A/N: Two updates in two days. Clearly I love you guys…
Here is Arizona's last tournament of the year! This chapter will be round 1 from alternating POV. Then next chapter will be the last round and their reunion 😊. Also, I am glad you all realize how very "Mark" the last chapter was. I did always love the friendship between him and Callie. But, he was super inappropriate at times and I felt Arizona was patient with him.
Chapter 37
Arizona's POV
After finally making things right with Callie, Arizona settled back in to being home in Boston. She didn't realize how much she had missed it. All of her favorite spots, her own bed, having her best friend and brother there all the time. It felt like home. But, Arizona felt her heart being pulled South. South as in Miami, Florida. There were no amount of phone calls, FaceTimes, or texts that could make up for the loss she felt being away from Callie and Sofia.
She received word that morning that her plans for moving down to Miami were coming together nicely. The surprise she had for Callie was one she was very nervous about. It could completely blow up in her face. Normally the fear of rejection would be enough for Arizona to completely scrap her plans. She was more on the Type A side and tended to only do things she knew she would be successful at. Call her cautious, but it just always worked. The one exception in her life was golf. When she first started playing she sucked. The sport of golf is so much more difficult than the average person understands. One wrong move, one muscle twitch, your shot is toast. One crappy hole, your round is toast. It is just a high-pressure high stakes situation at all times. Arizona has learned over time to thrive off of it.
Deep in thought, it isn't until Derek Shepard walks up to her that she realizes she had been completely zoning out. It was the first day of her final tournament of the year. The tournament was played at The Lucia. Another Torres Company course. This one had always been on the schedule. It was kind of like Arizona's "home field". This is the course she worked at through high school, the course she taught herself to play on. It was fitting that this is where her first PGA season ended. Normally for this tournament you would have to qualify with X amount of points. But, The Race is a tournament that when you win, you automatically are invited here. This is basically the last tournament for golfers to rack up points and take home the championship for the year. The whole season players score points. Where you place, tournaments you win, etc. they all are worth a certain amount of points. Then, this last tournament is where the winner of the season is crowned. The winner is gifted a gaudy trophy and five million dollars. Seriously, the LPGA players are so underpaid. Arizona has exactly ZERO chance of winning this year since she would have only participated in three tournaments including this one. She is just here for fun and to get her name out. Not to mention she committed to playing. Her name was a hot commodity right now and sponsors were coming out of the woodworks to sign her. This tournament, besides The Race, is usually the most watched tournament of the year. This is because more often than not, there are a few golfers that win or lose the season based on this tournament.
This year the golfers vying for first place are Alex Karev, Derek Shepard, and Preston Burke. George O'Malley all but had it in the bag, but we all remember his behavior at The Race getting him suspended the rest of the season. Arizona was personally rooting for Karev, but she liked Shepard as well. Anyone but Burke. Once this tournament was over, there was an end of the year banquet that takes place at The Lucia every year. All golfers who played in any PGA tournament are welcome to attend. It is really the giant party of the year. Arizona, Tim, and Teddy had all been personally invited by the PGA President, Harper Avery. Yes….Harper Avery as in Jackson Avery's grandfather. He is the king of the golf world and a total scum bag. Word on the street was that Jackson's mother Catherine Fox will be taking his place next year. There are only so many sexual harassment allegations that can be fielded before something has to happen. The guy gave Arizona the creeps.
"Good Morning, Arizona" Derek smiled at her as he walked up to the tee. Arizona was grateful to be paired up with Derek. He made for an easy day and good conversation. Not only that, but Lexi Grey, his caddie was a riot as well. She had this wild talent of being able to tell you anything and everything about golf. She has a photographic memory and can remember stats from golf tournaments for years ago. Arizona wasn't often impressed, but Lexi Grey impressed her.
"Morning Derek. Ready to kick some butt today?" she joked. She knew Derek was super competitive, but he was also very graceful and always willing to help a fellow golfer.
"You know it. Karev is nipping at my heels. Meredith said something about sleeping outside if I don't finish first." He joked.
"Then lets do this." Arizona replied. She stepped up to the first tee. It was a chilly morning for May in Boston. She also noted how wet the course was. Wet equates to slow greens. Something she was not a big fan of. As she teed off her first drive she watched as her ball flew through the air only to literally plop down on the fairway. She usually loved being the first group to tee off, but when it was wet outside it had its downsides. She watched as Derek's drive did the exact same thing. He mentioned the wetness making for a long day as he walked by the blonde. Arizona just nodded her agreement and walked towards her ball.
