Coming From Behind Ch. 09-10

I thought about saying something to her about it but stopped and considered how to form the question so as not to throw her off. The answer was simple enough.

"How do you see yourself playing to start off with today?" I asked her as we walked back toward the putting green.

She looked at me questioningly, then looked away.

"I haven't decided," she said, turning back to me. "Why?"

"I think you need to have a plan. Indecision can produce indecisive play. Your strength is knowing what you want to do and then doing it. No doubts. It doesn't matter if you want to play defensive for a while before turning it on, but at least you know what you want to do."

She looked at me again, seemingly trying to figure out why I was speaking out.

"So ... you think I don't have a plan?" she said, but not in a confrontational way.

"No ... I don't think you've decided and you should do so before you walk onto the first tee. If you want to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen."

She gave me one of her funny, wrinkled smiles. "I don't know how you knew ... but you're right. I haven't decided whether to attack or play cautiously until I see how Miranda plays. Or anyone else either, just in case there's another seven under out there somewhere."

"You kicked ass yesterday by being aggressive when the opportunities arose. Nothing crazy, of course, but look what it got you," I smiled.

"You thinking I should go after it?"

"That's my gut feel. You've got the game for it and if you can get into Miranda's head early she might have a hell of a time competing."

She laughed softly and shook her head, then took hold of my arm, pulled me to her and planted a serious big kiss on my lips.

"Where have you been when I really needed someone like you? You're right, Terry. I've got nothing to lose. Play to win. That's what this is about. I've done it once before. I'd like to prove it wasn't a fluke. Now is the time to 'kick ass' as you call it. Let's go. Miranda awaits," she said, marching off to the putting green.

I liked the look of Catherine's putting stroke when I watched her on the practice green. It was consistent and her judgment was good. I was getting a good feeling about her today. Call it intuition or just wishful thinking, I had a lot of confidence in her at that moment.

I don't know if I was prescient or what but it took no time at all for Catherine to exert her influence on the game. When Miranda inexplicably took a double bogey on the first hole with an errant drive and a poor chip, Catherine birdied the first hole with a drive and a wedge within ten feet. Once again her deadly putting inside that range paid off and she walked off the first green having wiped out her three stroke deficit that quickly.

It was all downhill from there. It was as if she had adopted the maxim of "when you've got 'em down, kick 'em." She took it to Miranda relentlessly on the front nine and by the turn it was all over. Her opponent scrambled to stay in the game but by then Catherine was ten under and Miranda had slipped back to seven under. Their starting positions had been reversed. Miranda was trying to catch up with more aggressive play but it was backfiring on her. You could see the frustration on her face, something that had never been there before.

Catherine took her foot off the throttle for most of the back nine. You could sense she was in complete control and if she needed to step up, she could and she would. At the end of the round it was Catherine Walston 203, thirteen under par. Her six under round looked as easy as a stroll in the park. Miranda recovered somewhat but finished at 207, nine under for the tournament and one over for the day. No one else was within two shots.

When she sank her tap-in on eighteen I watched her face and I couldn't tell if she was going to shout for joy or burst into tears. She came straight for me, wrapping her arms around me and giving me another of her great, loving kisses.

"Thank you Terry. Thank you so much," she said, breaking away to shake hands with her competitors and the caddies.

I was immensely proud of her, of course. She had shown that champion's determination once again and I had a feeling that she was going to be very difficult to beat in these regional tournaments. The trophy was nice and the money was great but it was the sense of accomplishment that she fed on. She was a winner again and it was beginning to settle into her psyche that she had turned a corner in her life.

Chapter 10 The End of the Beginning

Catherine skipped the Coeur d'Alene tournament in late August. We were in the middle of final design drawings for the clubhouse and decisions needed to be made. I couldn't get away and Catherine wouldn't accept anyone else on her bag except me, so we opted out. There was still the Southern Oregon Open the third week of September and I thought we might be able to sneak away for that. It was to be played on the new Centennial Golf Club in Medford, potentially a 7300 yard monster that would undoubtedly be cut back to a more sensible length for the women.

