not to be!”
“Kiss this, shorty!” A smiling Ed jabbed his finger at his protruding backside.
His old friend roared in laughter as he hopped in his golf cart. Ed watched him pull away from the ninth green and head for the street for his short trip home to Sunset Pointe Village. He was envious of Dave and his wife. They had a very close relationship and enjoyed doing things together. He longed for the old days when he and Cathy would play golf with Dave and Sally on Saturday afternoons and then go to dinner. Ed felt lonely as he bent over to stuff his ball and tees in his bag.
“Hello, stranger. Where’s that foxy wife of yours?”
Ed looked up from his bag to see a fast approaching Ann Southworth, a classmate and former girlfriend from his school boy days in Indiana. She pulled her cart close to Ed’s and jerked to a stop. Her still shapely legs extended out from under her short, pink, golf skirt. A little more than necessary, Ed thought. “How are you, Ann? What a surprise.”
“I’m fine, just finished playing nine with Sue and Laurie. I thought I saw you over here with Dave Mann. Wasn’t that Dave?”
“Yes, it sure was.”
“Is Cathy doing her tennis thing this evening?” Ann was now sitting very erect in her seat, eyeing Ed with scorching intent.
“What else?”
Ann studied his face for a moment and then replied, “Me and the girls are going to Cane Gardens Country Club and have a drinky-pooh or two. Why don’t you join us?”
Ed liked the ever-improving vision in front of him. The invitation sounded very tempting
Ann noticed the hesitation. “Wouldn’t hurt to have a quick drink with some old friends, Ed. It doesn’t look like you have much else to do.”
Ed’s relationship with Ann so many years ago had been torrid at times and he didn’t want to stir up those old feelings again. He felt it would be better to beg off and leave this situation alone. “Better not, I’m in the middle of a project at home and I need to finish it up tonight.”
Ann batted her eyes, “All work and no play makes for a dull boy.”
Ed smiled, “Maybe some other time, tell the girls I said hi.”
Ann scowled, “You always were such an upright guy!” She exhaled with exasperation and laid her hand gently on his forearm. “But, we had our moments.”
Ed’s stare locked on his old girlfriend for an instant. “Yes, we certainly did, Ann. How’s Frank doing?”
Ann pulled her hand back, her shoulders slumped. The reference to her husband had taken the wind out of her sails. “He’s home recouping from hernia surgery.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Think so; he doesn’t say much, ya know.”
“Tell him hi for me, will you?”
“Sure, Ed. See you around.”
“Good-bye, Ann.”
Once again Ed stood and watched as an old friend pulled away from him. Alone again, he slipped the head cover over his TaylorMade driver and slid into the driver’s seat. He lifted his sunglasses from the console and stuck them on. He crammed the cart into gear and slowly accelerated down the cart path toward Sunset Pointe Boulevard. Ed and Cathy lived in Lake Miona at Bridgeport, an upscale neighborhood just north of Lake Sumter Landing, one of two large town squares in The Villages.
A short time later, Ed exited onto Bailey Trail and, after a brief ride on Bailey, he darted left across the approaching lane and sped toward Buena Vista Boulevard, one of the two main arteries in The Villages. A few seconds later, Ed braked hard and ducked into a short dark tunnel that took him under the road to the other side of Buena Vista. He climbed the steep hill on the far side of the tunnel and gunned it down the wide asphalt cart path toward Lake Sumter Landing.
Minutes later, Ed eased off the accelerator as he approached the next tunnel that would take him under Stillwater Trail and back to Buena Vista Drive. As usual, he was taken aback by the beautiful landscaping that surrounded the area at the Stillwater exit, one of the main entryways into Lake Sumter Landing. As he slowed down, Ed could hear “Old Time Rock and Roll,” one of his favorite rock tunes, blasting out from the center of Lake Sumter. Ed decided at the last second to take a right at the end of the tunnel and make a run through the town square, instead of going home. His favorite group “Rocky and the Rollers” was playing tonight. He thought it might be fun to stop and take in a few tunes. His excitement grew as he turned onto Stillwater and drove toward the bright lights and hard hitting sounds of the busy town square.
Lake Sumter Landing was composed of dozens of shops and restaurants, along with a movie theater showing the latest releases, and several popular drinking establishments. In the center of the square was a large gazebo that was surrounded by an ample dance area. A different band performed in the gazebo each night, filling the air with the pounding sounds of rock and roll music. When they first moved to The Villages, Ed and Cathy would go dancing at Lake Sumter almost every evening, and Ed loved it. Just like in athletics, Ed was smooth and graceful on the dance floor, but those were the old days before tennis. Tonight, as he approached the square; Ed would be alone-alone with the memories of better days.
3
“Great volley, partner!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Roberts.”
“Eric, my dear, will you please stop with that “Mrs. Roberts” stuff?”
“Okay, thank you, Cathy.”
“Much better.”
Cathy stood, hands on hips, while her partner bent over to fasten down an errant shoe lace. Her new tennis partner, Eric Lowe, had joined her a few weeks ago when her longtime partner and family friend, John Waring, was forced to undergo major hip surgery. The doctor said Waring would be out of action for about six months followed by several months of rehab. At first she missed Waring. Together, they had won two Villages Doubles Championships. But lately, she was beginning to really enjoy her new partner. He was funny and good looking, and unlike the seventy year old Waring, the new guy was very muscular with a handsome face and dark, curly, hair. Cathy found him very attractive. Eric was a former lift-truck driver from Texas and he was twelve years her junior. And, best of all, he was single, recently divorced from his third wife.
Not a philanderer in the true sense of the word, Cathy was becoming more and more disenchanted with her husband, Ed. They had been married for forty-seven years, and she would quickly tell anyone who would listen what a bore he was. Less than faithful, she had found herself in bed with other men more than once during their long marriage. A master of deceit, she had managed to keep her extracurricular activities a secret from her family and close friends. With hubby Ed providing most of the assets in their relationship, she knew she had to be careful with her indiscretions, lest he find out and play hardball with her money supply.
Her lust for Eric was growing with each match together. She found him disturbingly attractive and he was really starting to turn her on. She had to figure a way to get her exciting new partner in bed without anyone knowing.
Still bent
