A Very Meowy Christmas

by Patricia Fry

  “Dawdling?” Adam repeated. “That’s a funny word.”

  “Yeah,” Simon said, “what’s dawdling?”

  “Poking along slowly,” Peter said. “Taking your time. It’s the opposite of hurrying.”

  “Ohhh,” Simon said. “Well, it’s a funny word. Dawdling,” he repeated. He took a few big bites of his pancakes, then complained, “Why can’t Rags come fishing with us today?”

  “Where were you yesterday?” Savannah asked.

  “Huh? With you guys,” he said. “What do you mean?”

  “Did you not see how naughty Rags was down at the fishing spot? He just about wore me out trying to keep him out of trouble.”

  “I didn’t see that,” Adam said.

  Simon nudged him. “Yeah, we were busy fishing.” He asked Savannah, “What did he do?”

  “Oh, he just wouldn’t settle down. He wanted to follow you boys. When I’d walk with him to where you were fishing, he’d pull to go back up to Teddy.”

  “You should have just taken that rope off him,” Simon suggested. “Then you wouldn’t have to go wherever he wanted to go.”

  Adam stared at Savannah in anticipation of her response.

  Before she could speak, however, Simon continued talking. “I hope we catch something today.”

  “I’m pretty sure we will,” Michael said. “We’re going to get some of that super duper bait that fellow told us about yesterday. The fish can’t help themselves when they see one of those worms wriggling on your hook. Today’s fishing will be a slam dunk.”

  “I’m going to catch the biggest fish,” Simon announced.

  “No, I am,” Adam insisted.

  When the boys started fidgeting and poking at each other, Savannah suggested, “Hey, how about you two go wait for us outside. We’re almost finished.”

  Michael looked down at Lexie, who lay at his feet. He handed Adam the leash. “Here, take her with you.”

  “Stay close,” Rochelle called as the boys and the dog ran off.

  After kicking a few stones and examining a dead lizard with a stick, the boys sat on the steps of the wide porch to wait for the others. Adam reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of small stones. “See that square in the dirt where one of those cement step things is missing?”

  “Yeah,” Simon said.

  Adam tossed a pebble and it hit just right of the square. “Oops.” He poured a few pebbles into Simon’s hand. “Let’s see how many we can get inside there.”

  Minutes later, Simon squealed, “Yay. That’s three for me and two for you.”

  “Now I have three,” Adam announced seconds later.

  Simon grinned. “I’m just about to have four. Then I’ll be ahead again.”

  “Wait,” Adam said, nudging Simon.

  “What? Are you trying to make me miss? That’s not fair.”

  “No, look,” Adam hissed.

  “Oh, it’s that fur guy. What’s he doing?”

  “I don’t know,” Adam said. He stood up and suggested, “Let’s get closer.” The boys crept toward the man until Adam stopped. He pulled Simon back. “Let’s stay here. We can watch from here. I think he’s going to show those guys something in the back of his truck.”

  “Yeah,” Simon said. “I want to see what’s in there, too. Those other guys seem all excited. I wonder if it’s something dead.”

  “Listen,” Adam whispered.

  “And I put my traps damn near anywhere I want to no matter what the stupid rangers say,” the trapper bellowed. “I know where the fox dens are, and fox furs are prime in my business.”

  “How long have you been coming up here?” one man asked.

  “Long enough to get a lot of skins without getting caught. That’s how long. Now if you want success…” he laughed loudly, “you know, if you want to buy a classic truck like mine here, you gotta take some risks, but you also gotta know what you’re doing. So if you want the scoop, it’ll cost ya a thousand bucks and I need cash in hand. Are you in?” When the men hesitated, the trapper motioned toward his pickup. “You can see how successful I am. If you want to earn thousands every month, you need to know the ropes and I’m the only one around who can show ’em to you.”

  Suddenly the boys felt a hand on their shoulders, and both jumped nearly out of their skin. “Come on,” Michael said, “want to go fishing or are you going to stand there gawking all day?”

  “Dad,” Adam said, “you scared us.”

  “Scared you?” Michael asked. He glanced around and saw the men gathered around the suspected trapper’s truck. He frowned. “What were you doing, anyway?”

