Teaberry Invitational

by R A Wallace

  “I’m hoping for a quiet week at work,” Justin said.

  She looked across the kitchen at him. “Is something going on there?”

  He closed the door of the dishwasher and leaned against the counter. He could hear the television in the living room. The kids were no longer arguing. They must have settled on something.

  “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling,” he said.

  She looked down as Grace stirred again. “What does that mean?”

  “It probably just means I’m getting goofy,” he said with a wry smile. “It just seems like my supervisor is acting a little different.”

  “Maybe she needs a vacation too?” Lauren knew immediately when Grace began to awaken. She turned the baby slightly in her arms to face her.

  “Yeah. That’s probably all it is. Everyone has spring fever.” He could hear the kids in the living room again. It sounded like it was time to get them outside.

  “I see pretty eyes,” Lauren said to Grace.

  Justin crossed the room. “Hey, Princess.”

  “You’d better stop calling her that,” she warned him, not for the first time.

  He kissed the top of Lauren’s head. “I was talking to you.”

  ***

  Caitlyn stirred the sauce one last time and turned off the heat.

  “Can you hand me the plates, please?” she asked.

  “I’ll get the pasta on them first. You can do the sauce,” Doug suggested as he set his wine glass down and reached for a plate.

  “Deal.” She looked down at the sauce. It was a simple bolognese, but the salad was made and there was some crusty bread to go with the meal.

  “How was your day?” he asked as he piled on the pasta.

  She took the plate from him. “Good. I figured out what I’m planning to do for the closing ceremony of the golf tournament.”

  “Yeah? I can’t wait to see it.” He took the plate covered with sauce from her and swapped it with a plate of pasta.

  She ladled sauce on the second plate and carried it to the table to join him.

  “That’s the part that worries me.” She sat down around the corner from him.

  “That your arrangements will be seen on television when they cover the ceremony?” He picked up the cheese grater and ground a generous amount over her pasta.

  “Thanks. Yes, and they’ll be listing Anderson Florist in the credits.”

  “You deserve the credit.” He grated another generous amount of cheese on his own pasta.

  “We’ll see how it goes.” She buttered a slice of bread and put it on his plate. “I’m hoping the tournament brings as much business to the town as expected.”

  “The trick is pulling them in.”

  “I had an idea about that.” She buttered a second piece for herself. “I created a flyer for the shops in my building and a few other places around town. I hope you don’t mind, but I listed your restaurant also.”

  “What do you mean?” He pulled his salad bowl closer.

  “I was planning to distribute them to the businesses tomorrow so we can start passing them out. It’s a flyer that promotes the different businesses. I’ve spoken to owners of the other places and they all seemed pretty enthusiastic about it.” She waited to hear his response.

  “What you’ve told me so far sounds promising. We should work together to bring customers in.”

  She expelled a relieved breath. “I think so too. I wasn’t sure how everyone would react at first. In addition to having our businesses on the flyer, there’s a message about a discount or some promotion. You know, mention that you saw this ad and you’ll get so much off or what have you.”

  “Who’s paying for the printing costs?” he asked.

  “That’s the thing. At first, I planned to. That’s why I was only going to run enough for each shop to post one copy this time,” she said.

  “Sounds like that has changed?” he guessed.

  “Yeah. Once we had a chance to speak with all of the shop owners today, they said they’d kick in and pay for part of the printing costs so we could hand them out.”

  “Okay. Well, count the Station Pub & Grill in. I think it’s a great idea.”

  “Good.” She lifted her glass of wine and grinned at him. “I already calculated your portion of the cost and we had the copies run off. I have some for you to take to the restaurant.”

  ***

  Cole finished eating the boxed dinner he’d gotten from Pat in the restaurant and went to find Wes. Everyone at the golf course seemed full of energy. There were a lot more people there. He assumed it was players and others arriving in advance of the tournament.

  He wound his way through people, both staff and visitors, walking from the restaurant to the Golf Shop as he searched for Wes to get his assignments. As he entered the Golf Shop, he found Wes speaking with Jay Kerns. He could tell that Wes was angry about something. Cole hung back and waited for the two men to finish their discussion.

  “She’s just a kid,” Wes said. “You need to lay off her.”

  “She shouldn’t be here this week. She isn’t good enough to compete in this tournament,” Jay insisted.

  “I don’t agree, but that’s not the issue. She’s fourteen. You need to be encouraging her. Not telling her she isn’t good enough.”

  Cole wondered if they were talking about Maya.

  “She’s better off hearing the truth now.” Jay’s voice sounded reasonable, but Cole could tell that Wes was having none of it.

  “Just do what I say and lay off,” Wes said.

  “Or what? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the promoter of this tournament. I can revoke her invitation. It should never have been issued in the first place. The only way she slipped in was by being your partner. She would never have made it on her own accord.” Jay began walking away.

  “I’m telling you, Jay. Lay off. She doesn’t need people like you trying to tear her down.” Wes remained where he was and watched as Jay walked out of the shop.

  Cole waited a moment before approaching Wes. Wes was rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Everything okay?” Cole asked.

  “Yeah. I have your assignments.” Wes pulled a list from his pocket and handed it to Cole. “Have you eaten?”

