Chapter 5: Tayo Enjoys an Exciting Night Fishing

That Friday Lewis and his dad called at Tayo’s to collect him. They we’re going night fishing, so they would fish until about two am, then sleep in a tent for the rest of the night. Tayo’s parents were concerned about the idea, but when they met Lewis’s dad who assured them that he would be with them the whole time, they happily agreed. Tayo had been worried they wouldn’t let him go, so he was over the moon.

Lewis’s dad didn’t drive so they went on their bikes. The farm where they fished was a regular haunt of Lewis and his dad, so their camping gear was stored there permanently. When they arrived, they put their bikes in the shed, collected the camping gear and walked across to the lake.

Lewis explained to him that when he and his dad came, they shared a tent, but tonight his dad was going to have a single tent over on the far side of the field and they could share the bigger tent. “My dad feels it gives me independence without mum panicking about my safety,” he told him. “Plus, if my dad wasn’t with us, your parents probably wouldn’t have let you come.” Tayo felt quite sure that would have been so.

They put their tent up with a bit of larking about, then went round the lake to see how Lewis’s dad was getting on. His tent was up, he had boiled a kettle, made a drink and was already fishing. Lewis wasn’t sure how much Tayo knew so he whispered in his ear, “it’s not done to make a noise by anyone whilst they’re fishing, so we’ll go and say good night quietly, then go back to our patch.”

Tayo nodded, then they moved quietly forward. Lewis put an arm around his dad and whispered, “Goodnight dad.” His dad put an arm around him, kissed his forehead, said “Have you got your whistle?” then said, “Goodnight.” Tayo went close and whispered, “Goodnight, thank you for bringing me.” Lewis’s dad put an arm round him, said, “You’re welcome, see you in the morning,” and kissed him on his forehead too.

Once they were out of earshot, Tayo told Lewis, “That was nice of your dad to kiss me goodnight. What did he mean about the whistle?” Lewis put his hand down the front of his shirt and pulled out a silver whistle on a cord around his neck. “Dad is all for me having my independence,” he said, “But he still worries about me, especially out in a deserted area like this and in the dark. So, if I meet any trouble or get stuck, all I have to do is give a blast on this and dad will be there in no time.”

“Wow, that’s a brilliant idea,” Tayo said. By now they were back at their tent. They set their rods up about ten feet apart, then they each cast into the lake. Once satisfied, they put their rods on a stand and moved to the middle between the rods and about ten feet back. Lewis had set up a gas stove and a pan of water which was just coming to the boil, so they made a hot coffee each and sat on the grass in the twilight, drinking it and talking in whispers.

Every so often one or both would go and reel their line in and do a fresh cast. But they were both content to sit and chat. Lewis asked Tayo about his name. He told him, “My full name is Tayo Wang Jones. My original name was Tayo Wang, so when mum and dad adopted me, they decided to keep my name and add their surname, so Tayo Wang became Tayo Wang Jones.”

“That’s nice,” Lewis said, “Do you remember your birth parents?” “Not really,” Tayo said, “I was only little when they died, and I don’t know of any other relatives.” “That’s hard to imagine,” Lewis told him, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Have you ever had any bad memories of your previous life from before they died?” “No, never.” Tayo said. “Then they must have been good to you,” Lewis told him, “If they hadn’t been you would certainly remember any bad times.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Tayo told him, “I don’t know why but I always felt I was happy before they died but looking at it like you just said sort of confirms it.” He threw his arms round him and gave him a hug. Just then there was a ping as Tayo’s rod was pulled from its stand, by a fish on the line, causing the little bell hanging on it to ring and warn them. They both dashed over, Lewis dropping back a little so as not to interfere as Tayo grabbed his rod and held the wheel, allowing the fish some headway but slowing him down. Then lifting the rod up into the air to pull the fish back a bit, he wound in some line as fast as he could whilst lowering the rod down

A moment later he repeated the operation, rod up in the air, then wind in fast as he lowered it down. Lewis had been ready to give advice but saw that he didn’t need it. So, he stood silently and watched as Tayo kept reeling his line in. Soon the end came out of the water with a fish attached. It wasn’t big, but it was the first catch of the night, so it was exciting. Tayo carefully took it off the hook and dropped it into the net fixed in the lake by his seat. That would let the fish live but keep it captive until morning when they would photo their catches to decide who had won, before releasing them.

By the time two am came, it was pitch dark apart from a tiny light on the front of their tent. Across the lake they could see a similar light on Lewis’s dad’s tent which meant he was still fishing, or as Lewis said had probably fallen asleep by his rod. They decided to turn in. Lewis showed Tayo where there was a torch hanging in the tent, just in case he needed it in the night. “Now here are the rules,” Lewis told him, “I’ll hang the whistle up with the torch. If you get up for a wee in the night, take the whistle and the torch with you. See those bushes,” he said pointing to a clump near the tent. “Go up to them and wee into them. You don’t need to go in amongst them, no one will see you. But if you want a poo, you wake me, and I’ll come back to the farm with you. There’s a toilet by where we left our bikes. Do not under any circumstances go off on your own. We’ve never had any trouble here but there’s always a first time. Plus, we don’t want you falling in the lake.”

“Next time we come, I’ll get another whistle and by then you’ll know your way around a bit. Do you need to go before we settle down?” “No, I’m fine,” Tayo told him, “But I will have a wee.” “Me too,” Lewis said. They went over to the bushes and stood side by side squirting into the foliage. Tayo couldn’t help noticing that when he held his cock, his hand covered it all, whilst Lewis still had a fair bit protruding.

They went back to the tent. Lewis switched the little outside light out and they crawled inside. Although a double, there wasn’t much room. Lewis put the torch on so they could see what they were doing. Lewis had already zipped the two single sleeping bags into one double, he unzipped the sides and rolled the top section down so they could both sit on the bottom bit. They had taken their shoes off as they came in. Lewis pulled them inside and zipped up the flap. They sat side by side at the top end and wriggled out of their trousers which Lewis then folded up and put them at the foot of the bed.