She thinks we’re just fishing

 She Thinks We’re Just Fishing

By Riley Chambers

The ground was still a little wet from the light shower the night before when Sydnie squeezed her dad’s hand, her sandals soaking up dew from the tall grass and squeaking with every step toward the lake. She carried her favorite yellow fishing pole with both hands, like a knight guarding her treasure, while her father slung a pair of worn fishing rods over his shoulder.

"Think we'll catch anything today, Daddy?" she asked, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

"We might, Baby Girl." He smiled, kneeling down to help her set up her pole. "But if we don’t, we will just have to have a good time anyway."

Once her dad got everything settled, he put a worm on her hook simply because she said it was yucky, then spent the next ten minutes untangling her line after her first cast.

Standing on their favorite dock beside the marina, Sydnie reared her arm back and released her line like a cannonball, hoping to reach the deeper water. Only, she released the button just a little too soon, hurling her hook and bobber straight into the canopy of the nearby willow tree that cascaded over the boat slip. 

It was a little upsetting, but they figured it out and didn’t let it put a dark cloud over their day.

“Okay, baby girl,” her daddy said. “Let’s try that again. But this time, wait until your hand is right here.” He motioned toward the front of her head.

“Okay, Daddy,” she replied with a grin. “We want to catch fish, not leaves.”

She pushed the button once more, pulled her arm back, and released the line right where her daddy had shown her, sending it soaring out into the lake.

“I DID IT, DADDY!” she exclaimed with excitement. “It’s where the big ones are!”

“Yes, it is, baby girl,” her daddy said. “Now, we have to do the hard part. Wait.”

She didn’t have to wait long. Almost as soon as the line left the reel and hit the water, her bobber was already bouncing.

“Daddy… Daddy!” she said with such excitement. “The bobber is bouncing in the water! Do I have one? Do I have one?”

“As soon as the bobber goes completely underwater,” her daddy said, kneeling beside her, “that’s when you’ll know. Remember what I said the hard part is? The waiting.”

Sydnie held her breath, her small knuckles turning white as she gripped the yellow pole. The bright red-and-white plastic bobber bobbed once... twice... and then plunged beneath the dark water of the lake.

"NOW, BABY GIRL! PULL!" her dad cheered.

Sydnie yanked back with all her weight, bending the top of her little rod into a trembling curve. "I GOT ONE! DADDY, IT'S A BIG ONE!"

"Okay!" he said. “Keep the rod tip up and keep reeling it in.”

Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth with sharp concentration as her little fingers scrambled to turn the reel handle. A few yards out, the water exploded into a tiny spray as a dark green shape flipped near the surface, fighting against the line.

"I'm pulling! I'm pulling!" she chanted, her squeaky sandals almost slipping on the dock.

“It’s almost here,” her daddy said. “Keep reeling.”

Reaching toward the water just as the fish reached the edge, her dad grabbed the line with a quick lift and pulled the prize out of the lake—a huge bluegill flapping on the hook.

Sydnie let out a gasp, her eyes wide as an August Moon. "WE CAUGHT A MONSTER, DADDY!"

Her father laughed, his heart fluttering secretly with excitement for her, as he set the fish down safely on the wood of the dock. "We sure did, Baby Girl. See what happens when you catch fish instead of leaves?"

Sydnie leaned in close, hands tucked safely behind her back, staring at the flopping fish with a mix of awe and caution. "Is it going to bite me?"

"Not at all," he smiled, carefully unhooking the line and holding the bluegill steady. "It's a lot less yucky than the worm, I promise. Want to hold it before we let it go?"

She extended one tentative finger, brushing the wet, shiny scales with a giggle.

Her daddy gently released the fish back into the lake. As it splashed into the cool water and swam away, Sydnie immediately turned back to her yellow fishing pole, already talking about casting out for an even bigger monster.

She didn't notice the way her dad looked at her as he untangled her line one more time—cherishing the quiet truth that while she thought they were just fishing, he was holding onto a memory he'd keep forever.