Storiesonline.net ------- Lenny From Shenny by Openbook Copyright© 2005 by Openbook ------- Description: The fifth story in the Caddymaster saga. Jackie's cousin makes a bid to be Caddymaster. Codes: no-sex ------- My cousin Lenny was caddying with me on a warm July morning in 1957. Lenny's father, my Uncle Ray, my mother's brother, had died during World War II. He had been a sailor in the Navy, had gotten drunk and fallen from a pier as he was walking back to his ship. My Aunt Betty had gotten his GI insurance and received a widow's pension from the government each month. Lenny was an only child, an unheard of thing in my family where having four or five children was the norm. The GI insurance went to buy a nice little house in Groton, and Betty and Lenny lived there together, even though he was twenty six years old. Lenny had been a caddy at Shennecossett Golf Club since the summer of 1943. His one unrealized goal in life was to someday become the Caddymaster. Lenny had a slight intelligence shortfall. He looked normal, in fact he was a handsome man, and spoke well enough too, but there was a gear missing in his brain machine. He never seemed to learn anything from his experiences. Lenny also loved to gamble. Gambling doesn't actually require that you be overly intelligent, but, for the most part, successful gambling usually requires that you be smarter than the person you are betting with. We were just finishing up on the 14th hole, each carrying a single bag for two big gamblers. They were playing for twenty bucks a hole. My guy was a big hitter but had shown questionable putting skills so far. Lenny's guy putted well and was deadly accurate chipping around the greens, but almost never reached a green in regulation. Even on the par 3 holes. His longest yardage off the tee was around a hundred and forty yards and that was with his one wood, what would be called a driver today. The old adage that you drive for show and putt for dough wasn't always going to hold true. "Jackie, I'll bet you a buck my guy beats your guy, total strokes from here to the clubhouse." There was one par 3, two 4's and a par 5 left, the 5 was the longest hole on the course, and the three par was 175 yards long. "OK, Lenny, you want to make it for two bucks?" "Sure, two bucks it is." I really liked my bet as we shook on it. The players settled up just off the 18th green. My guy had made a par on the par three, had bogied both par 4's and just missed a long eagle putt on the par 5, for a kick in birdy. Lenny's guy had bogied the par 3, made a par and a bogie on the two par 4's, and made a 7 on the par five when he sank a thirty foot putt. Each guy paid $3.00 for the loop, pretty good money for a single. When I added Lenny's two bucks to my money, I'd made $5.00 for the afternoon, not too bad. "Who do you think will be the new Caddymaster, Jackie?" This must have been at least the third time he'd asked me that question since the round had begun. I'd told him that I had no idea the first two times he'd asked me. The head pro would announce the selection for Caddymaster in another week. "I'm hoping it will be you, Lenny, that's what I'm hoping." I looked at Lenny as I said it, knowing it was true that that was what I was hoping, but I never really thought he'd have a chance. The Caddymaster they picked was usually a pretty sharp guy, had to be to keep all the caddies in line. "I think they're going to give it to me this year Jackie, I really do." We'd had a new Caddymaster three times already since "Ratman" had left. Each time Lenny thought he'd be the one named, each time he was passed over for a younger, less experienced, but smarter, guy. I sensed a trend here and I was ready to exploit it to my advantage. "Maybe you're too old Lenny, maybe they'll go with a younger guy again, like the last few times." "This is my time, Jackie, I can feel it." "For how much Lenny?" "For how much, like a bet you mean?" "Yeah, you like you for the new Caddymaster for how much?" "You give me three to one Jackie, that's fair, and I'll bet you $50.00." Now that surprised me. I could win $50.00 or lose $150.00. Lenny and I usually bet for a buck or two, never for anything big like he was proposing. "Let me think on it Lenny, I'll let you know in the morning. Are you sure you can afford to lose $50.00?" "Can you stand to lose the $150.00, that's the real question you should be asking here." Damn he had a point there. If I did lose $150.00, I'd be working almost a month for nothing. I had plenty of dough saved up, but a hit like that would really hurt me. On the other hand, an extra $50.00 would come in mighty handy. I'd be 16 in November and had been saving up for a car for several years. I already had enough, but the new Pontiac's were due out in September and I'd heard rumors that they looked really sharp. I could almost afford to pay cash for a new one. Wouldn't that be