FanStory.com - Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 20Cby Jim Wile

Chapter 20C

As Rube was about to strike his next smash, the rotter, who had kicked our ball into the creek several holes back, came running up and handed a ball to Albert. He was out of breath from the effort but managed to say, “I waded through the swamp back there on the 9th and fetched this ball from the back of the pond.”

“Thank you, my good man,” said Albert as he took the ball. Now holding both his prior ball and Rube’s smooth one in his hands like that, it finally dawned on him that perhaps it hadn’t been the wind or topping the ball that accounted for the strange action of those shots on the 10th hole. He stomped over to Arie and held out Rube’s ball, clenched in his hand.

“Miserable kut! You tricked me with this piece of stront,” he said as he threw the ball hard to the ground at her feet.

A sly smile came over her, but I wouldn’t let him talk to my wife that way and began charging after him as he turned and retreated from her, but Lars and Rube grabbed me from behind before I could advance very far. “Forget him, Kilian,” said Lars. “We’ve got them where we want them. Let’s just finish them off before the sky opens up. It’s getting very dark now.”

Arie approached Rube then, while he was getting ready to hit and said, “Ruben, don’t forget to put those cloths in your ears. I think they are going to try to distract you again.”

He reached into his pocket and fished them out, but before helping him place them in his ears, she said, “Hit this one low if you can so the wind won’t kill it. Move your legs forward a bit so the ball is back toward the middle of your stance. That will help keep it lower.”

When the cloth had been firmly pushed into his ears, she stood back then and watched. Although Albert had shouted “Miss! Miss! Miss!” at the top of Rube’s backswing, he was not distracted because of the combination of the wind and the fabric in his ears, and he hit a low hard one that kept under the wind, hit the ground, and rolled a good long way before coming to a stop. It was a wonderful shot under these conditions. Arie had a big smile for him as he looked at her, and he smiled back.

It was Albert’s turn, and he unleashed a fair smash with his old ball, which sailed substantially farther than the smooth ball, proving to him that he had indeed been tricked with the borrowed ball. His ball was considerably farther from the hole than Rube’s smash, but this was such a short hole that Diederek could still reach the green with an easy middler shot, which he proceeded to do. It was probably his best shot of the day, as the ball rolled up to a mere three feet from the hole. There was perfunctory clapping from the crowd, for the majority of the folk were clearly in our favor now, having had their fill of Albert and Diederek’s rude behavior. We heard one man shout to us, “We’re with you, lads and lass. Go get ‘em now, and finish those buggers off!” with a few “Hear, hears” to boot.

We arrived at Rube’s smash, which was so long in spite of the wind that we had only a short lifter shot to the green. Lars struck a low one, again attempting to keep it under the wind, and made it to the green easily, where it rolled up to within six paces of the hole. Not quite as close as Diederek’s, but still a very good shot.

The other team was sure to hole their ball for a three, so if Arie could hole her ball, it would be a tie on the hole, and we would win the match right there. She took her time with a few practice strokes and stepped up to the ball, looking several times from it to the hole to picture it going in. We could see Albert and Diederek standing near the hole with anxious looks on their faces, as the fate of the match now rested on Arie’s shot. You could sense the tension in the crowd. She took one more look from the ball to the hole, returned her eyes to the ball, and stroked it.

It was heading straight for the hole and would surely go in when, in desperation, Albert reached into his pocket, removed a coin, and threw it down on the path of the ball. It hit the coin, jumped a little, which slowed its progress, and stopped on the lip of the hole, where it appeared to teeter, but settled back and came to a standstill, hanging half over the hole but refusing to drop. The crowd groaned loudly.

Arie looked up at Albert with such venom in her expression that I was sure she would rush forward and attempt to strike him with her holer, so I ran to her and grabbed her before she had the chance to. As this unfolded, the crowd rushed onto the green and began stamping their feet on the ground near the hole. We were surrounded by a sea of people all shouting, “Drop, drop!” as they continued stamping their feet to try to shake the ground. A sudden peal of thunder ripped through the air, and as the stamping continued, the ball seemed to vibrate, move a fraction… and fell in.

Whether it was a gust of wind, or the vibration of the air from the thunder, or the stamping on the ground by the crowd that made it drop, I’ll never know, but the crowd whooped with joy as they lifted Arie and me into the air and up on their shoulders. I looked down and saw Fredrik and Gerrit gripping Albert and Diederek tightly around the chest with their arms pinioned to their sides, as they pushed them through the crowd and out of our sight.

At that point, the skies opened up, and the rain poured down on us, but neither we nor the crowd cared a whit about that as the applause and the shouts continued unabated for several minutes.