James assured us the final drawings would be ready for submission to the council before the end of September, so Catherine went ahead and sent her entry in to the organizers and we promptly got on with other things related to Bending Willows.

With Scotty's help and connections, we found a greenskeeper who came well recommended from a private club in Montana. He wanted to get away from cold winters and an ex-wife we were told. In his mid-fifties, he was no youngster, but he could do the job and it was an important one. We were still looking for a teaching professional.

Catherine's two wins had not gone unnoticed and she had been invited to resume her residency at Ghost Creek but politely declined, reminding them that she was now an employee at the soon-to-be-rebuilt Bending Willows course.

"Employee, huh?" I snorted. "I think executive would be more appropriate."

"You've been eavesdropping, Terry. Besides, I didn't want to burn any bridges. We may want some friends in this business from time to time and we can't start building those links too soon."

"Tell me what these relationships can do?"

"Simple, when we're overbooked we can contact other courses to see what's available, and vice versa. Also, some of the bigger promotions can book three courses for a weekend. We may want to participate and if we have good relations with the other people, it makes it that much easier to get cooperation. If we get closed for any freak situation like a flood or something, we need to find places for our members and guests. That sort of thing."

"Okay, you've obviously thought this out so I bow to your superior experience and judgment."

"Wise decision," she smirked.

I had not pursued any more talk of marriage since I first brought it up. I thought it might be smarter to wait until the big project we worked on was complete and then, when we had some time to ourselves, I could ask again. Hopefully this time I would get a positive response. Just the same, I felt we were living and acting like a married couple so I really wasn't missing anything from our relationship.

In Mid-September, James and Brett scheduled a meeting with Catherine, Scotty and me to give us a preliminary look at the finished plans for the clubhouse, pro shop and out buildings, integrated into their locations on the new course. It was an exciting moment that afternoon when we gathered around the big plywood table that we had made for just this purpose.

No matter how good the computer graphics were, they still couldn't do for me what a set of design drawings could. Brett and James had worked together to integrate both the course and buildings to show everything we could imagine, including the pathways, parking areas, drop off locations, putting and chipping greens, and driving range. As they rolled back the top sheet of the plans, I was holding my breath.

It took me a few seconds to focus on what I was looking at. The more I looked, the more I saw, and the more I saw, the more excited I became.

"Incredible!" I said to no one in particular. "It's better than I imagined it would be. Fantastic! Great job, guys."

"It's wonderful," Catherine echoed.

Scotty was nodding his approval. "First rank, lads. First rank," he declared.

"Have we got all our bases covered for the approvals?" I asked.

"Yes, as far as I know we've got everything just the way they wanted it," James said. "I can't see any problem in council with this, especially if Ms. Sandoval is on our side."

"How much more work has to be done before we can present this as a complete set of plans?" I asked.

"Electrical and HVAC are still at the sub-trades for their review but I'm sure there's less than a week's work to finish," James said confidently.

"We've already got approval on the irrigation, drainage, and sewer system," Brett reminded us. They're happy as hell we won't be putting any strain on the county systems since we have that spring water to use."

"Wilford Contracting has most of the estimates completed and they don't expect any surprises from the electrical or HVAC," Catherine said. "We're in a soft market right now so it's a great time to build."

"That's great everyone," I smiled. "Well done! I can't wait to get started."

"Aye, Lad," Scotty said seriously. "It will be a grand day when we open once again."

We left for Medford on Tuesday, knowing it would be a full five to six hour drive including our stops. We chose the Marriot Courtyard since there was no Embassy Suites in the town. I guess we were getting spoiled but it wasn't about the facilities at the hotel that mattered, it was about the golf. As it turned out, the hotel was just fine and there were several very nice restaurants to choose from as well.

Catherine didn't win the tournament but she did finish tied for third. She played well but somehow didn't seem to have the fire in her belly that she did in Seattle. I didn't expect her to win everything she entered but I thought something was missing this week and I couldn't put my finger on it.

