Chapter 4: Gone Fishin'
"You tore off your sleeves."
Charlie sighed, knowing he wouldn't hear the end of this for the entire day. He turned to Claire, folding his sleeves into a messy bundle. "I didn't take your advice. I just felt like going sleeveless."
Claire cocked her head, smiling impishly. She grasped his forearm right under his tattoo, and squeezed it. "Lovely biceps," she said, seductively.
A smug grin spread on Charlie's lips. "I knew that's why you wanted my sleeves off. You want to find a cozy spot in the jungle where we could take a tumble?"
"Sounds wonderful, but not right now." Claire dropped her hand from his arm, and sighed dramatically. "I was coming out here to use the lube. The baby is really pushing on my bladder these days!"
Charlie's shoulders slumped. "What a great way to kill the mood, love."
By afternoon, it had become aware to everyone on the beach that there was no food left. The eerily quiet bald man suddenly came to life at the idea of hunting. He toted his shiny knives around, saying how they needed to hunt the boar that were living in the jungle. Charlie couldn't wait that long for food though. Claire was hungry and needed two times the amount of food she normally ate before getting pregnant. He was determined to feed his wife.
"I'm going to catch you a fish," he declared to her after the bald man and two others left for the hunt. Claire sat, relaxed, inthe sameairplane seat she sat in the day before.
"Oh, really? You know how to fish?"
"Of course, I do!" Charlie plopped down beside her, kickingoff his shoes and rolling up his pant legs. "I use to go fishing with my Grandad. We'd get out there with our poles and catch breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
Claire looked skeptical.
"Dude, is this what you wanted?" a familiar mellow voice asked. Theylooked over the airplane seatand there was Hurley, a long rod with a metalshard that resembled a spear on top.
"Good!" Charlie jumped up, excited. He nabbed the homemade spear from the larger man, and started off towards the water. "Come on, Hurley. Let's go fishing!"
Hurley scrunched his face in confusion. "What?"
Claire hadn't been so entertained in her life. She had a comfortable, front row seat for "Charlie and Hurley On Fishing". Hurley tried his hand at spearing. After a few tries, he got so frustrated, he smacked the water with the spear and cursed the underwater dwellers. Charlie tried next, so confident and sure. He thrust the spear expertly into the water, but forgot to let go and disappeared under the surface. He popped out of the water a moment later, coughing and sputtering, but even over that and the crash of the waves, he could hear hoots of laughter. Hurley's shoulders shacked uncontrollably, and Claire's hands covered her face, doubled over.
Charlie waded out the water, Hurley right behind him. Claire was still giggling when he made his way to her. He looked at her, clearly not amused, and shook his dripping hair out like a dog. Claire squealed, shielding herself with her hands in vain from the droplets flying her way. "Think that was funny?"
"Who wouldn't?" Hurley interjected, casually.
They waded back out a few minutes later, but had no luck in catching anything. "Charlie!" called Claire, waving her arms to get his attention.
"Yeah?" he called back after Hurley nudged him.
Claire pointed to the jungle. "Nature calls!"
"Need my help?"
"No! I'll be okay!"
"Think she'll be all right by herself?" Hurley asked as he watched Claire disappear into the jungle.
"I'm sure she will," Charlie replied, staring at the water as if he concentrated hard enough a fish would sacrifice itself to him.
Everything was quiet for a moment until Hurley nudge him again, and Charlie broke his gaze on the water. "What, mate?"
"We have a visitor."
Wading toward them was the Korean man. He said something in his language. Charlie and Hurley just looked at him, confused. The Korean man tapped his wedding ring then pointed to the beach where Claire had been.
"Uh, dude, kinda busy to play surrades right now," Hurley remarked.
The Korean man indicated a bulging stomach.
"Oh!" It finally clicked in Charlie's mind. He nodded,pointing to his own wedding ring then pretending like he was rocking a baby "Yes, that's my wife. She's carrying a baby. She needs food." He mocked holding a utensil, raising it to his mouth.
The Korean man seemed to understand. He gestured for them to stand back then begangazing at the water intently. Less thanthirty seconds later, he shot down and emerged with a fish wiggling in his hands. Charlie yelped excitedly,but Hurley juststared at him with an amazed look on his face.
"Thank you," Charlie said as the Korean man handed him the fish, bowing.
"Dude, he snatched that fish right out the water," Hurley said as the Korean man walked away down the beach.
Charlie didn't reply. He proudly walked up to Claire as she made her way out the jungle. He drove the spear into the ground, and heldout the fish to her. "I got dinner for you."
"That's great!" Claire laid a kiss on his cheek. "My mighty hunter has returned with nourishment for his family."
They both jumped at the loud snort that erupted from Hurley. "What is it?" Charlie asked.
Hurley just shook his head and walked off.
The fish was cooked and eaten. Claire felt likeresting on the shore. Charlie walked her to the water, and helped her sit down. He, in turn, made a seat out of one of the airplane's giant wheels. He fished out the medical tape that had been in his pocket for three days. In a burst of inspired, he wrapped the tape around his fingers and wrote out the word 'LATE' on the tape with a perminant marker he had found. He loved when random ideas like that came to him, and held the back of his hand out, examining his work with a smile.
He turned his head to check on his wife. Claire was smiling pleasantly, hand on her belly, visibly talking to the baby inside her. These were the moments he loved the most. It waslike the sun radiated from her very being, and Charlie couldn't remember when she looked more beautiful. He had no doubt as he watched her from over his shoulder that he loved her more than he could ever say.