Chapter 26

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when Jenny pulled into a picnic area at the local lake. Jerry still couldn’t drive and it was beginning to frustrate him. It was hard to accept that he couldn’t take care of himself or do any of the simple things that he had always taken for granted. His leg had healed and he could walk without the cane, but he still wore a cast on his shoulder and left arm. The cast made it impossible for him to steer and shift at the same time. It was one of the downsides of manual transmissions.

Henry pulled into the space next to theirs as Sharon waved at them from the passenger seat. Sharon, Abe, and Henry got out of the car and looked around at the picnic area. There were two cement picnic tables separated by forty feet. Next to each table was a barbecue grill. It was a nice quiet site, isolated from the other picnic areas by a small stand of oak trees. Jerry walked over to Henry and looked over the water. This was his first picnic and just the idea that he was on a picnic pleased him more than he could put into words.

Coming up behind him, Jenny wrapped an arm around Jerry’s good arm and leaned against him. Abe and Bill were moving around checking out the sights. This was a novel experience for both of them and the urge to act like kids combated with their desire to act like adults. Jenny said, “Let’s unload the car so that we can relax.”

“That’s it. Make the men work on their day off,” replied Jerry with a fake groan.

Jenny laughed and hit him lightly on his good shoulder. She said, “You can always get the boys to do it.”

Getting the hint, Henry called out, “Boys, unload the picnic gear.”

The two boys groaned, but went to the task with the energy of teenage boys. It didn’t take them long to carry the food to the table and put the bag of charcoal next to the grill. When the boys had finished, Jerry made a sound like a cave man and, in a guttural tone of voice, grunted, “We go burn meat now!”

Jenny and Sharon laughed as Henry, imitating Jerry, added, “We burn meat good!”

The little gathering of adults broke up with the women going to the picnic table to set out the food as the men went to pursue the manly art of cooking meat over a fire. The boys went over to a grassy area and started throwing a Frisbee back and forth. They missed catching the saucer shaped disk as often as they caught it.

Over at the grill, Henry piled the charcoal briquettes into a nice hill. This charcoal was the kind that didn’t require lighter fluid to ignite. Jerry watched and said, “I can’t wait to get this blasted cast off.”

“I can understand that. Still, it’s amazing that you’re still alive. You’re lucky they were using .22s rather than .45s,” replied Henry. He put a match to the charcoal and small flames started where the match touched the charcoal. There wasn’t the flare up that was typical of lighter fluid. In a way, it was disappointing. He said, “It just isn’t the same without the startup flare of fire.”

Jerry couldn’t agree more and replied, “Yeah, I know what you mean. It makes barbecuing seem too safe.”

The large black man looked over at Jerry and shook his head. He said, “I figured after your experiences, you’d rather live a little safer.”

“Hey, I’ve been sitting on my ass for so long that anything would be an improvement. I can’t drive. It takes me twenty minutes to get dressed in the morning. I can’t wash the dishes.”

Henry knew that his big friend was frustrated. It was hard for him to imagine being unable to use his strength on need, much less being unable to do simple everyday tasks. Men who were used to being strong felt particularly vulnerable when weak. He asked, “So what’s happening on the legal front?”

“They’ve confiscated all of Benson’s assets in the neighborhood because they are associated with drugs. My lawyer has just about negotiated a deal with the government agency that took over houses that they sell them to the current renters.”

“How come they took the houses?”

“Benson was using them in a money laundering scheme associated with selling drugs. He was claiming higher rents than people were paying and declaring property improvements that had never been made,” answered Jerry. He wasn’t fully aware of all the things that had been going on, but his lawyer was working hard on the issue.

“So how much are the houses going to cost?”

“From what the lawyer was saying, it should be under $5,000.”

“Shit, everyone should be able to buy their houses for that price,” remarked Henry surprised at the price. He couldn’t believe that Jerry was working that hard on behalf of his neighbors.

“That’s what I thought. I figure that if people own their homes, then we won’t have anymore crack houses opening in the neighborhood. I’d like to keep creeps like Benson out of the area.”

