The Weather Man

Nick shot bolt upright in bed at the sound of the alarm going off. The sheets actually flew into the air as well, because sitting upright had made him kick his feet up. His wife, Penny, woke up and snapped at Nick. "Ah! What time is it?" she asked. Noticing that it was still dark outside, she rolled and looked at her husband, who was already halfway across the room, throwing on a tee shirt and shorts.

"It's still dark out!"

"I sent the alarm clock for four-thirty." Nick said.

"Why? What in God's name has you getting up this early?" she asked.

"I have a surprise for you, dear. You'll like it, but I needed to get up now to give it to you." he said.

"Really," she said, now fully awake. "I get a surprise present this morning? What is it?" Penny sat up in the bed, and her long brown hair that ended in curls fell down over her neck and framed her face perfectly. It was a look Nick had seen before, and he loved it. In fact his favorite photo of Penny was her in a pose similar to what she kept at this instant.

"Well," said Nick, "The kids have to help me give it to you."

"The kids?" A brief pause. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, dear. Nothing. I'm taking three hostages with me today on the boat. Sam, Kim, and Sarah are going with me to catch a few big fish. The way I understand it, we're going to be gone all day."

"And how is that a gift for me?" Penny asked.

"Just go back to sleep dear. You get a whole day to yourself. I took the day off work, so you could have a nice summer day to yourself. Enjoy it. We'll be outta here by five, and you can be back to sleep by twenty after at the latest."

"It better happen that way. If I don't get my sleep, and I'm tired all day on my only day off, I'll kill you."

Nick snickered at his wife, who was already rolling back over to go back to bed. "Wake me when you get back," she said, and pulled a pillow over her head.

Nick went around the house, rather rudely waking the kids up. He started with the youngest, since she was the most likely to be unenthused about the idea of going fishing on a summer Saturday.

He popped her bedroom door open and snapped on the light. "Up and at 'em, Sarah, we're going fishing today." Sarah responded by jumping what appeared to be halfway to the ceiling, which was funny, but there was always a stormy aftermath to it.

"Dad! I hate you! GOD! It's even still dark outside!" she yelled at him. He even heard the sharply exhaled breath from under the covers. But, no father is worth his title, if he does not know how to properly motivate his teenage daughters to do as he pleases.

"Well, you better get a move on. I set the whole thing up. Mike's dad is dropping him off in a half-hour, you might want to be ready." He started moving to shut the door.

"Dad! You didn't! You know that Mike has the biggest crush on me!" she squealed as she sat upright in the bad. "Is he really?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, he'll be here in a half-hour. Now get a move on. You can't keep him crushing on you, if he never sees you in your blue bikini." He finished pulling the door shut and muffled the obviously embarrassed "DAD!" coming from Sarah's room. But he also heard the sound of drawers sliding open and shut, which meant daughter number one was up and moving. "Two to go." Nick thought.

He snapped Kim's door open next. Her light was already on. Ever the responsible one, Kim actually loved to fish, and so he had an idea for her. He knew Kim would never, not ever, let him down. This was the daddy's girl of the family. "Kim," he said, "I have a letter for you in the kitchen, along with everything the letter needs. Could you set it up while I get the boat and truck ready, please?"

"Sure Dad, what is it?" the almost-senior in high school asked.

"A surprise for your mom. Follow the instructions I wrote last night, and don't and I mean don't wake her up or give her a reason to come out of her room until after we're gone, understand?"

"Sure Dad." She said, with a sense of duty behind it.

"Two down, let's see about the college student." He thought to himself.

He walked to Samantha's room. "The little fireball actually got home at a decent time last night, and did homework and studied." He thought. "Let's see what this gets me."

Nick opened the door and snapped on the light. Before Sam could throw the covers over herself, Nick was already in the room. "Up and at 'em kiddo."

"Dad!" Sam exclaimed. "I was asleep!! I had an alarm set."

"Yes, I bet you were. I'm glad you came home at a decent time last night. And thanks for letting me take a Saturday of yours to go fishing with me. I appreciate it."

"Well, thanks for asking me early. You know I hated it when you'd spring a surprise boat day on us."

"You only hated it after you discovered malls and boys, dear." Nick said. "And maybe cars."

A few minutes later, in the kitchen, everyone except Sam was settling in for a quick bowl of cereal, except for Sam. Sam walked into the kitchen wearing the lower half of a bikini, and a tee shirt that she had cut off a little too far north. Nick noticed, and the dad in him kicked in.

