They all looked at him, except for Lauren, who was still ignoring him. It was his grandmother who answered the question.
"Good question. You're probably wondering how we could be friends when we are all so different, right? There is actually a good reason for that."
She stopped talking for a moment and Benjamin noticed that she had a sad expression on her face. In fact, it was not just her and it was the same for the four ladies. Soon, his grandma continued speaking.
"The truth is, we met each other because we have something in common. We... all lost our husbands early on in our lives. And it seems that birds of a feather flock together. Once we recognized that we were all in the same situation, we started to comfort each other, and now we are completely inseparable."
That took Benjamin completely by surprise. He hadn't expected such a heavy reason and now felt guilty for asking.
"I-I'm sorry for asking. I didn't know it was like that..."
His anxious and repentant words and expressions seemed to remove a little bit of the sorrowful mood and Angel answered him, smiling as if to comfort him.
"Don't worry about it, dear. It all happened a long time ago for all of us."
After that, there was a moment of silence where each of them was lost in their thoughts. They eventually reached the start of the course and Vera started a new topic.
"So, what is the real reason you are here, young man? Don't try to tell me that you really want to golf with us. Are you trying to get some pocket money from this?"
Benjamin was not sure why this seemed to be the first assumption for all of them. But perhaps it made sense. It was hard to imagine a teenager willing to sacrifice his Sunday to play golf with four old ladies without any specific reason or benefit. When he opened his mouth to answer her, his grandma stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder. She then closed on him and whispered in his ear.
"Leave it to grandma. See how their attitude will change when I am done."
She turned toward her friends, who were already wearing a skeptical expression after witnessing her whispering like that, and said.
"There is a very good reason why he is here. The boy has all the rights to belong to our group. He... has lost his father when he was still young and became depressed for a very long time. His situation is very similar to ours."
She was telling the truth. His father died in a car accident when he was still in elementary school. The whole family was in shock and it took a very long time before they could get over it. He still felt downhearted whenever he thought about it.
After hearing this, they all turned to him, including Lauren, with expressions of extreme pity. In fact, it was Lauren who suddenly approached him, asking as if to confirm the veracity of Rosalyn's words.
"You lost your father when you were young?"
"Yes, he... died in a car accident when I was eight."
Lauren gasped and then suddenly took him in a big womanly hug, startling him completely.
"Oh, I am so sorry for you, child, I am so sorry! Forgive me for treating you coldly, forgive me!"
She held him tight as if to console a small kid, and he was sent once again to a woman's chest. However, that was not the end of it. He felt two other people hugging him from the left and from behind. He heard Vera and Angel's voices as they added their bits to the scene.
"We know better than anyone how hard it is to lose a loved one."
"It must have been a terrible shock, dear. I feel so bad for you."
Finally, even his grandma joined from his right.
"You are taking advantage of my cute grandson, aren't you? Let me join too."
He was now being hugged by four ladies from all sides, their different body types and chest sizes all giving him distinct sensations. He randomly thought that it seemed that women were very keen on physical contact in this world. When he imagined men's reactions to this sort of thing, he was able to understand where the high number of sexual offenses he had read about could come from.
He didn't feel any lust, however, just a very hot feeling of warmth. Perhaps a bit too hot. The weather was still warm and being cushioned like this was quite suffocating. He tried to make them release him, by gently pushing them off him.
"Thank you, ladies. But I am fine now. It also happened a long time ago for me."
Only then did they reluctantly get away from him, still looking at him with sadness and pity. Vera spoke first, her haughty and proud attitude all gone now.
"We are all in the same situation here. Young man, no, Benjamin, you can always come to join us whenever you want. You will always be welcome."
Angel and Lauren nodded approvingly and Rosalyn just grinned knowingly, as if everything had gone the way she expected.
"Please call me Ben, everyone calls me like that."
All three of them nodded. It was time to start golfing, though, or they would get in trouble with the group scheduled after them. They all swung their clubs strongly, trying to send their ball as far as possible in the direction of the first course hole. When it was Benjamin's turn, he tried to imitate them and failed miserably. It was much harder than he had thought and he did need a good fifteen tries before he could get any substantial result. No one blamed or mocked him, however. Not only were they aware of how hard the sport was for a complete amateur like him, but Vera and Lauren's attitude had also done a complete 180. The four ladies were now actively giving him pieces of advice on his position, his swings, and the strength to use, trying to help him with their own experience. When it was time to walk to their respective balls, they chatted with him, tried to offer him chewing gums and the like, and generally started to dote on him as if he was their grandson.