"Okay AZ, Lexie was telling me about some changes they made to this hole last year. I guess we were not around for it. Remember that dip that was on the green that we use to hustle people with while putting?" Tim asked as he walked next to her with her pink bag on his shoulder. "Yeah. It was so tiny you couldn't see it unless you played here all the time." Arizona made a lot of money out putting people on this hole. "Well, they filled it. I guess it was starting to get deeper and deeper, so they took care of it. It is flat terrain now." Shaking her head, she silently thanked her brother for letting her know. That would have gone bad pretty quickly.
Arizona took her 9 iron and chipped her ball straight onto the green. The first hole of this course was the hole that made her fall in love with golf. She knew how to play it perfectly. Honestly, minus the revelation about the green she could play this hole with her eyes closed. It is a par 4 and about 350 yards. The hole hooks to the left at about 100 yards. When her ball rolls onto the green she hears the applause from the fans looking on. Sending them a wave and a wink and presses on. Today is going to be a good day.
Callie's POV
Callie was elbow deep in paperwork at The Calliope. They had finally found a new front desk manager. The Julie drama was behind them and she was ready for a break from doing 2 different jobs. This new addition's name was Colleen. She seemed nice enough. Her interview really impressed Callie and Mark. She presented her system of organizing and her references were great. It didn't take long for Callie and Mark to settle on Colleen being their new front desk manager. The overly chipper brunette was a bit much in Callie's eyes, especially first thing in the morning, but she was great with the staff and the guests.
Hearing a gentle knock on her door she looked up to see said brunette standing in the door with two cups of coffee.
"Good Morning, Ms. Torres! I grabbed some coffee on the way in and they messed up my order. I now have two lattes and though I love coffee, even this is a lot for me. Interested?" Colleen asked.
"Please, call me Callie. Actually, that would be great. Sofia didn't want to cooperate this morning, so I had to settle for the crap coffee here. Seriously, I own the place. You would think I would get a better coffee maker for the employees." Callie rambled. She took the offered coffee and motioned for Colleen so sit and join her.
"So..how is the first week going?" Callie asks. Genuinely hoping things were going well. She couldn't afford to lose Colleen. She was finally catching up on everything. That paired with the knowledge she was going on vacation in three short weeks for a very excited 6-year old's birthday trip…yeah she needed a competent front desk manager. Mark was fantastic at his job of overseeing the day to day as the manager, but the minuscule stuff was best left to the front desk manager. They were the boots on the ground so to speak.
"Great! Everyone is so nice here. Not to mention the facility is just gorgeous. You guys have really done a good job. This is by and large the best hotel I have worked at. The boss isn't too bad either." Colleen winked. Blushing, Callie just sipped her latte. She knew the brunette was flirting with her but she was not going to reciprocate.
As if God himself was working on behalf of her girlfriend, said blonde's face appeared on the flat screen television on the wall. The Golf Channel was never on any television Callie was in charge of, but ever since a blonde-haired blue-eyed golfer stole her heart it was always playing.
"Blondie tee off yet?" she heard yelled from two desks over by her best friend.
"Yeah. She was scheduled for 8am. She should be a few holes in by now." Callie replied.
"I am a little lost here. Do you guys know one of these golfers?" Colleen asked, clearly confused by the conversation.
"Yeah. Torres's girl is a professional golfer. Actually, pretty good too. They met when The Race was here a while back." Mark answered. Oblivious to Callie's eyes starring daggers at him. It wasn't that Callie was embarrassed or ashamed of her blonde. She just tried to keep conversations about her personal life to a minimum while at work. Callie watched as Colleen's face changed from chipper to a bit more resolved at the mention of Arizona. If she wasn't sure before, this confirmed it, the brunette had a bit of a crush. Not that it was a big deal, but it was good to know.
"There she is!" Mark yelled. Ever since the Arizona incident he was on his best behavior. He knew the blonde was going to be a bit cold with him when she returned, but no one could resist Mark Sloan when he turned the charm on. Callie wasn't too worried about it. She and Arizona were in a great place and it was going to stay like that. 12 days until her blonde was home.