sweet? I went home that night with my head full of thoughts about Lenny's bet offer. I was at least 90% sure that Lenny wouldn't get the Caddymaster job. He was too old, he wasn't smart enough, and one of the three people that made the decision definitely didn't like Lenny. The head pro, Vic Panciera, did like Lenny, but he would go along with whoever his two assistant's picked. One assistant, Paul, I guess he liked Lenny OK, but Ted Fowler, the other assistant pro, he really didn't like Lenny. A few years ago Lenny was taking out Clara Fowler, Ted's sister. They went together for a long time, at least four years, but Lenny never asked her to marry him. It wasn't that Ted wanted Lenny for a brother in law so much. Ted just wanted to stop having to feed her, buy her clothes and generally just support her. Clara was almost 30 by now, she was a few years older than Lenny, and Lenny had been her only suitor since she left high school. She lived at home like Lenny, and Ted had to support his mother and Clara with no end to it in sight. He and Lenny had gotten into so many shouting matches over when Lenny was going to get off the dime and finally pop the question, that it had caused him and Clara to split up. It was sad in a way because Lenny was pretty lonely now and Aunt Betty had really liked Clara and would have welcomed her into her home, for the company and for Lenny's sake. The next morning I got up early and walked over to the golf course and hung around the pro shop until I saw Ted Fowler coming out of the member's locker room. "Hi Ted, can I see you for a minute?" He looked at me trying to think of a reason why he'd want to talk to someone like me. In the end he couldn't resist his curiosity and waved me into the equipment room. This was where they took care of club cleaning and all equipment repairs. "I was wondering Ted, does my cousin Lenny have any chance of being appointed the new Caddymaster next week?" "You're kidding, right?" "No, I'm serious, you know that's what he's been hoping for ever since I can remember." "Well, you tell him to hope in his left hand and shit in his right and see which one fills up the quickest." "So, you're telling me there is absolutely no way he's the new Caddymaster then?" "No way, absolutely not a chance." Well, I had gotten exactly what I came for, good inside information, practically straight from the horse's mouth. For some strange reason though it bothered me that my cousin was being passed over again. I left and walked over to the caddy shack and went inside. Lenny was sitting inside, playing a game of five handed Tonk. As usual, he was losing. "Hey Lenny, making another donation to the cause?" "What cause Jackie?" "Cause you can't play Tonk for shit, Lenny. That cause. C'mon we need to talk about that bet." After the hand was done, Lenny slid his dime over to the winner and left the game. The other four guys in the game were giving me sour looks when their pigeon left, but I didn't care. "Are you gonna take my bet Jackie? You'll be sorry if you do. This is my year, I just know it." "It isn't your year Lenny, and it never will be as long as Ted is one of the guys making the selection. If I took the bet you'd just be throwing your $50.00 away. I just talked to Ted and he told me you don't have a prayer. You should just forget it Lenny. You're a great caddy and that should be enough. Why do you want the headache of being Caddymaster for anyways?" "I just do Jackie, that's all, I just do. And I'm gonna get it this time too." What could I do? If I didn't take his money he'd just lose it to somebody else anyway. At least this way the money would stay in the family. "All right Lenny, I've warned you. Don't be mad at me when you're paying me the fifty. I'll give you three to one for your fifty bucks that you aren't the next Caddymaster. Bet?" "Bet! Hah, you'll be sorry you ever made this bet Jackie." We shook hands on it. Even though I was sure I'd just made fifty dollars, I was a little disappointed with myself for having proposed a bet in the first place. After we finished up caddying for the day, Lenny and I walked over to a few places and searched for lost golf balls as we walked home. We usually got anywhere from a dime to a quarter for used golf balls that we sold to golfers. We pooled our money and used it to buy drinks and Sno-cone cupcakes from the snack bar. I liked the pink Sno-cone cakes and Lenny liked the white ones, so it worked out well for the two of us. We got to my Aunt Betty's house and she invited me in to stay for supper. She had made some pizzas and they sure smelled good when she took them out of her oven. I called home and my mother said it was OK and then mom and Betty got to talking and Lenny and I had to wait until she got off the phone before we could eat. "How did you boys do over at the golf course today? Did you make a lot of money?" "I did OK, Aunt Betty. I