"So, how do you feel about the tournament," I asked as subtly as I could on our drive back to Portland.

She turned to me. Looked at me for a few moments, shrugged, then turned back to gazing out the windshield.

I was about to rephrase the question when it dawned on me she was lost in thought.

It took her a few minutes before she said anything.

"Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what?" I asked, not knowing what she was referring to.

"About being with me for a lifetime. You said that, you know, back in July."

"Of course I did. I meant it then and I mean it now."

There was an exit to Roseburg that I almost missed before deciding to turn off.

"Why are you turning off here?"

"Time for a break and a conversation. Would you like a coffee or something else? Something to eat?"

She shook her head, still not looking at me. "No thanks. Coffee's fine."

I found an espresso shack just off the entrance to town and pulled over in an unoccupied area near the shack. I got out, but Catherine stayed in the wagon, still lost in thought I guessed, judging by the expression on her face.

I passed her the usual latté she would order and I had my dark coffee with three creams as I got back into the Audi.

"Talk to me, Cat. It's like this has been bothering you all weekend ... even before that maybe."

"Terry ... I ... I've ... I've never been in love before. I don't know if it's real or not. I don't know what to do," she sobbed, tears now trickling down her cheek.

"There isn't anything to do. It happens. It is ... I mean ... it's not a tangible thing. It's in your head and in your heart. It won't let go of you. It's there all the time, just like you are with me all the time. I don't have a minute that I'm not thinking about you and wondering about you. Even when I'm asleep, you're in my dreams. I can't help it. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm in love with you, Catherine. I want to marry you. I want you with me for the rest of my life. Yes ... yes ... I meant it then and I mean it now."

Both of us had put our coffees in the holders or otherwise there would have been a pair of scaldings to deal with. She had released her seat belt and turned to me, almost lunging across the center consol and wrapping her arms around me and kissing me with great force.

"Yes. That's my answer. Yes. Yes I will marry you. When you explained it ... I mean ... how you felt about me, I knew it was the same for me. I guess I really am in love with you, Terry. But it's weird. I should be really happy but ... I think I'm scared. I don't know what to say or do ... except ... I've made up my mind. Yes," she smiled through the drying tear tracks.

I held her tightly, happier than I'd been in a long, long time. My new life was great and I was excited by my tomorrows, but never so much as having Catherine with me at my side every day. I couldn't think of anything special to say. I'd already said it so I did up my seat belt, turned the car back toward I-5, and headed home.

I don't remember much of the drive home. We stopped one more time for a bathroom and snack break before finishing the trip. We held hands along the way. I think both of us were emotionally and physically exhausted by the time we reached the townhouse. I made a sandwich and heated some canned soup for each of us while Catherine unpacked and had a shower.

She returned to the kitchen in a t-shirt, shorts and barefoot. She wrapped her arms around me from behind and hugged me to her. I think it was her way of telling me she wasn't having any second thoughts. We kissed before I excused myself to shower and change. I don't sing in the shower because I shouldn't, but that evening I was very tempted. To hell with the tournament, I had won first prize.

Two weeks later, Catherine and I presented our plans for the new Bending Willows Golf Club and with the vocal support of Delores Sandoval and with no intervention from any interested party, it was passed unanimously by council. All the preparation and hard work had come out with exactly the result we were hoping for.

"I hope you remember your commitment to remove the portables by the end of next year, Terry," Delores smiled.

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised," I said with a positive note. "If our calculations are correct, we should have the club open and operating in all structures by this time next year, three months ahead of the deadline."

"Excellent. Just as I hoped you would. I'm looking forward to the grand re-opening. I hope you'll invite me."

"Count on it. In fact, I plan to have you cut the ribbon if you are allowed to do that. I also intend to invite the media. It might not be a big deal to them but it is to us."

"I'll be there with my official scissors. You know very well no politician would miss an opportunity to get their picture taken."

