| General Fiction posted April 21, 2023 | Chapters: |
...8 9 -10- 11... 
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More troubles for Eddie
A chapter in the book Lucky Eddie
Lucky Eddie - Chapter 10
by Jim Wile
| Background Two young men meet as opponents during the finals of the golf club championship and soon become lifelong best friends. It is their great friendship that helps them navigate many of life's challenges. |
(See the Author Notes for the definition of any golf terminology used as well as a description of the main characters.)
Recap of the previous few chapters: Kenny begins helping Eddie with new putter designs. After a year, Kenny marries Abby and they have two kids. Kenny eventually quits his job and joins Eddie as a partner in the putter design business, and they are very successful, landing sales with several PGA tour pros. Kenny and Abby’s kids grow into adults. Their daughter Claire marries and has a baby girl of her own, Emily. Their son Greg joins Kenny and Eddie in the business allowing them eventually to partially retire. They take a number of golfing trips together. Eddie grows very fond of Emily as he sees her often when he visits Kenny and Abby while they are babysitting for Emily. Emily turns five.
On a visit to Kenny’s house to plan a new golfing trip, Eddie prevents a tragic accident to Emily who is charging across the street to greet him. He throws his body in front of an advancing car to push Emily out of the way and is struck instead, while Emily bumps her head on the curb. Both are rushed to the hospital. Emily has only suffered a minor concussion while Eddie’s pelvis and leg were severely damaged in the accident. The family visits him in the hospital the next day.
(A continuation of the chapter The Accident.)
Eddie got out of the hospital a week later and moved into a rehab facility, where he stayed for a month. He was cantankerous and complained a lot, and by the end of his stay there, everyone was glad to see him go home. He required weeks of additional physical therapy to learn to walk again, first with a walker, and eventually with a cane.
Abby and I visited him often and brought Emmie with us whenever we could. She brightened his day, and he was always on his best behavior when she was around. He continued to improve, and eventually, he shed the cane.
It was a warm spring day about six months later when Eddie came over to the house. He had gotten the golf bug again after so many months off, and I invited him over so we could start planning our next trip together. He parked across the street and limped to the front door. Claire and Emily were visiting us for the day while Tom was on a business trip, and it was Emily who spotted him through the window, ran to the door, and threw it open before he even had a chance to ring the bell.
“Hi, Uncle Eddie!” she shouted as she started dancing around.
“Hey, pipsqueak,” he said as he bent down to her level.
“What’s a pipsqueak?”
“You are, you little freckle-faced sprite!” he cried as he grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her.
“What’s a sprite?” she squealed as she tried to escape his clutches.
“It’s a pipsqueak!”
“But what’s a pipsqueak?” she giggled and squirmed under his relentless tickling.
“Alright you two,” I said. “C’mon, Eddie. You never could keep your hands off a cute redhead.”
I took him by the arm and led him into the family room. “Emmie, Uncle Eddie and I have got to start planning our next golfing trip, so we’re going to need a little peace and quiet, thank you. Go see if you can find Grandma, please.”
“Okay, Grandpa, but I have just one question. Uncle Eddie, how come your skin looks kinda yellowy?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard? Yellow skin is all the rage these days in Scotland where your Grandpa and I are going.”
Scotland, was it? That was news to me. I looked over at Eddie. I had never noticed it before, but Eddie did look a little yellow. Perhaps he hadn’t been getting out in the sun much during his convalescence, but I had a feeling there was something more to it. I shooed Emily away so we could start planning our trip.
I got us a couple of beers from the frig, and we went out on the porch. I sat across from Eddie and gave him a long, hard look. “Eddie, are you alright? You look a little off.”
He sat there for a minute not answering and with his eyes downcast. He seemed to be debating with himself, but finally he said, “It’s jaundice.”
“Have you seen your doctor about it?”
“Yes, several of them.” After a few moments, he sighed and said, “I’m sick, Kenny. The jaundice is just a symptom.”
I had a sudden sinking feeling and didn’t want to hear his answer, but I knew I had to ask. “Of what exactly?”
