Last July

Chapter forty four

"I'm ready now" I called to her.

She looked up. "Okay, have fun"

"Ziploc" she looked up from her papers at me. "When I said I'm going fishing that meant you were coming along"

She looked at me as if I was crazy. "Uh, no thanks. I can't swim"

"I can"

"Great, at least you'll survive going over board"

I rolled my eyes walking away from the boat to the board walk. I grabbed her paper bag and scooped her into my arms walking back.

"Andrew, Andrew please put me down"

I placed her into the board and pushed it further into the water until it caught my knees before jumping in. She stared out at the water, almost hyperventilating, clinging to the sides as if she was afraid it'd topple over.

"I can't swim, I can't swim Andrew how am I gonna get back?" She said frantically.

"You said that about three times now. Calm down, I won't let you drown.... On purpose at least"

She gave me the most murderous look I'd ever seen and it made me chuckle a little.

"You're really selfish you know that?"

"Make yourself useful and pull your own weight" I said handing her the other oar.

"I didn't ask to be on this expedition of no return"

"Who said we weren't coming back?"

" Me! I can't believe I'm trusting my life with a guy who doesn't even know how to fish. By the way do you even have bait?"

That made me smile. I grabbed her paper bag and waved it before her eyes.

Her mouth fell. "You've got to be kidding me! Andrew that's my lunch"

"Now it's fish food "

Kenzy covered her face with her hands shaking her head. "You're a complete asshole"

We stopped rowing when we reached the middle of the lake. She went back to her writing falling silent while I tried to catch a fish. When I wasn't watching the water, I glanced at her watching her write and mumble, erase and write again. The wind screeched through the surrounding trees and every now and again a bird would flutter by. I hadn't been on the lake for a while, I forgot how tranquil it was. For a while, I was happy I wasn't out here alone, even if she wasn't much company at the moment. Reaching over I ran my hand through the freezing water. My pants had dried though from the heat of the sun, but it wasn't warm enough to have us sweating, maybe because it disappeared behind the clouds. I looked up feeling a pull on the line, regaining my posture and started to reel it in.

"Do you even know what your doing?"

" what's the worse that can happen? " I asked pulling back the stick, before she could answer, the fish fell into her lap onto her papers fluttering around.

"This!" She screamed. " this is the worse that can happen!"

I started to laugh seeing her trying to evade the fluttering animal gasping for breath, her papers scattered over the hull of the boat. Laying the line down, I picked him up, slitting along the neck killing it. She sat back shaking her head. It was a good size trout for someone who hadn't fished in ages. My father use to take my brothers and I out every summer but I hated it. I hated having to wait for them to bite and I always caught only small fishes. I didn't have the patience to be a great Fisher man.

"Well I think Peter's just gonna love his present from you"

I looked up. Peter? I'd hear her say that name while she was sleeping.