16

I feel like I'm stealing from one of my other stories for this chapter, but fishing on the pier is important to this one. Although you can't steal from yourself, can you? :P

Henry was hunched over the cooler he brought to the pier, sorting through the numerous snacks and drinks. With no idea what James liked or disliked, he came prepared, although Jamie claimed the boy ate everything except strawberries because of an allergy. He and Francis would finally be meeting Jamie's son, months after first learning of his existence. Henry quickly got over the shock of the news, left only with the immense desire to meet his youngest great grandson. It would be an event, one they had been very patient for as Jamie got to know James first and assess when he was ready to meet the rest of the family.

Movement on the other end of the pier drew Henry's attention away from the cooler. He looked up and a big grin spread across his face when he saw them. "They're here, Francis," he announced.

Frank's head turned from the lure in his hands. He glanced at his father before following his line of sight.

"Would you look at that," Henry said quietly.

He too couldn't turn away from his son and grandson as they walked the length of the pier, causing a warm smile to fill his face. "That's his boy alright."

Jamie escorted James down the pier. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses and he carried a pole while James lugged a tackle box. His head jutted at the older men as he mouthed something to James, who quickly looked their way.

"It's not the traditional way, but like I said, I'm certainly going to enjoy having a kid around the house again," Henry commented as he continued to watch the pair.

"Enjoy it. He's already nine. In the blink of an eye he'll be getting ready to graduate high school like Danny's boys," Frank stated. It felt like just yesterday that Sean and Jack were both toddling around the house.

"By then, Jamie and Eddie will have given us some more grandbabies," Henry replied with an air of certainty.

Frank chuckled and shook his head at the usual hopes and wishes families tended to place on newlywed couples.

Now within earshot, Jamie called out to them. "Hey, we're here!"

"Hey, you two," Frank grinned from behind his own darkened glasses.

Coming to a stop in front of the pair, Jamie made the introductions and patted James on the head. "Dad, Pop, this is James. And this is your grandpa and great grandpa. Guess which one is which?"

Jokes aside, Henry could see a puff of pride coming from Jamie at being able to finally introduce them. "Very funny, Wisenheimer," he aimed at his grandson before turning to the little boy. "Hi there, young man."

James smiled shyly but extended his hand, impressing his new great grandfather with his manners. "Hi."

"I'm Henry, but everyone calls me Pop," he said and shook James' hand.

"Nice to meet you," he replied. He then looked up at Frank and his brows arched up.

"And I'm Frank or Grandpa or whatever you want to call me. Just not sir, that's too formal. I've heard a lot of good things about you," the proud grandpa said as he reached for James' hand.

"You're seriously tall," James blurted out as his small hand was enveloped in his grandfather's much larger one, causing the three men to chuckle in response.

"That's what people tell me," Frank said.

James turned to his dad. "Maybe I will be in the NBA someday," he said. Hopefully, he inherited his grandpa's genes and several major growth spurts awaited him.

"Crossing my fingers, bud. I would love to retire young," Jamie smirked. He patted him on the back to usher him over to the area they'd claimed along the end of the pier. "Come on."

"Are you ready to do some fishing, James?" Frank asked while he picked up the pole he brought for his grandson.

"I guess so," he shrugged. He stepped closer to the edge and crossed his arms on top of the railing to look out along the water. He'd never been out here before.

"Have you ever gone fishing before?" Henry asked as he filled the spot next to him.

"No." James squinted up at the older man. "It looks easy though - you just stand there with a pole, right? But most things you think are easy usually aren't," he reasoned, sensing there was more to it than that.

"Smart boy," Frank commented.

Jamie was working on his own hook when he peeked over at James. "It's not hard. You just need to pay attention and have a lot of patience."

"You got some of that?" Henry asked.

"Patience? I guess," he shrugged.

"He's got some of that, most of the time, anyway," Jamie smiled. At least that was his take on him so far. One impulsive trip to his precinct aside, James was more patient than most other kids he'd ever dealt with.

"Well, I pray you're more like your dad than your Uncle Danny," Frank stated.

"Why?" James asked.

"He's got the attention span of a gnat," Henry spat out.

James turned to both Frank and Henry, questioning the comment. "But he's a detective. How would that work?"

"We've been wondering about that his whole career," Jamie snorted.

"He sounds interesting," James commented and turned back to the water.

"That's one word I would use for your uncle," Jamie smiled.

"Do you guys get along?" James wondered.

Done baiting his hook, Jamie leaned his pole along the railing. "Sure. Now. He doesn't torture me as much as he used to," he smiled.

"He did not torture you," Frank claimed.

