The Big Fish

“So, kiddo…are you ready for your first day of school tomorrow?”

“Will Olivia and Nigel be there?”

“Of course!”

“Then I’m ready!”

“What are you looking forward to the most?”

“Recess!”

“Ha! That’s my boy! Don’t tell mom I said that, he he he.”

“Don’t tell mom what,” Melody asked as she emerged from the bedroom.

“Ummm…actually…you didn’t like school much either! He said he’s looking forward to recess, and I said, ‘That’s my boy!'”

“That’s our boy. You know I spent all my time talking to you in school. How did you manage to get better grades than me?”

“Funny thing about growing up broke:  there’s not much else to do.”

“You can say that again,” she said under her breath.

“So, Stefan…you wanna go fishing with me this morning,” River asked.

“YEAH!”

“Good! I bought you a fishing rod.”

River went to change his clothes and gather the fishing gear, and then they outside.

“Ok, son…fishing is really easy. First, you want to cast your line into the water like this,” he said hauling his own line into the water. “Then…you wait! See, fishing is a game of patience. If you act too hasty, you’ll never catch anything. Of course, there are other elements that will enhance your skills such as bait, time of day, etc., but it’s all about the patience. Once you feel something tugging your line, slowly reel it in. If you reel into quickly, the fish will know what you’re up to and swim away. You want to make it so the fish has no idea that it’s being caught. Once you can actually see the fish, then you can reel it in faster. Voila! You have a fish!”

Stefan watched River and did everything he did. After a few minutes of waiting, he felt his line tug.

“DAD! I FEEL SOMETHING!”

“Ok, don’t panic. Wait until you feel it again.”

Stefan waited, and sure enough he felt the line tugging even stronger that time.

“I think it’s big, dad!”

“Ok! Reel it in!”

Stefan was trying with all his might to reel this big fish in, but it must have been really big. The fish was tugging so hard his fishing rod was bending into the shape of an arch. He even had trouble keeping his balance.

“DAD! IT’S GONNA PULL ME IN!”

“It’s not gonna pull you in. Spread your feet shoulder width apart so you can distribute your weight evenly.”

“LIKE THIS?”

“Just like that. Now, reel it in as fast as you can.”

Stefan was reeling as fast as his little arm could turn and he was grunting and began to sweat.

“IT’S A BIG ONE DAD!”

“I think you’re right, son!”

Finally, Stefan saw something come out of the water. It almost knocked him over as he was reeling it in.

“IT’S A LOG DAD! I REELED IN A LOG!”

River was confused as to why Stefan was so excited, but if he was excited, then River would join in.

“That’s pretty cool, huh?”

“IT’S ALMOST AS BIG AS ME, DAD!”

“Yeah…you’re right. I think that’s enough fishing lessons for one day. Let’s go see what mommy is doing.”

River packed up their things and they went back inside to find Melody reading.

“Hey,” she said. “How was your fishing adventure, Stefan?”

“IT WAS GREAT! I CAUGHT A LOG THAT WAS ALMOST AS BIG AS ME!”

“Whoa! Are you ok? You could have been hurt!”

“But he’s not,” River said trying to prevent a full blown mom-attack.

“Mom? Will you watch the clouds with me?”

“Of course I will!”

She put her book down and followed Stefan outside.

She loved spending time with him and wished that she could spend more time with him. But now that he was going to school, she had to make every moment count.