“Tooo mannnnyyy,” Carnage said, snickering as he stepped forward, placing his ball exactly where Destroy and Enthrallhad both started from. He practiced his swing a couple of times before very calmly tapping the ball’s edge, sending it directly into the cup on his first putt, while Destroy shouted and tried to distract him. He shot a wink in Destroy’s direction, which was actually him blinking both eyes at once exaggeratedly, then scooped his ball out of the cup. “My ween! Fahty-t’eee!” he announced. He showed the ball to Destroy and then to Enthrall. “My ween Trawl!”
Enthrall was laughing. “And with a seven iron. You only used the seven iron. It’s crazy!”
“He cheated!” Destroy announced.
“Noo! P’ay dif’n’t,” Carnage said.
“He’s right. He didn’t cheat. He just prefers a certain club and uses that for everything,” Daniel said.
“It’s not cheating, Uncle Destroy. He just likes the one club,” Boon said.
“Well, what about you, Daniel?” Enthrall asked.
“We’ll see. I’m not sure I can beat Carnage. But I’ll try.”
“You’re at forty-two also, aren’t you?” Enthrall asked.
“I am. Let’s see how this goes,” Daniel said.
Daniel went to the trouble of lining up his putt two different times, before he finally decided which angle he wanted to putt from. He carefully measured, took a few test putts, then stood very carefully over the ball and tapped it toward the cup. The ball rolled right up to the cup’s edge and at the last moment skirted it and rolled past.
“Aww, that sucks!” Destroy announced, slapping his thigh for emphasis.
“Let’s see if you can get it in on this one,” Boon said.
“Carnage has already won,” Daniel said.
“Yes, but we still have second, third and fourth,” Enthrall said.
“We don’t keep track of that,” Destroy said.
“I do,” Enthrall said.
Daniel stood beside his ball, and lined up his shot again. This time he decided to bank the shot off a tree several feet from where the cup lay. It was unheard of, but not impossible. He took a number two club out of the bag that Boon held for him, and laid out his shot, using the club to determine which angle he’d need to make the ball bounce off the tree and back toward the cup. Deciding he had it just right, he stood over his ball, pulled back and smacked the hell out of the ball. The ball shot forward, hit the tree and bounced back toward the cup. The ball entered the cup with such force that it moved the cup back about six inches before the cup spun and the ball rolled out.
“Did you see that?!” Destroy demanded as he hooted appreciatively.
“I thought we were playing golf, not billiards!” Enthrall said, high-fiving Daniel.
“I am better at billiards than golf,” Daniel confessed. “Same principle though, angles, balls and holes. But, you win, Carnage!”
“Fair and square,” Enthrall said.
Carnage grinned at Enthrall, then patted him affectionately on the back when Enthrall came over to congratulate him.
“You want to play again?” Enthrall asked.
“Laatah,” Carnage said, nodding to confirm that he really wanted to play, but not right now.
“You just let me know when, and we’ll make it harder next time. See how well you do then,” Enthrall said, clapping Carnage on the back.
“Well, if we’re all done, I’d like to go back and spend some time with Angelle,” Boon said.
“We’re done,” Enthrall said.
“They’re at my house. You’re all welcome to join them,” Destroy said, walking away from the group. “Except you, Carnage. You can’t come.”
Instead of being offended, Carnage laughed. He jogged a few feet and caught up with Destroy. “Po’ ‘Stoy.”
