That night I went to bed around six-thirty. I had to get some sleep before I went to work the next morning, especially since Nick and I had to cancel last weeks work days, for reasons we couldn't disclose with our employer. He wasn't too angry about it anyway, seeing as how we'd brought him more than enough money to cover two days of extra work. He bid us God bless, and took the two days off himself.

I was also pleased that Angela was so tired from earlier, that she practically passed out as soon as we got back inside. Seeing as how my dad was now home though, we had to put on clothes before going inside. It wasn't a bummer for me, but after her first change, her first take down, then eating half a full grown deer, and then sex... she was quick to complain that she was aching. As was her right.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!!! The alarm screeched in my ear. My hand rose from underneath the covers and without looking, I pressed the snooze button. I wouldn't call it skill, because the snooze button on my alarm clock was the entire top of it! Which is great when you are really out of it. Plus the fact that this would make three months of having this job... It had become a habit, secluded only to the weekend.

Slinking out of bed, I started dragging the blanket with me. Angela mumbled something, reminding me that she was now living with me, and I apologized half-awake. Eyes closed, I fished around in my bottom drawer for a pair of underwear and shorts.

I yawned, opened my eyes, and saw that I'd grabbed my cargo shorts, my favorites. I put them on, stuffed a pack of Camel's that Claire had left behind for me, just in case, and a lighter.

The phone rang on my dresser. I'd almost forgot that I brought the cordless phone in here before going to bed. Just so I didn't have to track it down when Nick called to make sure I was awake. What could I say, he was much more responsible than me.

"Hello?" I said into the plastic receiver.

"Hey Michael? You up?" Nick asked over the phone.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you're ready, cause Uncle Gary just called me and said he's having trouble with the engine, so we've got to hurry up and get down there now."

I hated being rushed.

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I stood on the porch, cigarette lit, and patiently waited with my bag of treats slung on my back. The half-empty pack of smokes hung aside my lighter in my right cargo pocket of my shorts. I decided to where a thin brown work shirt. It made me look a little less like a kid, with my shrimp boots, and more of a worker.

My gloves, my oyster knife, all that stuff was on the boat. A fact that was discovered after furiously searching for them in my room for the past ten minutes.

Nick's truck sped into the driveway, and I held the cigarette tightly as I raced over too his truck, tore open the door, hopped in, and took off. I choked a little on the second hand smoke as I fought trying to roll down the window. Everything was a pain in the ass in this truck.

"I thought we needed to be in a hurry?" I said, noting that it took him longer to get to my house than normal.

"Well, leaving Emily at my parent's house would have been rude."

I almost didn't catch it. But then I saw him smile.

"You dog!" I yelled before congratulating him. "Well, I can't say I don't know the feeling."

We shared a laugh and a final cigarette as we made our way down the dark roads to the Delta Marine.

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"Well, that aught to fix it!" Mr. Gary yelled from down in the engine room. It was more of a closet under the deck covered up by a perfectly cut, thick, piece of plywood. As he climbed out, Nick grabbed his hand, and I lowered the door on it's hinges until it was flush with the deck.

"What was our time?" Nick asked.

"We only lost about twenty minutes of work time. Not to bad considering the fact that the damn spark plug was so stubborn this morning." Mr. Gary complained.

"Think we should gas up?" I asked.

"Do plants need water?" He asked raising his left eyebrow. The man knew how to make me laugh, I'll give him that. He also knew how to keep people from getting offended by what he said.

"I guess they do."

The gas pump was a lot quicker this morning. I figured that they must've just topped off the tank earlier that morning. Really, it was an ideal morning. The air was warm and soothing, the scent around the dock, stronger than ever. So many things were going right that morning, that it almost didn't feel real. Aside from only losing twenty minutes of work, the gas pump was quick, Arty, the clerk at the convenient store that I went to every day before work, gave me a free pack of smokes with the pack that I'd bought... he said it was for the extra business, and if he knew that they would never kill me, I think he would have given me two.

