Chapter 14

We were approaching the end of Kathy’s second summer with us, and her sixth birthday was rapidly approaching. I was not surprised when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. Her answer was an enthusiastic “Fishing.”

So, we made plans for a trip to her favorite lake and camping spot. The goal was to spend a week there.

The ride up to the lake went as usual, but on the way, I was thinking.

We were sitting around the fire that first night when I dropped my bombshell.

“Suzy,” I started, “We need to take a trip to Wyoming.”

“Wyoming?” she asked. “Why there?”

“It’s because of Gunnar.”

“Gunnar? What’s wrong with Gunnar?”

“Well, I think he’s getting tired. Tired of hauling all that weight.”

“Matt, what in the hell are you talking about? What weight?”

“Kathy, she’s getting older and bigger, and I’m worried that it might be too much for the poor animal to carry.”

Both Suzy and Kathy stared at me, confusion on their faces.

“I think it’s time to see Bruce and Marsha about a horse for Kathy.”

Their expressions changed. Suzy’s went from confusion to being startled. She turned to Kathy, her expression then went to a grin.

Kathy meanwhile jumped from confusion to being startled and then to an enthusiastically happy expression. She jumped to her feet and ran to me, wrapping me with a bear hug around my neck. “Really, Daddy Matt, my own horse? Can I pick it out myself? What kind of horse should I pick? Oh, golly, my own horse? Thank you, Daddy Matt.”

Through all of that, she did not even pause for breath.

The rest of the evening, we were entertained by Kathy speculating on her new horse. Off and on during the rest of the week, she would slip back into her fantasy horse and what she would do with it.

When I could, I would remind Kathy that she would be responsible for her horse. That she would have to make sure it had food and water. That she would have to see to its comfort and health. Whenever I made my speech, Kathy would absentmindedly agree and then slip back into gushing about her horse.

While Kathy was frequently celebrating her good fortune, she was still enthusiastic about the purpose of this trip, fishing.

Early one morning, Kathy and I were on the lake shore fishing. I had a couple of fair-sized rainbows, and Kathy had a big German brown. That’s when I started smelling it.

I glanced over to where she was fishing and froze. I very quietly got Kathy’s attention. “Sweety, listen very carefully to me. I don’t want you to make sudden movements, so stay calm.”

She worriedly asked, “What’s wrong, Daddy Matt? Am I doing something wrong?”

“No, you’re doing fine, but we’ve got a visitor that we don’t want to get upset with us.”

At about that time, the skunk came into Kathy’s view. It was grubbing in the spot where I had been hunting worms earlier that morning. I could see that it was grubbing in the soil for its share of worms.