Summer of the Loon

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

  "I'm heading down to the boat. Hurry on down. I'll be turning off the generator in a minute," he told her.

  Ali literally ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth before the water pump turned off. She didn't want to go all day without clean teeth. The lights snapped off just as she was finishing. It grossed her out that she wasn't able to flush the toilet, but there was nothing she could do about it. Not having electricity on all the time sucked.

  Ali stepped outside, her flashlight held tightly in her hand. She couldn't see a thing in the dark. The air was chilly and nipped at her face and hands. She hoped she'd be warm enough out on the water. Who in their right mind goes fishing before sunrise? Ali picked her way carefully down the gravel road to her grandfather's dock, her flashlight beam leading the way.

  "Hop in. Let's get going," Ben said when Ali stepped onto the dock.

  Ali ran her flashlight over the boat. This was the first time she'd seen it close up. It was fairly large, maybe sixteen or seventeen feet long, had a full-length windshield, and four seats in back and one seat up in front of the windshield. From what she could see, it was black on the outside and gray on the inside, but in the dark, it was hard to tell. The motor on the back looked huge to Ali. She had no experience with boats, but it looked big enough to speed across the lake without ever touching the water. One thing was certain—her grandfather wasn't cheap when it came to his boat.

  Ali gingerly stepped down onto the side bench in the boat and then onto the floor. The boat rocked back and forth from her weight.

  "Can you swim?" Ben asked.

  Ali's brows rose. "Uh, yes. Why?"

  "If we swamp the boat, it's good to know you can swim."

  "Are we going to swamp the boat?" Ali asked, not sure if he was teasing or serious.

  "Not if I can help it," Ben said. "Here." He handed her a life jacket. "It will save you if you fall in. It'll help keep you warm, too."

  Ali slipped on the bulky life jacket and snapped it tight. Her grandfather stood from his seat at the wheel and helped her adjust the vest tabs so it fit properly. This was the closest he'd ever stood next to her. Ali could smell his spicy aftershave. He smells like a grandfather. She smiled up at him, but he didn't smile back.

  "Don't want it sliding off if you fall in," he said gruffly. "Now, sit down and let's go."

  No sooner had Ali sat in the seat across from her grandfather then he turned the key and the boat motor came to life. He stood, untied the front and back of the boat, then backed out from the dock. Soon, they were buzzing across the lake at a rapid speed that scared the life out of Ali.

  After a few minutes, the boat slowed to a crawl.

  "Here we are," Ben said. "I want to try this spot and see how it is before I bring any of the fishing groups out here."

  Ali stared over at him. It was still dark out, but her eyes had adjusted enough to see him clearly. "How did you know where you were going in the dark?" she asked, her heart still pounding from the fast ride across the lake.

  "I've been driving on this lake since I was a kid. Know it like the back of my hand," Ben said.

  "Even when you can't see the back of your hand in the dark?" Ali asked.

  Ben shook his head. "Let's just get to fishing. Do you know how to bait a hook?"

  Ali frowned at him. "I've never been fishing. Ever."

  Ben just shook his head again and got to work. He pulled out two fishing rods from a side compartment then reached into a bucket on the floor and pulled out a minnow to bait Ali's hook. "Pay attention to how I do this," he told her. "I'm not baiting your hook every time you lose a minnow."

  Ali watched as he pushed the hook through the middle of the small, silver minnow. The thing wiggled and squirmed, and she thought she was going to be sick.

  "You want me to kill one of those little fish like that? Gross."

  Ben rolled his eyes. "It's bait. It's a minnow. That's what they're for. How the heck do you expect to catch a fish without something on your hook?" He handed her the fishing rod, making sure it was pointed out over the side. "Now, this is how you use the reel. This little lever moves over and releases the line. When you've let out enough line, you move it back and it'll stop. Don't let it go too slack, though. It'll tangle up the line. This little handle is how you reel in the line. Got it?"

  Ali nodded. "Aren't I supposed to toss the line far out into the water? That's what they do on all those fishing shows."

