Chapter Thirty
Lisa turned in adjacent to the life-sized elephant marking the entrance to the safari adventure golf course and wondered how she had not registered it before. She spotted Felicity, her children and Melissa almost immediately amidst a host of jungle animals and scenes – each presenting a new adventure golf challenge with a variety of hurdles, twists and turnsto the flag.It’s crazy golf;I’m at crazy golf…on a Sunday morning!
As she got out of the van and felt the chill air of the dank Sunday morning – a stark contrast to the warmth inside – Lisa could not help but think that lying in bed with Nathan, just hours ago, seemed like a dream. She clenched her thighs together;a bloody amazing, knee-trembling dream.As thoughts of Nathan led herto recall Pete’s text, Lisa reminded herself to keep a clear head. She needed to sound things out. She needed Felicity to confirm that all was well at home and that Pete wasn’t hiding something that would hurt her. How she would elicit that information while negotiating an adventure golf course with four children, Melissa and a baby in tow she wasn’t sure. But she knew she wanted to try and, whileshe was at it, she might also be able to gain some advice on how to proceed with Nathan.Cool indeed!
The sight of Felicity and her children being pleased to see her made her feel fortunate.Please don’t let that bloody text be anything bad!
As Lisa neared the group, Melissa smiled, and held out a golf club and blue ball. ‘Great timing; you can take my turn. Bella needs changing.I won’t be long.’ With Bella in a sling Melissa marched off, stopping only to call back, ‘Don’t spill the gossip without me.’
Lisa opened and closed her mouth. Looking at the club and ball in her hand she turned to Felicity. ‘Crazy golf? Really?’
‘Adventure golf actually.’ Felicity pulled a face and gestured to a large sign with a cheery gorilla welcoming all to adventure golf.
‘OK, adventure golf. What’s the difference?’
‘I have no idea.’
Lisa laughed. ‘And you need me because…’
‘Because we are at adventure golf on a Sunday morning.’ Felicity swung her golf club and sent her ball down a mini waterfall that carried it almost to the flag.
Lisa looked confused.
Felicity gestured for her to take a turn and continued, ‘We needyou to tell us the gossip about Nathan; we need to hear about your date so we can fantasise about nights out with hot firemen, as opposed to facing our reality, which is currently adventure golf on a cold Sunday morning.’
Lisa laughed and took her swing, her ball nudging Felicity’s as it emerged from the waterfall run. ‘Why come if it’s that bad? Why crazy, I mean adventure, golf?’
Felicity took a breath. ‘It’s not something I normally do, believe me. But Callum has sodding Weekend Bear so—’
‘Weekend what?’
‘Weekend Bear; look at him with his smug little smile.’ Felicity pointed over at her children who were two holes ahead.
Megan was taking pictures on a phone, Alice was lining her golf ball up ready to make her swing, while Callum and Fredwere holding a teddy bear, dressed in khaki shorts, aloft as they ran through the water sprayed by a rumbling volcano. Their shouts of, ‘It’s going to blow!’ were interspersed with screams and fits of laughter.
Lisa looked at their happy faces. ‘Who? Callum?’
‘No, not Callum. The bear.’ Felicity pointed. ‘That is sodding Weekend Bear – the secret assassin of weekend fun.’
‘That little bear? The one in khaki shorts? He’s the secret assassin of weekend fun?’
‘Yes, him. He comes with a suitcase of clothes for all adventures and a diary you have to write in. Oscar took him to Egypt in half term. Egypt, for God’s sake!’
Lisa didn’t know who Oscar was, but decided not to interrupt Felicity in full flow.
‘I could hardly let Callum say he tookhim to play on the trampoline in the back garden or to Tesco, could I?’
‘So instead you’re at adven—’
‘We’re on safari,’ Felicity opened her arms as if the surroundings made that entirely obvious, ‘the golf is irrelevant really, but they wouldn’t let us in without saying we wanted to play. It’s the pictures we really want.’
Lisa laughed. ‘That’s mad.’
‘I know! Buthonestly – and don’t tell Melissa I said this, she’s a teacher – Weekend Bear is sent home as this “nice” link from school, but it’s just extra homework in disguise and his diary is one massive exercise in one-upmanship.’
‘Wow!’ Lisa could tell Felicity was quite passionate in her contempt for Weekend Bear and all that he stood for, and decided not to point out that Felicity’s safari expeditionsuggested she was more than a little gripped by one-upmanship fever herself. ‘That’s crazy!’
‘That’s school politics for you, my friend.’
