The One That Got Away
Title: The One That Got Away
Author: InsolentScrawl
Prompt: "There it goes" as opening to story.
“There it goes,” eight year old Bailey Addison stated, trying to hide the grin from her brother. “So… how big is this fish going to be in your story? 18 or 24 inches?”
No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than the 6 inch runt of a Rainbow Trout jumped out of water, tauntingly. Morosely, her oldest brother Gideon frowned at where the scaly creature entered the water like a trained diver, leaving no splash.
“Very funny,” Gideon muttered. For a moment, the fourteen year old contemplated the lack of fish on his stringer, and then turned his attention to the five fish on his sister’s. “Very freakin’ funny.”
“Well, I personally hope you manage to catch at least one,” she blithely said. Casting out, she began the slow process of reeling in, just in time to feel a catch, followed by the tell-tale series of tugs.
“Woo hoo! Got another one!”
“Show off,” Gideon accused, kicking out his foot and sending a splash of icy cold droplets towards the brown-haired girl. When she giggled and shook off the spray, he took the opportunity to splash again.
“No fair! No fair!” Still gracefully reeling and tugging, she pulled the small net from where it was strapped on her back, and quickly scooped up the foot-long wriggling mass of scales. Once the important work was complete, she turned - rod in one hand and fish-filled net in the other - and grinned maliciously.
“Prepare for war,” she screeched.
X X X
Above the bank of the stream, Lily Addison looked down as her smallest child took down her biggest with a swift kick, knocking the boy’s legs out from under him, sending Gideon flailing into the water.
With his arms wrapped around his wife, Adam Addison leaned in, nuzzled his wife’s neck, and whispered, “She takes after you, darling.”
The pleasurable shivers that ran down her spine, made Lily’s grin turn to a full-fledged smile as the lithe woman turned in her husband’s arms, and leaned up to kiss him. When a loud squeal of laughter drifted up, followed by teenage cursing, Lily said, “And he takes after you.”
Hand in hand, Lily and Adam started off toward their cabin. They’d only walked a few steps before Adam asked, “Want to bet how big ‘the one that got away’ will be this time?”