It was a beautiful day for fishing. Don anchored the boat and then he and Donna began to fish.
This lake was well known for its catfish, crappie, and bass and it was only a few minutes after Don cast, that he had a heavy jerk on his line and he was in for a fight with a huge largemouth bass! It was around 8 lbs and would make some good eating!
Before Don could rebait his hook and put the fish in the cooler, Donna pulled up a smallmouth bass, not realizing that Don was still standing and smacked Don so hard in the face, that he loss his balance and started wobbling around precariously. When Donna looked around and tried to help Don she only made it worse! In a matter of minutes, the old boat flipped over and everything flipped over with it, including its two passengers. The lake was calm that day, thank goodness! Though Don and Donna were both soaking wet, the life preservers had them both upright in the water and neither one was caught under the boat or suffered bodily injury, however there was some embarrassment on the part of both people.
Don was thankful that he and Donna had both purchased a fishing license the week before at the local WalMart in preparation of a fishing trip. That really helped when two Game Wardens saw the boat overturn and were there in an instant to help.
After they talked to them about the rules of safety and finished laughing, they started loading Donna into the Game Wardens boat, Donna began to cry as if to say what else can happen and as they were loading everything from the flipped boat, it made a sort of squeaky sound, then it started making a gurgling sound and moaning
and groaning and when they got Don into the boat with them, it sank to the bottom of the lake.
Don sat beside Donna and put his arm around her assuring her that it was all his fault because he was so excited about catching the largemouth bass that he wasn't watching his passenger or they could have avoided this whole mess!
"On top of that Donna, my Jeep keys are at the bottom of the lake but I got the cooler and my fish so it's not all bad! At that point, one of the Game Wardens said to Don, "Son I never seen anyone hold on to a cooler like you did!" At that being said, all four of them were laughing now!
The officers were going to take them both to back to Donna's house to dry off and Donna could take Don to get his spare set of keys and go back to get the jeep.
When they got to the house, they thanked the Game Wardens and got their names, promising an invite to the next fish fry at Donna's. Don got away with a "Warning Only" on the mishap.
The door closes at Donna's house and Don puts both arms around Donna and holds her close to him! "Donna, I don't know what I would have done had you been hurt!' (Don's body ached for so much more from Donna but he wanted that to be her call as much as his.)
Donna made some coffee and gave Don a cup before showing him the guest bathroom where he could find a few of John's pants and shirts that were left at the beach house. She jumped in the shower in her bathroom and thought about the gentle man in the shower on the other side of the house and how blessed she was to have him.
Donna walked into the living room where Do has sitting on the couch rubbing his eyes and she quickly asked him was he okay? He smiled, as only Don could smile and said, "Who would have believed how close we came to death today and how blessed we are to just be alive!" It makes you start to think about eternity!"
I know, Donna said as she scooted closer to him on the couch and they embraced tightly and long and exhausted, they fell asleep peacefully.
Don awoke up to the aroma of bacon and found a southern breakfast In the kitchen that is not only wonderful but will drive you right to heart attack alley if eaten more than once or twice a month. There was scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits, and a southern specialty called Chocolate gravy.
He looked at Donna in wonderment. Don thought I must have died in the boat mishap because otherwise how can one man be this blessed? He held her close and kissed her in a way that let her know just how he felt.
They ate breakfast, went for a walk, and came back and just enjoyed being together until the late afternoon when Donna took Don home to get his spare set of Jeep keys so they could go get the Jeep at the lake.
Once they got the Jeep, they both went back to Donna's house. They laughed, they loved, they got to know each other that whole lazy Sunday afternoon in a more loving way realizing how they both were so blessed to have found each other like they did.
Their fishing trip might have been called a real disaster but what these two caught was that mysterious, mystical fish called love.
Was love to be their friend or was there something lurking around the corner that would change love yet again for Donna?