| General Fiction posted January 2, 2023 | Chapters: |
...29 30 -31- 32... 
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Abby and Kenny's first date
A chapter in the book Some Call It Luck
Some Call It Luck - Chapter 31
by Jim Wile
| Background A brilliant and beautiful but insecure, nerdy young woman befriends a going nowhere older alcoholic caddie. Together, they bring out the best in each other and collaborate on a startling new invention |
(See the Author Notes for a description of the main characters.)
Recap: Abby has just completed her senior year of college and has returned to Brentwood CC to work at the snack bar again this summer to earn money for grad school. While at school a few months back, she had met an interesting guy who she never saw again until he walks up to the snack bar with her friend Eddie. They are playing in the finals of the club championship. Abby is visibly flustered by Kenny’s reappearance and spills coke on him while serving him. Later that evening, her discomfiture around Kenny increases as she is drenched by champagne when she opens a bottle for Kenny and Eddie while waitressing in the clubhouse. She confides in E.J. who tells her not to worry about it and predicts that Kenny will ask her out within the week.
A continuation of the chapter Abby St. Claire - June, 1987
Later that afternoon, by around 3:00, things had slowed down at the snack bar. I would be off in about an hour, and I just sat behind the counter reading when Kenny walked up. My heart jumped a little as he said, “Hi, Abby.”
“Hi, Kenny. What can I get you?”
“How about a hotdog and a Coke. No onions, though!” We both laughed at that, thinking about the fiasco on the 17th tee yesterday. As I poured the Coke and prepared the hotdog, he started telling me about the match yesterday. He told me all about Eddie’s phenomenal putting and how he just couldn’t shake the little guy.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that about him before. He’s quite a character, isn’t he?” I said, to which he readily agreed.
We just kept on talking. Nobody else was coming up to the snack bar, so I suggested that we sit down at a table so he wouldn’t have to stand there at the counter, eating.
“So, will you be going back to school in the fall?” he asked me.
“Well, I just graduated this spring with a degree in mathematics, but I will be going back to Penn State in the fall to begin a master’s program in applied mathematics.” I saw his eyebrows raise a little when I told him this. “This summer I’m planning to relax and have fun.”
“Sounds like you deserve it. That was probably a pretty grueling major.”
“Yeah, it was, but I’ve always loved math and science. I’m kind of a nerd that way. So, are you a student there too?”
“No, I was just visiting a friend that day we met. I graduated from college last year and got my first job as a mechanical engineer for a mid-size company named Wingate Industries that manufactures dryers for the food industry.”
“Oh. Are they gas-heated or steam-heated dryers?”
“Uh, both, actually.”
“What’s the method of energy transfer? Convection? Jet tubes?”
“Mainly convection. How do you know so much about dryers, Abby? I’m very impressed with your questions.”
“I also studied engineering and physics before deciding I wanted to major in mathematics. We learned about thermodynamics.”
The conversation went on for a good while but eventually came to a halt, and right then he asked me if I’d like to join him for some coffee after I got off work or perhaps dinner a little later.
“I get off at 4:00. Maybe we could do dinner?”
“Okay, nothing fancy—just Maudie’s Place downtown. What do you think?” he asked me.
“That sounds great.” I then gave him directions to my apartment and told him to come around 6:00. Some more golfers were approaching right then, and I got up to go back to the counter. We said goodbye, and he left.
Son of a gun; E.J. was right, and his prediction came true. I couldn’t stop smiling.
When work was over, I hurried home to get ready for our date. I stopped in and told Aunt Helen that Kenny Payne would be coming over around 6:00 to pick me up for dinner. I told her I wanted to put my hair in a French braid and asked her if she could help me with that. She beamed at me then and told me she’d be glad to help and would come up in about an hour.
I went up the stairs to my apartment then and looked around for Lester, but he was nowhere to be found. I put some food out for him and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
After the shower, I stewed about what to wear. I tried a few things on and finally settled on a pair of short shorts and a pretty, flowered blouse. Aunt Helen came up then, and we worked on my hair for about 20 minutes. Then I chose a pair of earrings and a few dangly bracelets and put them on. Aunt Helen told me I looked smashing, and I thanked her for helping me with my hair.
The last step was to put on a little makeup. I never wore too much, but I wanted to look my best for Kenny.
I saw him pull up a few minutes before 6:00 as I was applying my lipstick. It looked like he stopped to chat with Aunt Helen and Uncle Bert who were probably out on the front porch sipping cocktails. Pretty soon I heard him come up the stairs and ring the bell. Right before I got to the door, Lester came bounding in through the cat door and startled me.
“Lester!! You scared the bejesus out of me! Can’t you come in a little calmer than that?” I opened the door and greeted Kenny a little breathlessly. “That was Lester who you probably saw for a second or two. He’s not particularly friendly to strangers, but he’s my buddy. I’ve had him since I was a kid.”
Kenny couldn’t take his eyes off me. “Abby, you look great!”
“Thanks. You look nice too.” He had on a pair of khaki shorts and a very smart-looking shirt.
I grabbed my purse, called goodbye to Lester, who had disappeared somewhere, and we headed out the door and down the stairs to his car. As we walked down the driveway, Aunt Helen called out, “Have a good time, dear. This one looks a lot more promising than that other one. So tall and handsome!”
“I think so, too, Aunt Helen,” I called back. Now it was Kenny’s turn to blush. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.
“And such manners!” came back Aunt Helen. He smiled at her and continued to blush, gave them a little wave goodbye, and got into the driver’s seat.
As we headed downtown to Maudie’s, he asked me, “So who is ‘that other one?’”
“Who do you think?”
“Oh, yeah, he mentioned that he had been out with you a few times.”
“Yes, twice to be exact. Let’s just say he’s not quite my type.”
“What is your type?”
“Tall and handsome and polite, I guess,” I replied with a grin
Abby St. Claire: Age 20. She has just graduated from Penn State University where she was a math major and has decided to go for a master's degree there next year. She is intelligent and beautiful, yet shy and awkward with most people her age, having been picked on quite a lot while growing up. She works at the snack bar at Brentwood Country Club during the summers.
E.J. Budrowski: Age 37. An alcoholic with a traumatic past (an abusive father and a mother driven to suicide) who is a caddie at Brentwood CC. One day he finds a dirty old golf ball on the edge of a pond that seems to have unusual powers, for he makes two holes-in-one with it. He and Abby become friends when she encourages him to take up both golf and bridge again after long layoffs.
Kenny Payne: Abby met him briefly at a frat party in her senior year and was intrigued by him, then she sees him again when he walks up to the snack bar several months later.
Eddie Phillips: A young member at Brentwood known for his extremely good putting and ability to hustle his opponents. Eddie is friends with Abby and beats Kenny in the club championship with a miracle shot. He and Kenny become best friends after that.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. E.J. Budrowski: Age 37. An alcoholic with a traumatic past (an abusive father and a mother driven to suicide) who is a caddie at Brentwood CC. One day he finds a dirty old golf ball on the edge of a pond that seems to have unusual powers, for he makes two holes-in-one with it. He and Abby become friends when she encourages him to take up both golf and bridge again after long layoffs.
Kenny Payne: Abby met him briefly at a frat party in her senior year and was intrigued by him, then she sees him again when he walks up to the snack bar several months later.
Eddie Phillips: A young member at Brentwood known for his extremely good putting and ability to hustle his opponents. Eddie is friends with Abby and beats Kenny in the club championship with a miracle shot. He and Kenny become best friends after that.
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