Once we got out on the water, and pulled up our first dredge, we were treated to like four crabs right off the bat of the day! And eight-four sacks later, we had a little over two buckets full of crabs.

"This is the life." Nick said, taking the lid off the crayfish pot to see if it was ready for the crabs. And by the look he gave me when the steam and seasoning hit his face, I was quick to say it was. "God! That shit is strong!" He yelled.

Mr. Gary laughed silently behind the windshield of the cabin. We were playing some soft B.B. King as we cruised back towards the docks. By the time we got there, they were done. Which was just, frigging perfect.

As Nick and I unloaded the boat, Mr. Gary was quick to scarf down two crabs. Nick bickered with him, trying to slow the old man down. And where as it worked slightly... it was only slightly.

People that we knew that hung around the dock after work gathered around and shared a few crabs with us as Mr. Gary went to go get our pay checks. And as we sat around shooting the bull with each other I noticed Mr. Gary coming out of the shipping warehouse, checks in hand. But he also held a pained look in his face.

"Hey, Mr. Gary! You okay?" I yelled over to him. He looked up, gave a smile and waved, nodding.

I hoped so.

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Another day, another eighty dollars. I thought as Nick sped off back to his house. He was going to go change, he said, then he'd be right back. I hadn't had anything planned for the rest of the day, so whatever it was, I hoped we could bring the girls.

There was a note on the front door. I'd noticed it when I got to the porch. And ripping it off the door handle, and setting my bag on the ground, I read it.

Hey Michael,

Went to see my mom for the day. Your dad went out to go pick up Derrick and Wilson from the Airport. I also made lunch for you, but burned it pretty bad, so you're going to have to make something. Love you!!!

I laughed when I thought of her cooking. It was like a bull trying to juggle marbles, something that always ended badly. But it was still funny. If only she took it as a joke when I made fun of her about it.

Oh, well... Cooking was my thing anyway. And shedding my dirty shirt onto the floor on top of my bag, I made my way to the kitchen. I was starving, and food always came before food!

Throwing a skillet on the oven, I poured about two teaspoons worth of cooking oil over it and pulled some ground meat that I'd been letting defrost in the fridge while I was at work. The oil sizzled over the quickly heating metal pan, and as soon as it was hot enough, I got to work.

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Hamburger helper was my specialty for two reasons: One, it tasted good. Two, it took me only thirty minutes to cook. If it weren't for Hamburger helper, I wouldn't even cook. Cereal and macaroni and cheese would be my daily meal that I made. And so, in a way, I owe my life to hamburger helper. Because alone, I'd starve without it.

As soon as I'd finished eating, I got a knock on my door. And peering through the eye hole in the thick wooden door I could see Nick standing there, holding a lot of groceries.

"What is all this?" I asked him as I opened the door. I saw meat... lots of meat in these bags.

"We're bar-b-cuing!" He said raising up the groceries. I did the same, as excitement filled me. It was long over due that we did something like this.

Emily was brooding over near the stairs behind him though. So my excitement was short lived, and I guess he saw it so he decided to fill me in.

"Emily and Angela got into a fight earlier." He said, "Don't worry about it. Lets just get this stuff on the grill."

I agreed with him, and beckoned them in, Emily didn't even look at me. I knew this had to do with her moving in with me, and Emily being left behind.

"So where's Angela," I asked Nick.

"She'll be coming by later."

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When my dad and them finally got back from the air port, they were quickly drawn out to the back yard.

"What's all this?" My dad asked smiling as he saw the endless ribs. There were steaks, patties, wings... everything. And even though I told him twice, I did have to say that this was extremely generous of Nick and Emily.

"We thought since you guys are finally back from Peru, that you'd like to bar-b-cue!" Nick said, waving the tongs he was cooking with as he talked. I decided to ride shotgun on this meal and just enjoy the results.

"Thanks, you guys!" Derrick said, eager to dig into the ribs that were now cooking.

"Yeah, thanks!" Wilson followed.