Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 34

Jane may be very athletic but she had never attempted to play golf. When she and Maura talked about it, while they laid in bed that night. Jane said, "Maur, I think I haven't tried to play golf because it is not fast enough for me. My personality has me playing games that are faster paced. Like field hockey or softball. I guess I play team sports and golf is an individual sport. You can be part of a team but the action is individual."

"That makes sense. I never really thought about that. I just know that recently you really only play softball with BPD on a regular basis."

"I will try golf tomorrow. Your father really wants me to try it. I had so much fun out with him driving the Austin-Healey. That was a blast, that car is so fun to drive."

"I haven't driven that car in months. I normally just go over and drive them to the end of the driveway and back, park it to the side and let the engine run for a few minutes while I take another and do the same thing. While the second one has the engine running for a bit, I put the first car away. I try to get each one started and run for a few minutes each month. I was really surprised that I had not taken you with me until recently." Maura stated.

"I know Maur, you were holding out on me." They both laughed. They had never really talked about Jane's love of cars so Maura had no idea that Jane loved older cars. "Maur, I hope you don't mind if we just cuddle tonight. I don't feel right making love in your parents' house."

"Jane, that is perfectly fine, I understand. That just means we have to leave earlier so I can take advantage of you before you spend the day golfing with my father." Maura suggested in a sexy voice.

"You had better set an alarm then because I don't want to miss out on my morning loving from you before breakfast at the club." As soon as Jane finished her sentence Maura reached over and set her alarm. She would miss Jane while she played golf with her father and some of his buddies. She would enjoy shopping with her mother but would miss Jane.

Within a few minutes of Maura placing her phone on the nightstand they snuggled up and were both asleep shortly after that. Jane didn't fuss when the alarm went off. Maura ordered a car to pick them up and by the time she and Jane were downstairs the car had arrived to take them back to their house.

As soon as they got home, they laid out their clothes they would be wearing for breakfast and then set out about making love to each other. Maura made sure she had an alarm set because she didn't want to be late to the country club. If they were late, her parents would know exactly why they were running late and she would never hear the end of it from them. They would tease her the whole time they were there as well as after they left and she didn't think she would be able to handle the teasing from her parents.

They spent over an hour in the bed before Maura suggested they move their adventures to the shower. She wanted to multitask to ensure that they were not late. Jane had no problem with that as she rather liked taking showers with Maura.

They were dressed and had arrived early at the country club a few minutes after her parents. They were seated immediately and enjoyed a nice relaxing brunch-style breakfast. Jane and Arthur said their goodbyes to their ladies as their tee time approached.

Jane was nervous she had never golfed before. Arthur said he would teach her but she was still nervous. Arthur could sense her nervousness and tried to explain the basic golf stroke to relax her. Jane didn't know that he had called ahead of time and moved his tee time to 11 AM as he wanted to take her to the Pro Shop and get her a glove and hat and have her meet with the golf pro on staff for a quick lesson.

The golf pro, Sam, went over some basic rules of golf:

The player must play the ball where it lies

You may only have 14 clubs in your bag

The ball must be placed behind the tee markers

If your ball lies unplayable it is a one stroke penalty

He then went over the pre-swing fundamentals: grip, aim and setup. He taught her how to stand properly and then how to swing the club. Before she could swing the club at a ball, Sam took her over and picked out golf gloves and a hat for her. He wanted Jane to feel comfortable and knew that she was self-conscious about her scars on her hand. He told her because she was left-handed, she only needed to wear the glove on her right hand. There was no gain in wearing two gloves.

After acquiring her gloves, they talked about which club to use and how for each number the iron decreases, add about 10 to 15 yards to the distance. He started her off with a 9-iron and they went out to the practice green to try a few swings. Sam wanted to see Jane's natural technique.

Jane totally missed the ball on the first try, however her technique was great. She just needed a few adjustments, he stepped behind her and repositioned her body a little and then she tried again. She hit the ball and then tried to watch where it went, remarking, "How do you see the dam thing as it travels?"

"You will get use to following the ball with your eyes. Arthur tells me you play softball so it is sort of like watching the softball fly off of the bat except it is a great deal smaller." Sam informed her.

"I'll say, do you have any with a location tracker in them, that would help." Jane said as she laughed with them. Arthur rather liked that idea, he had a problem keeping up with his golf ball sometimes after he hit it.

"No, but I think I should invent one. I am sure it would sell a great deal especially if you could track it with your smart phone." Sam admitted.

"Yes, that would be great." Jane said as she continued to practice swinging at the ball. Next Sam took her to the practice putting range. He told her about the way to size up your putt. He had her bend down and actually look at the ball and the hole. She then positioned herself based on what he had told her and she took her first shot. It hit the hole and then ricochet and traveled several yards before it stopped.

He reminded her that she needed to use less force. The golf ball should simply roll into the hole smoothly. She tried a few more times after he had also showed her how to curve the golf ball. She was so excited when she sank four golf balls in a row.

Sam explained about the four different types of grass that the professional golf courses used and how the type of grass made a difference on the game. He told her what type of grass they had there and that if she were going to play at a different course she should always find out about the course before she began her game.