It took him a moment to collect himself, but he finally said, “I’ve got pancreatic cancer, Sport. The oncologist gave me six months. Maybe a year if I’m lucky.”
“Oh, Eddie, no! Are they sure?”
“Pretty darn.”
I came over and sat next to him then and put my arm around his shoulder. I didn’t know what to say to him.
After a minute or two he turned to me and said, “You know, Sport, I read a terrific book recently called Final Rounds by the excellent golf writer James Dobson. In the book his father has cancer, and the two of them decide to take a trip to Scotland together before the end. They play all the great courses there, finishing with The Old Course at St. Andrews. That’s where I got the idea about Scotland. I don’t really care about those other courses, but I would like to play St. Andrews while I can still manage it. Whaddaya say?”
“That sounds perfect. Let’s do it. I’ve heard, though, that it’s not that easy to get to play The Old Course.”
“Yeah, but we’ve got connections. We happened to make a putter for the pro there a couple years back. Don’t you remember?”
“Not really, but I’ll take your word for it.”
And so, we began making plans in earnest, right up until dinner time.
Eddie, Claire, and Emmie started a game of Shutes and Ladders while I went in to help Abby make dinner.
Without the distraction of planning a new golf trip, I couldn’t keep my mind off Eddie’s revelation, and it showed in my actions in the kitchen. Normally very efficient, I couldn’t seem to focus on my task of preparing the salad.
Abby was about to chide me when she looked at my face and could tell that something was wrong. “Kenny, what is it?”
I put down the knife that I’d been using, walked over and put my arms around her and just held her for a minute. “Let’s talk about it later, okay?”
“Okay,” she said gently. She knew my moods well enough not to press any further right then.
Despite my mood, dinner was festive enough; it could hardly be anything else with Eddie and Emily’s constant banter. And during dessert—peach cobbler with ice cream—Eddie kept us all entertained with an outrageous story about a trip to the zoo he had once taken and what happened when he started imitating the chimpanzees he had been watching.
“Oh, gross!” cried Emily as the details of that encounter unfolded.
“Eddie, couldn’t that have waited until we finished eating?” scolded Abby.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” But then he turned to Emily, who he was seated next to, and started scratching his armpit and saying, “Oooh, oooh, oooh.” Emily dissolved in a fit of laughter, and the hilarity of the moment was enough to push any dark thoughts right out of my mind.
Later that night after everyone had gone home, Abby and I sat down on the porch, and I told her about Eddie. We hugged each other, and we both cried. Eddie was such an important part of our lives, and it was just impossible to believe that within a year, he wouldn’t be with us anymore. We vowed to make the best of the time we had left together and to always be there when he needed us.
(3 more chapters to go)
Kenny Payne: The narrator of the story. He is a mechanical engineer who recently graduated from college and joined Brentwood Country Club where he meets Eddie in the finals of the Club Championship. He and Eddie become best friends.
Eddie Phillips: Described by Kenny as the loudest, most flamboyant, often obnoxious person and the kind you either loved or hated, who he had ever met. He is known for his phenomenal luck and his extreme prowess in putting.
Abby St. Claire: Introduced to Kenny by Eddie, she works at the snack bar and as a waitress at the club for a summer job while she finishes college. She is a smart and beautiful redhead who Kenny falls in love with and eventually marries.
Claire Payne: Kenny and Abbyâ??s daughter
Greg Payne: Kenny and Abbyâ??s son
Tom: Claireâ??s husband
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Eddie Phillips: Described by Kenny as the loudest, most flamboyant, often obnoxious person and the kind you either loved or hated, who he had ever met. He is known for his phenomenal luck and his extreme prowess in putting.
Abby St. Claire: Introduced to Kenny by Eddie, she works at the snack bar and as a waitress at the club for a summer job while she finishes college. She is a smart and beautiful redhead who Kenny falls in love with and eventually marries.
Claire Payne: Kenny and Abbyâ??s daughter
Greg Payne: Kenny and Abbyâ??s son
Tom: Claireâ??s husband
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