Over Commer

8 ~ Fishin'

Five am came by rather quickly. I had a hard time sleeping because I was nervous, I had never been fishing before, and I was afraid I wouldn't wake up on time. I met Richard downstairs in the kitchen, where he was busy packing a cooler with drinks and sandwiches.

"I was just about to come up there and see if you were awake," he said upon seeing me. "Do you have a winter jacket? It gets extremely chilly out on the open water, especially this early in the morning."

"I don't, but I'll be fine."

'No, you won't.  Let me see what I can find for you." Richard went over to the garage entryway and rummaged around in a closet. He came back moments later and produced to me an unflattering grey winter jacket, that looked way too big for me. "Here, it's Cameron's extra one, but I'm sure he won't mind."

I grimaced as I took the jacket from him, put it on, and then followed him out to his truck parked in the garage. I sat in the passenger seat up front and took in the lake as we traveled the short trip to the marina. The sun was not yet out, and the air was indeed a bit chilly, but my pride made me not say anything to Richard about him being right.

The marina was bustling with other fishermen at this time in the morning. We headed over to a mid-sized fishing vessel by the name of 'Little Piece of Haven" to board. When we did set sail, I was grateful for the jacket of Cameron's that I was now wearing. The sea air was crisp, and windy enough that it was spraying mists of water up around us. I closed the hood of the jacket around my head so that only my eyes were peeking out. I could hear Richard give a small chuckle as he stood beside me.

After a good twenty minutes the vessel slowed down, we were past where the water was frozen over, and then came to a stop. The fishing guide helped out baiting salmon hooks with smelt and showed the few of us who didn't know how, how to cast out and fish. At first it freaked me out putting the live smelt on the hooks, but before long I had the hang of it. When I got my first bite I was so perplexed that I was unsure of what to do next. I stood there dumbfounded, just watching as more of my line unraveled.

"Jerk your pole up and real that sucker in!" the guide instructed, as he was trying to demonstrate what to do with his own pole.

I did as he said, but found it hard fighting against the massive fish. "I can't!" I shouted, "I must not be doing this right!"

Richard placed his pole in a holder and rushed over to me. He stood behind me, took ahold of my hands and the reel, and helped me bring the fish in. It was a massive 30-inch, 20-pound chinook salmon!

"Holy crap!" I yelled excitedly as I was jumping up and down. "That was a rush!"

We stayed out there for a few more hours, just trolling around, and doing some more fishing. I caught three more salmon all by myself, but none of them were nearly as large as the first one. Dad caught only two, but I think he was more invested in helping me out than getting his own. It felt really good spending that time with him, and being able to talk to him in a more relaxed environment. At home, he seemed too stuffy and uptight about everything.

"You're mother was a very beautiful and adventurous woman, but she could never really get used to the life that I was living. She despised the cold weather and missed the sunshine.  We met one year when I was out in California on a business proposition for my father's company.  She was only seventeen at the time and still In high school.  I was six years older than her and had just finished my master's in college.  She was waitressing at a small diner that I had stopped in, and I was instantly infatuated with her.  We began seeing each other behind her parents' backs because she didn't want them to make a big fuss about our age difference.  When I had to return home we broke things off, as neither of us thought a long-distance relationship would work out."

"Well there's obviously more to this story, or I wouldn't be standing here right now," I laughed.

Dad chuckled, "Well let me finish!" He placed his fishing pole in a holder and came over to stand next to me at the rail of the boat. He leaned down on the railing and looked back at me. "We still loved to talk and send letters to each other, and after she graduated high school and turned eighteen I flew her out to see me here. We decided to give our relationship another go, and she decided to remain out here in Michigan. We were a little careless, and before we knew any better she was pregnant with your brother Cameron. Back then, the right thing to do was to step up and take responsibility for our actions, so we had a shotgun wedding down at the courthouse. Her parents were furious and wanted her to do what they thought was right, and abort her pregnancy. We obviously did not do what they wanted, and went through with having Cameron."

Dad sighed, and he looked lost as if he was remembering something from the past. "I could tell over the next few years that her parents were taking a toll on her and how she was feeling about everything. Eight years, and two more babies later, we found out she was pregnant again with you and Riker. She was extremely unhappy, and postpartum set in soon after you two were born. Then it was not talked about or treated in any manner, and it was decided that we would part ways, she going back to California, but with only you in tow.  We divorced, and I raised the boys with help from my wonderful mother. I still supported you and your mother and sent money monthly so she would always be able to make it in life. She for some reason did not want you to know about us, as she wanted to keep your life as simple as possible, but the guys grew up knowing about you." He confessed how much he loved my mother, but she just could not get used to the busy life that they had when they were together.  

This whole current situation was hard on him as well, and adding to the fact that he had never had to raise a girl, a teenage girl at that, he was extremely uptight about everything. We both agreed that we would help each other out and figure this out together.

When we returned to shore, we brought our catch to a fish cleaning station located right by the marina and were able to watch them be cleaned and filleted. Back at the truck Dad pulled out the cooler and passed me a sandwich and a pop to drink. Only then did he pull his phone from his pocket and turn it back on, only to be greeted by numerous texts, missed calls, and frantic voicemails from all of my brothers. Dad tried calling Cameron first, but when he didn't pick up, he then called Beckett.

"Dad!" I could hear Beckett answer frantically, "We can't find Kelsey anywhere. We've been trying to get ahold of you all morning, why haven't you answered?"

"Chill, son!" Dad scolded. "She's been with me all morning, we went fishing out on the lake."

"Damn, dad! You had us all worried. Next time at least leave a note or something!"

"Sorry, Beck, it didn't even cross my mind. I'm always coming and going, and you all know that."

"Yes, but now you, us, have another being that we need to be accountable for! When are you coming home?"

"We'll be back soon, we're just finishing up our lunch now." After hanging up the phone, Dad turned towards me with a laugh. "I thought I was the parent here?" he chuckled.

Back at home everyone seemed to be relieved to see us. Dad told them all about our fishing adventure and even bragged up my first catch. Everyone seemed genuinely happy for me and even asked me questions and how was it fishing for the first time.

Dad let me be ungrounded, and the guys all tried to include me in a small football game out in the yard. At first, they were all very careful with me, trying not to hurt me, but then realized I was a bit tougher than I looked to be.

The rest of the weekend flew by, and before I knew it was Monday, I was getting myself ready for school all over again.