Mimicking Richard, Henry bent down on the green to assess the slope of the green for himself. It was a matter of pride. He could see the slope Richard was talking about and picked the line he needed to hit. In his many games of golf Henry had nailed plenty of three yard putts. He could do this.
Richard moved across to the flag ready to pull it out. Alicia and Alex had finally stopped their carrying on and were also watching intently.
Henry took his stance making sure the ball was in the dead centre of his cleavage. That was a trick Alex had alerted him to in the lesson the other day and it had worked all day for Henry. He took a practice swing and imagined the ball following his line and landing in the hole. He was ready!
Henry had no warning. Other than a quick “Watchout!” from Richard. Suddenly there was a loud roar and Henry was enveloped in a whirlwind. A dust devil had come from nowhere.
Henry lost his hat and his hands shot up to hold his wig in place. Only then did he realise his dress had blown up ala Marylin Munroe and his pale green panties were on display for all the world to see. He dropped the putter and tried to push the dress back down. As quickly as it had started it was gone. Henry stared dumbfounded as the Dust devil moved off into the distance.
Alicia was by his side in a second, enquiring “Are you okay?” Together with Richard, she helped ‘Rachel’ to the nearby buggy. Henry took a seat and tried to compose himself. He hoped he had remained silent but was uncertain. He found himself being offered a drink.
Alicia was asking “Where did that come from?”
Richard replied. “They happen but usually you get plenty of warning, that one just appeared” then added “It looks like Alex found the hat”
It was a good 5 minutes before ‘Rachel’ took her final shot. In the meantime, Alicia had managed to whisper to Henry “Good thing we did the genital swap today. You gave us all a good view of your knickers” as she ‘fixed’ Henry’s hair.
Henry made it known that he still wanted to take the putt. He wasn’t sure whether the ball had remained in place or the pro’s had returned it to where it had been. After a quick look around for approaching dust devils and another practice swing. He once more visualised the ball going in. Then determined he took the putt. Still aiming for a foot to the left of the hole.
The ball rolled on the line Henry had set it on. It curled just as Richard had predicted. It was dead in line. Then it stopped! Henry had not hit it hard enough! A cardinal sin! The ball stopped inches from the hole.
At least Alicia had the sense not to yell and carry on. She must have recognised Henry’s (aka Rachel’s) disappointment. She came across and gave Henry a consoling hug. Henry also accepted hugs from Richard, who whispered to her “Bad luck, your played great” and Alex, who hugged more tightly than he needed to.