I like you - Post Malone

19 Austin

"I don't need a fishing rod?"

"That's what I said, boy," Jerry says jamming bottles of whisky, honey, and other shit Willow keeps bringing out to him into the back of his truck.

"How do I fish without a fishing rod?"

"Donno. Probably the same way you would bake a pie," Jerry says throwing a sale over the shit in the back of his truck and then turning to look at Austin with a serious face. What the fuck does that mean? "What?" Austin asks screwing his face up. He is so lost. He is often lost when talking to Jerry, but so is everyone else. "You don't need a pie when you go fishing," Jerry says laughing as he walks off to the house. Austin's brain feels like scrambled eggs.

After they had secured the kitchen from any future encounters with wild hogs and cleaned up. Jerry had announced a family weekend break. They were going camping and fishing. Willow had squealed in excitement and run off to pack their bags while Austin tried to hold a logical conversation with Jerry - only Willow had been successful in their endeavors. "You know he is just fucking with you, right?" Nathan says leaning on Jerry's truck bin opposite Austin.

"Why would he fuck with me like that?"

"My dad is good at reading people. He can see you have taken life too seriously so he has unserious conversations with you. Lighten you up a bit."

Austin stares at Nathan. He needs a moment to comprehend what Nathan is saying. He fails. "What are you saying?" Austin challenges him. "I am saying my dad is clever. Fucking clever. Not just book smarts but life smarts. He is the wise old man people document in history books," Nathan says confidently. Jerry's loud laugh echoes behind Austin and he turns slowly to see Jerry walking on his hands while Fern and Zeus run around him excitedly. Austin turns back to Nathan and raises his brows at him - Jerry has proved Austin right and Nathan is delusional. But, Nathan smiles and shakes his head as if he knows something Austin does not.

"Life smarts...he is close to every single person in his family. He will get close to you too because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he is genuine, and will walk on his hands if that's what creates a happy memory for you to look back on. I bet you have already banked a memory with my dad. He knows what's important in life. He counts his wealth in the happiness around him...just like Willow does."

Austin turns to look back at Jerry who is now helping Fern to walk on his hands while Willow and Zeus dance around them - they are all laughing. They don't look like they are wanting for a dam thing. "And book smarts? You said he had book smarts too," Austin asks, his eyes now glued to Willow. She is so beautiful. "Ask him any question, he will have an educated answer. I was failing when I started my law degree. Dad came in and explained it all to me, he was able to read and interpret all that fancy law jargon. Just because a man does not wear a fancy suit and sit in a fancy office counting his stacks of money does not mean he is not successful."

Austin clenches his jaw. He had wronged his father, he sees it now. It screams at him. His father had wanted to provide for his family, that's the life he had chosen and he had been successful at it. He had kept a happy wife and a happy kid. He had worked hard every day, was at every sporting event, at every family gathering, and was part of every aspect of Austin's life. Austin had also seen how he had loved his mother too - he had treated her right like a real man should. He had listened even when Austin had not spoken. When he was young he had always sung, just little songs from school or when listening to music on the radio. His father had heard his voice and his solution had been to buy Austin a guitar. His father had been the one to ignite his passion. He had been the one to fan the flame. He had also been the one to make Austin believe he could be anything in this world. Austin feels his heart squeeze - he had gotten everything he wanted but wronged his father in the process. He had judged his father because he didn't have a fancy suit or a fancy job.