Chapter 15, Gone Fishin'

Billy was tickled pink. His best friend had married his neighbor, and now he could wheel himself to Charlie and Sue's. Charlie had even put in a ramp to the back door for Billy's wheelchair. They were watching a game in Charlie's living room, enjoying snacks that Sue provided, and discussing their annual fishing trip to Canada.

"Why don't we invite the boys this year," Billy suggested.

"Boys? What boys?" Charlie asked, puzzled. Seth was a little too old to suddenly become the son he'd always wanted, just because Charlie had married his mother. And he couldn't imagine trying to pry Jacob away from Leah, even for a long weekend. "Well, we can ask them, but don't get your hopes up," Charlie grudgingly agreed. "Seth seems to resist any gesture that he can interpret as me trying to be his substitute father. And Jake and Leah are joined at the hip these days. But give it your best shot, by all means," he chuckled.

As Billy wheeled his way back to his house, he saw Jacob's long legs sticking out from under his truck in the driveway. "Something wrong with the truck, son?" Billy asked. "I'd like to talk to you when you're done."

"Nah, just adjusting the brakes," Jacob replied. "I'll be done in a few minutes and I'll be in." Sure enough, in about ten minutes he came in and headed for the kitchen sink to wash the grease from his hands. Billy was sitting by the kitchen table, reading the paper. He put the paper down and looked at Jake. "Charlie and I are making plans for our Canada fishing trip, and we thought maybe you and Seth would like to go with us this year," Billy suggested. "I could sure use your help getting around, with the rocky terrain and all."

Jacob laughed affectionately. "You sure are independent when you're not looking for sympathy, old man. Why would I want to do that? Besides, Leah would kill me!"

Billy looked hurt. "You used to love fishing with your old man," he said quietly. Jake leaned against the counter. "You're right, Dad. We had some good times," he recalled with a smile. "How long are you going for?"

"Just a long weekend, son. We'll go on Friday and come back on Monday. And you know how Seth loves to tag along with you."

"Okay, okay, you've got me hooked!" Jake laughed. "Now let's see if Charlie can convince Seth to go, and I can convince Leah this is a good idea!"

"Well, here's the thing, Jake. Charlie thought maybe if you invited Seth he'd be more inclined to accept," Billy suggested. Jake rolled his eyes. "He's probably right. I'll see what I can do."

Jake timed his commute to work the next morning so that he'd intercept Seth on his way to school. "Hey, kid, want a ride?" he yelled out the window.

Seth's face lit up. "Thanks, Jake!" He jumped into the front seat and, for once, didn't ask to drive. Jake guessed that Seth was still embarrassed at having been caught driving without a license by his stepfather, of all people.

"Seth, I could use a favor," Jake began. Seth perked up immediately. He'd do just about anything for Jake, whom he regarded as an older brother. "I'm going fishing with Dad and Charlie this weekend, and I was wondering if you could help me pave the way with Leah. We're going to Canada, and we'll be staying at this lodge on Eagle Lake in Ontario. It sounds great, and we've had some good times fishing together. Besides, it's been a while." Jake felt a little guilty playing that card, but it worked like a charm.

"Man, that brings back some memories," Seth murmured. "I'm glad I got to spend so much time fishing with my dad."

"Hey, do you want to see if you can go with us?" Jake asked. "I'll bet Charlie would love the company, and it would give me someone to hang out with after the old people go to bed at 9:00" he grinned. Seth took the bait. "I'd have to miss a couple days of school – do you think Mom and Charlie would let me?"

"I'd bet on it," Jacob smirked, as he and Seth high-fived.

When Jake got home, Billy was beaming. "How did you do that? Seth actually begged Charlie to take him!" Billy chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's a gift," Jake said modestly, grinning. "Unfortunately, my charm doesn't work as well on Leah. I can't work her like I do Seth, but she'll get over it, 'cause she loves me," he smirked.

They arrived at the lodge early Friday afternoon and settled into their cabin, which had two bedrooms, a well equipped kitchen, and a bathroom, complete with shower. The main lodge had a fireplace, satellite TV and VCR, pool table, dart board, Foosball, as well as tables and chairs for playing cards and trading fish stories.

As predicted, Charlie and Billy went to bed about 9:30. They planned to get an early start in the morning. They had arranged to rent a 16 1/2' aluminum boat with a 25 HP motor and hoped to catch some muskies. They warned Jake and Seth not to stay up too late, because they would be waking them early.

Jake and Seth immediately headed out to the lodge, where Seth turned out to be the better pool player but Jake beat him at darts. When they returned to the cabin around midnight, Seth built a fire in the fireplace and Jake raided the fridge and brought out two bottles of beer. They chatted about fishing lures and their respective girlfriends, and how lonely they must be. By 2 a.m., the fun had worn off all the scratching and belching without repercussions, and they headed off to bed, to be woken three hours later by a well-rested Billy and Charlie.

Charlie yanked Jake off the bed by his feet, which hung off the end of the twin bed, while Billy pulled the blanket off of Seth. Both boys protested loudly, but eventually they agreed to rise, though they flatly refused to shine. They grumbled through breakfast and plodded off to the boat. The cool morning air was invigorating, and eventually both boys came alive and began to enjoy the familiar rituals. Nobody caught a fish big enough to keep, but they had a good time and, having had a box lunch, headed back to the lodge for dinner.

By the time they got back to the cabin, it was 8:00, and it was the two boys who hit the bunks almost immediately. It was Charlie and Billy's turn to smirk, and they settled in front of the fire to play checkers. When they turned in at 9:30, they had to close both bedroom doors to try and drown out the snoring from the other bedroom.

On Sunday, after a heroic battle, Charlie caught a 50 pound musky, and it was cleaned and packaged in dry ice for the trip home. It was another beautiful, tiring, and satisfying day. As the four sat in front of the fire, they reviewed the story of the catch and, as all fish stories do, it grew by the hour.

Monday came all too quickly for the guys. They loaded up the car and started out, entertaining themselves and each other with fishing stories on the long drive home. Seth shared some of his memories of fishing trips with his dad.

Sue was putting the finishing touches on a chocolate layer cake when she heard Charlie's Jeep in the driveway. "They're here!" she yelled to Leah and Paris, and as the three women ran out of the house to greet the returning fishermen, a new tradition was born.

(Many thanks to a faithful reader/reviewer in Sweden for the great idea!)