The Big Snapper (8 page)

“Why did he want to take over the ship?” Eddie asks.

“It wasn't clear,” answers Granddad, “but I gathered from what was said that it was revenge. The men told me he was a terrible cook and they'd all been complaining. He made them eat liver and onions three times a week.

“Well, that gave me an idea. I knew I was no match for old Yellow-eye with his weapons and strong-arm tactics. I didn't say a word to anyone about my plan. When Mapface came around with our meal, sure enough, it was liver and onions. I ate it like I hadn't eaten in a week. I then called Mapface through the hole in the door and asked for a second helping. After that, I asked if I could give my compliments to the chef.”

“Was it really good?” asks Eddie.

Granddad scrunches his nose. “It was awful! I could hardly swallow the first plate let alone the second. But I had to make the best of a bad situation. I knew I had no choice but to stomach it if I was to get off that ship. Well, Mapface looked very confused at my request, but he opened the door and he had me follow him to the new captain's cabin. The yellow-eyed man was surprised to see me, of course. He dabbed his mouth with his bib and looked up from his dinner of lobster and small roasted potatoes. He spoke to
Mapface, ‘I thought I told you to stuff that one in the hold.' But before Mapface could answer, I stepped forward.

“‘It was a special request, sir. I asked that I be allowed to tell you directly what a scrumptious meal of liver and onions you serve. I enjoyed it so much I had a second helping. If this is how you treat your prisoners, I'll gladly remain one and hope that the same meal will be served every day.' Well, you can imagine that one eye blinked like the beacon in a lighthouse. Once the captain overcame his surprise, he asked, ‘You really liked it?'

“‘I most certainly did. All I can say is, I wish I could take you home to my mother and you could teach her how to cook like that.' The captain stood up. ‘Really? Because some of the men don't like my cooking. They say it isn't fit for pigs.'

“‘Boors,' I told him. ‘Only boors with no appreciation for the finer things in life would come out with a comment like that.' Well, that had the captain smiling and he immediately invited me to join him. Mapface set a chair and a place at the captain's table. I had an enjoyable meal of lobster and asparagus, and cream puffs for dessert.”

“How did you get off the ship?” Eddie asks.

“Well, once I'd finished my fourth cream puff, we took our Turkish coffee to the deck. That's when the captain asked if I'd like to join his new crew; he'd make me first mate. I said I was very grateful and appreciative to be asked, but Rick would be wondering where I was. I wasn't the type to leave a buddy high and dry. He nodded, saying that he understood. Although he was disappointed, he offered to take me back to Rose Spit.

“The island was still shrouded in mist when we landed, and I made my way across the rocks. I came up behind Rick through the fog. He turned. ‘What took you so long? I wanted to show you this sea urchin.' I bent down to look in the pool at what he'd found.”

Eddie is laughing.

“You see, Eddie. Sometimes you have to eat the liver and onions if you want the cream puffs for dessert.”

Fred drives Granddad and Grandma, along with Eddie, Jake, Mom, Peggy and Mrs. Greenshaw, to the airfield to see Granddad off. He is flying to the mainland because he is not strong enough to make the eight-hour trip by boat. Eddie had
already asked if he was afraid to fly because he had never been on an airplane. Granddad said that he wasn't. Grandma, however, was wearing her favorite sweater and her string of lucky pearls around her neck.

It is raining, of course, as they gather around to say goodbye and good luck to Granddad before he boards the small plane. But nobody notices, it is so much the way of the island and a part of their lives. They each hug Granddad and give him their best wishes. Eddie has a very hard time keeping the tears from falling when it is his turn, but he doesn't want to give Granddad another reason to worry. He must let him think that he is strong and that he is able to look after things while he is gone. He must let him think he's almost a man.

“Good luck, Granddad.” Eddie holds Granddad tight. His face twitches from the effort to keep back the tears.

“I love you,” Granddad tells him. “Don't you worry, everything will be all right.”

Eddie hopes with all his heart that it will be. But now, as Granddad squeezes back, Eddie is surprised at how really thin Granddad has become and how his arms have lost their strength.

Dr. Bloom, a university professor, arrives late that afternoon. Eddie is glad their new guest is only one person, and a quiet one at that. Dr. Bloom says he has come to study the many varieties of plants on the islands. He tells Eddie there are over three hundred different types of moss alone, and there are species of ferns that date back to dinosaur times. This makes where Eddie lives very special.

Eddie doesn't feel like it's very special. He feels lost and cut off from the world with Granddad gone. He wishes the island were special enough that Granddad could get the treatments he needs right there.

Fred and Jake invite Eddie to go fishing the next morning. They walk down to the wharf
together loaded down with all their gear. Fred has Eddie carry the gaff.

“That's for the whopper you're going to catch,” he tells him. “I hear you've got a knack for bringing in the big fish.”

