jacket for Sara, tow rope,
tube, sun screen, towels. He might need to fuel the boat up, too. He’d only
taken it out once since he’d gotten to the lake, but he remembered the tank was
low.
As he rounded the corner, he noticed his Dad’s shiny new
pick-up was parked in front of the house. Along with it he could see his Uncle
Roger’s Harley and a Mercedes he didn’t recognize.
They’re early.
Cam
vowed to himself that he wouldn’t let his father ruin his good mood. He braced
himself as he entered the house. It was only mid-morning and already a
cigar-haze hung in the room. He heard his father’s loud voice bellowing from
the dining room. They’d already started a friendly game of poker and were
drinking beer. In fact, it looked as if everyone had had more than one beer.
Cam tried to escape down the hall before his father noticed
him. The two of them could never be in the same room together for more than ten
minutes without getting into an argument. Cam wasn’t Brad and never would be.
Cam knew he couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations no matter how hard he
tried. After a while, Cam determined it wasn’t worth trying. Instead of playing
football like Brad, he’d played in the band. Instead of drinking beer and
playing cards, Cam preferred to go mountain biking or kayaking. Instead of
becoming an attorney, he’d become a physician. Cam was more like his mother and
that didn’t sit well with Max Preston. Cam couldn’t be something he wasn’t and
this caused more rifts than one. His mother always came to his defense, which
would just set his father off more. Cam learned early on that avoidance was the
best course of action when it came to his father. Unfortunately, he wasn’t
quick enough this time.
“Is that you Cameron?” Max called out. “Come on in here. I
wondered where you were. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you. Want us to deal
you in?”
“No thanks, Dad. I’d like to, but I already made plans with
a friend.” Cam tried to be diplomatic with his father. He stood in the entryway
between the dining room and kitchen.
Max looked up from his hand of cards at Cam. He was a tall,
muscular man. While he had a little paunch, for the most part he was pretty fit
for his age. He limited his drinking and smoking to his poker games, but when
he did, he tended to go a little overboard with it. His silver hair was always
cropped short. Max got a haircut every three weeks whether he needed it or not.
“Hey, I didn’t realize I raised a daughter instead of a son.
When are you going to cut that girly hair?”
“Funny, Dad. I’ll cut it when I cut it. I’m on vacation
anyway.”
Max pulled out the empty folding chair next to him. “Sit
down, son. Let me deal you in.”
“I already told you, Dad I have plans this afternoon. I’m
going to be late if I don’t get going now.” Cam sighed.
"Are you sure you can’t play just one hand?”
“I would if I could, but I promised Livvy and her little
girl that I’d take them out on the boat this afternoon.”
“Livvy who?” Max played dumb.
“You know who Livvy is Dad.”
“Right, the girl you moped around about for months back in
high school. Brad said you’d ran into her. Are you sure you want to get
involved with her again? I don’t want to see you get hurt. Getting involved
with a married woman is not a good idea.”
“Dad, stop. First of all, she’s divorced. Second of all, I’m
a grown man and I can take care of myself. It’s my business if I want to see
Liv or not.” Cam struggled to control his anger.
Max frowned. “Okay. You won’t hear another word about it
from me. Me and the guys here were hoping to take the boat out fishing this
afternoon, though. We’re going to try to limit out on perch.”
“The fish don’t really start biting until dusk. I’ll have
the boat back in plenty of time. If not you can always use the smaller boat.”
“I guess that would work.”
“Great, Dad. See you later. Uncle Roger.
tube, sun screen, towels. He might need to fuel the boat up, too. He’d only
taken it out once since he’d gotten to the lake, but he remembered the tank was
low.
As he rounded the corner, he noticed his Dad’s shiny new
pick-up was parked in front of the house. Along with it he could see his Uncle
Roger’s Harley and a Mercedes he didn’t recognize.
They’re early.
Cam
vowed to himself that he wouldn’t let his father ruin his good mood. He braced
himself as he entered the house. It was only mid-morning and already a
cigar-haze hung in the room. He heard his father’s loud voice bellowing from
the dining room. They’d already started a friendly game of poker and were
drinking beer. In fact, it looked as if everyone had had more than one beer.
Cam tried to escape down the hall before his father noticed
him. The two of them could never be in the same room together for more than ten
minutes without getting into an argument. Cam wasn’t Brad and never would be.
Cam knew he couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations no matter how hard he
tried. After a while, Cam determined it wasn’t worth trying. Instead of playing
football like Brad, he’d played in the band. Instead of drinking beer and
playing cards, Cam preferred to go mountain biking or kayaking. Instead of
becoming an attorney, he’d become a physician. Cam was more like his mother and
that didn’t sit well with Max Preston. Cam couldn’t be something he wasn’t and
this caused more rifts than one. His mother always came to his defense, which
would just set his father off more. Cam learned early on that avoidance was the
best course of action when it came to his father. Unfortunately, he wasn’t
quick enough this time.
“Is that you Cameron?” Max called out. “Come on in here. I
wondered where you were. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you. Want us to deal
you in?”
“No thanks, Dad. I’d like to, but I already made plans with
a friend.” Cam tried to be diplomatic with his father. He stood in the entryway
between the dining room and kitchen.
Max looked up from his hand of cards at Cam. He was a tall,
muscular man. While he had a little paunch, for the most part he was pretty fit
for his age. He limited his drinking and smoking to his poker games, but when
he did, he tended to go a little overboard with it. His silver hair was always
cropped short. Max got a haircut every three weeks whether he needed it or not.
“Hey, I didn’t realize I raised a daughter instead of a son.
When are you going to cut that girly hair?”
“Funny, Dad. I’ll cut it when I cut it. I’m on vacation
anyway.”
Max pulled out the empty folding chair next to him. “Sit
down, son. Let me deal you in.”
“I already told you, Dad I have plans this afternoon. I’m
going to be late if I don’t get going now.” Cam sighed.
"Are you sure you can’t play just one hand?”
“I would if I could, but I promised Livvy and her little
girl that I’d take them out on the boat this afternoon.”
“Livvy who?” Max played dumb.
“You know who Livvy is Dad.”
“Right, the girl you moped around about for months back in
high school. Brad said you’d ran into her. Are you sure you want to get
involved with her again? I don’t want to see you get hurt. Getting involved
with a married woman is not a good idea.”
“Dad, stop. First of all, she’s divorced. Second of all, I’m
a grown man and I can take care of myself. It’s my business if I want to see
Liv or not.” Cam struggled to control his anger.
Max frowned. “Okay. You won’t hear another word about it
from me. Me and the guys here were hoping to take the boat out fishing this
afternoon, though. We’re going to try to limit out on perch.”
“The fish don’t really start biting until dusk. I’ll have
the boat back in plenty of time. If not you can always use the smaller boat.”
“I guess that would work.”
“Great, Dad. See you later. Uncle Roger.
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