Jamie crossed his arms in front of him wondering if his dad was having some sort of lapse in memory. "Remember how he taught me to write my name when I was in preschool?"

"You were so proud," Henry chuckled as he remembered it clearly.

"What's wrong with that?" James inquired.

"Nothing, until I figured out D-O-R-K wasn't a cooler nickname for Jameson. He convinced me to label everything I owned with 'dork' in big block letters. That was my nickname through kindergarten. You realize that's my first childhood memory."

James laughed and placed a hand across his mouth when Jamie shot him a look, but then he laughed himself.

"He builds character," Frank offered. He remembered that little incident clearly. Mary had not been the least bit amused.

"Yeah, must be where I get all my character from," Jamie snorted.

"He sounds funny," James stated.

"A real barrel of laughs," Jamie said with a shake of his head.

"And if I recall correctly, Erin and Joe both labeled all of his stuff the same way after," Frank reminded him.

"Yeah, they did," Jamie remembered. Having both Erin and Joe defend him like that still brought a smile to his face.

Henry's eyes twinkled. Danny wasn't the only one with a story or two. He stepped over to the boy and leaned towards him. In a mock whisper, he said, "Whatever he tells you, James, don't let him make you believe he was so innocent."

Jamie immediately stopped what he was doing to gawk at his grandfather. "What do you mean? I was a good kid!"

"What'd he do!?" James demanded to know. His dad told him stories about his brothers and sister but never talked about any trouble he got into as a kid.

The old man chuckled at his grandson;s expense. "You didn't get in much trouble, I'll give you that. But you sure did some weird stuff."

Frank knew where this was going. Despite having both heard and retold the story a million times, his lips curled in anticipation.

James' head spun between his dad and great grandfather. The alarm in his father's eyes told him he also knew what the old man was talking about and did not want whatever it was to be discussed. "Tell me!"

"No. Do not go there," Jamie ordered Henry, not that he would listen.

Who was he to keep James in the dark about his childhood talents. "Ah, he hasn't told you all the stuff he'd swallow as a kid?"

"Swallow? What did he swallow?" James asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Come on!" Jamie begged.

"Coins," Frank began.

"Stop."

"Keys," Henry added.

Jamie's head dropped dramatically. "I'm begging you."

"Lockets."

"Earrings."

James was horrified and grossed out at the same time. He also wondered why he swallowed all things made of metal. "Why would you do that? Didn't you feed him?" he asked the group.

"I'm not discussing this," Jamie said firmly, although there was a tug at the corner of his mouth.

That caused James to laugh at his dad. Up until now, he seemed so normal. "You were a weird kid. That's funny."

"There was no chance that wasn't coming out, was there?" Jamie muttered.

"Not a chance. At least this way, Danny and Erin can't be the first ones to spring that on James," Frank reasoned.

"Oh yeah, cause they won't still torture me with it anyway?"

Henry interrupted the amusing trip down memory lane. "Well, there will be no swallowing strange objects today. I got plenty to feed all of us. I brought drinks and sandwiches if you get hungry."

James' face brightened. He could eat.

"Told ya," Jamie whispered to him.

"But first, are you ready for a lesson, young man?" Frank asked. Now that they were all here, he wanted to get their lines in the water. He'd been looking forward to this all day.

"Yeah!" James replied quickly, forgetting about the snacks. He was ready to try fishing. He was a typical kid in that regard - ready to try and conquer new activities.

Frank and Henry took charge of the lesson and Jamie was happy to observe as more enjoyable childhood memories resurfaced - ones where these two same guys spent hours with him on this very same pier teaching him to fish, sharing their cop stories and just talking about anything and everything under the sun.

Once Frank went over the basics of operating the pole and securing the bait on the hook, he overturned a large, five-gallon bucket and instructed James to hop on. Always the patient one, Frank stood behind James and helped him cast the line into the water.

"Nice job for a first timer! Now we wait," he said with a pat to the boy's back, then he stepped aside to do a little fishing of his own.

James stood between his dad and grandfather. He glanced between them to see what they were doing to make sure he did the same exact thing. They were quiet, which he noticed they seemed okay with. It felt like they'd been out here a million times to fish. "Do you guys do this a lot?" he asked.

"Not sure what you mean by a lot, but the answer is yes," Henry replied from one end as he slowly reeled in his line.

"We try to get out here as much as we can," Frank said.

"Most of the time, it's a necessity," Jamie commented.

James' brow furrowed between glances at his dad and his own line. "What's that mean?"

"Anytime one of us is having a hard time figuring something out, this is the place we end up," he explained.

"How come?"

"It's a good place to think," Jamie added.

Henry leaned forward to catch James' attention. "Listen. Do you hear anything?"