  “Nothing,” Adam said.

  Simon skipped to catch up with Peter saying, “Yeah, I’m ready to go fishing.” When he saw the others walking toward their cars, he asked, “Are we driving somewhere? What’s wrong with this river?”

  Peter draped his arm across the boy’s shoulders and walked with him toward the car. “Well, you don’t think the big fish are going to come around here where all these people are, do you? No, they’re going to run up stream where they can relax and we’re going to pay them a surprise visit. Come on, get loaded up. They won’t wait forever.”

  “What a pretty spot,” Rochelle said later as she sat in a beach chair alongside a quiet pool with Teddy on her lap.

  “Sure is,” Savannah said. “Want to fish? I’ll take him.”

  “No, I don’t have the patience for fishing. How about you?”

  “Yeah, I enjoy it sometimes.” Savannah smiled. “We didn’t get our fishing licenses, though, so I don’t think we’re legal.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Rochelle looked around. “There doesn’t seem to be enough fishing poles to go around, anyway, and I don’t see any of those guys offering theirs, do you?”

  Savannah laughed. “No, I don’t.”

  “Lily,” Michael called. “Want to hold Daddy’s fishing pole?”

  When the toddler balked, Savannah prompted, “Want to go fishing with Daddy?” She asked Michael, “Where’s her little pole?”

  “I thought I’d see if she is interested before I get it out.”

  Just then Simon let out a yelp. “Oh no,” he said, “oh no.”

  “What’s wrong?” Peter asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think I caught something.”

  “You did!” Adam shouted. He pointed. “I see a fish swimming around right where your bait was. I think he’s on your hook. Reel him up,” Adam insisted. “Reel him up.”

  “Huh?” Simon said.

  Peter chuckled. He handed his pole to Savannah, who had walked forward with Lily, and he stood behind Simon. “Need help there?” he asked.

  “I can do it,” Simon said, taking hold of the reel handle.

  “Keep the pole tip up,” Michael called out.

  “Huh?” Simon said, as he continued to turn the handle. “Do you see my fish?”

  “Here it comes,” Peter said. “Keep reeling.” Seconds later, he called, “Got it!”

  Simon dropped the pole and ran to where Peter stood with a net, an almost six-inch trout flopping around inside. “That’s it?” he asked. When Peter nodded, he said, “Are you sure? It felt a whole lot bigger than that.”

  “Yeah, this one’s pretty small,” Michael said. “I think we’d better let him grow for another year.”

  “What?” Simon said. “What do you mean?”

  “Gotta throw him back,” Adam said. “If the fish is too small to cook and eat, you have to throw him back.”

  “That’s not fair,” Simon said. “Who says, anyway?”

  “The Department of Fish and Game and our morals,” Peter quipped.

  “What do you mean?” Simon grumbled.

  “What would you do with this fish, Simon?” Peter asked.

  “Um…”

  “He’s too small to cook and eat, like Adam said.”

  “We could get a fish bowl,” Simon suggested.

  Peter chuckled. “Yeah, and what
would you feed him? How would you care for him? Do you think he’d have a good life in an aquarium all by himself?”

  “I didn’t think about that,” Simon said. He asked Adam, “Do you throw away fish that you catch?”

  “No. I don’t throw them away,” Adam said, “but I might throw them back. If you can’t eat them—like you get too many to eat or it’s too small like that one, yeah, I throw them back into the water to give them another chance.”

  Simon looked down at the fish. “Can I keep my hook?”

  “Yes,” Peter said. “Look, you just snagged his lip, I think we can remove the hook without too much damage and we’ll just send him on his way.” He handed the fish to Simon. “Do you want to throw him in?”

  “Okay,” he said. “Good bye, little buddy. Thank you for the fun I had. Now go grow bigger and maybe we can keep you the next time we come up here fishing.”

  Peter and Rochelle grinned at each other, and Peter squeezed Simon’s shoulder. “That’s right.”

  Just then, Gladys squealed, “Oh-oh, a fish! Hey, Peter, you’ve got a fish on.”