  “Yeah.” Cole glanced at the list. His first assignment was now.

  “You’d better get going.” Wes walked outside with Cole.

  Jay was standing in front of the shop speaking with Emily, the evening assistant manager at the restaurant. Cole nodded as he passed them and kept going. He approached a couple that he assumed was waiting for him.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Russo?” Cole asked.

  He assumed both were somewhere in their fifties. His assignment listed them as Paolo and Angela Russo.

  “Yes, that’s us. We understand you’re going to tell us the secrets about winning at this course,” Paolo said.

  Cole returned the man’s smile. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  Paolo laughed. “Fair enough.”

  Cole waited for Mrs. Russo. She’d given Cole a brief smile when he’d first approached them but her attention seemed to be on another couple. Cole watched as Tucker introduced himself to the other couple then turned back to Mrs. Russo. She was scowling.

  “I see Dee can’t keep her eyes from you,” Angela said with no attempt to lower her voice.

  “Now, Darling,” Paolo said with a tight smile.

  “Oh, just quit. I’m tired of hearing it all.” Angela stalked off toward the golf cart.

  Paolo expelled a breath and offered Cole an apologetic smile. Cole lifted the golf bag and began following Paolo toward the Russo’s golf cart. As he set the bag in the back of the golf cart, he turned and saw the other woman staring at the Russos.

  ***

  Phoebe stood near the beginning of the course where the players were gathering for a late afternoon game of golf. She could see Wes interacting with several of the caddies and players as
they finalized their plans and began going out to play.

  He looked good, she thought. It had been several months since she’d seen him last. Nearly a year, in fact. She’d made some excuse to stop in Teaberry on her way to somewhere else. He’d been just as curt with her then as he was now. She wondered why she kept trying.

  Her focus turned to the couples who were going out onto the course. She’d studied up on them all, knowing as she did that the smallest tidbits could come in handy when she was filling air time. Knowing the habits of each could help predict what they might do next during the tournament. Those kinds of clues made for better announcing.

  She heard an angry voice behind her just before someone slammed into her. She quickly regained her balance and turned to find Jay Kerns. He barely paused and didn’t offer her an apology for almost knocking her down. Instead, he turned back to one of the staff members.

  “Watch where you’re going.” Jay motioned toward someone else and shot Phoebe a look of disbelief. “Can you believe some people?” he asked her.

  Phoebe thought the same thing as she watched Jay walk away.

  Chapter Five

  Jack turned to his friends. “It’s good to see so many people here.”

  “This tournament was a great idea,” George agreed. “Look, isn’t that the couple that just won over on the west coast?”

  Dave followed George’s finger as he pointed. “It is. They look bigger in person.”

  Jack laughed. “That’s just because we watched on one of the little televisions here in the restaurant.”

  “Yeah. We should have watched it in the bar. The televisions are bigger there,” George said.

  “Hey, there’s Jay.” Dave waved. “Jay, over here.”

  “You three are a fixture here,” Jay said as he stopped in front of them.

  “Have been for years,” Jack agreed amiably.

  “We like it here,” George said.

  “It has everything we need,” Dave added. “We play golf when we want to, eat when we want to, and there are lots of televisions.”

  “You used to be a fixture here yourself,” Jack said. “Back in the day.”

  “That was a long time ago,” Jay said as he glanced behind them.

  “You made a name for yourself back then,” George said. “Everyone knew who you were.”

  “You were something back then,” Dave said. “A real phenom yourself. You were what? Just a teenager at the time?”

  “Like I said. It was a long time ago.” Jay brushed past them and continued on his way to the bar.

  The three men shared a look and shrugged.

  “Hey, I recognize her. Isn’t that the announcer on TV?” Jack asked.

  “Phoebe something, isn’t it?” Dave said.

  “Yeah, Phoebe Gaines. That’s it,” George said. “She usually works with that guy.”

  “His name sounds like a car,” Jack said.

  “Not a car. It’s Van,” Dave corrected him.

  “Van Haskins,” George agreed.

  “She’s walking over here,” Jack said. “Phoebe, hey hello.”

  “Well, hello.” Phoebe smiled at the three of them. “Are you here for dinner too?”

  “Nah, we’ve been here all day. We were just leaving,” Jack said.

  “We figured we should let someone else have our seats,” George added.

  “We know it’s going to get real busy here tonight,” Dave said.

  “I think you’re right about that,” Phoebe said. “You gentlemen have a nice evening.”

  Phoebe walked into the bar side of the restaurant and looked around. She hadn’t been able to find Wes outside. She wondered if maybe he might be in the restaurant getting his dinner. She finally spotted him in one of the booths on the other side of the room. She quickly crossed the room to join him.

  “Hey, stranger. It’s been a long time.” Phoebe stopped next to the booth. She wasn’t going to sit down unless he asked her to.

  Wes tossed his napkin on the table and began sliding out of the booth.

  “Yeah. Good to see you.”

  She watched as he walked around her and kept going. Jay crossed the room carrying a drink in his hand.

  “Looks like he isn’t interested in talking about old times,” Jay said. “Why don’t you let me buy you a drink?”