After a look across the water, James turned back to his great grandfather. "Not really."

The older man scanned the horizon and inhaled the sea air. He always felt good out here. "It's just the sound of the water, the occasional boat horn and seagull. Is there any other place in the city where it's this quiet and peaceful? Where you can actually hear yourself think?

James copied Henry, scanning the view before him. He was right. There were tall buildings and skyscrapers both across and behind them full of people and it was still quiet where they were. "I guess not."

Jamie understood that was one thing that drew them to this place, but there were other reasons why they came here as well. "Let's be real, this is where we mainly come to work our issues out too."

"Work what out?" James asked his dad.

Having reeled in his line, Jamie put his pole down and turned to the three generations of Reagans lined up to his right. "For me, when your grandpa and I are having a tough time agreeing on something, this is where one of us finds the other and we talk it out."

Surprised, James asked, "You guys fight about stuff?"

"It's more like disagreements rather than fights," Frank corrected him. And Jamie was right, they always ended up right here when they were going through something.

"Isn't that the same thing?" James queried.

"No, it's not. And yes, we disagree on things sometimes," Frank clarified.

"You should see the way these two go at it," Henry teased, although he knew Francis and Jamie's disagreements were more civilized and respectful than those between other members of the family.

"We're not that bad," Jamie claimed, not having caught his grandfather's playful expression.

"We keep it civil, for the most part," Frank smirked. "We usually go to our own corners to stew a bit, think things through. And then, this is where we come when we're ready to hear each other out."

"Yeah, we do that," Jamie agreed as he leaned against the railing.

"It's normal father and son stuff," Frank added as he recast his line.

Jamie coughed out a laugh. "Not just father and son stuff. It's usually work stuff."

"That makes sense," James chimed in. "He's your boss. I wouldn't want one of my parents telling me what to do at school. Then you come home and they're still telling you what to do - no thanks!"

"I could see where that could be a problem," Frank said solemnly before glaring over at Jamie. "And I don't tell him what to do."

"Okay, Commissioner," Jamie chortled.

"I had the same trouble when I was commissioner and Francis was under me," Henry shared.

"Oh yeah! You were one too. So if you both were commissioners, are you or your brother gonna be one too?" James speculated.

"Doesn't quite work that way, bud," Jamie explained before remembering a Sunday dinner discussion. "Although I do have the perspective and Danny has the fire in the belly."

The three older men laughed, leaving James confused. "Whatever that means."

"In the end, it's hard separating work from family, but we do our best," Frank said.

"And we're all different even though we're family. Wouldn't it be boring if we agreed with each other about everything all of the time?" Henry chimed in.

James thought about it and agreed. "I guess."

"We wouldn't have anything to talk about at Sunday dinner," Henry offered.

"No bickering between Danny and Erin." Jamie marveled at the thought. "That would actually be nice."

"They disagree a lot?" James guessed.

"They don't disagree. They fight," his dad corrected.

"It's almost a sport to them, but they always work it out in the end. You always do with family," Henry explained.

"Do you and your mom agree on everything?" Frank posed.

James was quick to shake his head. "No. There's movies I can't see or games I can't play. She still won't let me walk to school on my own or go to sleepaway camp."

Frank smiled at his gripes. "There you go, but I'm sure she has good reasons for those decisions."

"Mom said she does, but she also says her decisions are final. I try to change her mind, but it doesn't work. And the only place I can go is my room."

"Sort of the breaks of being a kid, huh?" Jamie sympathized.

"Tell me about it," he sighed.

"I'm sure she hears you, but she's the parent," Frank said.

James pursed his lips and turned to his father with a raised brow. "So are you."

Jamie's eyes narrowed until it occurred to him where James was going. "Oh, ho, ho! Rule number one - no using one against the other. That's a sure fire way to get yourself into real trouble and I don't want to get in trouble either."

Henry laughed at the age old tactic. "Just ask your Uncle Danny and Aunt Erin. Those two learned real quick that there was no running around Mary or Francis to get the answers they wanted."

James sighed heavily in disappointment, but was struck by the fact that his aunt and uncle came up again. "Those two sound like trouble."

"You have no idea," Jamie laughed.

An unexpected tug on James' line had him leaning forward against the railing and searching for his father. "Oh! Something's happening!

"I think you got one!" Jamie announced and quickly moved behind James to steady him on the overturned bucket. He placed his hands over his son's to help guide him as he reeled in his catch. The late afternoon sun was shining, casting a warm glow on the pair. Jamie spoke calmly and evenly, directing James on how to bring the line in. Without attracting any attention, Frank pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of father and son. A smile stretched across his face as it reminded him of similar moments he spent with his kids on this fishing pier.