Small

Fishing

The waitress that walked up to our table looked young. She had a nose piercing that sparkled when the light hit it. Her red hair was pulled up, revealing a tattoo on the side of her neck. She had a pad of paper and a pen in her hand as she approached us. "Are you guys ready to order?"

Ethan shrugged. "I am."

Darren nodded at him. "Go ahead." He flipped the menu onto the back where the kid's menu was and pointed to the items listed. "See anything you like?"

I couldn't read anything on the page. Reading and writing weren't a priority for Owen. I was barely lucky I knew how to talk and I got that from watching TV.

I found a picture I recognized and pointed to it.

Darren grinned. "I should've known you'd want pancakes." He picked up both menus and put our orders in.

Ethan watched as the waitress walked away before he spoke up. "So you were with Owen before. What was that like?"

Darren cleared his throat and sent Ethan a dark look. "Ethan, don't."

"What? I'm just curious. I barely even knew she was with him until a few years ago."

I was surprised that neither of them knew about me. I didn't think Owen would keep me a secret and I couldn't understand why. Was it wrong of me to be with him?

Darren lowered his voice. "Don't talk about him around her."

Ethan looked between Darren and me before he shrugged. "I just wanted to know."

The waitress carried over our plates and set them down in front of us.

"Do you want me to cut them up for you?" Darren asked.

I nodded.

Darren pulled my plate toward him and started cutting the pancakes into bite-sized pieces that were easier for me to eat. "Changing the subject... I brought my fishing pole if you wanna fish later."

"I was hoping you would. I haven't been out in a while."

"We'll only have another month or so before the weather starts to turn. We need to get it in while we can."

"Does she fish?" He asked, nodding at me.

Darren looked at me. "Have you been fishing before?"

I shook my head.

"We'll show you how." 

I wasn't sure what fishing would entail. I was assuming it had something to do with the lake but my mind couldn't come up with anything else. I was just going to have to find out later.

---

The sun was bright that day. It cast warm weather on us as we sat on the beach by the lake. It was a nice day and I was glad to be outside to enjoy it.

I kept my legs tight under me so they wouldn't get wet from the water that moved back and forth along the edge of the beach. We sat in chairs in the water, making sure we didn't go too far and sink into the water. I'd already told Darren that I couldn't swim.

"Are you sure you don't want to try?" He asked, holding out the fishing pole towards me.

I shook my head.

He looked like he was going to throw the fishing pole into the lake but he held onto the pole and only a string went into the water. A little ball bobbed in the water just at the surface.

We sat in silence for a while, both watching the water. I wanted to have my bear, Ted, with me but I was afraid he would get wet. Darren locked him in the truck so he wouldn't get stolen while we were gone.

"How are you doing with the move and all?"

"I'm not used to being outside this much."

His eyebrows rose. "Really?"

I nodded and picked at a loose string on the arm of the chair. "Owen had neighbors. He didn't want them to know about me, I guess. I was only allowed out on rare occasions."

"This isn't too much for you, is it? I didn't want you stuck inside so much at my place since I don't have much for you to do."

"I'm used to it."

Darren lowered his fishing pole, relaxing it in his hands. "I don't want that to be the case anymore. I don't want you to feel like you have to hide. Not with me."

---

Edited 3/23/2022