  "Not today," Ben said. "We'll work on casting another day. Just let the line out until you feel it hit the bottom, then stop it and reel it up a roll or two. You don't want your bait lying on the bottom, you want it floating where the fish are."

  Ali did as he said. She dropped the line until she felt it stop and start to go slack, then reeled it up a little. "How do you know that there are fish here?"

  Ben had already baited his hook and cast his line out into the water. "Because I know all the good spots on this lake," he said, sounding superior. Then, to Ali's surprise, he chuckled. "Plus, my fish locater here tells me there are fish right under us." He pointed to a small screen that was bolted to the dashboard of the boat. On the TV-like screen, Ali saw little cartoon fish of all sizes swimming by.

  Ali smirked. "So, you do like technology."

  "When it's useful, like for catching fish, I do."

  They sat in silence for a while with Ben casting out his line every now and again. The motor chugged quietly as they moved slowly across the water.

  Ali sat, her fishing pole held firmly in her hand. She had no idea what she was doing. "How will I know when a fish tries to eat my bait?"

  "You'll feel a little tug on the line, just the tiniest nibble. When you feel that, just hold still until it nibbles again. Walleyes like to inspect their food before they open wide and suck it in. That's why you feel the nibble. The fish will barely touch the minnow, then it will strike. So, when you feel the second tug, that's when you want to pull up fast with your rod and hook it." Ben showed what he meant by jerking his rod up high in one swift motion.

  Ali sat quietly for some time, concentrating on feeling a tiny nibble. She had trouble believing that a fish in this wide-open lake would actually choose her minnow to latch onto. It seemed to her like finding a needle in a haystack.

  The sun was slowly rising, casting a golden gleam over the water. Ali was finally able to see around her, and was surprised when she couldn't see the house or the lodge. Her grandfather had said there were several coves on the lake, so she assumed they were off in one of them. The water was still, the sky peaceful. She began to understand why her grandfather enjoyed his early mornings out on the lake. It was the perfect place to sit, relax, and reflect.

  "Jo said you've been working since you were twelve," Ben said, interrupting her thoughts as he cast out his line again.

  Ali shrugged. "Yeah."

  "Was there a reason for that?"

  Ali looked up at him, wondering what he was getting at. "Just wanted my own money, that's all."

  Ben nodded. "Well, that's a good thing. So, what is it that my Jen did out there? What kind of work, I mean."

  Ali stared at the end of her fishing rod as if she was more interested in fishing than the conversation. "She worked as a secretary sometimes. Sometimes she worked at a store. Jobs weren't always easy to get and keep."

  Ben looked over at Ali and frowned. "Jen was always a hard worker. She did well in school and always helped out at the lodge. I'm surprised she didn't find more permanent work."

  "She did the best she could," Ali said defensively.

  "I'm sure she did," Ben said. "Yep. My Jen was a hard worker, always was. And she sure liked to fish and hunt, too. Why, she'd beg to not have to cook and clean at the lodge so she could go out on the fishing tours with me instead. My Lizzie just said to let her go along. It was better than forcing her to work at something she didn't enjoy. Did your mom ever mention how she and I went out fishing every morning?"

  Ali shook her head. She was relieved the conversat
ion had turned from what her mother did in California to when she was younger. "No. She hardly ever said anything about her childhood or this place."

  Ben wrinkled his brow. "Hmmm. That surprises me. My Jen loved the mornings on the lake. She'd always come back with a stringer of fish. We'd have a competition on who'd catch the most walleye, and she almost always won."

  Ali sat a moment, trying to picture her mom as a young girl or teen who hung out with her father and fished. They probably laughed and teased each other, like fathers and daughters do. It made Ali sad, because she'd never had the chance to have a relationship like that with her own father. Ali didn't even know who her father was.

  "I like that you call my mom and grandmother what you do. My Jen and my Lizzie. I bet it made them feel good to have someone feel that way about them," Ali said, wondering how it would feel to have someone claim her as lovingly as that.

  Ben sat silent and didn't respond.

  Ali turned and looked at her grandfather. He was staring out at the lake.

  "Did I say something wrong?" Ali asked.

