Lunkers
I never ate a lunker though I caught a bunch of them. Jimmy says they're dumb fish and I laugh ‘cause I can't imagine such a thing as a smart fish. Jimmy laughs too, but probably not for the same reason.
He always laughs when I laugh. I think he thinks it makes us better friends. Mom says to have him up for supper sometime, I don't even need to ask her, just bring him. I don't ever bring him to supper though.
We're friends and all but we're just me and him friends, we're not the kind of friends that you bring to supper.
His pa cleans his lunkers. Then they get the triple dip. That's what Jimmy calls it. First flour, then beaten eggs, then cornmeal. Jimmy says they go into bacon fat after that and he eats ‘em with collards or turnip greens.
He says his pa don't talk too much since his ma died and I can't help but think what it's gonna be like for Jimmy when I go off to town school next year. He's two years behind me and he'll still be at Silver School.
While we're walking home from the lake, Jimmy stops and asks me if I wanna have supper at his house tonight. He says his pa asked him to ask me.
I look at Jimmy for a long time and don't say anything. He looks like he's gonna cry and then I start laughing.
He starts laughing too.
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Author's Note
In response to the 52/250 prompt: Animal Behavior.
Other stories by Michael J. Solender
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Beautifully managed. You have a deft narrative touch. I like this little very much. *
Yeah, this is definitely a keeper.
@Jack - leave it to a Norseman to appreciate a good lunker story.
@David - it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine this from my boyhood days..
wonderful. i also like this very much. especially the ending is marvelous.
@marcus - oh so good to know it translates 'cross the pond! Thx for reading.
I love the open-ended nature of the conclusion. The voice is so well done. *
This was great. Nice work.
@JP so glad to see the women weighing in on this fish story. thanks.
@Jamie - Appreciate your nod.
Oh, very sweet story
*
@Susan -**blushing**
Good story. I love the run around bit with the supper invitations and "we're not the kind of friend...
@thx Beate!
Love the relationship between these two and the voice. Well done! *
@Kim - thanks so much for reading.
This feels real. I believe this narrator. Really well done, Michael.
*
@Bill - It is has roots in the reality of my wayward youth..
MJ, super story, you can feel the yearning here. I love the underlying tension, why the narrator feels Jimmy isn't the friend he'd bring home to dinner, what the differences between them are. Peace *
I think "He always laughs when I laugh. I think he thinks it makes us better friends" is one of the most perceptive moments I've read in a long time. It is perfect. Mad love for this piece, Michael. Seriously terrific gem.
I never ate a lunker either but you dredge just about anything in flour, dip it in egg, roll it in cornmeal and fry it in bacon fat and it's bound to be tasty! Just like this little story.
Nothing beats a story about friends and fishing. This is very well told and brings us all back to the time when we cared some about what others thought about our friendships.