Arie and I, with hands clasped, were carried on shoulders to the edge of the green and set down between Lars and Rube, who were being congratulated and patted on the back by many folks. The four of us joined in a group hug as the crowd began to disperse and head back to the start, where there would be an awards ceremony.

The rules official came up to us and congratulated us on our victory. Arie stepped forward then and said, “Sir, I most humbly apologize for my rude behavior earlier and I ask your forgiveness. There is no excuse for my talking to you as I did.”

“That’s quite alright, young lady. It was the heat of the moment, and I understand completely. I wish now that I could take that ruling back. Those scoundrels are an embarrassment to this wonderful game you devised, and I’m sorry I ruled as I did. You are completely forgiven if you will likewise forgive me.”

She gave him a big hug as she looked up and winked at him. He smiled at me and said, “You have quite the amazing little wife here, Kilian.”

I smiled back. “Don’t I know it, sir.”

Together, the five of us walked back to the starting hole, where a raised platform had been constructed. The rain had abated some but was still coming down steadily. No one, including the crowd, seemed to mind. We took to the platform, and the official moved to the front, where he stood above the crowd and put up his hands for silence. It took them a while to settle down, and he had to shout to help quiet them, but when there was finally silence, he said in a loud voice, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present the winners of the first Amsterdam Kolf Competition: Kilian Pauls, Arie Pauls, Lars Jansen, and Ruben Meijer!” He retreated to the side then.

To thunderous applause, cheers, and whistles (the loudest of which came from Lotte in the front row), we moved forward and raised our clasped hands in the air. This went on for at least a minute, at which time the official stepped to the front again and raised his hands for silence. When the crowd finally settled down, he said, “This young team is a tremendous credit to the wonderful game of kolf that they devised. Their comportment during a very trying match against a rogue team, who stood out in great contrast to them, was exemplary, and they are to be commended for it.” Wild cheers from the crowd.

“And now, I would like to present the prize money and a plaque to honor their victory.” To more applause and cheers, he handed us the 10-guilder prize and the plaque. We thanked him for it. He then said, “Kilian, do you have a few words to say?”

“Can I do it?” Arie asked me.

“Of course you can. I knew you would want to.”

The official moved to the side again as Arie took to the center to cries of “Arie! Arie! Arie!” from the crowd. She raised her arms to quiet them.

When they finally quieted enough to hear her, she said in a loud voice that projected well, “On behalf of my team, we thank the official and his staff most kindly for this prize and a well-run competition.” More cheers and applause.

“We would also like to thank the other competitors as well as all of you who attended for your great support of this new game.” More applause.

“We are very happy to have won, but even happier to see how well our new game is catching on. We have done our best to spread the word, and we encourage you to do the same. Give it a try, and we’re sure you will have great fun playing. We hope to see you back again next year, and maybe some of you will join the field of competitors. Thank you very much!”

She shouted the last to more thunderous applause and shouts of “Arie! Arie! Arie!” as she stepped back again to be with us. We joined together in another group hug as the whistles and shouts and applause continued.

At last, the crowd began to disperse, and we stepped off the platform to greet Arie’s family, who came up to congratulate us. More hugs all around. I sidled over to Fredrik and Gerrit.

“So, what happened with Albert and Diederek?”

Fredrik said, “Let’s just say we left them in slightly worse condition than you did last year. I don’t think they will ever show their rearranged faces in this competition again.”

“Well, thank you for dealing with them. It is much appreciated.”

We all walked together back to Gerrit’s house, where we collapsed in his large sitting room, sprawled all over couches and chairs. We were exhausted from a full day of kolven and hungry as well. Lotte brought out some refreshments for us to snack on, then retreated to the kitchen with Anneke to help prepare a grand meal.

We were sweaty and did not smell the best, so we decided to bathe while the meal was being prepared. Arie bathed last, and when she returned to the room, she closed the door behind her. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and she had another towel wrapped around her body, which she let drop to the floor as she walked slowly toward me.

We didn’t come out for the next half-hour and had to be called to the meal. Lars and Lotte gave us knowing looks as we sat down to a sumptuous meal of beef pies and a variety of vegetables, breads, and cheeses. The conversation was lively as we recounted the day, especially the final round with all the events that made that round so memorable. We could not get over Arie’s quick thinking that led to that ball fiasco on the 10th hole with Rube’s smooth ball.

Pretty soon the merriment died down as exhaustion finally crept over us, and we retreated to our rooms for much-needed sleep. Arie and I fell asleep in each other’s arms at the end of a very long but very satisfying day.

(Two more chapters until the end of Part 1)