Four

Eddy Riffle walked with a bounce in his step the half mile home from Lucky's Bait and Tackle. His first attempt at bounty fishing had been an overall success, and it gave him a sense of pride that he never felt working for his mother at the family bakery. After getting thirty dollars cash from Jason for his catch this afternoon, he decided that he'd keep at it until he found a more reliable paycheck. He bought another dozen nightcrawlers and a small container of mealworms before he left, planning to return to the riverbank first thing in the morning. He also bought a couple of beers for Darren and Jason, a small token of gratitude for their help.

Somehow more rewarding than the cash in hand for the bounties was the heft of the plastic bag in his right hand. Roughly six pounds of fresh fish fillets filled an equal number of freezer bags, surrounded with ice. Clean and pearly white, the fillets would make two or three good meals for his family.

He dropped his fishing gear on the porch and walked in the front door. His father, Miles, was sitting on the couch with the TV remote in hand as usual. "Hey Pop, how was your day?"

"A good deal better than yours from the sound of it. Your mother told me all about your morning." Miles said. He sounded neither surprised nor disappointed. Eddy had never been much good at baking, so getting fired was almost a foregone conclusion.

"Yeah, that sucked, but things turned around a bit in the afternoon." Eddy showed him the fish fillets, feeling proud of himself. "Went down to the old fishing spot and got a bit of fish as a way to make up for all the food I ruined at the bakery."

Miles gave a nod of approval. "So that's where you've been. Go show that to your mother, she's going to love it."

Eddy found his mom in the kitchen putting aluminum foil over a plate of leftovers. "Hey Mom, I picked up a little something for you." He set his bag of fillets on the counter.

"Oh, you finally decided to come home. Your dinner was getting cold, so I was going to wrap it up." Maryanne Riffle was notorious for her ability to hold a grudge. Apparently Eddy's mistakes at the bakery had really gotten under her skin. She handed him the dinner plate and picked up one of the freezer bags with fillets in it. Her expression softened slightly. "These actually look pretty good, did you stop by the market on your way home? Why did you buy so much?"

Eddy took the aluminum foil off his dinner plate and put it in the microwave. "I didn't buy it, I caught it. There's a new state bounty program to help reduce the number of bull carp in the river. Five dollars per fish. I'm planning to go back tomorrow morning since I'm recently unemployed."

She shot him an annoyed look but kept the conversation on track. "That sounds like a good way to make a little extra money and help put food on the table. It's not a job though, you need a job. And since you're not paying rent or helping at the bakery, you should give your father a hand with the farm chores, too."

"Fair. I'll look online at job postings this evening, and I can feed the animals and collect eggs before I head to the river in the morning. That'll leave dad with just the vegetable garden to tend." The microwave beeped and Eddy pulled the steaming plate of pasta and grilled veggies out. He grabbed a fork from the drawer in front of him and ate at the counter, a habit he picked up from his father.

"You're a good kid, Eddy. Terrible baker, though. Put that plate in the dishwasher when you're done." Maryanne took the knot out of her apron and tossed it into the laundry room. A fresh apron waited on the coat rack at the back door for tomorrow morning. She always put one on first thing in the morning and only took it off when she was ready to relax for the night.

"You got it, boss. Thanks for dinner, it's delicious." said Eddy. He expected to find her asleep next to his father on the couch within fifteen minutes. His parents worked very early hours and couldn't stay awake past sundown very often.

Eddy's job search went about as well as he'd expected. The local supermarket was hiring a clerk for their meat department, so he sent an application by email. Other postings were for jobs he wasn't qualified for, so he called it quits and went to bed early.