Chapter 7

The time was flying by fast as there were only two more weeks to go on the condo rental and then it would be time to head back north. Ed continued to take advantage of the nice weather and was golfing every other day. Swimming and some driving around the area to see what was there took up the remainder of his time during the day.

The evenings were a little boring as Ed felt uncomfortable in going to a lounge by himself to look for female companionship. He hadn't yet discovered in the area a lounge that catered to people of his age. Participating in some of the condo's complex activities as bridge, bingo and other social events was something Ed elected not to do. He took notice that there was another meeting and dance scheduled by the Mid-West Singles. In view of the success he had the first time he went there he thought he would go again to attend a club meeting.

Ed was more at easy in attending his second meeting of this club which as it turned out was a carbon copy of the first meeting. Up coming activities were promoted and information on where to sign up was given along with the cost. When the meeting was over the band started playing. It seemed to Ed that there were a few more attendees tonight than there were at the first meeting. He had just gotten his drink when he was tapped on his shoulder. He turned to see it was Lois whom he had met at the last meeting. She asked him if he wished to dance and he accepted her invitation.

Lois was right up against Ed as they danced and apparently wanted a repeat with Ed of the activities they engaged in after the last meeting at her condo. While he reflected on what they did he wanted to see if any of the other women that were there would interest him more.

While he was dancing with Lois he noticed what seemed like an attractive lady sitting at a table by herself. He had seen her at the last meeting and noted that she was sitting at that same table either by herself or at times with some other ladies. He wondered why she just seemed to be always sitting at the table. He never noticed her being on the dance floor.

When the song ended he thanked Lois for the dance and walked away going back to where he left his drink. This was the unwritten rule he had been told that it let your dance partner know that you weren't interested in going further in a relationship that night. Lois looked a little disappointed but later he noticed that she was back on the dance floor dancing with a number of different men.

Ed walked over to where this lady he was curious about was sitting and asked her if she wanted to dance. She seemed a little surprise that a man would ask her to dance but she accepted his invitation. He could see that she was more attractive than he thought she was when he spotted her sitting at the table.

She was wearing three inch high heels and that brought her height up to about five feet ten inches. Her hair was dish water blond and was cut short. Her figure was slim and in proportion to her height. The high neckline of her dress along with its cut hid her breast size. His hand which was on her back when they were dancing didn't feel a bra strap and that puzzled Ed a little.

No words were spoken while they danced. When the song ended she thanked him for the dance and started to walk away.

"Don't you want to dance anymore?"

"I... , well... , I saw you have one dance with that other lady and walk away so I thought that it was only one song you wanted to dance with me. Yes I would like to dance some more."

The band started to play another song and he took her into his arms to dance. Ed introduced himself to her and gave her a capsule summary of who he was and why he was in the area. She told Ed her name was Donna Sanders and that she had been divorced for almost two years. She said that she owned a condo here and one up north. He asked her where up north she lived and she told him the town. He responded saying that they lived only about twenty miles apart up north.

"It's a small world," she said.

He rapidly came to some conclusions about Donna from this short talk and his observation of her. In summary he thought from what he saw and how she handled herself that she was attractive, about five years younger than him, well educated, classy and came from money. His vote on her figure was out but he would think that it was nice.

The song ended and he offered to buy her a drink. She happily accepted his offer and said she would wait for him at her table. He watched her walk to the table and was impressed by her nice back side and thin ankles.

In returning with the drinks she seemed to be pleased that he was joining her. She talked some more about herself in responding to the questions Ed was asking her. Donna said that she had been married for twenty one years. Her husband whom she had met in college was a computer genius. He founded an internet company while in school and developed some software. There was a strong demand for his software and it made him very wealthy. They had one daughter who was married last year. Her husband became infatuated with a twenty two year old programmer and he asked Donna for a divorce. It was Donna's opinion that when one of the partners in a marriage asks for a divorce you may as well agree to it as the marriage isn't worth saving. She agreed to a divorce and the almost fifty percent split of their combined assets put her in a very comfortable financial position.

Ed told her he agreed with her about a marriage not being salvageable when one the partners asks for a divorce and told her about his situation. He could see that she had some sympathy for him because of his divorce.

They talked about what social activities or other activities they engaged in. Ed mentioned his jogging and golf. She asked him what his average score for eighteen holes was. When he told her it was about ninety she said that was about her average score.

He was enjoying talking to Donna and he said, "Walking on as a single gets me a tee time but you never know who you are going to be playing with. How about if we play golf together? I could pick you up and we could play the course which is next to where my condo is. It is a very nice semi-private golf course."

"That is a very nice offer and yes I would enjoy playing golf with you. Instead of us playing at that course why don't we play at my club? I think you will enjoy the course as it is rated in the top twenty private golf courses in Florida. Do you want to play tomorrow?"

"Yes I do but can you get a tee time that quick?"

She said she could and asked Ed for his phone number and said she would call him at eight in the morning with the tee time.