Eddie shrugs. “I only hooked a whopper once and he got away.”

“Yes, but you're only ten. It's just a matter of time. I didn't hook a fish big enough to pull a boat until I was nearly twenty.”

“Really?” says Eddie. “It pulled your boat?”

“Oh, yes, about a mile across the bay.”

“And then what happened?”

“It broke the line.” Fred sets his rod and tackle box on the wharf. He steadies the boat for the boys to climb in. “That was it. He left me a mile from where we started minus a hook and lure.”

“Oh,” says Eddie. He was hoping for more of a story. It wasn't Fred's fault, but he knew this was going to be very different than fishing with Granddad.

While Fred fishes and sings old sailing songs, Jake and Eddie compete to see who can catch the biggest fish. By lunchtime they have pulled in eight ling cod between them, but the fish are too close in size to declare a winner. As always,
every time Eddie drops his line he secretly hopes he will snag the big snapper. He scans the surface of the water as far as he can see. He remembers a story Granddad had told him a few months earlier. Granddad had been working on his new boat at the time. He was installing a brace where he could attach a belt. This was in case he was alone and caught a big fish; the belt would hold him securely so he wouldn't be pulled overboard.

“When did you last see the big snapper?” Eddie had asked him.

Granddad had straightened. He'd pressed the screwdriver to his lip as he tried to recall. “Well, now let me think about that. Not all that recently. I guess it was about a year ago. I bumped into him one day when you were at school.”

“And you didn't tell me?”

“I don't tell you everything, Eddie. I don't want to bore you. Besides, it happened so fast and it was just in passing; I didn't have him on my hook or anything like that.”

“What happened?” Eddie asked.

“Do you remember the storm that took the eaves trough off the cabin last December?”

Eddie nodded.

“It was that very same day. I was out fishing and you were at school. It was an unusual storm the way it blew in so fast. I could see it coming: the clouds were black and threatening in the distance, but from past experience, I thought I had a few hours before it would hit. I wasn't the only one. Many of us were caught off guard and there were a lot of fishermen on the bay.

“Well, it wasn't half an hour after I first noticed the clouds that the wind picked up. Ten minutes later it was howling, and the rain began to fall. I pulled my anchor and started the engine. By then the rain was coming down so hard, driving in from the north, it felt like small fish hooks biting into my skin. I pulled my poncho over my head. I had to squint hard through the rain to see the shore. The wind whipped the water into a real frenzy, creating two-foot swells in places. My skiff rocked dangerously, and I was afraid I was going to be swamped.

“With gales like that and judging by the speed it came in, I was pretty certain we were in for a real typhoon. I was intent on getting home. I wanted to get you home from school and secure the cabin. I couldn't get out of my mind that yellow cedar next to the southwest corner of the
house. I'd been meaning to cut down. It towered right over the corner of the sitting room where Grandma liked to sit. Winds like that could bring it down.

“Anyway, it was crazy when I think about it. Everyone and everything was heading for shelter. All the boats had turned, headed toward the wharf, and the gulls had given up scavenging. They were now circling to find a place to wait out the storm. Here and there, fish rose and dolphins leapt above the whitecaps. Perhaps they were trying to catch a glimpse of what was causing the water to darken and churn. I was bouncing across the waves, the rain driving in my face, my only thought to get to the wharf as fast as I could, when it happened.”

“What happened?” Eddie asked.

“The big snapper soared above the skiff and plowed right into me. We banged head-on like we were quarterbacks on opposing teams. It sent us both reeling and we landed spread-eagled on the floor of the boat; me in the bow and him in the stern. We were both momentarily stunned, the wind knocked out of us. We looked at one another and shook our heads. I could see that he was as shocked as I. On his way somewhere,
probably racing to make sure his family was safe in the coming storm, he was as surprised to crash into me as I was to him. He was only in the boat for a moment, but in that instant, I was amazed at how he'd changed. He was no longer the bold young fish that had set me over the blowhole of a humpback. His bright orange hue had faded and his whiskers were gray. The responsibilities of life had left their mark.

“The wind howled and we were both suddenly aware of our duties again. As quickly as he'd appeared, the snapper sprang over the gunwale and slipped back into the dark water. He had no time to waste on me, nor did I have time to waste on him. I got behind the engine again and roared off through the storm.”

“And that was it?” Eddie asked.

“And that was it. At least for the snapper.” Granddad began to work on the brace again. “As you know, we lost a section of the eaves trough in that storm, and it did remind me to cut down that dead cedar the next day. That was all, though; it could have been much worse.”

It's Jake who hooks the biggest fish of the day. It's late in the afternoon, and it takes nearly half
an hour to land him. It's a red snapper weighing about twenty pounds. Eddie knows it's not the big snapper because it isn't missing a piece of its dorsal fin, and besides, it's far from the biggest snapper he's ever seen. Still, he congratulates Jake; it is a fine fish.