"Why Delores, I never once thought of you as a politician," I kidded.

"You lie, Terry. But I do appreciate the invitation and you can count on me being there."

"I think the only person that will be happier than us that day will be Scotty. It's like he's been reborn."

I felt an elbow poke me gently in my ribs as Catherine joined us.

"I hear congratulations are in order, too," the council member said happily.

"Yes. Catherine and I plan to get married next spring. The details aren't settled yet but we'll let you know by invitation."

"This is quite a whirlwind life you two are leading. Building a golf course, playing and winning tournaments, getting married. When do you have time to relax?"

"He promised me he wouldn't go back to his old lifestyle of twenty-four/seven for work and I'm holding him to that promise," Catherine said solemnly.

"Well, make sure he sticks to that, Catherine. He's one of a kind and you want to keep him nearby."

Delores left to chat with some other council members and citizens, leaving Catherine and me alone.

"At least she didn't ask the question," Catherine said.

"What question?"

"How many children were we planning on?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Jeez, Cat. We haven't even talked about that yet. You should kick me for that."

"I will later. You've had a lot on your mind and I didn't want to complicate things even more. We can discuss it later," she said, not seeming upset or concerned.

"Yeah. Later ... okay. I won't forget."

Later turned out to be that night in bed. Ever since she'd made the remark, I hadn't gotten the question out of my mind. What about starting a family? I wanted children ... at least two ... but what about Catherine? What did she want? And if she didn't want any, how would I feel?

"You still awake?" I whispered.

"Yes."

"You thinking about what we talked about ... I mean about having kids?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Me too. What do you want?"

"What do you want?"

"I asked you first," I kidded.

"It's not a game, Terry," she chided.

"I know," I said contritely, "but I guess we have to be honest enough to say what we think. I do want children but only if you want them too."

She rolled toward me and held me and I had my answer.

"Do you think two would be enough?" she asked.

"I was thinking two would be exactly right." I was grinning from ear to ear but I wasn't sure Catherine could see it.

"Then the only thing to decide is when," she said.

"That's up to you. When it feels right to you then that's the right time."

"Okay ... I guess. I think we should have a year to get ready first. A year after the course is reopened. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course it is. That sounds very sensible. You're still young so it won't be a problem."

We both slept well after that. It was another thing that was settled and no longer on our minds.

My next important task, beyond buying an engagement ring, was to meet her parents. Eugene was little more than two hours south of Gresham and we chose the next Saturday for me to be introduced. Catherine said they were thrilled that she had found someone and equally pleased that she now had a career that replaced the vagabond life of a golf pro. In their words, she had grown up and decided to settle down.

Catherine chose what I felt was a modest or at least understated engagement ring at a well known local jeweler. I asked her more than once if she was happy with it, telling her that cost wasn't an object. I think she knew that but insisted that the ring suited her and she was delighted with it. I ceased my questioning.

Fred and Yvonne Walston were what I thought of as a typical middle-class couple. These were the people who made the country go. There was no pretense about them and I liked them instantly upon meeting them.

"We have a lot of catching up to do with both of you," Fred said as we sat in the living room of their ranch style home. Yvonne and Catherine were in the kitchen making coffee and some snacks. I could hear them talking but couldn't hear what they were saying.

"How did you meet our daughter?" he asked.

"Purely by accident. A very happy accident as it turned out."

I went on to tell him about playing golf with her, learning of the course that was for sale, involving her in the purchase and then management of our project. It was the short version but he was fascinated and it led to my telling him about my career in Chicago and my reasons for leaving.

"Do you think you'll be satisfied with just operating a golf course out here?" he asked.

I was pretty sure I knew what he was really asking. Was I going to get bored and go back to my previous life and take Catherine with me?

"I won't go back to what I once did. Ten years of that was enough to teach me what I could and couldn't live with. It's already cost me one marriage. I won't let it cost me another. You can count on that. I've already decided this is where I want to live and I don't see anything that will change my mind."