Arizona's POV.
Half way through her first of two days and Arizona was having a great time. She was currently sitting down with her brother and analyzing the first half of her round. She currently sat 7 below and knew she was in the top 3. If she wasn't in the discussion for first place by the end of the weekend, she would be surprised. Like she said, this was her home turf. If there was ever a course she stepped on and felt super confident, it was The Lucia. Which was kind of funny. Considering she now knew this course was named after her girlfriend's mother. Who happened to hate her and every other woman her wife would even think to date. Irony at its finest.
"So…have you given any thought to when you are going to be out of the apartment." Her brother asked.
"Seriously Tim…you are trying to kick me out of MY apartment. You are going to ask me this right now…while we are working?" She just rolled her eyes and walked away. Her plan was going to take a while to come to fruition. She was going to move to Miami. It was just going to be a process. Tossing her water bottle in the trash she grabbed her hat and walked away, leaving her brother sitting on the bench.
When she walked up to the 10th hole she noticed that Alex Karev had just wrapped up the 9th hole. "Hey Karev, how's it going?" She hadn't had much time to chat with him. Since the tournament was in Boston, she decided to stay at her apartment instead of a hotel near the course. "Robbins. It's going. Not golfing my best but hanging in there." He responds. "Well, I am more than happy to kick your butt then buy you a drink later?" She jokes as she asks her question. When Alex smiles and nods Arizona can't help but wonder what is up with him. Normally Karev was a jokester and happy to chat. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.
Arizona was able to par the 10th, 11th, and 12th hole. She was approaching the 13th when Derek Shepard mentioned that she currently held the lead. "I usually don't look until the 18th." She responded. As much as she loved to hear she currently held the lead, she felt a bit thrown off. She usually didn't know her position until the last hole, so she was a bit thrown. Derek apologized for messing with her normal routine, knowing that golfers had their quirks for a reason. It wasn't a huge deal. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little in her head at the moment.
Stepping up to the 13th hole she placed her tee in the ground and squared up. This hole was only about 230 yards long. Knowing her love for shorter holes Tim sent her a wink. She pulled back and gave a quality swing. Her hips flowing naturally. Her body completely in tune with the motion. She watched as her drive soared through the air, perfectly straight towards the yellow flag that was blowing in the wind. Since they had been out for a while, the warm sun had dried the greens a bit so as her ball hit the green it steadily rolled towards the hole. Arizona and Tim watched with a smile as her ball rolled closer and closer to the hole. And closer…..closer…..until they watched it disappear.
"HOLY SHIT ROBBINS! HOLE IN ONE!" She heard Karev yell. Arizona had never in her entire golfing career, hit a hole in one. She stood still until she felt her brother envelop her in a hug and spin her. Knocking her out of her frozen state she started laughing and cheering along with her brother, Alex, and Derek. The crowd around her was roaring and she was on cloud 9. She looked around the crowd and saw the smiling faces of tons of fans cheering her on. She was loving the cheers but found herself wishing for two sets of brown eyes she loved so much. She wished her girls were here to witness it. A once in a lifetime shot. Wow. I've got it bad.
Callie's POV
"HOLE IN ONE! HOLE IN ONE!" Mark screamed as he jumps up and down. My blonde just hit a shot that would make Tiger Woods weep. The way her body moves in such a fluid motion and the ball flies through the air. We watched in silence as the ball rolled closer and closer to the hole. When it fell in Callie's jaw dropped. It doesn't take a genius to see how incredible that is. To use a club, to hit that tiny ball, that distance, all to have it fall perfectly in a hole that size. Incredible. She is incredible. Amazing. Hearing the commotion a few guests look over at Mark. He doesn't have a care in the world as he cheers on our girl. Chancing a glance at the front desk to send a few guests an apologetic smile when Callie sees a less than impressed brunette looking over at Mark.
Turning back around Callie locks eyes with one of her favorite people. "Daddy!" she greets, as Carlos Torres steps into the lobby. "Calliope. That girl of your…very impressive. I have not seen a hole in one in ages." He jokes. Callie was almost sure that if her and Arizona broke up, her Dad would choose Arizona. He loved her. It took Carlos a while to come around to Callie's sexuality, but he supported his daughter whole heartedly. The fact that he loved her current girlfriend was just icing on the cake. That could not be said about her previous relationship….yeah…that was not good.
