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“Happy Birthday! We have a lane reserved for us all night.”
“Chase, I haven’t been bowling in a long time.”
“You’ll enjoy it.”
He comes around and opens the door for me. Is it my imagination, or do his hands linger on my waist?
He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the entrance, “Valentina, for your twenty-fifty birthday, I give you fun, fun, and more fun. You’re going to love bowling.”
We get our shoes and go over to our designated lane.
“Rule number one. If someone is in the lane next to you, you don’t want to distract them. Wait until they’ve thrown the ball before you bowl.”
“What’s the next rule?”
“Knock all the pins down.”
“That’s it? Just two rules?”
“No, I’m sure there’s many more, but it’s been years since I’ve bowled, and that’s all I remember.”
At my eye roll, he just laughs and shows me how to pick out a ball.
“Okay, now that you know what weight you can comfortably handle, put your fingers in the holes. They shouldn’t stick. If they do, then go another size up.”
“Good. Okay, that’s the ball for you.” I watch as he picks out a ball for himself.
We sit down on the bench, and I change into the bowling shoes.
Chase tries to explain the scoring, but finally, he just says, “Never mind, try to knock down as many pins as you can. The machine keeps score anyway.”
He punches our names into the machine, and Chase is up first, and I’m next.
“See where I’m standing? You can try to keep your eye on the arrows, or you can look at the pins and try to hit them between the first pin and the second pin or the first and the third pin.”
“The first pin?”
“The one in the middle,” he points to the animation, and it shows where to hit the pins for optimal success.
He throws the ball, and his form is perfect. He knocks all but one pin down. On his second throw, he misses the lone pin.
He turns and says, “Okay, your turn.”
I get my pink and white whirl ball and approach the lane. I stand where I’m supposed to and then aim and throw the ball. I watch as the ball rolls toward the pins and knocks them all down.
“Strike! Valentina, are you holding out on me? You look like you know what you’re doing.”
“I think it’s just beginner’s luck!”
He’s up next and does well, but when it’s my turn again. I bowl another strike.
“Is that good?”
“Yes, Val, that’s great. When was the last time you bowled?”
“In college.”
After my third strike in a row, that’s called a turkey; Chase is suspicious as he narrows his eyes at me.
