Secrets of the Spiral Tower (12 page)

Rupert asked, “May I get out on deck?”

“Daddy, I believe it best if you stay in the car. When we enter the main stream current, it may be a bumpy ride.”

“Okay. I’m familiar with the strong currents. I can see pretty well from here.”

At that moment, one of the deck hands walked up to Rupert’s window and asked, “Is that you, Mr. Rupert?”

Rupert turned slightly to his right. “Yes.”

“Mr. Rupert, it is very good to see you. I’m Clarence Stokes. I worked for you until I developed diabetes. I had to change my working habits, so I could be home every night with my wife and family.”

“Clarence, it has been a long time. Let me introduce my daughter.”

“Shucks, Mr. Rupert, I already know Ms. Willow. I remember when she rode some of those tows with us. But that was long ago when she was quite young.”

Willow said, “Clarence, it is good to see you again,” Willow said, extending her hand. “I guess when you grow up on the river; you just can’t get away from it.”

“That’s right, Ms. Willow. I’ll probably spend the rest of my life on some sort of river boat. But, it was more fun working for your Daddy. Those were the good ole days.”

Rupert asked, “How old is this ferry?”

“Mr. Rupert, this ferry has been in service for five years. The hull on the other one finally rusted completely beyond fixing. As you can see, this one is much larger and can haul a heavier load.”

“I see that. The load of logs must weigh eighty thousand pounds.”

“Yes sir. I would say that’s about right.”

As the ferry approached the west bank, Clarence assumed his docking position. Once the ferry was tied securely, Clarence held the log truck up, allowing Willow and Rupert to exit first. He knew if the log truck exited first, the ferry would rise higher making it a bit more difficult for the car to enter the concrete ramp.

Willow watched for Clarence’s signal to move forward. She carefully accelerated and as they passed Clarence, he stood at attention saluting military style. Rupert returned the salute.

“Thank you. Hope to see you again soon.”

With all four wheels on the concrete ramp, Willow pressed the accelerator, the car roared up the ramp and over the levee. In a second, they were riding smoothly on the last leg of the trip to Woods’ Station.

Willow turned into the driveway and tooted the horn. Soon, Anne came running from the patio followed by Woody.

“Welcome to Woods’ Station,” Woody said. “I’m glad you finally made it.”

“Hi, Woody, it is good to see you,” Rupert said.

“Uncle Rupert, I hope you’re ready for a boat ride and some fishing.”

“Yes I am. That sounds good. First, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Okay. Let me help you. We’ve got a couple of steps up into the house, but that won’t be a problem.”

Anne grabbed Willow’s hand, leading her to the patio.

“Aunt Willow, I’m so glad you’re here. Do you play volleyball?’

“Anne, I have in the past, but I may be a bit rusty with my serve.”

“No problem. I’ll give you a few practice serves.”

“Anne, like my daddy, I need to use the bathroom, too. Why don’t you show me the way?’

“Okay. Since Uncle Rupert is going to use the downstairs bathroom, we’ll go upstairs.”

“Anne, your daddy is very particular about allowing anyone over the age of fifteen up to his private bedroom and bath. Maybe I can hold out ‘till Daddy finishes.”

“You’re right. Daddy keeps reminding me and my friends to stay downstairs, but I’ll bet it is okay for you to go up.”

As Willow entered the house, Olga said, “Good morning—did y’all have an eventful trip?”

“Yes, we did. I took the long route and crossed the river on the ferry.”

“I know. Mamie told me that you and Uncle Rupert were taking the scenic route.”

“We did and both of us enjoyed it, especially stopping by Daddy’s Maintenance Compound.”

“I’m glad. Woody and I made that trek once last year. I was a bit apprehensive about the ferry, but it turned out just fine.”

“You know, Olga, Woody probably hasn’t shared this bit of history with you. But before the bridge was built at Vicksburg, trains were ferried across the river on large steam boats. That was before my time, but Daddy remembers crossing that way in his very young days.”