"Sam," Nick said, "you really need to get a serious man in your life."

"I second that thought," said Sarah, the junior fireball in training.

Kim said nothing, not wishing to speak with her mouth full, but she was smiling, which only meant she was about to come up with something good. When she finally spoke, it was classic:

"Well, Sarah, since Mike's coming along, Sam's only trying to show you how to get the man you want."

If angry looks could actually conduct heat, Kim would have burst into flames under the weight of the evil looks shot at her by both sisters. This had a way of going all wrong quickly, so Nick spoke up:

"Alright, you three miniature estrogen factories get up, get out, and get ready. I want to be in the water by six. So move, and move now."

Sarah and Kim rose and went about their duties. Sam had just poured her a bowl of cereal and milk, so dad allowed her some leeway. Once the two others were out of the room, he locked eyes with her.

"Sam, you're allowed to lock your door at night, now."

"I know. But I figured you'd wake us up like you always have."

"You're right. And while I'm familiar with what women look like, I'd have rather not opened the door to a half-naked daughter sprawled across a bed. So next time, door locked, or sleep with a shirt on."

"Alright dad, I'm sorry." Sam said.

"Besides, you knew that Mike was coming this morning, and you have a tendency to oversleep anyways. What if I had opened that door with him nearby?"

"I said I was sorry, dad."

"Saying that you're sorry and making future apologies unnecessary by getting it right are two very different things." Dad said. "Finish your breakfast. And pack the bikini top to that swimsuit. If I see Mike trying to peek at you, I'll send you below to change. Right before I kill him and you, get it?"

"I get it." Sam said.

She was a great daughter, and she always tested her boundaries. Especially with guys. There were some nights that she didn't come home, but stayed over at a "friend's house." This had come to be understood as a code between Sam and her dad that she was probably over at a guy's house for the night. Nick hated the idea of Sam living like that, and Sarah definitely noticed that Sam had some freedoms she didn't, and the negative influence of that was spreading.

"Sam," said dad, "you ready and packed?"

"Yep."

"Great, get the weather report, will ya?"

"Sure thing."

Nick was very serious about fishing with his family. He might be a risk-taker and a bit of a fire-eater himself, but he absolutely did not risk his daughters when he went out on the Gulf of Mexico for a fishing day. He had a few rules, some he had learned from others, one he had learned from experience.

Never turn your back on Mother Nature. Women have a way of rhyming with "witch" when they're ignored, and there was a reason whoever controlled nature was called "Mother." This was the rule that he had trusted Sam with. The difference between an adventure and a misadventure was that in a misadventure, when getting ready to leave, you always missed something. Most commonly, the missed item of preparation was the weather report. Sam found Nick getting the boat loaded and delivered the weather report with a precision that showed a brilliant mind.

"Weather report, dad."

"Go."

"Seas one to two feet, long period swells, from the twenty mile buoy. Winds calm, with southerly breeze picking up to five to ten knots by evening. Seas increase this evening to three to four feet. Water temperature, 83 degrees at the channel buoy. High temperature today is ninety four degrees, heat index is one hundred to one oh five, and high tide is at seven A.M."

"High tide is at seven?"

"Yeah, that's what it said."

"Okay, great, that'll put us on the pass at high tide, not bad."

At that moment, a Ford pickup rolled into the driveway, and the passenger side door opened almost before the thing got to a good stop. Mike shot himself out of the truck and Mike's dad rolled his window down, and said simply "Hey Nick! Got the boy here for a good day of fishin'"

"Hey! Ron, Good to see you this morning!"

"So, you needed Mike to go along because you didn't want to feel outnumbered by girls?"

"Dad!" Mike shot back from where he was standing next to the boat, loading his gear.

"Shut up boy! We know the truth." Ron yelled back from his place in the driver's seat.

"Gee, thanks dad," Mike said sarcastically. He turned around just in time to see Sam standing in the boat to load a set of skis. Sam was facing him, and was laughing at him.

"Don't worry, kiddo," Sam said. "You should see the way she started hurrying to get ready when she found out you were coming along." Sam shot a surprised look past Mike and turned away, smiling.

"She's right, you know. Sarah does like you. So this would be the part of your morning where you understand that if I get the slightest idea that you're mistreating her, I'll drop you right off in the water as bait, got it?" Ron, from his place in the Ford, could be seen laughing as he rolled away.

