Read Online Loopy by Dan Binchy - Free Book Online Page B

eejits like yourself”—a murmur of disapproval greeted this, but it failed to silence the irate schoolteacher—“so if it’s the young lad’s membership that’s troubling you, I here and now propose Laurence Lynch as a full member. Now”—O’Hara glared around the bar with a piercing look that he had perfected in the classroom when seeking out miscreants—“who’ll second my proposal?”
    There was a long silence. Most of the drinkers would have supported O’Hara, though they would have preferred that his proposal were couched in milder terms. Leo Martin, though widely disliked, was nevertheless a force to be reckoned with in a small community such as Trabane. At the stroke of his pen, one’s line of credit could be cut off—or restored—according to his whim. At the best of times, Leo would not have been someone to trifle with, but just now with half the business firms in Trabane struggling to survive, no one in his right mind would deliberately upset him. All the more surprising then when the silence was broken by a voice coming from the open door of the bar.
    â€œI’ll second that.”
    Joe Delany had just come back from the practice ground, though the sun had long since gone down. He had given Rosa Martin a lesson in the short game in which he had stood behind her, then put his hands around her waist and onto the golf club she was already gripping a little too feverishly. As he’d thought to himself on the walk back from the practice ground after she’d departed in a flurry of gravel from the club, the lesson may not have done her golf much good but it had certainly made him feel a whole lot better.
    All eyes focused on the professional for a moment, then swung back to the man who had started it all—Leo Martin. He did not react well. It may have been the drink or perhaps his natural disposition. Whatever the cause, his next question was unforgivable.
    â€œWho’ll pay his sub,” he snarled, “or does anyone here imagine that the bank is going to loan him the money just so that he can play golf?”
    This was greeted with a silence even longer than the one that had preceded it. Then an English accent cut through the tense, smoke-filled atmosphere like a knife through butter. Edward Linhurst was on his feet and rummaging in his jacket for a checkbook. “That won’t be necessary, Leo old man. I trust a check will be satisfactory?”
    If Leo Martin detected the sarcasm in the voice of Trabane’s richest resident, he chose to ignore it. Instead he muttered something unintelligible into his pint glass and developed a sudden interest in the beer mat on his table. The roar of conversation resumed as Loopy tried to come to terms with his suddenly having become a full member of Trabane Golf Club.

CHAPTER FOUR
    The tournament was held throughout the year, come wind or rain. To win it was the ambition of every member of Trabane Golf Club. Despite being called the Monthly Medal, it did not mean that a real medal was presented. Instead the winner received a voucher from the pro shop, which complied with the rule that amateurs were not to play for prize money. It was played on the last Sunday of every month, and the presentation of the prize was at seven o’clock on the dot. This gave everyone time for a drink beforehand—and afterward, should they be so inclined.
    Handicaps define a golfer, the lower the number the better the player. Beginners usually start out with the target of a really low handicap, then get caught up in the complexities of the game and settle for a higher handicap off which they can play with some degree of comfort. Almost a parable of life itself, wherein the pilgrim starts out full of hope until disillusionment arrives on the scene and, sometimes, takes over completely.
    Edward Linhurst was different, for disillusionment never stood a chance. His self-confidence—some called it