“Willow, although the ferry ride is nostalgic for Woody, I prefer crossing on the I-20 Bridge.”

“I agree, Olga. I’m sure I won’t repeat the ferry ride anytime soon.”

“Willow, where’s Connor?”

“I don’t know. I talked to him before we left and he didn’t sound too enthusiastic about coming over. He mentioned something about the festivities in town tonight.”

“Oh yeah. Hit the Bricks. That event has really grown in popularity over the last two or three years. It is fun visiting all the stores, but being from Russia, I never got into the music scene that much. I will say Woody loved it though. He would sing along with the bands. You know he has a pretty good singing voice.”

“Oh, yes. I remember many times going to dances and him really getting charged up. You do know he has sung karaoke several times.”

“No! I didn’t know that. We’ll have to get together and go out for a night on the town.”

Olga pointed up the steps to the bedrooms. “Let’s put Uncle Rupert’s things in the room to the right. And you take the one to the left.”

“In my younger days, I always claimed the left room.”

“Willow, Woody told me that was your room. Recently, Anne claimed it, so now we call it ‘Anne’s room.’ Make yourself comfortable. Do you and Uncle Rupert want anything to eat? We’ve got fixings for sandwiches and can fire up the grill if you want a hamburger or hot dog.”

“Olga, a sandwich will do just fine. I know we’re going to grill out tonight, so there is no need to do that now.”

The cool breeze blowing across the lake made sitting on the patio most enjoyable. Mamie served turkey and ham sandwiches, homemade French dip, chips, and raspberry tea.

After watching Mamie run around taking care of everybody, Willow said, “Mamie, please take a break. Come join us.”

“Ms. Willow, I’m having the time of my life. Having all of y’all together makes me feel needed again.”

“I’m glad, Mamie. You always were needed. I’m so happy for you. I want you to leave in time to get home before dark, though. And, I want you to call me when you get home.”

“Yes ma’am. But I’m not leaving until I take care of everything.”

“Uncle Rupert, I know your routine. You like to take a nap after eating and then watch a western movie. Are you ready for your nap?”

“Heck no, Woody. I want to go for a boat ride.”

“I’m not surprised,” Woody said. “I knew that seeing the water and the boat, you wouldn’t want to spend time sleeping.”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, everybody. Let’s adjourn to the boat house. Uncle Rupert, let me help you down the steps. Sometimes they are slippery. I cleaned them this morning, but we still need to be careful.”

“Then, let’s go. You hold onto my left side and I’ll balance with my cane.”

Soon, with Woody at the controls, the party barge was underway heading down the lake.

“Is it okay to cast my fishing line?” asked Rupert.

“Absolutely. Anne, why don’t you help Uncle Rupert, so his line won’t get tangled with the others?”

“Okay, Daddy. I want to cast a line also.”

Willow and Olga followed suit and instantly the party barge was transformed into a fishing boat. Woody slowed to about three knots so the lines could dip below the waves into deep water just above the bottom of the lake. Suddenly Rupert’s pole bent down.

 “I’ve got one.”

All eyes turned to his pole as he turned the crank reel, tightening his line.

“It feels like a big one. I might need some help handling the rascal.”

“Keep the line tight, but not too tight,” said Woody. “Play him. He’ll tire in a couple of minutes.” Then, turning to Anne, he added: “Get the dip net ready. Looks like we’re ‘gonna need it.”

“Got it on ready, Daddy. Uncle Rupert, work him to my side.”

“Anne, my hands are getting pretty tired. Let me pass the pole to you.”

“I’ll take it. Anne is ready with the net.”

“Okay, but don’t lose him now.”

“Daddy, I’ll do my very best.”

“Aunt Willow, pull him closer to me. I don’t want to reach out too far and fall in.”

Woody looked at Olga with a smile on his face, winked and lip synced, “This is fun. Look at Uncle Rupert.”

Rupert was seated and watched as Willow reeled his fish closer to the boat.

