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The swinging pendulum hit Eddie’s orange ball for the fourteenth time, this time smacking it hard enough to send the ball sailing off the course and onto the footpath.
“Eddie, you suck at minigolf,” said Craig.
“And you thought you knew me.” Eddie retrieved his ball and set it as close to the hole as the swinging pendulum would let him.
“You have to place the ball on the green right where it went off the course,” said Craig.
“What are you—the golf police?” said Eddie.
Craig did look a little like a cop with his visor hat and sunglasses. A hot cop at that.
Eddie grinned at him and propped the pendulum on his hip to stop it from swinging, then used his club to scoop the ball between his feet and into the hole.
“Eddie that’s cheating. I’m adding two points to your score for that. You’re sixteen above par.”
“I’m trying to make sure we finish playing before it rains. Anyway, it doesn’t matter how many strokes it takes, as long as it ends up in the hole.” Eddie gave Craig a meaningful look.
Eddie could tell Craig was rolling his eyes behind the sunglasses. Craig took out his scorecard.
“You’re keeping track?” said Eddie.
“Well, yeah. Why do you think they give people these little pencils and scorecards?”
“We’re here to have fun. It’s not the PGA.”
“Good thing it’s not. You’d be disqualified.”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing, tapper,” said Eddie as they walked to the next hole. He nudged Craig gently with his elbow. “You passed your comps, didn’t you?”
“Barely.”
“You’re gonna be a doctor in a year.”
Craig shrugged. “If I pass my defense.”
Eddie moved up close and put his hand on Craig’s waist. “You want me to go into your exam room and take off my clothes?”
“I’m not gonna be that kind of doctor.” Craig looked over Eddie’s shoulder and his expression fell. “Shit. Not again.”
“What?”
“Lady at the third hole. She’s looking at you. Her kid’s looking at you too.”
Eddie was currently in incognito mode wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled down with his hair tucked up underneath. He and Craig both wore wedding bands, but for discretion’s sake, they wore them on their index fingers. The media hadn’t found out Eddie and Craig were married, as evidenced by Eddie making number 8 on the “Top Ten Hottest Eligible Canadians” in last month’s issue of Entertainment Canada. Eddie found it ridiculously funny he’d placed one spot above Audacity Miller. The growing success of The Heart You’re Dealt had resulted in Eddie getting recognized in public a lot more often, in spite of his attempts to keep a low profile.
“How old’s the kid?” said Eddie.
“About five.”
“That's too young to be watching the show.”
“Tell that to her mom,” said Craig.
“Just be cool,” said Eddie, setting his ball on the course.
“She’s coming over,” said Craig.
Eddie patted his pockets then looked at Craig who sighed and passed him a Sharpie. Eddie turned to look. A woman in a white summer dress with purple flowers was approaching them from the third hole with that telltale tentative excitement Eddie had come to recognize over the past couple of years. The little girl was clutching her mother's dress and trying to keep up.
“Here we go again,” Craig muttered.
“Excuse me,” said the woman with a beaming smile. She waved at them. When she reached them, she said, “Are you Craig Elliott Porter? The tap dancer?”
Craig was wearing sunglasses, but Eddie swore he could tell Craig blinked a couple of times. “Uh…yeah?”
“I’m your number one fan,” said the woman. “And my daughter absolutely loves you.”
“What?” said Craig.
“Could we get your autograph?” said the woman.
“Uh…” Craig looked dazed.
Eddie passed the Sharpie back to Craig. The woman produced a brochure from a local museum and found a relatively clear page. She handed it to him. “I’m Heather, and my daughter’s name is Ava.”
“Okay,” said Craig. He stared at the page with the Sharpie in his hand, looking like a deer in the headlights. Eddie mimed signing, and Craig seemed to wake up and started signing his name.
“We’re subscribed to your YouTube channel,” said Heather excitedly. “We’ve watched every one of The Black Tap Company’s videos.”
“This many times!” Ava piped up, holding up both hands.
“She can only count to ten,” said Heather. “It’s probably at least a hundred. You’re our favorite dancer in the company. Ava thinks you’re amazing. Can you do an over the top for Ava? She loves your over the tops.”
