Adam Blake - 110. Chapter 110

“Adam, what are you going to do?”

“The first thing is to have their mother get sole custody. Then I’ll give you some money, you take them home, have them get a thorough physical, haircuts, dental examinations and new clothes. I think we need a caregiver here at the cabin. I’ll leave a couple of men here to make sure no one bothers them. They will take them grocery shopping as well. I’ll probably be here weekends so I’ll make sure everything is ok.”

While I waited for Hans to return. I took Billy over to get Marie’s boat. “Billy, you take a crew in that boat, Scotty, you take a crew in my boat. As soon as everyone has a fish, head back and take a new crew. Those who don’t fish today will fish tomorrow.”

I watched as they took off, Gerry took some boys to the compost pile and began to gather worms. We would need a lot of bait. Dad took some of the boys for a dandelion hunt and they had to pick some wildflowers. I used the moose call to let Dad know a boat was headed in. He’d send the boys back to fill the boat.

I showed the boys how to clean their fish, some of the boys had learned on previous trips so they also helped. The new boys watched as the small fishes and crabs came to eat what was tossed back. By 11 we had enough fish to start cooking, Caleb came and got the first bucket, I showed him where the water pump was and told him to rinse them well to get the lake taste off.

“Scotty came in with his boat, Johnny was on it. Once the fish were cleaned, Johnny took them to rinse them and then took them to the kitchen. Now two boats were reloaded and back out. Johnny came out with a piece of fish wrapped in a paper towel. He broke off a piece and handed it to the fish cleaners. It got their approval. Mom sent Dad over to Marie’s and brought over a deep fryer, fish, and chips were going to be dinner.

Just as the second boat headed out with Jer on it, Hans was back. I looked at their mother, you could tell at one time she was an attractive woman, Mom, to the rescue.

Abe came down to the lake, he saw Jer and waved just as Jer pulled in a fish. A Nice size one as well. The boat headed back. “Billy, dinner will be soon, so why don’t we wait till after dinner before we take the next load of boys fishing.” Billy led the boys to the water pump, boys being boys, they ended up soaked. Didn’t matter, they would dry quickly in the sun.

I watched Abe and Jer, they were talking. I saw Abe pull Jer in and hold him. I could tell Jer was crying as his shoulders shook. Once I saw that Jer had quieted down, I went to talk to them.

“Sir, what is going to happen to us?”

I sat on the steps and pulled each one to sit beside me. “Your mother is going to stay here at the cabin and take care of it for us. You are going to stay here as well, there is a lot of little things that needed to be done. Logs are needed and cut up for the fireplace and the fire circle at the chalets. The grounds need to be policed when there is a hard rain or wind. But most important, here you’ll go to school. I have internet capability, you’ll sign up for online school.”

“What is going to happen to my pa?”

“That is hard to say. He has a sickness that only he can cure. Until he decides to cure himself, there’s not much we can do.”

“Is the sickness that makes him drunk when he drinks from that jug?”

“Yes, Jer, that’s the sickness”

“He wasn’t like that all of the time. Why did he change?”

“I’m told he lost his job and that’s when he began to drink a lot.”

“Yes, I remember that. He came home and was angry. He said his boss told him he was a drunk and fired him. From then on he always had that jug with him.”

“One of my men will make sure he has some food.”

Just then his mother came out, she introduced herself. “I can’t thank you for what you are doing for my family and me.”

“Evelyn, no thanks are needed. You have two fine-looking boys here and we’re going to make sure they get an education so that can have great jobs.”

Dinner was fantastic, the fish was crisp and flavorful. The chips weren’t as greasy as I expected. The boys were happy. “Gerry, after dinner I want Anton to go fishing with Billy, ok.”

Once the boys ate everything they could, including Jer and Abe. Mom and Evelyn helped Caleb and Gaston to clean up.

“We sat for a few minutes as we saw a fish jump out of the water. Billy and Scotty headed to the boats with the boys who hadn’t fished yet. I told Billy about Anton and make sure he and Gerry were in the same boat. I watched as the first two in Billy’s boat were Anton and Gerry.

I smiled as they headed out to the center of the lake. I ran inside and got my camera. I wanted a picture of Anton with his fish. Mom came and stood by me, “Are you happy, Adam?”

“More than ever, I have wonderful boys, wonderful friends, wonderful family, and a wonderful wife. No man can ask for more.”

I got a squeeze as I saw Anton’s line jiggle, I set the camera and watched through the camera as he pulled the fish up. He held it up as I snapped the picture. I’m not sure who smiled more, Gerry or Anton. “He’s going to be a great Prince. He cares.”

“You know Mom, there are times when I think I’ll never have enough love for my children. I give so much love to these boys, away from their families and having minimal contact and yet they are caring and supportive. They give me their love so unselfishly.”

“That didn’t take long.”

“Mom, the fish always bite better in the evening. How many times have we sat on the porch and listen as they jumped for bugs.”

“Hans, can you go and help Anton. Bring him and his fish to the table.”

I went and waited as the boys brought their fish to the table. I laid some paper on the corner of the table, Hans sat him on the paper. I took a picture of him and his fish. The boys started to clean the fish, those who know how, did their own. Gerry brought his fish over, he was going to clean it, “I’ll clean your fish. You can feed the crabs and let Anton see them. Then I’ll clean his fish and he can sit on the dock with his feet in the lake.”

Gerry smiled, he knew small fishes would come and nibble on his toes. Hans sat Anton next to Gerry on the dock. It wasn’t long when we heard the giggles. He said something to Gerry and then he was giggling as well. To me, this was a beautiful sound.

“Sir, do we have time for another trip?”

“Yes, I think they are biting and so it shouldn’t take long.”

And it didn’t, it seemed no sooner was the line in the water than they were pulling up fish. The boats came in, fish unloaded, boys busy cleaning, fish in a tub heading to the water pump for rinsing.

Supper was a soup and assorted sandwiches. I showed Hans a picture of a picnic table on the computer. That was all he needed because I knew next time we would be here, there would be picnic tables.

After supper, we decided to take a walk. Walking up the mountain we saw a few rabbits and squirrels. The kids tried to chase them, no luck. I watched Gerry, he sat next to Anton on the grass and pulled a carrot from his pocket. He said something in a whisper to Anton, who took the carrot. Gerry got up and moved back with the rest of us. I knew what he was doing, Scotty did the same thing when he was a lot younger. Anton sat still, holding out the carrot. I saw a rabbit peek out of the bushes by a tree. Anton was as still as a statute, the rabbit cautiously crept toward Anton, wigging his nose all of the time. As he approached Anton, the rabbit smelled the carrot and then turned and ran, but not all the way back. He hopped back and smelled the carrot again. He took a nibble, then dashed off again. He did this several times, slowly he came and sat in front of Anton and nibbled on the carrot. I wanted to see Anton’s face but I didn’t want to chase the rabbit away.

We waited until Anton dropped the carrot, Hans move to pick up Anton, the rabbit took off. I knew he would be back to finish off that carrot. On the way back to the cabin, Anton was talking a mile a minute. “Dad, he’s so excited. He can’t stop talking about the fishing and feeding the rabbit.”