Chapter 49

I awoke at 2PM and I was really lost. It took a couple of seconds for whatever memory I had to kick in. I was in a state of panic for those couple of seconds. After I remembered about the computer, I was fine.

After my morning shower I sat on the toilet to read my life file. When I got back to the kitchen area, I found the small bottle of liquor. Instead of sitting down to get roaring drunk, I called Wilma.

"Hey Wilma how are you?" I asked.

"I'm just fine Lucy. Dad brought Shawn home. We are trying to find something to do and I'm going insane. He is always so hyper after being the center of their world for a weekend."

"So does he have any hobbies?" I asked.

"Sure he loves video games, but I can't play them worth a crap. I don't suppose you are a master ninja or whatever is popular these days?" she asked.

"With this brain, hardly. So what is a ninja?" I asked serious. I could have looked it up but she needed to know how I rolled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." she said.

"I was furiously looking in my index and then daily log. I found several entries in the daily log for fishing. "Have you ever taken Shawn fishing?" I asked.

"No, I never thought of that. It's something a guy would take his son to do," she said.

"Bullshit, if you will drive we can go fishing, but we have to hurry." I informed her honestly.

"Just a minute," she said that to me. Then I heard her asking Shawn. He agreed less than enthusiastically. "We will be there in half an hour. I am bringing a picnic. Everything is cooked and ready to go.

While I waited, I did some furious research. I found the easiest fishing for a beginner is with a cane pole. So then I had to find out who would have a cane pole for sale on a Sunday afternoon. What I found was a tackle shop a half mile outside the gates of the marina. He was open according to the man who answered the phone.

"Sure I got cane poles and all the stuff you need to fish. I get lots of people just like you. Don't worry I can fix you up," he advised me.

"Very cool," I replied as I killed the connection. I really lucked out there, I thought.

When Wilma and Shawn were in the parking lot, she called me. I rushed down to meet them. "Shawn this is Lucy. She is a new friend of mine."

"Hello Shawn," I said.

"Hello Lucy, you are really skinny," he said being brutally honest.

"Yes I am Shawn," I said it smiling. I enjoyed seeing the look of panic on Wilma's face. "And you are really observant. So tell me have you ever been fishing?"

"No, but I have seen people on TV fishing," he said.

"Well today we are going to be fishing old school," I said. The whole conversation took longer to happen than to repeat.

"What is old school?" he asked interested.

"Old school, is with a 12' cane pole and worms," I said. I had learned that from Utube while I waited. My pocket fisherman with the plugs wouldn't be in use that day.

We pulled into Ed's Bait and Tackle Shop about twenty minutes later. "Well Ed, I can't get a 12' cane pole in that econo box we drive," I informed him.

"Ed don't own the shop no more. I'm Roy and what you need is the break down model. It comes in three four foot sections. How many you need?" he asked.

"Are you going to fish Miss Priss," I asked Wilma. Shawn found that hilarious.

"I think, this first time, I will just watch," she said.

"Then we need two poles and the line and stuff," I said. I would have loved to be more technical, but I had no idea what went on a cane pole.

"I can sell you an already setup outfit, then you can just tied it on the end of the pole," he knew I was lost. He just didn't know how lost I was.

"Good and then sell me all the little individual pieces to replace things that get lost." I just knew that hooks and stuff got lost. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did.

It was almost 5PM when we made it to a bench at the edge of the water. I quickly tied on the lines then baited the hooks with worms. I showed Shawn how to get his rig into the water.

The fishing gods were with Shawn from the start. His line hit the water and within a few seconds he was pulling in a fish. It was a small one but to him it was a whale.

"His attention span is about two minutes, so don't be surprised if he wants to leave before we even get to the picnic," Wilma said.

"Hey Shawn, you want to split a Pepsi with me?" I asked.

"Sure," he said with his eyes focused on the cork floating on the water.

I pulled a Pepsi from the cooler and took a long drink then handed it to Shawn. I did not want it back. Damn seven year olds have a completely different set of germs. I have no idea where that thought came from, but I was sure of it. Probably a myth, I thought.

There was a couple down the bank from us fishing. I went down to talk to them. "Would guys be interested in any fish we catch. I'm just trying to entertain the kid over there," I said.

"Sure, we clean them and freeze them till we get enough to have a fish fry at our church," the woman informed me.

"Good, I will bring them down. Shawn needs to learn that fish are part of the food chain," I said.

We stayed at the lake fishing until 9pm. The sun had pretty much set and the dark was closing in when we packed up the car and left. It was a short drive back to my condo.

They dropped me about 9:30, so by 10PM I was deep in though about the liquor business, and even the delivery business. I made a few notes in the journal then went to sleep.