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“You know how clumsy I am, CayCay, and that’s OK. I just don’t want him to think of me in a negative light if and when he does think of me. I really wasn’t myself the past year.”
Jenni looked out into the distance at nothing in particular and added, “I owe him a huge apology.”
They finished dinner with no one saying much of anything else.
Barb and May Ellen seemed overwhelmed by the calamity down the street, and Jenni knew Caitlin was thinking about Andrew.
Later, as they enjoyed a glass of wine, Jenni tried to offer her support to her old roommate.
“Caitlin, I just know everything will work out. I think maybe these couple of days will give you both a chance to reflect on the situation and calm down. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Let’s talk about tomorrow now and try to get our minds off this guy stuff.”
Caitlin nodded and explained that there was no need to get up extremely early to which Jenni exclaimed, “I can’t believe it!” and then laughed.
They decided to have a leisurely morning and head out just to practice some casting in the afternoon. Jenni knew if she felt rusty, her casts would be pretty lame, and she felt very rusty.
With the weather cooperating, that’s exactly how they spent Thursday. Barb had said she’d go to the captains’ meeting thatafternoon and report back that evening on their stations for Friday and Saturday. She also told them she had a pot of chili cooking, and that dinner would be served promptly at 5:30. They promised to be back well in advance, knowing Barb’s penchant for being prompt and never late.
Jenni wondered if Andrew had tried to text Caitlin or vice versa, but Caitlin gave no indication either way. Jenni allowed her friend to be alone with her thoughts, while Jenni rehearsed her lines for when she would see Caleb on Saturday night.
Just thinking about him made her feel anxious.
What if he decided not to attend? Even if he didn’t show up, she could always call Tory and make an appointment to see him. Still, she knew the banquet was something he and his “Cast of Thousands” really enjoyed.
Thinking about it, she probably needed to be much nicer to them too. Bertie was in all probability married by now, so congratulations were in order.
At dinner that evening, Barb and May Ellen seemed to be in much brighter moods. Jenni found out they’d be fishing on the south beach for the first two stations, and the north beach for Saturday morning. Barb added without prompting that it appeared the “Cast of Thousands” would not be anywhere near them either day. Jenni thanked her for that bit of information and tried to hide her disappointment.
She realized that she was hoping to show him that she was now much more of a real angler and not just an imposter. Honestly, she wanted to impress him.
Friday morning after their usual crack of dawn start, they headed out to the beach. Jenni was far more observant of the myriad types of rods and reels she saw being unpacked, and the jovial mood of the anglers.
Unlike April when most everyone was just trying to stay warm, the gorgeous weather and soaring October temperaturesmeant there was a lot more conviviality between and among the stations. This would be a very different experience, she was sure.
Learn from it,she heard her Uncle Ron say.
By 5:00 that afternoon, she knew what he meant.
What she learned from the experience of Friday was that sometimes you just don’t catch fish. It had been an unbelievably slow day. It seemed her team was doing no better or no worse than any of the others. She heard via the grapevine that some teams caught a few fish, but everyone was hoping Saturday would be an improvement.
However, with no change in the weather, Jenni was not optimistic about their chances. She wondered how Caleb had done, wherever he was, and if he’d been thinking about her.
She even found herself checking for texts, although deep down inside she knew it was highly unlikely she’d receive one.
“Today was very, um, different,” she said to Caitlin, Barb, and May Ellen at dinner.
They were enjoying more of the chili from the day before. Barb had made enough to last a week, Jenni was certain.
“Yeah, it was,” agreed Barb. “But there’s always tomorrow, and the urgency of the situation means we might try some new bait or something. I do know one thing, though. Whichever team wins this tournament will have really accomplished something.”
Jenni tried to keep the dinner conversation light, sensing Caitlin was sadder by the hour. But she also knew, just like with her personal situation, Caitlin would have to sort through her feelings on her own.
After dinner, it seemed to be understood that everyone wanted an early night.
Jenni was actually nursing a case of sunburn on her face and shoulders, and she reminded herself to keep her beach bag by her side tomorrow to reapply lotion often. Even though the day had been long and uneventful, it was tiring, and she had noproblem falling asleep. There were no dreams at all about fish, or Caleb, or anything else.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Saturday dawned bright and sunny. She had noticed yesterday that hardly anyone had been wearing waders, and it was warm enough for the men to fish shirtless.
