Chapter 12
"Okay Maureen are you ready to go fishing?" Mr. Jefferson asked, as everyone headed for the boat.
"I was born ready!" Maureen answered with a giant smile.
Mr. Jefferson laughed, as they began walking on the dock. Maureen then turned to Joanne, pulling her back and away from everyone.
"Please don't make me go!" Maureen pleaded.
Joanne smirked. "I thought you were born ready?"
Maureen shook her head. "I was lying. You think I'm ready to go spend a day fishing with your dad! And when have I ever cooked? Never! there for I shouldn't have to go catch my own food!"
You are such a diva." Joanne began rolling her eyes a bit. "You'll be fine, James is with you."
"Can't you come?" Maureen whined her lips turning into a pout. "Please pookie?"
Joanne closed her eyes, a small smirk hitting her lips. "If I don't see the pout, it doesn't affect me."
"Maureen you coming?" James asked from on the boat.
Maureen sighed, her eye now focusing on James. "Yeah…I'm coming…" she answered with a hint of sadness.
Joanne finally opened her eyes, taking Maureen's hand and walking her over to the boat. "You'll be fine honeybear." The lawyer then leaned in, her lips inches away from Maureen's ear, "Besides, its kind of hot to know that you'll be out there catching our dinner."
Maureen's eyebrows rose with excitement. "Oh really?"
Joanne nodded while pulling away. "Yeah huh."
"Okay." Maureen said her body now turning to the boat. "Okay lets do this!"
James held out his hand, helping Maureen climb on the boat. Once the diva was on she smiled.
"Come on men, let's go catch us some dinner!" Maureen shouted.
Mr. Jefferson turned on the boat chuckling a bit. "When are you not excited?"
Maureen shrugged. "That never happens."
"Wave bye to daddy Cole." Tara said to her son, who was now waving bye to the boat, and the three people on it.
Once the boat was out of sight, Cole looked up towards his mom. "Can we go swimming while they're away?"
"Sure." Tara said then eyed her mom. "Is it safe to swim around here? I don't want to walk all the way to the beach."
Mrs. Jefferson nodded. "Yup, I'll even join you."
"Me too." Joanne said as they headed back to the cabin to change into their swimsuits.
Out on the boat the three each had a pole in the water, and they were just sitting there waiting.
"So…" Maureen began. "This is fishing?"
"Yep pretty fun isn't it?" James answered.
Maureen looked around, nothing was happening; there was no excitement whatsoever. Mr. Jefferson was even on the verge of falling asleep. Finally she mustered up an answer, lying of course, "Uh yeah, it's a blast."
James nodded. "Wait until you catch a fish."
"How long does it usually take?" Maureen asked.
James shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes it happens as soon as you throw out your line, other times it takes up to an hour."
"So you just sit here and wait?" Maureen asked. "For an hour…"
"Yep…its very relaxing." James said he's eyes now shifting out towards the water, to enjoy his view.
"Oh what fun…" Maureen mumbled under her breath.
Twenty minutes later Maureen was about to fall asleep due to boredom, when all of a sudden there was something pulling on her fishing pole. "What the hell!"
"Hey!" Maureen shouted trying to get anyone's attention, her hands on the pole gripping it so it wouldn't get pulled into the lake. "Hey something is happening!"
Both James and Mr. Jefferson sprang up, quickly heading towards Maureen.
"You have a fish on your line!" James said with excitement. "Pull him in."
The pole jerked again, startling Maureen. "How!"
"Turn that handle!" James said.
Maureen looked down, her other hand down turning the handle, which pulled the fighting fish closer to the boat.
"You're doing great Maureen!" Mr. Jefferson said with pride. "Just keep doing what you're doing."
"Why is this so hard?" Maureen panicked. "He's just a fish."
"Yes a fish fighting for his life." Mr. Jefferson said.
"Well tell him to stop!" Maureen said as she struggled to bring the fish in.
Finally after a long fight, Maureen caught the big fish; bringing him into the boat where he flopped around.
"Congratulation Maureen you just caught your first fish, and part of our dinner." James said with a hand on her back.
"Do you want to unhook him?" Mr. Jefferson asked.
Maureen shook her head, a frown coming to her face as she watched the poor fish flop around. "Why is he flopping?"
"He is struggling to breath." James answered. "You know how we can't breath under water, it's like the same thing for them above water."
"So he is suffering?" Maureen asked.
"A little, but he'll be dead soon." Mr. Jefferson responded.
"Poor thing, throw him back!" Maureen said.
"We can't throw him back, we need him for food." Mr. Jefferson said with a hint of laughter. "You sound like Tara when she used to come fishing with me as a little girl."
"Well look at him he is suffering." Maureen said watching Mr. Jefferson pull the hook from the fish's mouth.
Suddenly the fish stopped moving, indicating it was dead.
"It's okay he is dead now." James said. "No more suffering."
"That's so mean." Maureen said.
Mr. Jefferson tossed the dead fish in a bucket, while answering. "It's a part of life."
Two hours later they headed back to the cabin, with enough fish to feed everyone. Maureen however took no part in fishing, and let the other two kill the poor fish, while she laid out in the sun.
"We're back!" Mr. Jefferson said, while climbing off the boat.
Joanne, Mrs. Jefferson, Tara, and Cole, emerged from the water they were swimming in, greeting the three fishers.
"How'd you do?" Joanne asked Maureen.
Mr. Jefferson and James chuckled. "She caught one fish."
"Just one." Mrs. Jefferson asked.
"She gave up after one, because she felt bad for them." Mr. Jefferson answered.
"The poor thing was suffering." Maureen said.
"It was cute." James said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Tara hit him on the shoulder, and then turned to Maureen. "It's okay Maureen I totally understand where you're coming from."
"Thank you Tara." Maureen said with a smile. "And I did catch one."
"Yes she did." Mr. Jefferson said holding the bucket in the air.
"Well let's go cook him up, I'm starving!" Maureen said while walking ahead of everyone.
"I thought she was sad she made him suffer?" Tara asked. "Now she wants to eat him?"
Joanne shrugged. "If you only knew her…"