Chapter Thirty-Three
Caleb
Day two of the majors had arrived and I was thrilled to have survived the first. It had gone quite well, and I had Hailey to thank for it. I wasn’t sure what I would have done without her.
I’d had almost choked on the twelfth hole; I had to take a break. I knew I was going to choke and I couldn’t go through with it. Then there was Hailey standing there like an angel. She stood there like an angel and helped me get through that demon of a hole. I was so grateful for what she had done for me. She was a blessing, and I didn’t like the fact that she was going to be gone soon. It sucked more than I wanted to admit, but we had a deal, and once that was over, she would be gone, moving on to a better life, one that didn’t include me.
There I was again at breakfast that morning, already thinking about everything that could go wrong that day at the majors. I had more holes to go through, and there were more opportunities for me to choke. Once the day was over, I would either be a winner or a loser, and I couldn’t even be sure which one it would be. I had done great the day before; I had gotten further than I had the previous years, but that meant nothing. I could lose it all in a second if I let the fear in just a little bit.
I sat there at breakfast thinking about all that, and then I felt Hailey squeeze my hand under the table. I looked over at her and smiled. I was out with a few of the other players, and I had invited Hailey along to join us. She was there to put on a show, after all, so I might as well have her wherever I could. Plus, we were on borrowed time, so I wanted her around me as much as possible. There was no need to leave her alone at the hotel; she could come everywhere with me.
“So, how long have you guys been dating?” Brad, one of the guys asked.
I looked at Hailey and smiled. “It’s been three months now, and the best three months of my life.” Wasn’t that the truth? “It feels like it’s been no time at all.”
The three months had flown by, and it was hard to imagine a time when she wasn’t around. She would be gone soon enough, and that was hard for me to get out of my head. What will I do when she leaves? Probably lose my mind. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Matt and I would get back out there, but it didn’t sound like as much fun as it used to be. I would get back into the groove of things, I was sure of it, and then I would be back to my own life again. So why didn’t that sound awesome to me anymore?
Hailey blushed as I leaned over and kissed her. I could have kissed her all day long if I had the time.
After breakfast, we had gone back up to the hotel room and lay in bed and cuddled together before we had to go to the tournament. I held her in my arms tightly. I kissed her shoulder over and over again while she lay still in my arms. She was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but kiss her as much I could.
“We should probably get ready to go,” she eventually whispered.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I didn’t want to let her go, but the majors would be getting under way soon, and we needed to get ready. I let her pull away and got up to get changed. I didn’t want to think about the stress of the day, but it hit me immediately as soon as I stood up and thought about getting ready.
Hailey looked amazing in a light blue dress. I loved when she wore dresses. She played the part of a pro golfer’s girlfriend quite well and always dressed appropriately. We stepped out in the hallway of the hotel and were about to get going when I stopped her and said, “I’m not sure that I’m ready for our contract to be over.”
She stopped and looked up at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t want it to be over yet.”
“For God’s sake, Caleb, this is not the time to be worrying about things like this.”
“Hailey.”
“Hush now. You need to focus on the game, and nothing else. Get out there and win this for yourself. That’s all you have to worry about. Don’t you worry about anyone else but you when you are out there.”
I pulled her to me and kissed her long and hard. I loved kissing that girl, and when I kissed her, then it was way more about me wanting to be with her than me worrying about the contract or making people think that I was stable and secure. We parted, and she looked up at me, and I could swear that I saw love in her eyes. Is that possible? No, it is crazy.
It was the second to last hole in the game, and I stood there waiting for Matt to give me a club. He gave me a three wood for the long hole. There was a sand trap that I had to avoid, but I was feeling good so far. The day had breezed by quickly, and I had nothing to complain about.
Hailey had given me a good talking to, and when I got out there, I just kept focusing on her and nothing else. It helped me get through the tough holes. When I thought I was about to choke, I just thought about her, and everything else just went away.
I hit the ball and watched it shoot off, completely missing the sand trap. It bounced along and went into the hole as if it was meant to live there. It was the first hole-in-one that I made that day, and the crowd cheered. Hailey was out there somewhere, and I could feel her approval with every good step that I made.
I had one more hole to go, and I was already in the lead. The green jacket could be mine if I just focused. The fear was real; I could feel it threatening to choke me until I was dead. The fear followed me from hole to hole, but so far, I had kept it at bay.
I was doing the things that Dr. Brentwood told me, I was listening to all the comments Matt offered me, and I was remembering what Hailey told me. Those were the reasons why I succeeded so far, and with just one hole to go, I could let the fear kill me or I could push it aside and win this for myself.
I wanted it all for myself. I wasn’t doing this for my father, Aria, or even all my fans. I was fighting hard, and I was doing it all for myself because I deserved it.
I walked over to Matt, and we went to the last hole together.
“You can do this, man; there’s just one more to go, and you have it. There’s no more choking. You have had an amazing day.”
“Thanks for everything, Matt. You have no idea how much it means to me.”
We moved to the last hole in the majors and watched as the other players made their shot. I felt sick to my stomach suddenly, knowing this was it for me. It was now my turn, and Matt handed me an iron that was going to help me win. I refused to make eye contact with anyone. This was it, and it could all go away in a second.
I walked up to the green and stood there looking out into the fairway. Fear took over and settled in my chest. It was so strong that I felt it wrap around my heart and squeeze tightly. It would kill me if I let it. I let all the fear in just for a few seconds, feeling every inch of it as it coursed through my entire body. I let it sit there for a few seconds as it threatened to choke me.
I could have given up on it right then. I could have let it choke me and just give up, but I thought of Hailey, and suddenly, it was like a door shut on the fear. I locked it out and kept it at bay once again as I swung the club and hit the ball.
As I watched it go off into the fairway, the crowd went nuts – it was all over, and I had won. I had won the Masters. The green jacket was now mine. I turned with a grin on my face to see Matt cheering and Hailey screaming in the crowd. They had huge grins on their faces, and I reached into the air with my club excitedly.
Finally, it had finally happened for me.