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“Rise and shine, kiddo. The fish are bitin’ and we don’t want to be late!” said the man in an overly cheerful voice, flipping open the blinds to her room.
Sunlight danced across her bed and onto her face, causing her to immediately groan, turn, and throw the covers over her head. “Your rod and reel are all set, and I bought a big ol’ tub of nightcrawlers yesterday. I even made pancakes, complete with smiley faces made out of blueberries, so let’s go!”
“Fishing is dumb. I wanna sleep,” said a small voice from somewhere deep under the covers. A hand tentatively reached out, feeling around for… something. The man noticed this and nudged a purple stuffed hedgehog by the edge of the bed close to it. The hand paused, explored a bit more until it brushed up against the plush quills of the hedgehog, then quickly grabbed it and disappeared back under the covers.
“Did I mention the noses on the pancakes are strawberries?” said the man.
“Strawberries?” said the small voice.
“Strawberries.”
“I still wanna sleep.”
“We might even have some of that spray whip cream stuff you like. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless, of course, I run downstairs right now and spray it all directly in my mouth until there’s none left!” he shouted, pretending to dart out of the room.
“Daddy, you wouldn’t!” she said, flinging off the covers.
“Fish are bitin’, kiddo.”
“Fine, she said, grudgingly. She hopped out of bed, looking for and then finding her unicorn slippers. She grabbed those and the hedgehog. “Daddy, why do we have to go fishing so early all the time?”
“I don’t make the rules,” he said, jostling her red curls as she walked by him. “You can take it up with the fish when we get there.”
After a quick breakfast, which they both agreed to clean up later (maybe!), they grabbed their gear and headed out the deck door. They wore jeans and flannel shirts. She wore her blue rain boots, which she always did by the pond regardless of weather. He wore a windbreaker that read ‘Pan-Eurasian Technological Institute’ on one side, and ‘Doc Delgado’ embroidered in cursive on the other. He carried the rods and tackle box, while she had the pack with snacks, drinks, and the hedgehog. They went down the deck stairs to the backyard, then trudged over to the trail.
“It is just glorious out,” he said, admiring the surroundings. “Big, bright sun. Not a cloud anywhere.” A chorus of chickadees greeted them further down the trail. “You brought the hedgehog, didn’t you?” he asked, without even looking at her.
“Yup.”
“Goober…”
Shortly, they arrived at the spot. Their spot. Her small folding chair was waiting for her, right by the shore. The pond shimmered as light bounced off the water. A heron dove in, hunting for breakfast.
They unpacked their gear. He cast her line out then handed her back the rod. She sat down in her chair, while he walked out in front of her to the dock.
“What do you think we’ll catch today?” she said, grinning.
“Hard to say. There’s no shortage of bluegill in there but those are just…”
“Practice!” she interrupted. “Then we throw ‘em back, right?”
“Exactly,” he said, casting his line, his back to her.
“Now, like we agreed, if either of us gets a catfish we’ll measure it first before throwing it back, too, right? Gotta see if we can break our record.”
“Your record, Daddy.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” he said, casting again. “It’s our record. We’re a team, right?”
She nodded.
“Your mother would’ve loved this, y’know? A beautiful day like today. Outdoors. No screens. No devices. Not a care in the world. I know she never really liked fishin’ but she liked coming out here with us, watchin’ us fish.”
“Daddy?”
“She’d make a great picnic lunch, too. I brought that same thermos she’d use, though it’s just filled with coffee and not tomato soup this time.”
“Daddy, I…”
“Y’know, if we’re lucky, we might even catch a few smallmouth bass today. I found a new recipe, with lemons and curry, that sounds delicious,” he said, casting his line out again.
“I… I don’t feel good,” she said, her pole dropping from her hand.
“Kiddo?” he said, turning toward her.
She slumped over and slowly closed her eyes.
He turned and looked at her. She didn’t move. He lowered his head slightly, exhaled, then tossed his pole aside and walked over to her. A large butterfly flew by and he swatted it away. He scooped her up, cradled her head and brushed her hair out from her face. “Kiddo?” He put two fingers to her wrist and checked her pulse, then grimaced.
“I’m sorry,” he said, quietly, his hand on her cheek. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get it right next time. You’ll see. I’ll get it right – I promise.”
He carefully picked her up, leaving the gear and the hedgehog behind, and walked back up the narrow trail to the house, sunlight darting in and out across them as he walked beneath the canopy of hemlocks. Her arms hung limp from her body, swaying with each step. As he walked, the color on her arms flickered, eventually settling on a dull grey. Sparrows flew overhead from tree to tree until he got back. This time, he didn’t go up the deck stairs but instead went underneath the deck. Still holding her, he kicked open a door and went into his lab.
* * *
“Rise and shine, kiddo. The fish are bitin’ and we don’t want to be late!” said the man in an overly cheerful voice, flipping open the blinds to her room. “Your rod and reel are all set, and I bought a big ol’ tub of nightcrawlers yesterday. I even made pancakes, complete with smiley faces made out of blueberries, so let’s go!”
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