Henry relaxed in his boat; he checked his watch, it was only 8:30. He figured he probably shouldn't start drinking his beers just yet since it was still early. He reeled his line in, checked that the bait was still attached and re-cast.
He savored the quiet out on the water of the bay. He could hear some birds, and some far off motors, but he was far away from people and cell phones and all the noise of the city. Henry enjoyed the sound of small waves slapping at the side of his motor boat where it sat anchored. The ocean was a calm blue with a slight gray tint that spoke of possible rain tonight, but he should be able to get home and grill up the fish before any weather hit.
Fishing for Henry was more about the relaxation than it was about the sport. Sure he did it partly because he enjoyed the masculine feel of having provided his own meal and the satisfaction that filled his belly more fully with the knowledge of having put in hard effort before enjoying the food. He also enjoyed the time that he could spend by himself.
When he was on the force, it was a way to put the horrors of the job behind him and just enjoy the mechanics of casting and reeling and baiting. It was a way to look around and take in the pure beauty that nature provided, a difference from the ugliness of human nature and the results of their greed, anger and jealousy.
As the years passed, it became a solace and a way of escaping Madeline and their countless fights, even though it always made her more angry because she felt he was running away instead of confronting their problems head on. Like she could talk about running away, he wasn't the one that left. She was the one that left him and the house and Shawn behind while she went off to further her career.
And Shawn, being out on his boat got him away from his son as well. His son that was always causing trouble or defying his parents in some way. It was nice to be able to leave his family and job behind and just go out and toss back a few beers while reeling in some fish.
Not to say that Henry didn't enjoy some company at times. He had brought different PD buddies out before, Captain Conners, Carlton Lassiter, hell, he even brought his son out a few times. Henry thought having a son, he would be able to enjoy father and son activities, and since Henry loved fishing, he hoped to be able to share that also with his son. But Shawn absolutely had to do the opposite of what was expected of him.
When he was younger he was an attentive student, watching in awe as Henry showed him how it all worked, how the line fit in the rod and all of that. Although the first time Henry showed him how to hook a worm, Shawn cried, horrified that "Slimey" had just been killed. Of course he was only 4 at the time, but Henry should have known what was to come.
When Shawn was 5 and Henry was getting the boat ready to go out, he turned to pick up the cooler and next thing he knew Shawn had fallen off the dock and into the murky water at the edge. Henry, heart pounding, had to jump in and save his flailing, drowning son. By the time he had gotten them both back onto the dock, Shawn was shivering, chilled from the cold water and sniffling and miserable. Henry soon discovered his keys had been lost somewhere in the depths after jumping in the water. That may have only been the first, but was not the last of many aborted fishing trips between the two of them.
The few times Henry was able to get Shawn up and safely into the boat and out onto the water, he then had to deal with a lot of complaining on Shawn's part. He hated getting up early, he hated the smell of fish, he thought it was cruel to hook the worms, he never stopped talking, he always tangled his line, he was hungry, he was tired, he was hot, he was cold... it was never the relaxing father-son experience Henry was hoping for.
Shawn never took the time to pay attention to doing it the right way, no matter how many times Henry told him, Shawn never had the patience to wait for the fish to come to his line, he always yanked it too soon because he was far too impatient to just sit unmoving for any amount of time. Henry relished in the results from the effort and patience put into spending the whole day fishing, knowing which spots to pick at the right time, moving the boat further along the shoreline during the cooler hours. Shawn though, he never could put forth the effort needed and it irked Henry to no end.
After awhile, he gave up on the trips around the time when Shawn was a teenager and angry at the world and his parents and especially his father. It didn't help that one of the last times they ever went out together, Shawn was sullen and especially petulant and as the day wore on, got more and more annoying, deliberately shifting and humming and knocking around the boat until all manner of wildlife was scared off for 5 miles in all directions.
Henry sick of him, shouted at him to shut up and directed him to pull up the anchor so that they could perhaps try another spot before giving up. He wasn't going to waste the whole day because he son wouldn't cooperate. After the anchor was up, Henry threw the motor into gear and tossed the throttle more than he meant to in his anger, and the small boat jumped forward. Henry,secure in the seat, was fine, but Shawn had not gotten seated and when Henry drove the boat forward, the quick and unexpected force caused Shawn to lose his balance and get knocked off his feet.
When Henry heard the heavy thud of his son getting slammed onto the bottom of the boat, he turned and caught sight of Shawn and saw the blood smeared at the cut along his brow where he clipped it against the side of the boat in his fall. Shawn angrily accused him of doing it on purpose and as they set off towards home, cradled his sprained wrist, holding ice to his head, while Henry guiltily drove the boat back to the docks. Shawn ended up with 3 stitches and a wrap around his wrist and Henry decided that fishing was not something he and his son would ever bond over.
Henry was broken out of his thoughts by a tug on his line, by the time he reeled it back in though, the fish had slipped off,
taking the bait with it. After re-baiting his hook and tossing it back in the water, Henry scooped an icy beer up and snapped the top open with one hand, taking a long draught of it. He leaned back in his seat and glanced up at the puffy white clouds as they skittered across the sky. It really was a perfect day to be out.
Henry thought about Shawn cleaning the attic and hoped that he had gotten up instead of going back to sleep after he left. It was going to take him all day to carry out the boxes and clean up all that junk up there. And when he got back he better not find an even bigger mess, and he was going to kill Shawn if he stacked the boxes in the garage instead of actually dealing with them! But he would deal with that this evening, this day was his to relax and he was going to stay out here until sun down.
Apologies if any of the fishing or boat facts are wrong, I did some research, so I hope it doesn't sound wildly nonfactual and incorrect! Please let me know if it is, so I can fix it. Sorry if you are disappointed at the lack of Shawn, but I did sneak him in, even a little taste of whump! ;) So, I hope you enjoyed!