‘No, but…’
They’d reached the reception hut and Theo was chatting away to the guy inside like an old friend, asking after his children, his wife and his golf handicap.
‘Here, take this.’ Theo handed Lexie a putter. ‘And choose what colour ball you’d like.’
Lexie was still recovering from the shock and when she opened her mouth nothing came out. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be spending the Saturday night before one of the biggest challenges of her life playing a round of mini-golf. But she was here now, so she might as well have a go.
‘Erm, I’ll have the purple one.’
‘Good choice.’
‘Is it?’
‘Come on, hole number one is over here. You can go first, if you like.’
‘Look, Theo, this might come as a shock to you, but I’ve never played golf, in any of its guises, in my entire life. Never even held a golf stick.’
‘Club.’
‘What?’
‘It’s a club, or a putter to be more precise. Don’t worry, I’ll show you.’
And before she knew what was happening, Theo had guided her to the first tee, scooted in behind her and hooked his arms around her waist, cupping her hands over the putter, and gently pushing her fingers and thumb into the correct grip. She struggled to conceal her body’s reaction to his closeness, to the whiff of the spicy cologne he favoured, to the brush of his cheek against hers.
‘Okay, so, a smooth and controlled swing, not too fast, just tap the ball in the direction of the hole, avoiding the miniature sand bunker on the right and the potted plant on the left.’
‘I thought mini-golf had plaster castles with draw-bridges and open-mouthed fish and things like that?’
‘That’s crazy golf. There’s a difference. This is a well-respected golf club with fully paid-up members who play off scratch.’
‘Play off scratch?’
‘With no handicap – it means they are excellent golfers. Go on, take a putt.’
Lexie glanced at the hole some fifteen metres away, then looked down at her purple ball waiting patiently to be sent on its way. She tightened her grip on the putter and gave it a whack.
‘Oh, God! Sorry!’
The ball shot straight past hole number one and onto hole number two, coming to a stop just short of the flag.
‘It just needs a gentle tap. It’s all in the wrist. You’ll get the hang of it.’
Theo rushed off to collect her ball and placed it back on the tee box, a square of green artificial tuft that had been worn down to almost nothing by all the mini-golfers before her.
‘Okay, have another go, this time just kiss the ball with the face of your putter.’
Lexie gritted her teeth and did as Theo directed, delighted when her ball rolled towards the hole, stopping only ten inches short of the cup. The pleasure of accomplishment felt good. Perhaps she was going to enjoy this. Theo took his putt and missed the hole by a couple of centimetres, and on their next attempt, they both rolled their golf balls into the hole.
As she set up her ball for the next hole, Lexie looked around the well-designed course to get an idea of what she had in store. There were water hazards, bridges and tunnels to add extra challenge, and she was pleased to see that the whole course was constructed from natural materials, planted to resemble a real miniature golf course. But there was one thing that was strange.
‘Where is everyone?’
Theo took his next shot before turning to her, his face all innocence.
‘I’ve booked the course for an hour, so we have it all to ourselves.’
‘Is that normal?’
‘Not really, but, well, I know the golf pro who works here so it’s no big deal.’
Lexie wasn’t an expert in these things but she suspected that closing the entire course for an hour on a Saturday night in the middle of the Easter holidays was a big deal. She was starting to realise that there was a lot she didn’t know about Theo Barker, one-time foreign correspondent turned wedding columnist.
‘Okay, so this is a tricky hole. Believe it or not, you have to hit your ball into the stream. Watch, I’ll show you.’
Theo placed his ball on the tee matt, lined up his putter, checked his grip and performed a comedic wiggle of his hips.
‘Great technique,’ giggled Lexie.
‘An essential part of it!’
Theo grinned, then tapped the golf ball into the swiftly flowing water. As Lexie watched on, the stream carried the little ball towards what looked like a metal grid where the ball selected its own pathway towards the hole, trickling along the imitation grass until it dropped straight into the hole.
‘Yay!’ cried Lexie, raising her club above her head and performing a celebratory dance which caused Theo to laugh out loud.
‘First time I’ve had that reaction to one of my putts! Okay, now it’s your turn.’
Lexie engaged every bit of her concentration, determined to put in a decent show after Theo’s hole-in-one. She looked at the stream, looked down at her ball, levelled up her putter, then, after a pause, copied Theo’s bum wiggle and burst out laughing.
‘Hey, I don’t know what you find so funny; it works! Just watch the professionals on the TV and you’ll see!’
Lexie lined up her ball for a second time and struck it cleanly, thrilled when it landed square in the middle of the stream. With Theo at her side, she stood on the bank to watch her ball make its way towards the grid, roll along one of the metal pathways, then continue its journey towards the green, dropping into the hole on top of Theo’s.
‘Oh my God! I got a hole-in-one! I got a hole-in-one!’
‘Okay, Tiger, calm down!’ laughed Theo but Lexie could see from his face how delighted he was as he reached down to retrieve their balls for the next hole.
‘So, how long have you been playing golf?’
‘Mini golf?’
‘No! The actual game!’
‘Since I was three years old.’
Lexie didn’t know what she expected Theo to say but it wasn’t that.
‘Three years old?’
‘Yes, my bother too.’
‘And how do you know the golf coach here?’
‘He’s a friend of my father’s.’
‘Okay, so I take it golf is a family sport? Does your mum play too?’
They had reached the mid-point of the course where there was a wooden bench, bleached by the sun, for the weary mini-golfer to rest their aching legs and Lexie was surprised when Theo dropped down on the seat and rubbed his palms over his face. When he met her eyes, the raw agony she saw reflected deep within caused her to catch her breath.
‘Theo, are you okay? What’s happened?’
She slid onto the seat next to him, placed her hand on his arm.
‘Did I say something—’
‘No, no, it’s not your fault. Sorry, Lexie, I didn’t mean to… sometimes it just creeps upon me… I should have known…’
‘What should you have known?’
Theo struggled for a moment, then sighed, his shoulders dropping, and when he spoke his voice came out in a strangled tone, as though he was forcing the words out against their will.
‘Both my mum and dad were professional golfers. Dad was on the circuit, doing okay, Mum was head pro, what you’d called a golfing coach, at our local club in Bath, before, before… before she died.’