The men fell silent thinking their own thoughts as they watched the charcoal burn down to glowing red coals that were soon covered with a thin layer of gray ash. Jerry was thinking about the changes that would occur within the neighborhood. Henry was thinking about the character of the man beside him.

Satisfied that the coals were ready, Henry spread them into a nice even layer across the bottom of the grill. He placed a layer of aluminum foil over the grill. While Henry was getting the grill ready, Jerry walked over to the table and asked, “Where’s da beef?”

Jenny laughed as she handed over the plate of hamburger patties to Jerry while juggling a pair of cokes. After Jenny placed the cokes in the sling supporting his cast, he carried the burgers over to Henry. Jerry was left holding the plate while Henry placed the burgers on the foil. Once the plate was empty, Jerry tried to figure out what to do with it now that he was stuck with the empty plate and two cokes in his sling. Smiling at him, Henry reached over and took a coke. With a broad grin that showed off his white teeth, he opened the can and then said, “Hum, this coke sure is cold. Too bad you can’t hold the plate and drink your coke at the same time.”

Growling, Jerry took the plate back to the table and fished the coke out of the sling. He had to set it on the table and then open it one handed. Picking up the can, he returned to the fire as he grumbled, “One of these days I’m going to get you back.”

“Just giving you a hard time because you’ve made my life a living hell,” replied Henry with a grin.

“How did I do that?” asked Jerry confused by the statement.

“Ever since you proposed, Sharon has been after my ass to propose to her,” answered the black man. He shook his head and said, “I thought I was strong until I met that woman. Damn, she’s tenacious.”

The comment brought a smile to Jerry’s face. He asked, “So when are you going to ask her?”

Henry looked around and saw that Sharon was over at the picnic table talking to Jenny. In a half whisper, he answered, “Today.”

The answer took Jerry by surprise since he hadn’t realized the relationship had progressed to that point. He replied, “That’s great.”

Henry said, “We’ll see. The whole idea of getting married scares the hell out of me. I keep wondering if I’m making a mistake.”

Well aware of what constituted a mistake, Jerry smiled at his friend and replied, “I’ll introduce you to my ex-wife. Then you’ll know that you’ve picked a good one.”

Henry turned the burgers to let them cook on the other side. The aroma of cooking beef filled the air making the men hungry. Henry called out, “The burgers will be done soon. Is everything else ready?”

Sharon answered, “Everything is set out.”

Jerry returned to the table and set down his coke so that he could carry the plate over to the grill. Grabbing the plate, he returned to the grill and held it out for Henry to put the burgers on it. The day couldn’t come too soon when the cast would be removed. It was exceptionally frustrating not to be able to do even some of the simplest tasks.

The pair of men returned to the table with the burgers. Jerry called out, “Boys, lunch is ready!”

The two young men came running to the table hungry and ready to eat. They looked over the food piled on the table with feral eyes that conveyed the hunger in their stomachs. Sharon and Jenny had prepared perfect picnic foods and the boys were not disappointed by what they found there.

The boys were hoping they would get to go fishing after lunch, so they could hardly wait to eat. Jerry was looking forward to fishing more than anyone else was. It had been years since he had gone fishing and he planned to resume with a passion once his cast was removed. Bill said, “Let’s eat and go fishing.”

Looking in the direction of the adults, Abe suggested, “Maybe we can fish while we’re eating.”

Henry laughed at the impatience of youth and replied, “You’ve got to take a little time to enjoy these burgers. You don’t get the chance to eat a spread like this very often. There’s lots of time to go fishing.”

Everyone piled their plates high with potato salad, coleslaw, and pickles. There was barely enough room left on the plates for the hamburgers. As they ate, they talked about little things. Sharon was telling Jenny how much she loved the car that Martin had bought with the money from the sale of the Caddy. Henry and Jerry discussed the next water fountain that they would make while trying to figure out how they could speed up the process. Bill and Abe talked about fishing, summer vacation, and their restoration projects.

Lunch passed quickly and as soon as everyone was done eating, Abe said, “Let’s go fishing.”

