Thread: Billy and The Kid

Ohhhhhh Wannabe....where the he double L is the rest of the story at????

Chapter 23

They did make it back to the Cape the following Tuesday as planned. And even made 4 more trips over the next 3 years. Matter of fact, they hit a total of a dozen lakes in the same time frame. But life caught up to Billy and age crept up on Mr. Baker. Billy was busy with high school and Mr. Baker just didn’t have the energy he used to. So the trips were closer to home, shorter and less frequent. They were pretty much reduced to weekends Billy’s last 2 year of school. The summer Billy graduated, they only managed 2 trips to the lake out back and both of those were only for part of an evening. Billy was getting ready for college by working his second summer with a heat and air company that Mr. Baker had helped him find. Still, as busy as Billy had been, he still managed to see Mr. Baker and Mrs. Ann several times a week and he and Mr. Baker would talk fishing until Billy ran out of time.

The weekend before Billy left for college, Carol and Mrs. Ann made a big fuss with a dinner party. Billy had to leave that Sunday morning in order to get moved in and register for classes the following Monday. When dinner was over, Mr. Baker pulled him aside and gave him a present. It was a framed picture of the two of them with Billy holding up an 8” Black and Mr. Baker holding up a 16” White. “Every trip, a keeper” was inscribed on the top of the frame. “Billy, I wanted to thank you and tell you how much fun I’ve had with you over the past years. I’ve enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with you. You’re a fine boy and I know you are well on your way to becoming a fine man. You go on to school and keep your head in the books and study hard. Me and Ann will keep an eye on your Mom. Call if you can and don’t worry about us, but you let us know if you need anything.” Mr. Baker had a long speech planned, but cut it short because he could feel his emotions welling up. “Mr. Baker…………..it’s me that owes you the thanks.” Billy bit his lip and looked away for a moment. “If you and Mrs. Ann hadn’t moved in next to me and Mom…….I don’t know where I’d be right now, but I can tell you it wouldn’t be where I am. Thank you.”

Billy’s first year of school was harder than he’d thought. He only made it home twice and he had done as he was told over and over by his Mom, Mr. Baker and Mrs. Ann and had kept his head in the books. He did manage to find a local pond when he needed to get out, but it was just fun fishing and didn’t have much to offer other and a way to take a break with a few little brim and occasional bass. He had decided to stay and take summer classes and work with a local engineering firm that Mr. Baker had put him in touch with to try and stay ahead. And that’s just what he’d done. He’d only taken only 16 hours the first semester and 16 hours the second on Mr. Baker’s advice so he could ease into the routine at school. Summer school would allow him to get a few more credits in and earn pretty good money that summer too. He didn’t get straight As that first year, but close enough that he’d made Mr. Baker proud when he told him. He’d managed to keep a routine of calling his Mom twice a week and Mr. Baker and Mrs. Ann at least once.

His second year was easier now that he had the routine down. By his third year, he’d declared a major and was ahead on his hours to graduate early. Engineering was a good fit for him and while the match was hard, he enjoyed most of the work and found a lot of it actually interesting. He able to get home for a Christmas visit both of those years. His Senior year would be his hardest and he had fallen away from his routine some. His Mom started to worry when he hadn’t heard from him in 2 weeks. That was the week Billy brought Karen home for a visit. Carols eyes went from joy to surprise when she answered the door. Billy had never brought a girl home before. They could only stay for a few hours since they had classes the next day, but Billy wanted to introduce Karen to his Mom and of course, Mr. Baker and Mrs. Ann.

Before he left, he let Mr. Baker know that he remembered something he’d told him on one of their trips, to “find one good woman and to love her with everything he had” and that was what he intended to do. Of course, this worried Ann and Carol, but not Mr. Baker.

Billy went on to finish his Engineering degree and for good measure a Masters degree after his fifth year. And did it with no school loans holding him back thanks to Mr. Baker’s help and contacts and Billy’s hard work. He decided against taking a job in the city with a mid-sized firm and instead took a job with the State Highway department about 30 miles away from his home town after talking it over with Mr. Baker. He’d never get rich working for the state, but he’d have a comfortable living, good benefits and most importantly, plenty of time off for family and fishing. He proposed to Karen 2 days after completing his 90 day probationary hiring period.