Pulling out her cell phone Callie typed a quick text to the blonde. She was hoping to get some phone time with her later that evening.
-Hole in one….just had to show off, huh? ;)
Laughing at just how bad she had it for her girlfriend, she put her phone down and continued her work day. Before she knew it, it was time to go get Sofia from school. She chanced a look at the TV and saw that Arizona was on the 18th hole. Her blonde currently sat in first place and was having a heck of a day. As much as she wanted to wait around to watch, she had to go get her little girl. She was sure the blonde would text her after.
Arizona's POV
One more hole. Arizona sat in first place, comfortably, with Derek Shepard 5 strokes behind her. She watched as Derek hit a beautiful shot that soared through the warm afternoon air. Walking up and placing her tee in the ground, Arizona took a deep breath. Today had been awesome. She had her first hole in one, she was golfing well, Derek, Lexie, and Tim were great company. Today was why she loved golf. Good games, good people. She pulled back and plowed through her drive. It was a bit sloppy, but it got the job done. She watched as her ball hooked a bit to the right into some trees, but it wasn't anything terrible. She just shrugged and walked towards her ball. Waving at a few fans and receiving some boos and sexist comments from others, she walked behind the tree line and approached her hooked drive. Tim handed her the lucky iron and she took a second to see where she needed to hit it. One thing she hated about professional golf was how close the fans were to you when you were taking your shot. She felt them breathing down her neck. She glanced back at Tim and he got the message. He took a few steps back and stood behind her, so she had enough room to comfortable take her shot. As she pulled back and began her swing the was a clear scream that came from about 15 feet behind her. She didn't have time to stop her swing and shanked the ball to the left. It flew back into the direction of the fairway, but not towards the hole.
"What the hell?!" Tim yelled behind them. Before Tim or Arizona had time to react, the gentlemen that had yelled was being escorted out by security. Arizona looked at the man and the hateful look she got in return caused a chill down her spine. If looks could kill. I would be dead.
She walked back towards her ball and was able to hit a nice iron shot onto the green. Still, she was already looking at a bogey of the last hole. It would hurt her lead, but not take it away. Approaching the green, she watched as Derek putted his ball in for par. Tipping his cap to the crowd, he stepped back to watch Arizona finish before walking towards the club house. Arizona approached her ball after taking a lap around the hole . Seeing the same green she had for all those years she easily pulled back and rolled the ball right into the hole. Wrapping up her day, a mighty fine day, she tipped her hat to the fans and headed back to the clubhouse.
After chatting with a few other golfers Arizona pulled out her phone and found a text from her girlfriend. Laughing to herself at Callie's text, she shot back a quick response asking what time worked for a phone date with her favorite brunettes. When she received word Sofia had some homework, so after dinner would be best, Arizona made her way towards Alex Karev.
"Hey Karev, up for that drink?" She asked, putting her arm around the man.
"Sure. Let's hit the club house bar. I have a few things to take care of this evening." He responded. Again, seeing the withdrawn nature of her normally outgoing friend, she decided that she would risk it and ask what was wrong.
"Jo is pregnant." He responded.
"Ummm…are we not happy about that?" Arizona was pretty confused at this point. Jo and Alex seemed like a great stable couple. Both having rough upbringings, the compliment each other perfectly.
"I am happy. Thrilled actually. I am just terrified. I had shit parents. Jo didn't even have parents. How the hell are we going to raise a kid?" He asked, taking a giant sip of his beer.
"Alex, if you ask me. The things you just listed are why you are going to be fantastic parents. You both have seen how rough the world is. You are grateful every day. You love each other with everything. If you ask me, that little guy or girl is damn lucky…So lucky, that I propose a toast. To you, Jo, and your little one. I can't wait to meet him or her." Arizona smiled her dimple smile at the man. She watched as her words sunk in and his genuine smile appeared. Clinking their glasses together, they spent the rest of the late afternoon catching up and just enjoying each other's company.
Glancing down at her phone, Arizona saw that it was about 5:45. She headed back to her apartment to call her girls and unwind after a long day. She was the third group to tee off tomorrow and she was paired with Atticus Lincoln. She couldn't wait to finish the tournament. As much as she loved golf, she was ready for a nice relaxing few month down in the sun with Sofia and Calliope.
12 more days.