Chapter 115

Sunday, Aug. 12 End Of Summer Vacation

I awoke still spooned behind my redheaded goddess and smiled as her copper hair tickled my neck and chin.

Much against my will, I rolled out of bed, placing a kiss atop her head before I left, gathered my clothes and headed back to the apartment to dress for one last day of work. I made sure Arlene’s coffee maker was going before I slipped out the kitchen door.

The clock-radio showed 7:15 when I let myself into the apartment, so I took a few minutes to wash up in the bathroom sink. Cargo shorts, T-shirt and deck shoes, then wallet, phone, keys and shades and I was ready to go.

I quietly reentered the house, poured a mug of coffee and delivered it to the master suite just as Arlene was beginning to stir.

“Sure you don’t want to be a kept man?” she mumbled before taking her first sip. “You’ve already got the important things down.”

“Let me finish high school first,” I said. “That’ll be just about the time you need an extra hand around here.”

With a coffee-flavored kiss, we said we’d see each other at the pool and I made my departure. I swung by the house for a quick bowl of cereal. Dad was getting ready for golf. Mom and Kacie were going to get Grandma, Aunt Patty and the cousins for one last round of back-to-school shopping.

I was told the clan would again have dinner at Familia Benavidez. It seemed Grandma and Arturo’s abuela had more recipes to swap.

It was past 8:30 when I headed for the club. The scene was eerily quiet when I stepped into the stockroom. The lack of swimming lessons just seemed wrong somehow.

We quickly made the rounds and fulfilled the requests for the cabanas. There was still the better part of an hour before the pool opened, so I volunteered to spring for breakfast tacos from the 19th Hole.

Tia Connie was long gone for her new post at Familia Benavidez, but Chef Maurice had cut a deal for a few of her recipes and a steady supply of the “secret” ingredients. The regular kitchen staff could whip up scrambled eggs in a hurry. The rest was just adding different meats, veggies and/or cheeses.

We caught a break when one of the drinks carts showed up with a fresh cooler full of tacos. I signed for the whole thing, texted Mom what I’d done and that I owed her X amount, dropped a Hamilton in the tip jar and promised to return the empty container before we opened.

Most of the guys had at least two tacos. I decided not to try for a second one, afraid I’d pull back a bloody nub if I blindly reached into the feeding frenzy.

I returned the cooler to the 19th Hole and made it back to the pool just in time for the gates to open. There was actually a little surge at the start as several patrons were determined to squeeze every last second out of their summer vacation. Some of the kids seemed bent on staying in the water until the lifeguards whistled them out at closing time.

Arlene, Jan and Aunt Karen converged on No. 16 about 11:30. My aunt informed me she’d decided on a Mercedes-Benz SL because Grandma thought it was a smoother ride and had more legroom than the SLC. Delivery would take a few weeks as they’d collaborated on all the options they wanted as well as the color.

Apparently, Grandma had selected a Range Rover Sport for “my” SUV. The big question was would she get one or two. It seemed Bethany’s argument that I needed something that would carry all the women in my life had been heeded, even though Kacie would probably wind up driving it more. Grandpa was determined to hold on to the Cadillac rather than commute in one of the farm trucks, so that meant Grandma was looking for her own ride capable of holding her daughters, granddaughters and Mom.

Aunt Patty had her heart set on a Cadillac CT5, a step down from Grandpa’s CT6. Work had already started on a parking pad and carport at the new house. The idea was that it would be ready by the end of the month, which would be about the time the vehicles would be ready for delivery.

Never mentioned in all this was the price tag. It wasn’t out of the question the bill could surpass half a million if four vehicles were purchased. Grandpa had better hope there wasn’t a dip in oil prices over the next month.

My concern was where would I get to park my Beemer. If a new SUV came to stay at our house, odds were it would go in the garage and Dad’s Z4 would move to the carport. I may be parking my roadster at Morgan’s after all. She had promised to give it a good home.

Arlene gave me an update on the modeling scene. Armand would continue to oversee the agency as he attempted to buy out Julia. Marie had apparently returned to Elk City to ponder which direction her life should take, but would make herself available to Armand when needed. She did know all the day-to-day details that would require attention.

My contract was still in effect — it would be transferred from Julia to the agency if the deal with Armand went through — and I would continue receiving a monthly salary through my 18th birthday even if I didn’t take any assignments for the time being. Most of the work on spring lines would be done in late October and early November. The summer stuff would be shot in January. I would be allowed to let football take priority over modeling.

“I could buy your contract and have you doing all kinds of jobs around the house,” the redhead teased.

These conversations stretched over several hours as I was constantly making restocking runs or subbing in for guys who needed a break. The pace was steady all afternoon long, but not to the extent it had been on the Fourth of July.

Members would still have pool access afternoons after school and the next three weekends. Mr. Alvarez had even offered the guys and cheerleaders the chance to work those Saturdays and Sundays and I expected more than a few to take him up on it. But the days of spending all day every day poolside were ending. It was going to be a shock to my system not to get my running in along the fairways of the back nine or at the driving range tomorrow.

The day sailed along like most others. It was almost a shock when 4 p.m. rolled around and I clocked out for the last time. After everyone showered and changed, we all made sure there were no personal items in our baskets and dumped all the work clothes in the hampers. Mr. Alvarez told us to leave our shoes on the benches in front of our shelves and we bade each other good-bye until tomorrow morning.

I stuck my head in at the 19th Hole, where I found Dad, Grandpa and the rest of their group watching Tiger Woods making a serious charge at Brooks Koepka, who was making all the shots he needed to retain the lead. I told Dad that I’d see him at home and went to get ready to go out to eat.

The walk home was like moving through a furnace. I couldn’t believe there were still people out on the course in this heat. The girls running the drinks carts must be raking it in today.

The heat made it advisable that I wipe down with a wet washcloth as soon as I got home. I completed my preparations and got dressed while my sister took over the bathroom. She informed me that she was claiming passenger status in the Beemer while Aunt Patty drove everyone else in her Suburban.

I cooled my heels in the family room, waiting for everyone else to get ready. Mom and Dad were putting on the finishing touches when Aunt Patty arrived, so everyone came inside for a moment.

Kirsten was just slightly perturbed to learn Kacie was riding with me. My cousin knew playing the baby-of-the-family card wouldn’t work with my sister. Kinsey looked like she was ready to ask Kacie for the secret to her success.

Before long, we were all loading up and on the move. We arrived to find a fairly busy establishment. For once, Arturo wasn’t working. His dad had given him the night off so he could get to bed early enough to be on time for practice in the morning.

It took a few minutes to clear enough tables and move them together for our brood. Dad and Grandpa were still talking about how Koepka had held on to win the PGA by two strokes over Tiger. Tiger had closed with a 64, his best final round ever in a major, but Koepka refused to wilt under the pressure, shooting another 66.

Grandpa pointed out that Woods had basically come within four holes of winning two majors this year. He actually had sole possession of the lead in the final round of the British Open before going double bogey-bogey and finishing three strokes back. Today, two bogeys kept him from pulling even in a round that included eight birdies.