FanStory.com - Saving Mr. Calvin - Ch. 38/39Aby Jim Wile

Chapter 38

During the following week, Claire developed a good practice routine. I would come home for lunch at noon each day and have lunch with her at home, then drop her off at Kettle Creek to spend the afternoon practicing until Abby would pick her up at 4:30. Claire began her practice sessions with the suit on, but after an hour she would take it off so she could practice without it. I hadn’t actually seen her hitting shots without it yet, but she assured us that the suit was making a big difference in her unaided swing, and she was hitting the ball much better—not quite as consistently as when wearing the suit—but still much better than she had previously. Abby and I both reassured her that changing bad swing habits was not an overnight thing and that she should try to remain patient. She accepted that but still wished the progress would be faster.

Then one afternoon, disaster struck! When I came home from work, Claire was up in her room with the door closed, while Abby was down in the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table with her head leaning against it. She raised her head when I came in, and the look of anguish on her face was heartbreaking. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Claire lost the suit.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m not kidding. The suit is gone. She says she used it for a while on the range, then went into the locker room to change out of it and hung it in the locker. Then she went back out on the range to hit balls without it. Then she says she came back in to take a shower, but when she returned from the shower, the suit was gone. She had forgotten to lock it up, and apparently someone stole it out of the locker. We looked all over for it, but it was just gone. I really read her the riot act for not locking it up, and she’s up in her room now. Kenny, what are we going to do?”

She stood up from the table, and I went over and gave her a big hug. “I guess we’re going to start building a new one. All the plans and programming are in the computer, so all that work isn’t wasted, but we’ve got to have another one because we still have a lot of testing to do. Let’s just wait a little before starting in case we somehow manage to get it back. How does Claire feel about things?”

“She was crying, and she feels really sorry about it, but we’ve got to figure out some sort of punishment for this. She’s a good kid, but she has to learn to be more responsible and get her head out of the clouds.”

“You’re right, but let’s just sit on it for a while before deciding what the punishment should be. Then we can go about it with a little less emotion.”

“Okay.”

“Sweetie, I’m so sorry this has happened, but it’s not the end of the world or the project. It’s just a temporary setback, but we’ll manage it.”

“I know. But wait ‘til I get my hands on whoever stole it, if we ever figure that out. We just have to keep our eyes open.”

After a week, Abby and I came up with a punishment for Claire. Because it had been such a costly mistake, we debated whether the punishment should be determined accordingly. Or should we be more lenient with her because it was really just a single oversight—forgetting to lock the suit up in her locker? I’m more of a softy with Claire and tended toward a lighter punishment, but Abby felt it needed to be more stringent. In the end, we compromised and decided to require that she work it off during the next three weeks before school starts again by putting in 36 hours of work helping to rebuild the suit. That will put a significant crimp in her time with friends and her enjoyment of the end of summer, but we thought that would have more of an impact on her than any lesser amount.

“36 hours!” Claire whined when we told her. “How did you come up with that amount?”

Abby said, “Your father and I decided that two hours a day, Monday through Saturday, for three weeks would be a fair amount. You can have Sundays off. Consider yourself lucky, young lady, that it isn’t more!”

“Okay, Mom, but does it have to be every day like that, or could I double up one day and skip the next?”

“I’ll trust you to put in the 36 hours however you want to. I know you’ll be honest about it, right, Claire?”

“I will, Mom. I know I messed up.”

Her brother teased her unmercifully when he found out about it, and Abby finally had to holler at him to stop, or he would end up helping out too. He stopped!

We were going to begin rebuilding the suit in a couple more weeks following the Ladies Club Championship at Kettle Creek. Abby would be playing in it and wanted a couple weeks without the worry of getting started on a new suit to spend some time practicing for it. She had won it the previous year and was looking forward to a repeat of her win.

I would have to miss the first day of the two-day tournament because my partner Eddie and I would be presenting at a big golf equipment show in Boston on Friday and Saturday, and the Club Championship began on that same Saturday. I had been Abby’s caddie for it the previous year, so she needed to find another one this year and asked E.J. if he would caddie for her for the two days. He said he would be delighted to do it.

I got home from the golf show on Saturday night as planned and found out that Abby had done well that first day, shooting a 4-over-par 77, but was two strokes behind the leader, a woman named Dana Padgett, who shot a 75.

Abby and Dana had a long, unpleasant history together, going back to their childhoods in Butler, Pennsylvania. They hadn’t seen each other in 20 years until Dana showed up one day earlier this summer, having recently moved to Altoona and joined the club. Abby had been a bookworm as a young child and wore glasses. She had been teased and bullied by Dana and her friends for years during school because they had been jealous of Abby’s intelligence. It was quite a surprise when Dana showed up one day a couple of months ago. Abby had actually had lunch and played golf with Dana that day, both of them having been invited by another member who didn’t know of their background together. Abby had told me that Dana was a good golfer, but perhaps not quite as good as she was. At any rate, being the two leaders, they would be playing together in the final twosome tomorrow.

Chapter 39A

Sunday began overcast and cool, which is not that unusual for late August. Abby decided to wear slacks instead of a skirt, plus a sweater and windbreaker. She figured she could always take off layers if it started to warm up this afternoon.

Abby, E.J., and I, along with Claire and Greg, sat together at lunch in the clubhouse before the final round. It was pleasant, although Abby said she was a little nervous about playing with Dana in the last group.

After lunch, she hit a few balls on the range and putted for several minutes to warm up before heading to the first tee. Claire, Greg, and I will be following her around today to give her moral support.

It had warmed up a little but was still on the cool side, so Abby kept her sweater and windbreaker on to start. Dana was similarly dressed. E.J. was already just in shirt sleeves.

Dana and Abby were cordial enough to shake hands and wish each other luck before starting. The starter announced the final group, and Dana teed off first.

The 1st hole is a long par-4 of 380 yards from the forward tees. Dana stroked a beautiful drive with a slight draw on it that ended up on the left side of the fairway. Abby had told me previously that Dana hit the ball a long way but was normally a fader or slicer; however, this drive was perfect. She had a good-looking swing. Abby also hit a good drive, but it was twenty yards behind Dana’s on a similar line.

Abby hit a crisp 4-iron to the front of the green for her second shot. There were a few of us who would follow along with the match, and we applauded the shot. The kids shouted, “Way to go, Mom!”

Dana required only a 7-iron to similarly hit the green. It was another good shot with a slight draw on it. They both 2-putted for par and moved on to the 2nd hole.

As we stood next to the 2nd tee, I overheard Abby say to E.J., “I might have my work cut out for me today. She’s looking good so far.”

“So far,” said E.J. “But you just keep putting the pressure on her with good shots like those last two, and we’ll see if she can hold up. There’s a long way to go, and you’re looking strong too.”

Abby thanked him for his encouraging words. Dana still had the honors and hit another good drive down the middle. Abby followed suit, but was 20 yards behind her once more. They ended up halving this hole with pars again and moved on to the 3rd.

By the end of the 7th hole, Dana had gained another stroke on Abby when she birdied the 6th hole to Abby’s par. Abby was playing well at even par, but Dana was 1-under for the day, which, coupled with her 2-stroke lead to start the day, put her 3 strokes ahead. It was going to be difficult to beat her. She was swinging well and striking the ball very consistently. An inkling of a thought crossed my mind then, but I didn’t really pursue it.

(The remainder of Chapter 39 to be presented on Monday.)