  Ben slowly shook his head. "No. I was just thinking how that term didn't always go over well. When she got older, your mom told me that it made her feel as if I owned her by calling her my Jen. I didn't mean it that way, but I guess now I can understand how she felt."

  Ali didn't know what to say. Her grandfather seemed upset, and she didn't want to make things worse. She sat, concentrating on her line. Suddenly, she felt a tiny tug on the end of the pole. Ali held her breath. Was a fish actually nibbling on her bait? She waited, holding her rod very still. The tug came again, and this time Ali pulled up hard on the line, just like her grandfather had told her to do. The line went taut, and suddenly something was pulling at the rod in her hand.

  "I got one!" Ali yelled.

  Ben turned. He lay down his own rod and came over beside her. "Reel it in slowly. Let it give you some fight, but not too much. I'll get the net."

  Ben opened up the center of the windshield and reached through to pick up the large fishing net. He came up beside Ali again and got the net ready by the side of the boat to grab the fish.

  "Oh, my God! It's really fighting. I can't reel it up," Ali shrieked.

  "Just reel it in slowly. Hang on tight to the rod. Get it up here and I'll grab it with the net," Ben said, excitement rising in his voice.

  Ali reeled and reeled, but it seemed to take forever to bring the fish up. Finally, she could see it just below the surface of the water.

  "Yep. You have a keeper. It's a walleye. Pull up on the rod so I can get the net under it," Ben told her.

  Ali pulled, but she had trouble getting the fish to go where she wanted.

  "Come on, girl. Pull it up before we lose it," Ben hollered.

  "I'm trying. You don't have to yell at me," Ali shouted back angrily.

  For a second, Ben stared at her with his eyes narrowed, but then his face softened a bit and he said in a kinder tone. "Sorry. I know you're trying. Let's get this fish in."

  Ali concentrated on the fish again and this time when she tugged, it lifted up high enough so Ben could get the net under it. She reeled in carefully so the line wouldn't tangle while he lifted the fish up into the boat.

  "Now, that's a fine fish you caught," Ben said, smiling. He grabbed a pair of long nosed pliers and a rag and wrapped his hand around the middle of the fish. Carefully, he pulled the hook out of the fish's mouth with the pliers. "Good thing I filled the live well with water. This one's going home with us." Ben opened a trap door in the front of the boat and dropped the fish inside. Immediately, the fish began splashing in the shallow water.

  Ali's eyes shone bright. "That was fun. Do they always fight like that?"

  Ben chuckled. "Sometimes. Wait till you catch a northern pike, then you'll have a fight on your hands."

  "I can't wait," Ali said.

  Ben picked up her hook and put a fresh minnow on it. "Okay, go at it. With you in the boat, we're going to fill out our limit in no time."

  Ali smiled wide.

  ***

  By the time Ben and Ali made it to the lodge for breakfast, Ali had caught two more fish and Ben had caught one. They were joking and laughing on their way into the kitchen.

  "Look at what Ali caught this morning," Ben said, holding up the stringer of fish. "I'd say we have a natural fisherwoman here."

  Jo ran over to see the fish while Chase smiled at them from the stove where he was stirring the scrambled eggs and flipping bacon. "Oh, my goodness. Those are nice looking fish. Ali, you caught your own supper. Isn't that amazing?"

  Ali smiled in response, then quickly washed her hands and started helping Jo with breakfast.

  Ben couldn't have been prouder if he'd caught all the fish himself. Not only had Ali done a good job on her first day of fishing, but she seemed to have enjoyed being out there, too. He was in high spirits. Maybe having his granddaughter living with him wasn't going to be so bad after all.

  "After breakfast, you need to have Jo issue you a fishing permit," Ben told Ali. "I don't want to be caught on the lake with you fishing illegally, now that we know you're so good at it."

  Ali looked over at her grandfather and nodded.

  Ben left the kitchen to place the fish in the sink in the fish cleaning house, washed his hands thoroughly, then returned to the kitchen. Jo, Chase, and Ali had already served the men in the other room and were just getting ready to sit down and eat their own breakfast. Ali brought over the pot of coffee as Ben sat down and poured some into his mug.