  “Well, Gladys, what are you doing with my pole?” he joked.

  “Savannah had to chase after Teddy, so she handed it to me. Oh my, it’s a big one. Want your pole back?” she asked, while walking along the bank with the fish and continuing to reel him in.

  He removed his baseball cap and put it back on. “Looks like you’re doing a bang-up job there, Gladys. Stay with him.”

  “Okay, then,” she said, continuing to work the fish in.

  Minutes later everyone stood over the trout that lay on the bank.

  Gladys shook her head. “Well, that was a work-out.”

  “I can see why,” Michael said. “Look at the size of that thing.”

  “Gosh, he must be the great-great-granddaddy of Simon’s fish,” Adam said.

  “Yeah, that one will feed the whole group of us,” Peter quipped.

  “Well, let’s put him on the stringer, then, and see if we can catch his brother,” Michael suggested.

  “Wow,” Simon said to Adam. “I didn’t know your grandmother could fish like that.”

  ****

  A couple of hours, later Michael announced, “Well, we have enough trout for a meal tonight. Shall we head back to the cabin and clean these fish?”

  “Clean them?” Simon repeated. “They live in water; they should be clean enough.”

  “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Gladys said, chuckling.

  Adam grinned at Gladys. “The person who catches the biggest fish has to clean them. Did you know that, Grammy?”

  She pulled him to her by the shoulders. “I suppose you think I’ve never cleaned a fish before. Well, I certainly have.”

  “You have?” he asked. “You cut a fish open and took out its guts?”

  “What?” Simon squealed. “That’s gross. Why would you do that?”

  “Do you want to eat fish guts?” Peter asked.

  “No,” the boy insisted.

  “Then you have to take the guts out of the fish. That’s what’s known as cleaning the fish.”

  Simon looked down at their catch. “Oh. I guess there’s more to fishing than I thought.”

  “Don’t worry,” Michael said, “I’ll show you how to clean these fish so you’ll know how when you catch the biggest fish tomorrow.”

  “Thanks,” Simon said, frowning skeptically.

  “So, Gladys, you’re the jackpot winner, are you?” Peter said.

  “I guess I am, sort of unintentionally. All I did was hold your pole while you helped Simon with his fish.”

  “Oh, it had to be your expertise,” Michael said. “Peter held that pole for forty minutes before that without a bite. He hands it to you and bam! And the skill with which you brought that baby in—I mean, wow!” Michael picked up the poles and the bucket of fish. “Well, let’s get back to the cabin and see what Rags is up to, shall we?” He motioned to the dog. “Come on, Lexie.”

  ****

  The men and the boys were working together to clean and filet the fish when Adam said, “Dad, about that fur man.”

  “Adam, let’s not concern ourselves with him, shall we? It’s likely that he’s in a business that we don’t understand and it’s probably legal and there’s nothing we can do about it. Why don’t we shelve the subject and enjoy our vacation, okay?”

  “But Dad, we heard…”

  “Adam,” Michael said compassionately, “it’s an ugly business and I don’t want you thinking about it.”

  Adam grimaced in frustration. “Okay, Dad.”

  Minutes later, Simon drifted away from the fish-cleaning operation and up to the table where the women and small children were coloring. He pointed. “That’s a Christmas tree, Teddy. You should make the lights all different colors. I wonder if they’re twinkle lights. I like twinkle lights on Christmas trees.” He tilted his head. “Savannah, has Teddy ever seen a Christmas tree?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but he was just six months old, so he wasn’t terribly impressed and probably doesn’t remember it.”

  Rochelle asked, “Will you have one this year—I mean, when you get home? You’ll have just a few days…”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said, “we usually put our tree up and decorate the house at least by the second week in December.” She shook her head. “Not this year.” She glanced at Lily and Teddy and spoke more quietly. “We may break tradition and put up the t-r-e-e on X-m-a-s eve.”

  “My folks did it that way for a while,” Rochelle said. “It was such a nice Christmas morning surprise. But helping to decorate was also a lot of fun.”

  Simon sat down next to Rochelle. “Will we have a Christmas tree?”

  She patted his arm. “We sure will, if you want one.”