"um..." nervously, "yes sir, I do."

"Great. Your Dad and I had this conversation when I set this up. He already told me you've got two other brothers, so replacing you isn't a problem." Nick said.

"That does sound like dad."

"As long as we understand." Nick turned around. "Sam!"

"Yes, dad?" she answered from somewhere in the boat.

"Time to put a real shirt on."

"Okay."

"Sam," Nick included. "don't forget to roll your eyes as I walk away, okay?"

"Too late, old man," she shot at him as he walked away.

As soon as the truck, boat, and family departed from the driveway and disappeared down the street, Penny sprang from the bed. She knew what to expect. She made her way to the kitchen. There, right where she thought it would be, was a plate. A note folded in half on it had her name on it, and she recognized her husband's handwriting.

"Penny, enjoy your day. Breakfast for you is warming in the oven. The coffee is hot, pour yourself a cup. And when that's done, enjoy your day - the maid will be there at ten, and your appointment at your favorite spa is at eleven." In the oven, Penny found two of the biggest cinnamon rolls she had ever seen, in a foil pan. It was going to be a good day. Her favorite coffee cup sat ready, next to the full pot of coffee that gently announced its presence with the aroma of mornings spent at home. There was even a spoon sitting next to a pair of small containers of cream and sugar. A fork sat nearby, ready for its duties in destroying a pair of picture-perfect cinnamon rolls. A note sat next to the fork, as well. "I'll never tell you where I hid them, dear."

The day for the boaters started fair enough. The water at the boat launch was quiet. The other boaters were launching, so until it was their turn, there was nothing to do except make sure the boat would get off the trailer quickly when their turn did get around.

It was Sam who spoke to the man first. He had just walked up, and while dressed as a boater, he didn't really act like one. For starters, he asked Sam about the weather.

"What's the weather supposed to do today?"

"Forecast says nice and pretty."

"How about for the coming week?"

"Not sure about that," said Nick, interrupting. "Do you fish much?"

"Don't get much desire to fish anymore. But I do like to know about the weather. It fits my hobby."

"What hobby is that?"

"Predictions," said the newcomer.

"And what do you predict for the fishing catch, then?"

"Should be a good catch. Did you have a good first aid kit aboard?"

It was Kim that answered. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. Fire extinguishers, as well. You done grilling us, or what?" Heads all over the boat snapped around. Something like that was very unlike Kim to say.

"Kim!" snapped Nick. "What's wrong with you! I taught you better manners than that."

"Sorry dad," said Kim, "I just said what I felt."

"I did teach to you that, but with tact, which you forgot."

Kim turned to the weather man. "I apologize if I seemed rude, sir."

"Not a problem. It's good to see that you know how to apologize. It is a skill many need, but never use."

"I taught mine better. You said your hobby was predictions. What kind of business is that? Stocks, bonds, futures, or what?"

"I wish it were that simple," said the man, "but it's almost your turn to launch, and it's time for me to get going anyways."

"Well, good to see you this morning," said Nick, being polite.

"A bit of advice before I go," the man said.

"Sure, if it's good, I'll always take free advice."

"If you see a single dark cloud, no matter how big it is, put on your lifejackets."

"Now that, sir, is good advice." Nick bent over to check the boat trailer's hitch to the truck. "Mother Nature can be a harsh mistress," and as he rose to say "sometimes," he noticed the man was gone.

Kim was the first to say something about it, as they launched for the day on the water.

"Dad, what was the deal with the Weather guy?" she asked.

"No idea, dear. But, I've learned to understand the water carries weird things with it sometimes."

"Like that guy?" Sarah asked, from her place next to Mike.

"Sam!"

"Yeah Dad?" she asked.

"Did you want to get us out of the sound and to the Gulf, or what?"

"Sure Dad!"

As Sam piloted the boat towards their intended fishing point twenty miles out into the Gulf of Mexico, a single orange Coast Guard helicopter passed over. Knowing her Dad's hobby, Sarah took her attention off Mike just long enough to tell her dad about it.

"What's the number on it?" he yelled from where he was below in the boat's cabin.

"606!" yelled Sam from the pilothouse as the boat made its way south into the warm Gulf waters.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I've never seen that number before."

"Think they've got a new chopper?" yelled Sam.