After the 45-minute training session, Sam felt she was ready to try out what she had learned. Arthur was impressed with how fast Jane was learning. Sam reminded her that the best way to get better at golfing was to practice.

She now knew the fundamentals and from here on out it was up to her. She thanked him and as she turned to replace the putter in the bag, Arthur tipped him generously. They normally didn't cram all of that into the first lesson but Sam understood that Arthur wanted her to have an overall view of the game for today. If Jane showed an interest in golfing Arthur would set up more lessons for her to go more in depth.

Arthur had requested a golf cart and left-handed women's clubs for Jane. When they left Sam, they picked up the golf cart and Jane's clubs. Arthur let Jane drive. She liked that. It only took her a minute to adjust to starting and stopping the golf cart. They almost had whip lash the first time she hit the brake.

At 11 AM they met two of Arthur's golfing buddies, John and Chris, and after introductions they decided who would go first. Arthur wanted Jane to go last so she could watch the others first and hopefully feel more comfortable when it was her turn to swing away. They decided John would go first followed by Chris and then Arthur. Jane would go last. John and Chris were told ahead of time that this was Jane's first-time golfing.

Jane asked the two other gentlemen, "Would it bug you if I asked you questions as we played? John and Chris both said 'no problem.' They were great at answering any questions that Jane had asked. They enjoyed helping her learn the game. The three gentlemen help Jane to make par on each hole. They helped her keep sight on her golf ball.

John told her how that was the hardest part of the game for him. He said, "during one game I actually lost track of my ball and took a stroke penalty and just placed my golf ball by the player with the ball furthest back, so please don't be upset with yourself if you lose the dam golf ball, it happens to the best of us." Jane laughed with him and it put her at ease a little bit.

On the 7th hole Jane managed to make a hole-in-one, she was quite surprised as were her golf buddies. None of them had shot a hole-in-one so far, now the men were determined to get a hole-in-one also.

The game got a little more serious then, they couldn't be shown up by a girl. The four of them laughed and had a great time. Jane went over par a few times but she was having fun and ultimately that was the purpose of the day. Arthur was pleased. He wanted a fun activity for Jane and after Maura talking about how competitive Jane was, he thought she might be up for the competitive side of golf. He was right.

John and Chris said goodbye to Jane and Arthur at the 19th hole. They both told her if she ever wanted to golf again to let them know, with or without Arthur. Jane said she appreciated the offer and she would think about it. They both gave her their numbers and then they left Arthur and Jane to return their equipment.

"So, Jane, what did you think?" Arthur asked curious to know if Jane would be golfing again or if this was a one-time occurrence.

"I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I would make a regular habit of playing but I think I could do this once in a while." She really felt that way, she wasn't just saying it to please Arthur. She could see doing this a couple times a year.

"Good, maybe you would like to play when I come to town." Arthur suggested.

"Maybe, we will just have to wait and see." She stated as she smiled at him. "Thank you. I enjoyed this. I probably never would have tried golf if you hadn't suggested it."

Jane didn't know it but Arthur had brought the Austin-Healey with him so he let Jane drive it back to their house. Arthur was sure that the ladies would be finished with their shopping adventure by the time they got back to the house.

Maura and Constance were sitting in the reading room, reading magazines and drinking tea. Maura asked Jane, "How was your day golfing, sweetheart?"

Jane walked over and gave Maura a quick kiss on the cheek as she sat down beside her and said, "I loved it. It was so much fun. Arthur let me drive the golf cart and the Austin-Healey. I made a hole-in-one. The guys were so jealous." Arthur shook his head in agreement. Constance and Maura both laughed.

"Does she have a natural ability at golf, darling?" Constance asked Arthur as he lowered his head and nodded 'yes.'

"I'm afraid if she practices, she could be quite good at it." Arthur admitted and Jane just smiled. She loved the compliment. Maura nuzzled into Jane. Jane put her arm around her.

"So, how was the art exhibit and shopping?" Jane asked.

Arthur quickly added, "Yes, darlings, do we have any money left in our bank account?"

"Funny, daddy. We didn't buy anything today. We were just looking and spending time together." Maura stated as she looked at her mother. They smiled at each other.

It was true, they hadn't spent any money. They primarily looked at engagement rings as Maura wanted to propose to Jane. Constance couldn't tell Maura that she knew that Jane was going to propose to her. Maura wanted to pick out the perfect engagement ring for Jane and Constance saw no harm in that because after all once Jane proposed she should have a ring also.

Constance looked over at Jane and said, "Can I squeeze some one-on-one time with you, maybe tomorrow?"

Jane looked at Maura and then replied, "I would love that. We aren't going to go to an art gallery, are we?"

"No darling, but if I had an art installation here in Boston, I would hope that you would come." Constance stated.

"I would Constance, with Maura at my side to explain it to me of course." They all laughed Constance knew that art wasn't Jane's thing and that she just went because Maura enjoyed it.

They enjoyed a nice dinner and then Jane and Maura went home after arranging a time for Jane to meet up with Constance the next day. Arthur suggested that Maura come along and that they would do something together while Jane and Constance were occupied. Maura loved that idea she didn't get to spend too much time with her father as he was always on one of his adventures.