“Whew. This is hard work for an old man who hasn’t wet a hook in ten or more years. My heart is pounding.”

At that moment, Willow pulled a catfish up to the side of the boat and Anne dipped the net under him. She tried to lift the fish, but wasn’t strong enough.

She yelled, “Daddy, come help.”

Olga took control of the boat’s steering wheel as Woody lifted the fish out of the water.

“That is a nice blue cat. How much does he weigh, Woody?”

“I’ll guess between eighteen and twenty pounds.”

“Wow,” exclaimed Rupert, “I’ve seen my deck hands catch fish in the Mississippi River larger, but this one is spectacular.”

“Anne, and Willow stand by Uncle Rupert. I want to take a picture of this catch.”

Rupert smiled from ear to ear. “I want several prints of this picture. I’m going to pass them around to my friends at the Assisted Living Complex. They will be so envious.” 

“No problem, Uncle Rupert. I’ll even have copies made and framed for Willow, Woody’s office, and our home.”

“Wonderful. I’m not going to cast my line out again. I’m going to sit back and enjoy the boat ride and see if any of you can catch a bigger fish.”

“Uncle Rupert, I don’t blame you. That’s the biggest catfish we’ve ever caught trolling. But we usually catch bass and crappie a little bit later in the afternoon.”

Woody steered the party barge near the grove of cypress trees below the state park and back around to the western lake shore. None of the three lines got a strike. Rupert grinned. “Looks like I’m the only real fisherman on the boat.”

While cruising along the western shore, Woody pointed to a real estate sign. “See that?” 

“Yeah.”

“That’s the pier owned by Mary Jane. She is a very successful real estate agent. When you were talking about buying a house or property, I immediately thought the two of you need to get together. She has her hand on the pulse of all the properties in Vicksburg that might be for sale.”

“Good. I would like to meet her. Can we stop by her pier now?”

“If someone is on the pier we’ll stop, but if not, we’ll catch up with her later.”

“That’s fine. I want to start the search process as soon as possible.”

“Willow, I’m certain she can help you.”

“Okay. Next Monday we’ll set up an appointment with her.”

Anne looked at Woody and asked, “Daddy, why aren’t the fish biting?”

“Anne, baby, I guess they aren’t hungry.”

“Aw, Daddy, be serious. I want to catch some fish. Think I should change lures?”

“We can do that. I’ll stop and we’ll put new spinner on the three lines. Are you holding your mouth just right?”

“Daddy, I told you to get serious. Yes, I’m holding my mouth right and concentrating really hard.”

After replacing the lures with three new shinny spinners, the boat was moving again. Suddenly there was a pull on one of the lines.

Anne screamed, “I’ve got one—stop the boat.”

“Good girl. Pull him up. I’ve got the net ready.”

Anne reeled the fish closer as he jumped out of the water twisting and turning.

“Daddy, look. It is a big one.”

“Hold on tight. Don’t give him any slack. Keep pulling.”

In a couple of minutes Anne pulled the fish alongside. Willow swept the net through the water and lifted it onto the boat.

“Golly, gee. That is a large mouth bass. How much does he weigh, Daddy?”

“I would guess eight to nine pounds. He certainly is a big catch for this lake.”

“Look Uncle Rupert,” said Anne, holding the fish up. “Not as big as yours but a good size anyway.”

“Anne, you’re right. That is a very nice catch. I haven’t seen a bass that big in many years. Do you think we should eat him or have him mounted? You could hang him on the wall in your room right here at the lake.”

Looking at Woody, Anne asked, “Daddy, what do you think?”

“Anne, to be perfectly honest, I’ve never caught a bass that big. So, I suggest we have him mounted.”

“That’s good by me, Daddy. I do want a bronze tag put on the mount with the date, weight, and who caught him, though.”

At that statement, Woody, Willow, and Olga all burst into laughter.

“Who gets credit is important, right Woody? Sounds like something you would have said at that age.”