CHAPTER
5
Calvin
rode his bike, towing a wagon, to the docks on Bear Lake. He parked his bike next to a white wooden
framed building bearing a sign, "Wilson's Boat & Tackle". The wood framed screen door squeaked as he
entered. A bell rang indicating that
someone had entered the store. He walked
on a well worn hardwood floor. Shelves
reached to the ceiling holding everything imaginable for boats, such as engine
parts, life jackets, water skis, and fishing poles. Other items sat on the floor, like coolers,
oars, and even a boat engine. He knew
that his mother would never put up with a place this disorganized and
messy. He made a meandering path,
stepping over and around numerous items, to a counter located in the back. "Hello, Mr. Wilson," Calvin greeted
the man at the counter.
"Right
back at ya," responded the six foot, 220 pound man. He was wearing loose fitting jeans and a
white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, revealing tattoos on both muscular
biceps. His face was covered by a fully
grown, grey beard. A well worn, faded
Captain's hat sat on his head.
"I
need a couple of things. I need three
large fishing nets, a long rope, and a pulley."
"That
is a little unusual. Whacha doin'?"
"Nothing
much. Just working on a project."
As
they talked, a radio on the counter stopped playing oldies music. Calvin nervously listened to the news
update. It centered on the circus train
crash and the tiger that was roaming in the woods. It warned everyone to stay out of the
woods. Calvin worried that Mr. Wilson
would figure out that he was trying to catch the tiger. "I have a wagon on my bike that I can put
the nets in," Calvin continued, speaking a little louder, trying to
distract Mr. Wilson from the radio.
"Okay. Let me see what I have back here." Mr. Wilson turned and walked to the back of
the store. He mumbled to himself as he
was getting the nets, rope, and pulley.
"Bring you wagon around back.
I will take everything out the back door."
"Great!" Calvin turned and quickly exited the
store. He wanted to get out of there as
quickly, before Mr. Wilson figured out his plan. He rode his bike and wagon to the back door.
Mr.
Wilson was dragging the nets out the door.
Calvin stopped and Mr. Wilson dropped the nets into the wagon. "I will get the rope and
pulley." Mr. Wilson turned to
re-enter the store.
Calvin
interrupted, "Here's my phone. I
will pay with the account on my phone.
Just ring it up while you're getting the rope and pulley." He hoped to speed up the transaction so he
could leave.
Mr.
Wilson was in the store for a few minutes.
He returned carrying a long rope and holding a pulley, which he dropped
in the wagon. He pulled Calvin's phone
and a receipt from his back pocket and handed them to Calvin. "So, what did you say is this project
you are working on?"
Calvin
was really worried now. He had to get
out of there fast. He jumped on the bike
and started peddling before Mr. Wilson could stop him. As he rode, he turned his head, "I
didn't say. But, I will let you know how
it turns out." He faced forward and
peddled faster.
After
getting out of Mr. Wilson's eyesight, Calvin let up and peddled at a normal
pace.
*****
The
meat clever flew threw the air heading directly for Jack’s head. He turned his face away from the oncoming
meat cleaver. The cleaver hit his bike
helmet, splitting the plastic cover and removing a chunk of Styrofoam
padding. Jack heard the high pitch clank
as the cleaver landed on the tile floor.
He scurried through the back door.
He stumbled and fell as he neared his bike. He quickly removed his backpack, tucked the
meat inside, threw the backpack on one shoulder, and jumped on his bike. Jack heard the door slam open. Ogre exited the back door. Jack peddled as quickly as he could. Ogre stood tall, shaking his fist, “Come back
here, Jack! I know it’s you! I am going to get you.” Jack never looked back. He turned right on the first street he
saw. He could not get out of Ogre’s view
fast enough.
*****
Calvin rode his bike through the rest of town
until he came to a path at the edge of the woods. Willie was already waiting. He did not see Jack. "Hi, Willie. Is Jack here?"
"I
have not seen him. What took you so
long?"
"I
stopped to get nets and a rope so we can catch the tiger. Did you get any meat?"
"I
emptied our freezer. How come your nets
make me think this is going to be dangerous?"
Before
Calvin could answer, he and Willie heard, "Hey guys, I'm here." They looked up and saw Jack riding down a
hill toward them. As he approached, he
pulled hard on his hand brakes, locked up the tires, and skidded to a stop
right in front of Willie. Willie jumped
back, afraid Jack would hit him.
Jumping
off of his bike, Jack looked at Calvin.
"Nice camou shirt."
"Thanks,"
Calvin responded. He reached into his
backpack and pulled out two camouflage shirts.
"Here is one for you."
He turned to Willie, "Here's one for you. I hope it fits. It is the best I can do."
Willie
pulled his Pepsi t-shirt over his head and stuffed it in his backpack. He then put his camouflage shirt on. It got stuck on his head and he had to give
it a firm tug. The shirt did not come
down to his waist. He grabbed the bottom
of the shirt and tried to stretch it. It
still would not come down far enough.
"Thanks, Calvin. It's a little tight, but it will do."
After
watching Willie struggle with the shirt, Calvin turned to look at Jack, who had
already changed shirts. "This is
great. Now, we can hunt the tiger." Jack was excited for this hunt.
As
Jack spoke, Calvin saw a gash in Jack's helmet.
"What happened to your helmet?"
"Ogre
was mad at me." Jack tried to
dismiss the question.
"What
do you mean Ogre was mad at you? How did
you see Ogre? I thought you went home
and came here."
Jack
knew that Calvin was not going to give up.
"We did not have any meat at home.
So, I went to Ogre’s store and snuck some meat out,” Jack explained,
trying not to admit that he actually stole the meat. "He saw me and threw a meat cleaver at
me. Can you believe it? Who would throw a meat cleaver at a kid? That guy is so mean!" He was trying to divert blame from himself to
Ogre.
"That's
stealing," Calvin exclaimed. He was
in shock that Jack had stolen the meat and that Jack didn't think it was a big
deal.
"That's
wrong. You can't do that, Jack,"
Willie pitched in.
"Hey,
don't give me any of that Sunday School stuff.
You know I don't like church.
That is why I stopped going. They’re
always telling people all the bad things they are doing. I don't want to hear it and I don't need to
hear it from you. We needed meat to
catch the tiger, so I went and got some meat.
Ogre has plenty of meat. It won't
hurt him. Now, come on, we have a tiger
to catch."
"I
don't want to argue with you, Jack,” Willie continued. “You and Calvin are my best friends. But, you know you are wrong about
church. It's not about telling you that
you are bad. It is about how you can be
forgiven for doing bad."
Jack
shook his head, not wanting to hear Willie.
While
Calvin agreed with Willie, he knew that Jack would not change his mind. It was
probably best to change the subject before Jack got mad and left. "You both are right," Calvin added,
trying to adopt the compromise skills from his parents. "Willie is right about church and Jack
is right that we have a tiger to catch.
Let's go."
"But,"
Willie wanted to continue the conversation, believing that a conversation about
God was too important to stop. He saw
Calvin shaking his head. He gave up
figuring Calvin probably knew what was best. Plus, he did not want both of his
best friends mad at him. "Okay."
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