In talking with Donna the time had gone by quickly and a lady came up to the table to ask Donna if she was ready to leave. Donna introduced Ed to this lady and said she needed to be going as this was her ride. She said she would call him tomorrow.

Ed watched her walk away and had some further thoughts about Donna. It didn't seem the right time for him to ask her if she wanted Ed to give her a lift home. That was something that was a little too soon to ask her and he thought she was a little too classy to accept that sort of an offer no matter how innocent it was. In spite of the money he speculated she had, she seemed to be a nice and a sincere person. Even if she did have all that money she certainly was attractive lady and a fun person to be with.

Back at his condo Ed checked his email and googled Donna's name. He found a few stories about her ex-husband's company and their divorce. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was one wealthy woman. He wasn't sure if her wealth affected her tastes in life or if her tastes would be compatible with Ed's. Only time would tell if that would be a problem.

The next morning right at eight his phone rang. He answered his phone by saying, "Good morning Donna, how are you."

"Do you have caller ID?"

"No but it seemed to me that you are an on time person."

He could her giggling and she said, "You are right, it's a fault of mine. The tee time is at ten. Do you know how to find the course?"

Ed said he did and he would see her there.

Finding this private country club was not difficult. He drove his car up the winding road to the main building. A temporary stop at the bag drop for his clubs to be taken from his car let him gaze at the large clubhouse which gave him an appreciation of the luxury of this private country club. He told the bag man what his tee time was and parked his car. After putting on his golf shoes he headed to the clubhouse.

Ed entered the clubhouse and found the pro shop. He told the fellow at the counter who he was and who he was playing with. Ed also said that he wanted to pay his green fees. The man behind the counter said that Donna had taken care of the green fees and that he was told to tell Ed that he could meet Donna either on the driving range or at the putting green.

Ed found his clubs and took a few along with his golf glove, a few tees and walked over to the driving range. He could see that Donna was swinging a golf club and that she had a very nice golf swing. She was wearing white Bermuda shorts and a white short sleeve shirt. Atop her head was a black baseball cap. She saw Ed and waived to him and told him to hit a few balls. He walked by her to an empty spot and quickly observed that her bottom looked good in those shorts.

After they were warmed up they went to the first tee and were told they would be playing as a twosome. Donna thought they should play for something since they both shoot about the same scores. Ed said that they should play for who buys dinner and Donna agreed. Win or lose this was a win-win bet for Ed.

The round of golf was interesting as Donna looked good both with her athletic golf swing and in the clothes she was wearing. He came to a conclusion that her breast size was a 34C. While he was coming to that conclusion she cleaned his clock on the golf course. She shot ninety and Ed posted a one hundred and four. He was kicking himself because he had neglected to take into account the degree of difficulty of the course when they were comparing scores. The slope of the course which is a way to measure its difficulty was stated to be 138 off the white tees that Ed was playing from. Ed was use to playing courses that had slopes in the 119 area so this course was tough and challenging.

Ed told Donna that she had hustled him. Donna giggled and told him that he would do better once he learned the golf course. She gave him the information on where she lived and he said he would pick her up at six.

After showering and shaving Ed arrived at Donna's condo a few minutes before six. He purposely waited till his watch said six before he pressed the button to her condo. He could hear the buzzer going which enabled him to open the entrance door and he took the elevator to her floor. She was waiting at an open door as he stepped off the elevator.

He thought she cleaned up well as he eyed her. She was wearing a dark green dress. It was apparent that the dress was expensive and didn't just come off the rack. Her hair and her make-up were impeccable. He told her she looked very nice and was proud he was taking her to dinner as all the male patrons would be jealous of him. Donna smiled and thanked him for the compliment.

She offered him a drink which he accepted with the proviso that she joins him. When she was gone to make the drinks he looked over her condo and saw it just said 'money.' It was a three bedroom penthouse condo on the corner of the top floor. The condo was very nicely decorated and it had a view of the ocean.

When Ed was given his drink he complimented her on how nice her condo was decorated. She thanked him and told him about some of the paintings that where on the wall. All of the paintings she said were originals.

Ed drove to Mario's which was reputed to be the best seafood restaurant in the area. The host seemed to know Donna and made some remarks to her as he showed them to their table. There was no question in Ed's mind that Donna was very comfortable and in her element at being in this restaurant.

They had another cocktail before dinner and then they placed their food order. Donna was an excellent conversationalist and gave Ed all of her attention. In some way the conversation came around to how she handles her wealth.

Donna said, "We married right out of college. I was finance major and because of the quick financial success of my husband there was no reason for me to work. I continued on in school and received my MBA in finance. With a few real estate exceptions I handle most of my investments myself. It does give me something to do and I enjoy doing it. The ups and downs of both the stock market and real estate market can give you ulcers but I have learned to live with that and have actually done quite well. It would bother me if I had to pay someone to manage my investments one percent yearly of my portfolio value whether they made me money or not. How about you?"