  “No, thanks.” Phoebe managed a tight smile before she walked out of the building.

  ***

  Emily stood at the front entrance of the restaurant and greeted everyone as they arrived. The night had been every bit as busy as they had anticipated. Apparently, many of the players, members of the media, and the announcers had already arrived at the golf course.

  They’d had a heads-up, of course. They knew that many of the bungalows and the hotel rooms were already occupied. The front doors of the restaurant opened and a group of several people entered. Emily quickly counted heads and checked her seating chart.

  “Goof afternoon. How many?” Emily glanced around the group to see who would respond. When she got the answer she needed, she checked her chart again.

  “Okay, Pat will take you to your table. Enjoy your dinner.” Emily watched as the group walked away following Pat, then turned to the next group that entered. She passed them off to another staff member who led them to their table.

  “After this, we might need to make larger groups wait a while before another table frees up,” Pat said when she returned to Emily.

  Emily nodded her agreement as she checked her seating chart.

  “It seems like a lot of the players know each other. A lot of them seem to be coming to dinner together. What about the bar? Can we seat any more there?” Emily asked.

  “We would be in better shape if we didn’t have some people camping out on a stool,” Pat said quietly.

  Emily stepped away from her station and peered into the bar side.

  “Is Jay still there?” she asked Pat with a shake of her head.

  “Maybe he’ll clear out when the crowd gets a little bigger,” Pat said.

  “Do you want to handle the station here?” Emily asked. “You wouldn’t have to walk around as much. You’ve already been here all day.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Pat agreed as she stepped behind the station.

  ***

  Jodie waited for Dion in front of the restaurant. He arrived a moment later, looking guilty for taking so long.

  “Sorry. I ran into someone on my way over,” he apologized.

  “It’s been happening a lot to me also. Funny how many people you get to know in our business,” Jodie said. “Are you ready to go in?”

  “Yeah. If they don’t have any seats left, we can always try eating at the bar,” he suggested.

  “Works for me.” Jodie opened the door and stepped inside.

  There were several other people waiting. She flashed a look at Dion before working her way to the hostess.

  “Do you have a table for two?” Jodie asked.

  “I do, but it will be about a fifteen to twenty minute wait,” Emily said.

  “What about the bar? Are there any open seats there?” Jodie asked.

  “You can take a look. If there aren’t, I can take your name for a table,” Emily suggested.

  Jodie took a few steps to look inside the bar. She turned and motioned to Dion. He stopped talking to the person next to him and joined her quickly. She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd toward the two empty seats at the far end of the bar.

  “Got it,” she said victoriously as she climbed up on a stool.

  “Now we just need to get some menus,” Dion said as he tried to flag down a bartender.

  “I think we know most of the people in here,” Jodie said as she looked around. “Except him.”

  Dion turned his head to follow her gaze. He glanced back at her face to make sure who she was referring to.

  “That guy?” Dion asked with a scowl.

  “Yeah. You know him?” she asked.

  “Wes Lowr
y,” Dion said. “He’s the golf instructor here.”

  Jodie turned back to Dion. “Maybe I’ll have a chance to meet him this week.” She smiled when she saw him scowl then reached for the menus that the bartender passed to her.

  “You two got the last seats in here,” a voice said behind them.

  Dion looked up from his menu. “Avery. You snooze, you lose.”

  “You would think media people would stick together,” Avery complained. “You should have saved a seat for me too.”

  “Like that time on the east coast when you didn’t save a seat for us?” Jodie asked.

  “Or last month in the south?” Dion added.

  Avery pointed at them. “And now you see why I didn’t. I knew you wouldn’t save one for me.”

  Jodie laughed as she spun around to get the bartender’s attention again.

  ***

  Rudy Corbett watched his wife pick at her food.

  “Is everything okay? Do you want me to send that back?” Rudy asked.

  “What? Oh, no. It’s fine. Really. I just don’t feel like eating.” Lacey made a face. “Maybe it’s nerves. My stomach just isn’t agreeing with me.”

  “You’re worried about the tournament?” Rudy asked.

  Lacey shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s the only thing I can think of.” She began rubbing her arms.

  “Are you cold?” he asked.

  “Maybe. A little. Maybe that’s all it is. I left my sweater in our bungalow,” Lacey said.

  “I can go get it,” Rudy offered.

  “No, you stay and eat.” Lacey stood. “I’ll get it and be right back.”

  Rudy watched her weave her way through the restaurant. Across the room, he saw a couple at another table watching her also. He recognized them immediately, of course. It was Shaun and Celine Brothers. He watched as Shaun stood up from his table. Celine looked angry and said something to Shaun that made him pause for moment. Then he shook his head at her and followed Lacey from the restaurant. Rudy flagged his waitress as she neared their table.

  “I’m going to step out to check on my wife. I’ll be right back in. Please don’t give up our table,” Rudy said. He waited long enough to watch her nod, then followed Shaun out.

  He expected to find Shaun talking with Lacey. Instead, he found him talking to Gil Ressler, one of the journalists. Rudy turned to fight his way back through the crowd and took his seat again. A few minutes later, Lacey returned with her sweater.