carried doubles twice and made $9.50." "I only made seven, Ma, and I spent some on Tonk and I bought some lunch too. He handed my aunt a $5.00 bill and she gave him a real big smile. "You're a real good son, Lenny, and it makes me very proud to see how well you're doing. I'll just put this away for a rainy day." She then tucked the bill into her ample bosom, in her brassiere I think. We dug in and demolished two of the three pizzas. Lenny and I drank milk, but Aunt Betty had a couple bottles of Narragansett ale, she drank it straight from the bottle too. "So Jackie, do you think my Lenny will be the new Caddymaster?" "I can't really say Aunt Betty. I hope he is, but I have to say it doesn't look that promising." "I'd have to say you're wrong there, Jackie. Did you know that Lenny's dad, your Uncle Ray, was the Caddymaster at Shennecossett for thirteen seasons before he went off and joined the Navy? No other Caddymaster has ever lasted so long you know. I'm sure Lenny will be picked very soon too. If not this time, certainly the next. When Ray was appointed Caddymaster it was a happy day for he and I. It was the night he was first appointed that he asked me to marry him, you know? He didn't want to assume the financial burden of marriage without a steady position. The stock market had crashed and we were just starting the Great Depression. Steady work was not to be despised in those days, I'll tell you, no sir, not to be despised." I looked over at Lenny and he was nodding his head up and down in complete agreement with everything his mother was saying. I finally excused myself, thanking my aunt for the great supper and started out for home. The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn and standing by the pro shop again, waiting for Ted to come in and open up. When he got there, after six, I told him I needed to talk with him again about Lenny. He brushed me off at first, but when I told him it was about Clara he stopped what he'd been doing and came back over to me. "What about Clara?" "Lenny wants to marry her." "That's bullshit!" "Nope, he's just waiting until he makes Caddymaster so he can ask her. The same way his father waited to ask his mother to marry him until he made Caddymaster." "Are you kidding me?" "I'm telling you. It's true. The only reason Clara isn't already married to Lenny is that he's waiting to be appointed Caddymaster like his father was before he asks her. Every time he isn't appointed, you're insuring that Clara stays a spinster for another season." "If you're fucking with me, you'll never caddy here again, you know that, and neither will Lenny or any of your family." "You know Ted, I'm here trying to do you a big favor and it's already going to cost me a lot of money and you insult me with your threats. I'm getting sorry that I ever bothered to come tell you this important information. I'm doing this for Lenny and Clara though, not for you. They're both nice people and they'd be happy together." A few days later Lenny was finally appointed Caddymaster. That night he went over and proposed to Clara. The next morning I went over and congratulated him and forked over his winnings. $150.00 caused me a lot of pain, but a bet is a bet, and I was no welcher. They held the wedding over at Ted's mother's house. He was too cheap to even think about springing for a decent wedding and reception for his only sister. I was there and celebrated with everyone else. Ted's girlfriend was at the wedding, a horsey faced girl from Providence, Rhode Island, named Brenda. I danced with her several slow dances and kept bringing her glasses of the homemade wine an uncle of mine had brought to the reception. We were both a little woozy from all of the wine and wound up down in the celler making out. She was a better kisser than old Ted deserved, and before we were done I had fingered her to an orgasm. She was a nice girl, and I wanted to keep working at the golf course, so I brought her back out to the backyard without doing anything that we'd both regret. It was at the reception that my Aunt Betty cornered me and told me that it was a wonderful thing that I did for her Lenny, and that she was proud that I was her nephew. She told me that she knew a smart boy like me would understand how important being Caddymaster was to Lenny and would put his own good heart above considerations of the wallet. She then put a bunch of five dollar bills rolled up with a thick rubber band in my hand. "This is for you, Jackie, it looks like it's finally stopped raining for Lenny, so he won't even miss it." When I got home that night I emptied my pockets on my chest of drawers and went to bed. When I got up the next morning with a bad hangover, I took off the rubber band and counted the money from Aunt Betty. It was exactly $150.00. ------- The End ------- Posted: 2005-09-02 ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------