Chapter 8

At the pro shop, Nik received a phone call from the touring professional golfer who was the current leading money winner on the tour. In his career, he was the winner of five major golf tournaments. Nik had been introduced to him at the PGA tournament and he seemed like a nice guy. The pro said the reason he was calling was that he has a personal goal of playing every golf course rated in the top one hundred in the States. He said he would like to play Nik’s course before he goes to the tournament at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.

The Pro gave Nik the date of when he would like to play and said if it would help Nik with his members that he and Nik could put on a clinic for the members. Nik quickly accepted this pro’s offer since he knew the members would turn out in mass to meet this touring pro. That he was one of the longest drivers of the golf ball would amaze the club members.

Studying with Kelly was beneficial and the dinner she made was excellent. The dessert of warm apple pie and ice cream hit the spot. Later while sitting on the couch it seemed natural to engage in some kissing and that then made it natural for that to progress to some serious lovemaking.

Kelly he would think was not a novice in making love. She had a subtle way of doing things or indicating to Nik what needed to be done that enhanced their lovemaking. They had intercourse twice that night. She invited Nik to spend the night with her and he accepted her invitation. He was one happy and satisfied fellow when he left her condo the following morning.

While bad things can come in bunches so can good things. Nik thought he could say that because of an e-mail he received from Lisa. He had seen her on television doing interviews with players who were playing in the PGA tournaments. When her network covered the major LPGA tournaments she was an on-course golf television commentator. Nik periodically would send her e-mails when he saw her on television complimenting her. She would respond thanking him for the kind words and maybe mention something that had happened on the pro tour that wasn’t in the news.

In her most recent e-mail, she said she was assigned to do the golf tournament at Pebble Beach and had the following week off. With the time off she would like to spend it visiting with Nik if that was possible. He couldn’t respond fast enough saying that it certainly was possible and she would be welcomed with open arms. He thought that if the members were excited with the touring pro’s visit, the male members when they recognized Lisa would be even more excited.

Nik was a little taken back to receive a phone call from Elaine. She said that the baby was doing fine and that she was taking off from teaching this year as she was going to be a stay-at-home mom. The bigger surprise she dropped on Nik was in her saying that it would be nice if her baby has a brother or sister. Because of that desire, Elaine said she would be visiting Nik at his condo when he had his day off during the week.

Nick told her he would welcome her visits and knew there was no reason to tell her they needed to be careful about this getting together. He started to wonder if he was spreading himself a little thin with his involvement with these women and providing a stud service for Elaine. After thinking about that, he just smiled thinking what man wouldn’t want to be doing this.

He had that thought because of the periodic e-mails he had been exchanging with Gwen Banner the cruise director. Normally there was some mention by her of how her golf game had improved since the scores she was now posting were frequently in the upper eighties. She mentioned that her ship for the summer season will be doing ten-day cruises out of Vancouver to Alaska.

One of the perks of her position she said was for her to be able to periodically invite a guest to accompany her on a cruise. This type of fraternization was understandable and acceptable since it was likened to a conjugal visit. She was extending an invitation to Nik to join her on a cruise and gave him a list of dates to choose from. Her comment that he would not be giving any golf lessons or seminars on this cruise but he would be on the receiving end of some lessons told him he was going to be one happy fellow at the end of this cruise. He checked his calendar and then responded by selecting a date he sent to her.

Gwen also mentioned she does get some time off from the ship and she would like to visit Nik and play some golf at his golf course if that didn’t present a problem. He told her she was welcomed to do that and to just let him know far enough in advance for him to adjust his schedule. He gave it right back to her by saying he would be happy to give her some lessons when she visited which he thought she would enjoy.

With the investment class coming to an end, Kelly said the university was offering a two-session adult education class in how to read and interpret a corporation’s financial statement. She suggested they enroll in that class.

Nick agreed with her and said, “You know, one of the things mentioned in this class is that our investments should be diversified and not just by different stocks in the stock market. I am thinking I should have some money invested in real estate.”

“What are you looking for?”

“I am not sure but maybe it might be time to move from a condo to a townhome or even a house or maybe just purchase some land. If it’s housing, I would like a place that would give me some privacy and a nice view from my kitchen window in the morning and living room in the evening.”

“You know I was talking with Carol Parsons a realtor just south of the university. She told me of a listing they received that could interest you. It’s an older house on a little bit of a bluff that comes with five acres of land and borders a scenic river. There are a few fruit trees and a small garden on this property. Across the other side of the river, she says is a national forest. This originally was a farmer’s house but they sold off all of the farmland except for these five acres. The asking price is what she thinks is on the low side but the heirs want a quick sale to settle the estate. If you want I can phone her and set it up for us to look at it this Saturday.”

“I am off tomorrow so why don’t we look at it then.”

They did look at this property and Nik liked the location and the view it offered. The house he could see was a little old and its design didn’t impress him. The price however was at the low end of the price range of what he was willing to spend. He expressed his concerns about the house to Kelly.

She hit him with, “Location, location, location. You aren’t going to find many locations such as this at a reasonable price. You can either keep the house or level it and build your dream house. Bridgeman Construction could build you a nice single-level three-bedroom modern home with an open floor plan on this land that would give you both privacy and a nice view.”

Kelly gave him her opinion on what it would cost to construct a house would be based on what she was aware of what were the costs of some recently constructed homes. The cost for doing all this was now well into the upper range of what Nik wanted to spend but Nik knew he could afford to do it thanks to Elaine’s husband’s newsletters.