Into the Woods

Chapter 3

Jack

Chad has been pissy all day, which is affecting his golf game. He's not happy about the girls hiking on Skytop's land. I don't see the big deal. It's a stupid rule that you have to be staying at the resort or spending an ungodly amount of money to use their sporting facilities or hiking their trails.

"Fuck!" Chad just hit another shot out of bounds.

"Why are you so upset about the girls hiking Skytop?" I finally ask.

My boys back me up.

"Yeah, what is the big deal?" Dom adds.

"If they get caught, they'll ask them to leave, no harm, no foul," Jim chimes in, too.

I'm the last one to hit off of the tee. I approach my ball, settle over it, and look at my target again before swinging my club back. I follow through my swing with one fluid motion. As my clubhead connects with the ball, I know it's a good shot.

"Nice!"

"Great shot!"

"Well done!"

I nod to my friends. "Thanks." I don't let the subject at hand drop. "So what's your problem, Chad? You're going to lose a shit load of money if you don't get your head out of your ass!"

We always gamble on the golf course. We break the course into three groups of six holes. We partner up for six holes, change partners for the next six holes, and repeat the process for the last six holes. The lowest total of the two partners together wins $5.00. It is not a lot of money, but whatever; he still needs to get his head into the game.

I've been golfing for years with these four. I've known and was on our high school golf team with Chad throughout high school. When I was a senior and Chad was a sophomore, he caddied for me during my matches. Once I graduated, Chad stepped right in and replaced me. He's a better golfer than me, but that doesn't concern me. It makes beating him so much sweeter, but not today. I'm kicking his ass, but only because of his irritation with Deanna.

Out of Dom and Jim, Jim is the better golfer. He's very slim, but his job in construction gives him strength. He's the most serious one out of all of us. Dom is funny as shit and the oldest of all of us. He always brings comedy relief to our fucked up group. Chad and I met Dom and Jim through our community golf course and have been friends and golf buddies ever since.

Chad finally spurts out what's bothering him. "It's not that Deanna and the girls are purposefully trespassing on private property; it's that Deanna doesn't give two fucks about what I think of it. She thinks it has something to do with not tainting my family's name here, but it doesn't. I think the woman disagrees with me for the sake of disagreeing with me. Damn!" Chad runs his hand through his unruly blonde hair in frustration.

Chad and Deanna have always had this type of relationship. They love to argue and disagree. Neither of them gives an inch, and for some messed up reason, it works for them. I don't tell him, but I think he brings a lot of this shit on himself. He's too damn stubborn to give in, and Deanna knows this. She doesn't let him get away with his bullshit, and I can appreciate that. I know Deanna gets just as frustrated with Chad.

There are nights when Deanna and Suellen text back and forth while Deanna vents to my wife about Chad. Sometimes Suellen shares it with me, but most of the time, it's just Deanna and her. Suellen has a way of talking Deanna off of the ledge and keeps her from killing Chad. Although, I know that my girl would be right there with the shovel if Deanna needed her.

Suellen and I might not have the perfect marriage, but it's ideal. After all of these years together, I wouldn't change a thing. I would marry that woman over again in a heartbeat. Even though we met at such a young age, she's my soul mate and the love of my life. 

I turn my attention to Chad. "I suggest that you just chalk it up as a loss and get on with your damn golf game," I reprimand my friend. "How did I get you as my partner for the first six holes?"

Chad laughs. "Because you're a lucky son of a bitch, asshole!" Chad hits the ball solid and straight.

"It's about time! My shoulders are aching from hauling your ass around this course." We all laugh and continue with the round.

***

We're having a beer at the golf club bar, matching up scorecards. Money starts flying around our group of four. The biggest winner buys the first round.

Jim shakes his money in our face and orders another round for us.

"Has anyone heard from the ladies?" Dom asks. "Julie usually checks in, but I haven't heard from her since lunchtime."

We all automatically pull out our phones to check for messages. I don't expect to find any from Suellen. She knows that when I'm golfing, I don't check my phone. I decide to text her and see that all the other guys have the same idea.

Jack: Hey, Babe. I hope that you're having a fun day. We just wrapped up here. We're having a few beers before heading to Mountainhouse. Are you ladies meeting us there?

I hit send, and the other guys wrap up their texts to their wives. We have another round, and the laughing and teasing ensue. Before we know it, an hour passes, and none of us have heard back from our women.

We all recheck our phones before leaving the bar.

"Maybe they're not getting a signal in the woods?" Dom tries to explain the lack of response from our wives.

"Yeah, let's head to Mountainhouse. We all left them messages. They'll know where to find us when they get a signal again," Jim adds.

Chad and I agree. We pack our clubs into the truck and head to Mountainhouse to wait for our women. We don't worry about getting drunk because we know that the girls will drive our drunk asses home.

We settled down at the bar, ordered another round, and relived every golf hole we played. It's what we do. We'll relive this round repeatedly, finding something new each time to make us laugh.

I can hear the TV behind me, but I don't pay much attention until I see Chad's and Dom's eyes widen. Jim and I turn to see a news bulletin regarding an escaped serial killer; his last known whereabouts were right here in the Pocono Mountains.

I have no idea why, but I just got a chill up my spine. All of a sudden, I need to know where the hell my wife is right now!

*****