Jenny smiled at the two young men and knew that wild horses wouldn’t hold them back from going fishing. She said, “You boys can go and we’ll clean up here.”

There was nothing slow about the reaction of Abe and Bill to Jenny’s permission. It didn’t take them long to get the four poles and two tackle boxes out of the truck. They even beat the men to the side of the lake. Jerry sat down on the ground as Henry took care of preparing the poles and baiting the hooks. Awkwardly, Abe and Bill cast their lines into the water, watching as the bobbers settled down.

Henry explained, “You boys have to sit here real quiet and watch those bobbers. When the bobber goes under the water, you reel it in.”

For a long time, no one said anything while they watched their bobbers and thought their thoughts. The silence was interrupted when the women came over to where the men were fishing. Sharon put her hands over Henry’s eyes and said, “Guess who!”

“Must be Busty from over at the Titty Bar,” replied Harry trying to keep a straight face.

Sharon moved her hands down to his throat and acted like she was going to strangle him. He laughed and then teased, “Definitely Busty from the Titty Bar.”

“I give up,” laughed Sharon.

Henry turned to look at Jenny for a second as he considered what he was going to say to her. With a smile on his face, he asked, “Why don’t you watch my pole for me? I’d like to take a walk with this amazon woman who has just tried to throttle me.”

Wiggling her eyebrows at Sharon, Jenny answered, “Sure. I’ll watch your pole.”

Picking up on the joke, Sharon interjected, “You better make sure that you’re watching the right pole.”

Jenny giggled and answered, “Darn, you’re taking all the fun out of this.”

Jerry watched Henry stand up and gave him a wink understanding what the black man was going to do. Henry nodded back as he put an arm around Sharon and led her away. It was easy for him to see that the large man was nervous about what he was going to do, although it appeared that Sharon had not noticed it.

Observing a little movement in the water, Jenny sat down next to Jerry and, with a giggle, asked, “So which pole am I supposed to watch?”

“Tough question. I know which one I’d like you to watch, but you promised Henry that you’d watch his. It’s the one right in front of you,” he replied looking at her the entire time.

“Oh, so I guess your pole is the one with the fish on it.”

Jerry looked over to where his bobber was supposed to be, but it was deep underwater. He shouted, “Bill, grab my pole and reel in the fish!”

Bill reached over and started reeling in the line. He hadn’t set the hook and by the time the fish was close enough to grab, it jumped out of the water and then landed without the hook in its mouth. It was gone in a flash. The excitement that it created lasted a lot longer than the entire event. Bill was disappointed not to land the fish. Apologizing, he said, “I’m sorry. I guess I don’t know how to reel in a fish.”

“Hey, it’s your first time. You didn’t know to set the hook. My fault that I didn’t tell you that.” It had been years since Jerry had been fishing and he had forgotten to explain to the kids how to fish. In fact, all of what he remembered was only then coming back to him.

“So how do I set the hook?” asked Bill. Abe turned to listen to the answer. This was his first time fishing, too.

“You have to yank back on the line using a motion like this,” answered Jerry as he demonstrated one handed. He said, “You should use two hands to do it, though.”

“So it’s your fault that it got away?” asked Bill wanting to make sure that everyone knew who was at fault.

“Hey, now you can talk about the one that got away. Hold your hands apart to about the size of the fish that you saw,” suggested the father with a lopsided grin.

Bill held his hands out about seven inches apart wondering why he was doing it. Jerry said, “Oh, I think that fish was twice that big.”

Smiling as he realized what his dad was saying, he held his hands about three times as far apart. He said, “I think it was about this big.”

“It’s always the big ones that get away,” said a grinning Abe as he picked up on the joke.

With an artificial sigh, Jenny said, “Isn’t that the truth.”

“Hey,” replied Jerry, “you weren’t saying that last night!”

“Gross. I don’t want to hear about that kind of stuff!” complained Bill while making a face at his father.

“If you think that is bad, you should hear Henry and mom when he spends the night. Shit, there are times when I want to get sick,” retorted Abe.