  “Yes,” Simon said.

  Savannah smiled. “I love Christmas decorations, too, but here it is just a week away from Christmas and we don’t have any decorations.” She pouted. “Now I feel sad.”

  “You’re sad, Mommy?” Lily said. “Why are you sad, Mommy?”

  “Because we don’t have any Christmas decorations. I’d like to have Christmas decorations, wouldn’t you guys?”

  Simon looked puzzled. “Where would we get some? Will you drive home to get them?”

  Savannah tapped him affectionately on the end of his nose. “No. I brought some.” She walked into the living room and opened a box. “Look, Christmas lights. We have Christmas lights.”

  “Cool,” Simon said.

  “Yay,” Adam said, joining them, “but did you bring a tree?”

  “We’re in a forest,” Simon said, play punching Adam.

  “Oh, that’s right. Did we bring a saw? Can we just go saw down any tree we want?” Adam asked.

  “I don’t know about that,” Michael said. “We’d better check with the rangers first.”

  “Or we could maybe find a pine or fir branch that fell off a tree naturally and use that as our Christmas tree,” Rochelle suggested.

  “We could do that?” Adam asked. “Make a Christmas tree out of a branch?”

  “The right branch, yes,” Peter said. He motioned with one arm. “We don’t have a lot of room in here for a large tree.”

  “Will we be here for Christmas?” Simon asked.

  Savannah shook her head. “No, but I think it would be fun to celebrate Christmas with each other while we’re here. What do you kids think?”

  “Where will we buy the presents?” Adam asked. “Did you bring presents, Savannah?”

  She chuckled. “No.”

  Rochelle jumped a little with excitement. “How about if we make gifts for each other?”

  “Out of what?” Adam asked. “Are there craft stores up here?”

  “You don’t need a craft store,” Peter said. “You’re in the biggest store in the world.”

  “And everything’s free,” Michael added.

  “Huh?” Simon questioned.

  “Yeah,” Peter said, “the fore
st has everything you could possibly want to use in crafting gifts—seeds, pods, cones, grass, flowers, reeds, rocks, fiber…”

  “Weeds, needles, leaves…” Michael added.

  “Animal poop,” Adam said, laughing. He explained, “Savannah showed us rabbit poop and maybe coyote poop.”

  “Oh,” Simon said, “feathers. I saw a cool feather today.” He squinted in thought. “So you’re going to make our gifts?”

  Savannah winked at him. “How about we all make gifts for each other?”

  “Make eight presents?” Simon complained. “We won’t have any time to go fishing or hiking.”

  More excitedly Rochelle said, “We can draw names and each of us can create a gift for one person.”

  “Yeah, I like that better,” Gladys agreed.

  “Okay,” Simon said. “I know how to make a slingshot. Benny taught me.”

  “Where would you get the stretchy part?” Adam asked.

  “Oh,” Simon lamented, “I didn’t think of that.” He asked, “Do we have glue?”

  “That’s one thing I did bring,” Savannah said. “Glue and glitter, construction paper, crayons, and markers—you know, Sharpies.”

  “Paint?” Simon asked.

  “No need for store-bought paint,” Peter said. “Nature’s full of what we need to make our own paint.”

  “Cool,” Savannah said. “You can give us a lesson in making paint.” She sat up straighter. “Maybe I can show the kids how to fashion things out of pinecones and pine needles. I sat in on a lesson for the preschoolers last year at a church day camp.” She nodded toward Rochelle. “And you can show us how to craft jewelry.”

  “Jewelry?” she squealed. “Out of leaves and grass and pine needles?”

  Savannah grinned. “Maybe small stones, petrified tree bark, acorns…”

  “Yeah, if we had some gold plating, maybe.” Rochelle grinned. “Next time I’ll come better prepared.”

  “What about Teddy?” Adam asked. “What can he make?”

  Simon giggled. “Poop in his diaper.”

  “That’s gross,” Adam said.

  “Yeah, I saw him make a mess with his Cheerios yesterday,” Simon said.

  “I’ll help Teddy make something,” Savannah suggested. “We want him to receive a gift, so I’ll make sure he has one to give.”