"Must be, if it says 606 on it," Nick yelled up from below.

In an unusual twist for the helicopter, the door was open, and the diver and engineer could be seen clearly as the chopper made its closest point of approach. The diver even waved. Sam, ever the one to take advantage of a chance to get away with a two-for-one deal of a flirt and a tease at the same time, cheerfully waved back and even managed to bounce around a bit in her bikini - which Mike noticed from his place next to Sarah. The slap Sarah administered to regain the proper deference from Mike's wandering eyes could be heard from the back of the boat, and as the helicopter receded, it was obvious that even the diver in the door had seen it happen, and was making fun of Mike as he and the chopper receded into the haze. Everyone on the boat was laughing, a good sign of the day they were about to have.

They got to the fishing grounds. It was the kind of day you needed for fishing - the water was flat, with ripples caused by a light breeze that gently picked up the water's surface and teased it into small motions. The sun bounced off the water like a hundred super-bounce balls off concrete, teasing a thousand sparkles from the water's ever-changing face. The sun seared its way down to the water, and a haze was present in the same way that smoke is ever present in a crowded bar: you could see it from a distance, but not next to you. It had the effect of hiding whatever was far away enough not to bother you. But Nick knew the weather often hid behind such afternoons as these, and shot a warning up to Sam. "Sam! Keep the weather eye!" Nick knew Sam liked to fish, but also knew she liked to pilot the boat far more than she loved to fish, and was becoming quite good at staying over schools of large fish.

"Sure thing, Dad. Can you throw me some sunblock?"

Without a word, Nick grabbed his day bag and rummaged through it, retrieving a large tube of something in the range of SPF 35. He took the chance to remind everyone of the joke of the morning.

"Hey! Chopper magnet! Catch!" and he sent the tube whirling through the air with a flip of the wrist, and Sam almost lost the tumbling sunblock over the side.

A few hours later, there were several fish onboard, with hard-fought victories for Mike, with a large redfish, and Nick had pulled in a few decent cobia that were still hanging around late in the season.

Sarah, having succeeded in keeping Mike's attention, was quietly celebrating a victory on battlefield that didn't involve fishing, and Kim had managed to snag a couple of nice fish on her own.

As if on cue, the wind began to rise shortly after three in the afternoon, and the haze fought a stalwart battle to linger, but lost as the wind rose suddenly. It was Sam who announced the ending of the day.

"Bring all lines in! I have to run the engines!"

"Sam!" yelled Nick. "I just got a hit on my line!"

"Can't stay to fight it Dad! We have to go!"

"What? What's the matter?"

"The haze screwed us again, Dad! It let a storm sneak up on us."

The haze had lost its battle with the wind, and a cool breeze now blew on the water, and the waves were coming in at about a foot. Visibility was now very suddenly unlimited, and looming up over the boat was a thunderhead that had darkened the northern sky, between the boaters and their haven of the beach. Fortunately, it did not obscure the whole horizon, and the dark grey shroud of rain was not very wide.

Nick remembered the warning from the weather man early in the day.

"Alright, everyone, lifejackets on."

"It doesn't seem that bad," Mike said from his perch next to Sarah.

"Lifejacket," said Nick. "If the weather doesn't kill you, I will."

"Do not turn your back on Mother Nature," Sam said from the pilot's chair. "For the moment that you do, she will kill you."

"My mistress is the sea!" said Nick.

"I'm telling Mom!" yelled Kim.

"She helped me pay for the boat, Kim, I think she knows already!"

"Do you idiots have the lines in, already?"

Each answered from their respective place, as they placed their fishing gear below. Nick had taught them well, and they had responded by making it an almost showy ritual.

"Gear stowed, fish in the well!" said Kim, and she went below.

"Gear stowed, fish in the well!" yelled Sarah, and she went back to the front of the boat.

"Gear stowed!" yelled Mike, a little too happily, making everyone snicker at him.

"Boat is stowed! Sam! Take us home!"

"Lifejackets on!" yelled Sam, and she threw the throttle forward, and the boat surged for home.

In the distance, a single helicopter, obscured in the distance, could be seen heading right into the shroud lowered between cloud and ground by the rainstorm that now stood between the boat and home. Nick took a minute to think about the weatherman and his warning, and looked out to the horizon all around the boat.

The dark cloud that stood between them and home was the only dark cloud in the sky.