“Over the top!!” Ava shouted. “Over the top!! Over the top!!”
“Uh,” said Craig. “I don’t have my taps with me, actually.”
“Can we get a photo with the three of us?” said Heather. “It would make Ava’s day.”
“Sure,” said Craig.
Heather casually passed her camera to Eddie. “Do you mind?” She put her arm around Craig while little Ava hugged his leg.
Craig looked completely shell-shocked. Eddie took the photo and another for good measure.
“Ava wants to marry you,” said Heather.
“Oh,” said Craig and he blushed. His freckles were practically glowing.
Eddie stifled a laugh in the crook of his elbow.
“Thanks,” said Heather absently, taking the camera from Eddie. She said to Craig, “Do you teach tap to children?”
“Donie and Annie do,” said Craig. “The dance school’s phone number is on our YouTube channel.”
“I don’t suppose…,” said Heather, batting her eyelashes, “you give lessons to adults?”
“Uh,” said Craig, and if possible, he blushed even brighter red. “I’m kinda busy with school. I don’t have time to teach.”
“What a shame,” said Heather. “Well, if you ever do have time to give a private lesson…” She took Craig’s Sharpie, scribbled a number on one of pages of her brochure, tore off the page, and passed it back to him, “…give me a call. I think you’re absolutely brilliant.”
Craig looked at it. “I…uh…yeah.”
Heather winked at him, and she and Ava went back to the third hole.
“Didn’t know you were such a ladies’ man,” said Eddie. “I thought I knew you.”
“Come on,” said Craig. He went back to the hut and returned his club and ball. Eddie followed.
“I have to get out of here,” said Craig, looking rattled.
“Rent a paddleboat?” said Eddie.
“It’s gonna rain,” said Craig.
“Then it’ll rain. Come on.” He put his arm around Craig’s shoulders and led him to the dock.
Eddie paid the rental for an hour and the boat master unlocked a boat for them.
Craig’s legs were incredibly strong from his dancing, and he was very fit. And also, it seemed, he really wanted to leave the area in a hurry. He didn’t say a word, just looked straight ahead and pedaled quickly with grim determination. It soon became clear that he was perfectly capable of propelling them along the river at speed without Eddie’s help, so Eddie stopped putting in the appearance of trying and just took his feet off the pedals and rested them on the top of the boat.
About a mile along, they rounded a bend and entered a secluded section of the river. A little stone bridge arched over the water ahead of them. Craig stopped pedaling, breathing hard now. The boat glided along on his momentum. Little drops of rain fell, ringing the water around them.
Craig took off his sunglasses and visor and pressed his hands to his face. “Oh god. I just want to crawl into a hole. How can you stand it? Strangers saying stuff like that to you—looking at you like that?”
“It comes with the job,” said Eddie. “Take it as a compliment.”
“I’m married.”
“You’re still allowed to look. She was kinda cute, don’t you think?”
“She’s old enough to be my sister, Eddie. Also, no, I only want to look at you.”
“Then look at me, tapper.”
Craig did. The blush had gone, leaving his skin pale. He looked so fetching with his freckles and the sun catching the gold flecks in his eyes.
“Hello, gorgeous,” said Eddie.
“I am so fucked,” said Craig.
“Not yet, but I’m up for it if you are. You said you wanted to do it on a paddleboat that day in the park, remember?” Eddie winked at him.
The rain chose that moment to start falling in big fat drops.
“We gotta turn around,” said Craig, reaching for the rudder control.
Eddie put his hand over Craig’s. “No we don’t.” Eddie put his feet on the pedals and moved them forward until they were under the bridge. He reached up and grabbed the mossy stone side of the bridge to stop the boat from moving.
The rain started hammering, pouring down either side of the bridge and making a watery screen between them and the outside world. It was like being in a private, echoey, shimmery room.
“You’ve never shown me your over the top,” said Eddie, pulling off his hat. He leaned in and kissed Craig, felt Craig’s mouth relax under his, his hands coming up and finding him.
Eddie pulled back. “Heather was wrong.”
“Yeah?” said Craig.
“Yeah. I’m your number one fan.”