u南茜·B。布斯

NancgB·Gibbs

Myhusband，Roy，hadalwayswantedtolaygolf。

IhadheardthehorridGolfWidowstoriesandneverencouragedthegame。Afterquiteafewyearsofmarriageandraisingthreechildren，wewereinformedbyourtwinsons，BradandChad，nowyoungadults，thattheyweretakinguthesortofgolf。Needlesstosay，theywantedtheirDadtolaywiththem。Theybeggedandleaded，buthehadlostinterestseveralyearsearlier。

OursonssurrisedRoywithasetofgolfclubsoneFathersDay。Duringourvacationthatyear，thethreeofthemlayedaroundofgolf。Sincehehadsomuchfun，hewantedtosharetheexeriencewithme。

“Letsgotothegolfcourse，”hebeggedoneSaturdayafternoon。

“WhyonearthwouldIwanttolaygolf?”Iasked。

“Youcandrivethecart，”herelied。“Please。”Isawaitifullookonhisface-justlikealittleboywithnomoneyinacandystore。

Myfirstthoughtwas，“SureIcan，butIcouldalsodrivemycartothemall。Itwouldbecoolerandalotmorefun。”Ilookedbackathissadfaceandfinallyagreedtogo。

“Nowhowlongwillthistake?”Iasked，withatwingeofresentmentsinmyvoice。

“Wewillonlylaynineholes，”hesaid。Hewhistledashegothisequimenttogether。Weheadedforthegreengrassofthegolfcourse。

ImoanedasIgotoutofthecarandsatdowninthedriversseatofalittlewhitegolfcart。Thiswasnotmyideaofagoodtime。BeforeIstartedutheengine，Roystartedtryingtoteachmetherulesoftheroad。

“Whatrules?”Ishouted，asItookoffdrivingfullseed。

“Slowdown，”hebegged。Ilaughedandketdriving。“Youcanonlydriveindesignatedsots，”hesternlyinformedme。

“Andwhoisgoingtostome?”Ijoked。Iwasalreadyfeelingrebellious。

Whenwereachedtheteeboxatholenumberone，hewasshakinghishead。Itwasclearthathewasrelievedtogetofftheseedinggolfcart。HesetuforhisfirstswingwhileIwatched，wonderingwhyeolethinkgolfissomuchfun。Itlookedmightyboringtome。

Hehittheball，buthadnoideawhereitwent。Forthenextfifteenminuteswesearchedforit。

Oh，thisisfun，Ichidedhim。

Welljustgetanotherball，helacatedme，asheoenedtheouchonhisgolfbagandulledoneout。

Backwewenttotheteebox。“Thiscouldtakeallafternoon，”Igrumbledtomyself。WhenRoyhittheballasecondtime，wefounditdownthefairwaysalittleway。Afterquiteafewstrokes，theballwentintothehole。IcantrememberthelasttimeIsawmyhusbandthathay。“Whatwasthebigdeal?”Iwondered。

Thedrivinggamewason。Wewereoffandseedingtothenexthole。Iwasdrivingthecartandhewaswalking。HesaidheneededtheexercisebutIknewhewasafraidofmydriving。Hesentagreatdealoftimehittingtheballandthenlookingforit，whileIwatchedthesquirrelsandrabbitslay。

Somethingentirelyunexectedhaenedbythetimewereachedthefifthhole。Wewerelaughing，harderthanwehadinmanyyears。Thefinancialstressassociatedwithuttingthreekidsthroughcollegewasgone。Thestrainof“toomuchworkandtoolittlelay”wasrelacedbyhayheartsandsmilingfaces。Tomyutteramazement，agolfcourseromancewasborn。

Bythetimewegottowholenumbersix，Ihadfalleninloveagain。Ifeltlikeayoungbrideaccomanyingherrincecharming。Suddenly，helookedsocutetryingtokeeuwiththatlittlewhiteball。

Whenwegottoholenumberseven，Isensedthathewaswatchingmemorethantheball。“Keeyoureyeontheball，”Irerimandedhim。

“ButIcant，”herelied。“Ilikelookingatyou。”

Atthatoint，hedecidedthathewouldridewithmeagain。Thistime，hedidn’tgetusetwhenIdrovetoofast。Bythetimewereachedholenumbereight，wewereholdinghands。Idon’tknowifhewasholdingonfordearlifeorifheenjoyedholdingmyhand，butnevertheless，Ilikedit。Ithadbeenalongwhilesincewelastheldhands。

Thelasthole，numbernine，wasthebestholeofall。Beforehesteedoffthecart，heleanedoverandkissedme。“Imgladyoucame，”hesaid。“Ihadsomuchfun。”

“Canwecomebacknextweek?”Iasked。Asmilecoveredhisfaceandmine。

“Yes，andnexttimewelllayeighteenholes，”heasserted。Hesmackedtheballanditsoaredoffintothewoods。Webothgiggledaswedroveofftofindyetanotherlostball。

Thistime，itdidntmattertome。Myhusbandwashay。Iwasenjoyinghiscomany。Golfwasjustagoodexcusetobetogether。

Wewerenotonlyfindinglostballs。Wewerefindingeachotheragain，too。

我的丈夫罗伊一直想打高尔夫球。

可怕的“高尔夫寡妇”的故事使我从不鼓励这项运动。结婚多年后，我们膝下已有三个孩子。正值青春年华的布拉德和查德是我们的双胞胎儿子，从他们口中得知，他们迷恋上了打高尔夫。当然，他们希望爸爸也能参与。于是他们央求他一起去打高尔夫，但他的兴趣早在多年前就已经被扼杀了。

父亲节那天，儿子们给了罗伊一个惊喜，送了他一套高尔夫球杆。那年，他们三个人在假期打了一场高尔夫，罗伊玩得非常开心，便想让我也体验一下那种快乐。

一个周六的下午，他恳求我：“咱们去打高尔夫吧。”

“我干嘛要去呢？”我问。

“你可以开车，”他回答，“拜托了。”他那可怜兮兮的样子，就像一个没钱买糖果的小男孩。

“当然可以，但我还可以开车去商场。那会更好玩，更有趣。”可我回头看到他伤心的样子时，改变了主意，同意和他一起去。

“需要多长时间？”我问他，话语中带着几分怨恨。

“我们只打九个洞。”他说，他一边收拾球具一边吹着口哨。之后我们便开车前往高尔夫球场的绿草地。

我抱怨着下了车，然后坐到白色小型高尔夫球车的驾驶座上。我感觉一点都不愉快，开车之前，罗伊就努力在教我行驶规则。