Jigsaw (NaNoWriMo13)

Five

EDITED: 23/6/14

By the time we arrive at the Crazy Golf course, my lungs are burning, and my nose is about ready to drop off. I can almost imagine that the air that puffs from my lips is crystallizing as it hits the cold. Walking up that massive hill hasn't helped either. Like the clumsy idiot I am, I managed to trip and fall in the deep snow - twice. Yeah, thanks for mentioning that, Evan. The moment we reach the course - however - my annoyance dissipates to be replaced with a childish sense of excitement.

We stop at the booth, where Evan pays for both of us. Scowling slightly, I remind myself that I'll stick the money in his pocket when he isn't looking. The smiling lady in the booth attaches a paper band around my wrist. Stretched out ahead of us are two tall hedges that stretch into the alabaster sky. These encase a tight, muddy lane that stretches out to a sharp turn. The light babble and excited chatter, and the clack of metal on plastic drifts over the hedges and floats around us. I smile despite my nerves.

“I've always loved this place,” Evan says.

He smiles down at me as we set off down the lane. “It just seems so different. Like it has this spark that other places don't have. Does that make sense?"

I don't answer as Evan has chosen that moment to wrap his hand around mine. I swallow thickly and nod. "It does seem to hold a certain charm," I agree.

And it does. With the periwinkle lights blinking lazily at us from amongst the leaves and branches and the snow that has settled on top of the hedges like a lightly dusted cake. It doesn't feel like most tourist hot spots. You know, cheap and plasticy. It's almost as if a hand has reached down from the endless sky and picked us up, dropping us into this little golf village with country charm. It's as far removed from the cold humdrum of city life as you can get. I love it. Small crossed windows are set into the hedges, allowing us to peek through at the course on the opposite side.

"Woah. It's massive."

Evan smirks. "That's what-"

"Don't even think about it!" I chastise, trying and failing to sound stern.

Evan shrugs. "Sorry, babe. You bring out the worst in me, what can you do about it?"

I could think of a few things.

My face feels hot at the very thought. Damn, bloody hormones!

The course itself is in a field. At least four times bigger than a football and twice as wide. It sprawls out towards the dusty city skyline and bleeds into the backdrop of trees that stand guard over us. Little pocket of plastic boast the golf attraction, that remind me vividly of Alice in Wonderland. Despite the harsh weather, a tentative line trickles slowly at each Tee-off, all other tourists delightedly eager to take their turns.

Brightly coloured paths in primary colours cris-cross the grass with crude arrows leading the way to each destination. "Evan this is fantastic!" I beam, tossing my head this way and that in an effort to take it all in at once.

A wide smile splits his face. "I hoped you'd like it. Not a lot of women like crazy golf. But you're not like a lot of women. So, I thought-"

He rubs the back of his neck. 

"Relax, Evan," I chuckle. "I'm not normal women!"

"That was adorable, so I'm going to ignore the grammatical incorrectness of that." 

I roll my eyes and push him. "Oh, shut up. Mr Grammar Warrior!"

To the right, an old manor house sits squat and dull against the brightly coloured frivolity. It's stone-masonry and leaded windows may have once held splendour. But now, it looks tired and unloved. A short gravel drive, leads up to a line of food and souvenir stalls. A short glass building to the left of the building looks out of place next to the old-fashioned building. A tacky white sign sits lopsided on the double doors of the glass building : Tourist Information Center. Get your balls here!