He needed to talk to someone, and as Amy wasn’t here, he’d have to find someone else.
When it got too cold, he grabbed a blanket, sat himself in a chair on the covered patio, and called his caddy. Jake answered after three rings and sounded out of breath, as if he’d sprinted for the phone. “Hey, Harrison. What’s up?”
Harrison could hear kids playing in the background. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Nah, man. I’m watching the kids today so my wife can work. We’re wrapping a few presents. What are you up to?”
“Nothing, really. I’m just bored and wanted to talk.”
“Ah. Hang on, will you?” Jake said. He moved the phone away from his mouth and said something to one of the kids. Then, “So you’re going to Scotland, right?”
Harrison blinked. “How do you know about Scotland?”
“Clay called me. Said I should encourage you.”
Harrison’s pulse picked up a beat or two. Was there any boundary Clay would not cross? “He did, huh?”
“Yep. Clay and I are friendly, you know that.”
Harrison knew that, but he’d hoped Clay’s friendship with Jake didn’t include his existential crisis.
“For what it’s worth, I told him that was his job,” Jake added. “I’m not here to influence you. Those are decisions the two of you have to make.”
“Thank you,” Harrison said. How refreshing that at least his caddy understood that. He would be happy to point that out to Clay.
“But it does raise the question—when are we getting back out there, chief?”
Harrison wished he had an answer for Jake—he deserved to know. “I’m struggling to make a decision, to be honest.” He debated telling Jake that he was in the throes of what could only be described as a midlife crisis and didn’t know what he wanted from his life right now or in the future.
Jake said, “You know…if you’re going to take more time off, I might need to partner with someone else.”
Harrison was taken aback. This was the first time Jake had ever said anything like that. It was the first time he’d expressed any opinion at all about Harrison’s injury time-out. He never said anything but “take all the time you need.” Of course they had talked about it, and Harrison had made sure Jake was made whole while he was recuperating. “What are you talking about?” Harrison asked. “We’ve been together forever.”
“Yeah, but, dude, I’ve got to make a living here—I’ve got three kids. And, well…Thad Villeroy sort of hit me up.”
Villeroy?The same Thad Villeroy who’d won the Phoenix Open for a cool 1.6 million dollars? That snake. Okay, he wasn’t a snake—Harrison didn’t know him to be anything other than a nice guy and an up-and-coming athlete. He was young and hungry, and perhaps most important, he was winning. That would be key for Jake—the bigger the purse a golfer won, the bigger the caddy’s cut. It made all the sense in the world to hook his wagon to the winners.
“Are you…have you decided to go with him?” Harrison asked, trying to keep the disbelief from his voice.
“Nah, Harrison, not if you’re coming back. Dude, I’m your ride or die. We’re in too deep for me to jump ship for no reason. But if you’re not coming back, it would be better if I knew sooner rather than later.”
Harrison was suddenly developing a pain in his right temple and rubbed it. “I understand. When do you need to know?”
“Well…before the new year if at all possible.”
They were practically at the new year. “I’ll let you know,” he said simply. “Please don’t do anything without talking to me.”
“No, no, of course not. So what’s up? Going home to your folks?”
“Folks are on a cruise,” Harrison said, and filled him in on where he was. He told him about Hillary Green, which had Jake howling with laughter at the audacity of Clay to send her. They talked about Scotland, the pros and cons of taking a week at the first of the year instead of training, and both agreed that while it was good, easy money, it was not an easy trip.
Harrison wished him a merry Christmas and ended the call. He stared almost blindly at the pool and the wisps of heat rising from its surface. If he lost Jake…it would be like starting over. Caddies and golfers found a rhythm in working together, and it wasn’t that easy to find a replacement. Sometimes, players went through several caddies before they found one that clicked. He felt too old to be going through that process again. Without Jake, he…
Well, he didn’t know what. He would add that to the list of things he had no answer for.
It was getting colder. He got up and went inside and found the whole gang, minus Amy, assembled in the kitchen. They were chattering and banging around, taking out bowls and putting them back. He heard the phrase “cookie wars.” He paused, caught Barb’s eye.
She grinned. “Haven’t you heard of our famous cookie wars, H? Of course not. How could you? It’s something we always do this time of year. We each bake a batch and then ask the public to decide who wins.”