  "Thanks, Ali," Ben said cheerfully.

  Jo, Chase, and Ali looked at the usually grumpy old man with surprise registered on their faces, but didn't say a word.

  The foursome ate their hearty breakfast amidst tales of Ali's first fishing day, mostly told by Ben.

  "You should have seen her out there," Ben boasted. "She was all squeamish about baiting her hook, but after her second catch, she baited that hook all by herself and caught the third one. Yep. I think she's moved over to the dark side. She's becoming a true northern Minnesota girl."

  Ali grinned, looking embarrassed at all the attention.

  "Sounds like you two had a fun time," Jo said. "See, Ben. Having someone along was actually fun for a change. Wasn't it?" Jo winked at Ben, but he pretended to ignore her.

  "Ali can come out with me anytime she wants," Ben said, looking over at his granddaughter. "She's good luck."

  Ali beamed, pleased at the praise Ben was showering on her.

  They joked and laughed a while longer, then Chase got up to bring more food out to the men in the dining room and Ali followed with the coffee pot to refill their mugs. Soon, all four of them were busy in the kitchen, bringing in dirty plates and platters, rinsing dishes and pans, and stacking the dishwasher trays. Jo started packing a lunch for Ben and the men he was taking out fishing. Working at the sink by the steamy dishwasher, Ali grew warm, so she pulled off the heavy sweatshirt she'd worn fishing and hung it on the coat hooks by the door. Underneath, she'd worn a basic, scoop necked T-shirt that fit her figure perfectly without being too tight. She walked back over to the sink, not noticing the three pairs of eyes following her. In the two days Ali had been here, she'd worn a sweatshirt, and this was the first time Chase and Jo had seen how slender and shapely she was. Chase stopped scraping the plate over the garbage and stared at her.

  Jo saw the expression on her teenage son's face and looked like she was going to break out into laughter. She turned back to packing up the lunch.

  "Oh, boy," Ben grumbled.

  Ali turned from the sink at her grandfather's words. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking confused.

  "Put your eyes back in your sockets, boy," Ben said gruffly. "Haven't you ever seen a girl before?"

  Ali blushed and turned back toward the sink. Chase turned crimson and went back to scraping the plate, but only managed to drop it into the garbage can and had to retrieve it from the gooey, sticky mess.

  Ben look
ed over at his granddaughter then back at Chase and rolled his eyes. It all came back to him why he hadn't wanted to deal with a teenage girl living here. Girls who looked like Ali could get into trouble real fast. He'd lived it once already. He didn't want to live through it again. With a disgusted sigh, Ben left the room.

  Chapter Seven

  Ali and Jo spent the morning and afternoon going over details about the work Ali would be doing. Ben had left with four of the men to go out on one more fishing trip before they checked out and departed. Chase had disappeared into the fish cleaning house to clean the fish Ali and Ben had caught that morning. Ali didn't see him the rest of the morning or afternoon, and wondered if he was avoiding her because of what her grandfather had said to him. She'd been surprised at the fuss taking off her sweatshirt had caused. After all, she was wearing a decent T-shirt that wasn't offensive or skin tight like the ones her friends in California usually wore. Although, she had to admit that the look on Chase's face this morning had been both comical and flattering. He was a cute guy who was also friendly and sweet, so the fact that he thought she looked pretty enough to stare at was a compliment. But she knew immediately that her grandfather hadn't been amused. When he'd left, he'd had that same grumpy, disgusted look on his face that he generally wore. She had thought they'd made some headway this morning in their relationship, but now she felt they were back at square one, all because she took off her sweatshirt.

  Forgetting her grandfather, Ali concentrated on everything Jo told her. Ali wanted to do a good job for Jo because she really liked her and didn't want to disappoint her.

  "When the men get back from fishing, they'll pack up their gear and then we can get to work on their cabins. If they've caught any fish, Ben and Chase will clean them and pack them up in dry ice for the men to take home. That's when we're the busiest, when the guests check out and we have to get the cabins ready for the next guests."