Thread: Billy and The Kid

The following chapter is dedicated to Slabo, Feelay and Sat. Not cause they threatened me, but on account of them having something I want.

Chapter 10

The next morning Carol was gone by 5 AM, but today she’d have only 5 hours to work at the diner and still would have time for lunch with the Bakers before heading out again to be at work by 2. Before she left, she checked in on Billy and noticed his room was picked up more than usual. It still wasn’t clean exactly, but she could tell he spent some time on it last night.

Billy resisted the urge to run over and see what Mr. Baker was up to when he got up. Around 8 he noticed Mrs. Ann leaving in her car and it wasn’t much longer before Mr. Baker drove off in that big diesel too. Great, now how was he supposed to pass the time. Billy thought back to the project he’d started last night and decided that was as good a way as any. It wasn’t exactly fun, but it did manage to pass the time. He didn’t even realize how late it was when his Mom walked in the door yelling his name and telling him to hurry up, they didn’t want to be late. Ann threw her things down, picked up a pie off the kitchen counter and herded Billy down the hall and out of the door.

They walked past the garage and to the Bakers front door. Ann greeted them and hugged Carol and Billy as if she’d know them all their lives. Mr. Baker was busy in the kitchen, but managed to pop his head around the corner to say hello to them. Ann took Carol into the kitchen and soon sent Mr. Baker back to the living room to be with Billy. They chatted and talked fishing while the ladies put the finishing touches on lunch. Soon they were eating like kings on what seemed to Billy to be a feast. The conversation during lunch was more about getting to know each other than anything else. Billy just ate and tried to keep quiet while concentrating on not spilling anything on the white table cloth. They talked about where they were all born, his Mother’s jobs, Mr. Baker’s work and their kids. Soon lunch was over and Ann insisted on sending the boys out to the garage so she and Carol could visit some more and so the boys wouldn’t be in the way. Mr. Baker seemed relieved and so did Billy so they didn’t put up much of a fight. This was all a bit too formal for the both of them.

Mr. Baker motioned for Billy to come with him and they stepped out to through the utility room to the garage. Billy was amazed that Mr. Baker had completely finished everything since he was over the day before. All of the gear on the floor was gone and the peg board was even straighter and more precise that it was yesterday. Even the cardboard boxes were gone and had been replaced by some plastic storage bins with drawers. But the boat was cluttered up again with some tackle and rods and some odds an ends. “Mr. Baker, can I help you finish cleaning the boat?” “I was hoping you would Billy. Climb up there and hand me all that stuff”. Billy did and one by one handed over the 2 spinning rods and reels, a large tackle bag that was heavier than it looked and 2 plastic bags of loose stuff. With each hand off, Mr. Baker created a little pile on the garage floor. Then walked over and turned on the fans and pulled up the two chairs. “Billy come on down here and lets look at this stuff”. Before he did, he took a moment to marvel at the boat they’d cleaned off. It seems like you could land a plane on the front deck and still have room for the helicopter on the back now that it was cleaned off.

They took up their positions in the chairs and Mr. Baker leaned over and grabbed the spinning rods. “Billy, I want you to take this stuff home with you.” “No Mr. Baker, I appreciate it, but I don’t think I can do that.” “Why not Billy?” “Well, I don’t want you to think I was helping you just so I could get stuff, besides, my Mom wouldn’t like me taking it.” “Well Billy, Ann and I talked to your Mom about it yesterday and she said it’d be fine with her. You’ve seen how much junk I’ve got and you know I’m never going to get to use it.” He paused for a second to check to make sure Billy understood what he’d just said then went on. Billy did. “I’d rather you take it and use it to catch every fish in that lake back there with it and then come and tell me all about it. Besides, if you don’t take it, I’m just going to throw it all in the corner and let it rot.” Billy slumped back in his chair and furrowed his brow. He glanced down at the pile, up at Mr. Baker, then back to the pile. A few moments passed and Mr. Baker sat patiently. Billy’s brows eased and a smile started and continued to grow. “Mr. Baker, I will take this stuff. I’ll take it and do my best to clear out that lake with it. Thank You. Thank you so much.” “Billy, I can’t accept your thanks. The only thanks I want is for you to come and tell me about the fish you catch with it and I want every detail from every trip back there. Promise me.” “Oh you can count on me Mr. Baker. I promise”. The grin on Billy’s face would stay would be one of the things that kept coming to mind to him on the day he died. “I’m sure you will Billy. Now, let’s go through all of this stuff and let me show you how to use it and how these reels work.”


Wannabe...