now and forever

12

"See? See? See, Mommy? See?" Cindy repeated over and over to her mother who was looking at Monty with wide eyes and an open jaw. She had been in that state for the past several seconds, and didn't seem any closer to snapping out of it.

"Mom!" Kaylee elbowed her, and that finally stirred her from her trance.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare like that, but I was just... uh... surprised." Dr. Crabgrass looked sheepish as she explained herself.

"But why? We told you they were here!" Cindy asked.

"Because she never believes us." Kaylee said, looking at her phone.

"I believe you! This one just seemed a little farfetched, that's all." She cleared her throat.

"Anyways, Freddy characters or not, I was told that people staying here helped find Smudge. I came over here to offer my gratitude." Dr. Crabgrass gave a genuine smile.

"You're very welcome, ma'am. My friends and I were just doing what we could to make the little Rockstar stop crying." Monty said. You stepped aside, since he was the one who actually helped to save the cat.

"If there is anything we could do to repay you-"

"Do you know of any good mini golf courses around?" Monty interrupted the doctor.

"Actually, we frequent a nearby mini golf course just on the outskirts of town every other weekend. Why don't you and your friends come with us? You included, (Y/N)! Our treat!" she generously offered. You had actually planned to bring Monty mini golfing at some point during your stay. That is, until Sun blew a chunk out of your bank account. You were tempted to take her up on her offer, but knew entrance fees weren't exactly cheap.

"There are six of us in this house total. I don't want to impede on you..." you stepped in before Monty could say anything.

"We have frequent customer rewards. At least four of you will get in for free, and we'll pay for the rest as a "thank you" for saving our family pet." Dr. Crabgrass insisted.

"We'd love to come! As long as it's Sunday, and not Saturday." Monty said, his tone taking a bitter turn at the end there. You raised a brow at that. Nothing was going on Saturday that you knew of.

"Why not Saturday?" Kaylee asked, glancing away from her phone.

"Trust me, Saturday won't be a good day for any of us." Monty wasn't meeting any of their gazes. His tone and expressions matched the ones he had when he explained why you weren't allowed at Monty Golf. Surely that wasn't a coincidence.

"Yay! You'll love it! There's giant pretzels, slushies, and a rainbow bridge that goes over a waterfall!" Cindy started babbling to Monty about her favorite parts of the golf course. The gator managed to shake off his funk to give the girl proper attention. This went on for a minute before Melinda's phone dinged.

"Oh, shoot! I gotta get back to the clinic. Head back home girls. You still have chores to finish." she said as she scrambled for her keys.

"Awwwww!" Cindy whined, and Kaylee put her phone away with an eyeroll.

"Thank you for the invite, Dr. Crabgrass." you managed to get out before they made their way off of your porch.

"(Y/N), we're neighbors. Call me Melinda." she said, and led her daughters back over to their house. Cindy waved an energetic "bye" at you as you closed the door.

"Rock and roll! I can't remember the last time I got to golf with all of my friends! This is going to be so much fun!" Monty sounded uncharacteristically excited about the arrangement, but your mind couldn't help but drift to his demeanor when he mentioned Saturday.