Page 49 of The Leaves In Autumn
“It’s been a good time,” Aargon says softly.
Layla lies between Van’s legs, her head on his chest.
“Even though you lost your title to Van and I?”
“Even though.”
“That was my fault. These two sabotaged me with her pregnancy.”
“You use any tool you can,” Van chuckles.
Aargon sighs and turns his head toward mine.
“Doesn’t matter. There’s always next year.”
Will there be?
“If you’re back from your travels.”
He is good at reading my mind. High in the big sky, the first firework explodes. A huge burst of gold, and then a cascade of red, white, and blue stars. They rain down and then disappear. We have all seen it countless times. But still, there are sounds of wonder, as if we have never viewed it before. It is strange how we can still be surprised at the expected.
CHAPTER 17
Aargon
Van’s shot off the seventeenth does not go where he intended.
“Son of a bitch!”
“Have you noticed you don’t hear that said much? Not like we did in the past,” Gaston says.
“I never hear it from anybody but your generation,” Sam says.
“My point, exactly. It’s a dying insult. But the Boomers always had good words. Groovy. Getting it on. What’s better than that?”
Teddy and the other three have no clue if Dad is fucking with them. He is. They don’t know I told him about their generation’s latest insult. I knew he’d find a way to screw with them. He’s having fun right now.
Dad finds kernels of conversation in the smallest of places. He would engage a monk who has taken a vow of silence. And the guy would most likely cave.
Picking up the tee, Van moves to make room for David.
“So let me show you how it’s done.”
“Smart ass.”
But then, the kid lines up and does as promised. With a seven iron. Shit. That had to be a hundred fifty feet.
“Son of a bitch!” Tyler says, making us laugh.
“That was a beauty, David. The opposite of me lately.”
“You look up a little.”
Van takes the critique well, as he returns his club to the bag.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I noticed when we played the ninth hole.”
