CHAPTER 4
For the next few days, Daniel felt like he was in a fog.
He couldn’t believe what was happening, and he just wanted to stop it. He felt like he was in a really long bad dream.
Hundreds of people came to Grandpa Carl’s funeral. Daniel was glad that his grandpa had so many friends, but he still hated the funeral.
He didn’t like seeing his grandpa’s body in the front of the church. It really bothered him that Grandpa Carl had been dressed in a suit. For as long as Daniel had been alive, his grandfather had never worn a suit.
He knew that all the visitors meant well, but he didn’t like hearing over and over how sorry people were. And they just kept saying things that bugged him.
“I know your grandpa was very special to you,” they would say. “I’m sorry that he had to go. But he’s in a better place.”
A better place? Daniel thought angrily. How could that be?
Grandpa Carl’s days had been spent either fishing or spending time with Grandma. Nothing could be better than that.
Finally, one person said, “Think of it this way. Up in heaven, your grandpa can probably fish any time he likes. I bet he’s always making the big catch.”
Then Daniel had heard enough. He ran out of the church. He sat quietly on the front steps of the church with his head in his hands.
After a few minutes, his grandma walked outside and sat down next to him.
“This stinks, doesn’t it?” Daniel’s grandma said.
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “Grandpa would hate this day. If he were here right now, he’d pull me aside and say, ‘Hey kid, let’s get out of here and go fishing.’”
Grandma laughed. “You’re right about that!” she said.
Then she was quiet for a few moments. “Danny, none of us were ready for this,” she said finally. “We just have to keep going. We have to do the best we can.”
“Yeah, I know,” Daniel said.
Grandma smiled at him. “Well, I have something for you,” she said. “I know your grandpa wanted you to have this.”
She pulled Grandpa’s old fishing hat out of her purse and handed it to Daniel.
“You two didn’t always catch much, but whenever your grandfather came home from a fishing trip with you, he was wearing a smile on his face,” Grandma said. “When you come over tomorrow, you can go through Grandpa’s fishing stuff. You can take whatever you want. Those things all belong to you now.”
Daniel’s hands shook a little as he clutched the hat. He looked closely at the lure that Grandpa Carl said he had used to hook Big Larry. That’s when he noticed the tiny letters and numbers scratched into the side of the lure.
BL 6-12-1996.
Grandpa Carl must have put the date there after his big battle with the mighty fish. The date — June 12, 1996 — must have been when the battle happened. And the “BL,” well, that stood for “Big Larry.”