man with the foreign accent didn't have a clue where New Zealand is, and how much did you tip him?"

"I had to tip him as we didn't come to New York to stand in queues, Maggie. I gave him fifty dollars."

Maggie looked astounded.

"Don't faint, it's how things are done around here. And by the way, you are the one with the foreign accent, he has a New York accent and probably his forebears came to this city from Italy two, three perhaps four generations ago."

"Or longer," said Sue, and Hope echoed, "Or longer."

Maggie couldn't fault the food and the service was unbelievably expert, and their boyish waiter with long dark hair flicked low over his forehead had dark, smoldering eyes that seemed to lock on to Maggie's eyes whenever he arrived back at the table. She was almost ready to burst into an Italian love song, or to pant, or both.

"Are you all right, Maggie – you look very flushed?" enquired Sue.

"She's in the process of falling passionately in love with our waiter," Hope said, without malice but still causing Maggie's flush to deepen.

They went on to some bars and had a great time and each of them was hit on at least once and Sue finally left with a man considerably older than herself.

"She gone with him to arrange our itinerary for tomorrow," Hope joked, as she and Maggie prepared to walk back to their hotel.

"Oh, I thought it was simply to study the New York accent," Maggie grinned, letting Hope know that she'd got the joke.

Entering their hotel Hope said, "Let's go and have a night cap."

The bar was almost empty and they hadn't even decided what to order when the bar girl put two cocktails in front of them. "The drinks are with the compliments of those three gentlemen over there."

"Which three?" Maggie asked. Hope.

"Didn't you feel yourself being undressed when we entered the bar by those three sporty looking types in the far corner?"

"Oh gawd, they're younger than us."

"Very good, Maggie. Now let's enter stage two."

Hope tasted her cocktail and turning, raised her glass to the three men. They almost charged in the rush to get over to Hope and Maggie's table.

They were from Oklahoma and yes they knew where New Zealand was – "By the tip of Australia...no, it's closer to Chile...no, it's a suburb of Wellington."

"Very good fellows, but why are you trying to pick us up?"

"We're not that kind of men, ma'am," said the taller one, addressing Hope. "We've just arrived and thought we should invite you two ladies to join us for a night on the town tomorrow night. We don't know anyone in this city, and you two looked very unlike New Yorkers – you've both got big smiles like girls from Oklahoma, so we thought it would be nice to have female company – that is, if you don't mind been a party of two girls and three guys?"

"That sounds lovely...um?"

"Al, ma'am."

"That sounds lovely, Al. But would you mind if we bought our companion – she's our age. She's up in her room right now getting her nails done hoping for a big night out tomorrow."

"Gee...um?"

"Hope."

"What a lovely name. Gee, Hope, we would like to take you three girls to dinner and then perhaps do a bit of clubbing, if that's all right by you. We know how to behave and if you girls say no hanky-panky we will honor that request, won't we boys – oh, this is Junior and this is Ronald.

"Yes, ma'am," said Ronald shaking his head vigorously. "No hanky-panky unless we receive the green light."

"Well boys, that's very nice of you," said Hope. "But don't fret too much over this hanky-panky thing. Like you, we're in New York to have a great time."

Sue was in bed reading when they reached the room after only half an hour in the bar.

"What, had he run out of enthusiasm?"

"No, he went on and on about his guilt complex in asking me to his room as his wife believes he didn't eye other women. So when he walked almost sobbing to the toilet to relieve his over-indulgence in beer I simply took off."

"What a disappointment. Never mind Sue, Maggie and I promise to give you a really good time tomorrow evening. We'll go downstairs for some drinks at 10.00 and then have dinner and then go clubbing."

"Yes," Maggie giggled. "You may event meet a gent from Oklahoma who'll offer to join you in some hanky-panky."

"I wish," said Sue.

"Wish granted," Hope whispered to Maggie.

The next day the girls hit the shops, taking Maggie up and then down the other side of Fifth Avenue. Maggie had been briefed to buy only small items to avoid having a luggage weight problem going home.

Maggie had expressed an interest in buying a diamond ring, so they went to the diamond district and spend hours and hours drooling and by the end of the day before doing back to the hotel for a sleep before joining the men from Okalahoma; each had purchased a diamond ring.