Naja Aidt - Rock, Paper, Scissors

“I’m going down to stack some wood,” Maloney declares, removing his T-shirt so that everyone can see his big white belly. Helena’s aghast at the sight. His gut apparently stops all conversation. They gaze at Maloney in silence, watching him trundle toward the wood pile. Then they discuss the vandalism at the store, and Thomas realizes that he’s hardly thought about it since they left the city. Kristin speaks up and loudly tells them about a breech birth that went horribly wrong. She doesn’t spare any of the gruesome details. Most children are born at home up here, she explains, and it’s not always possible to reach the hospital if there’s an emergency, because the distances are too great. She’d called for a helicopter, but it was too late. Patricia shudders. “Usually everything goes as it should,” Helena smiles. “Now don’t be scaring Patricia. Kristin says that you two are thinking about having a baby? It’s lovely. I miss having little ones in my life. Perhaps we could become grandmothers of some kind?” Helena glances happily at Kristin, and Kristin gives her an exasperated, unfriendly glare.

“I can’t imagine Thomas as a father. .” Jenny says.

“Here they come!” Patricia interrupts, pointing down toward the lake. Rising to her feet, she shields her eyes from the sun with her hand. Alice and Luke appear. She: easy-going and slender with her ultra-short hair. He: calm, and as though conjoined with the earth, wearing shorts and rubber boots. Their fishing poles rest on their shoulders, and Luke’s carrying a bucket that seems heavy. Maya and Nina run toward them, Jupiter barking at their heels. “I think they caught something!” Patricia says cheerfully. “So we can have minced fish-balls for lunch.”

Yes, they can. Luke has caught a medium-sized pike and four small perch. He seems rather pleased. The women shout excitedly, all except for Kristin, who sneaks away. Luke and Alice sit on the stoop and clean the fish. Luke teaches Alice just how to avoid cutting herself on the sharp spikes the perch have on their gills and dorsal fin. He uses the knife skillfully. Tosses the fish heads to the two wild cats who, drawn by the smell, have approached. Luke explains how he had to fight the pike. The perch, too. “When they have a good bite on the hook, they can really put up a struggle,” he says, wiping blood from his hands with a paper towel. “But that just makes it more fun.” According to Alice, Luke is the most amazing and talented and professional fisherman there is. “What did you do, then?” Nina asks Alice.

“I watched Luke and kept him company. But unfortunately I didn’t catch any fish myself.”

“Yes, you did,” Luke says.

“Okay, but you had to take over the line for me.” She looks at the twins. “I couldn’t hold it! It was the pike. It got away the first time, but Luke hooked it again.”

“You can’t possibly know it was the same pike,” says Nina.

“Of course you can,” Luke says. “And do you know how we know? It told us its name.”

“What was its name then?” Maya widens her eyes in anticipation.

“Samuel the Fat Pike was its name.” With sunlight glinting in his eyes, Luke looks at the girls, who can’t hide their pleasure at this moment.

Luke and Alice carry the fish to the utility room, where they are filleted. Luke tells them that pike can be difficult to strip entirely free of bones, if you don’t know the technique. But he knows how, of course. What makes deboning difficult, he explains, has something to do with what’s called the Y-bones, because they’re curved. Then he begins to explain at length. Thomas can’t concentrate anymore. The little troop has followed them out, and now stands appreciatively observing Luke and his knife. “I think we should fry the whole perch,” he says. But Samuel the Fat Pike will be minced. Patricia churns it through the mincer then dresses it with flour, dill, and lemon zest. Soon the aroma of fried fish spreads through the house. Helena prepares a remoulade sauce, and the girls slice lemons into wedges. Maloney’s called in to fry the perch. While trying to flip one in the air, it lands, to the girls’ immense pleasure, on the floor. Maloney throws it right back in the pan again — making the girls even more giddy. Jenny sits in a chair doing nothing. She looks exhausted, and yet not. Her arms are pink from the sun. Now she picks up the newspaper and browses it absentmindedly. The way she does, stooped, as if the world didn’t interest her in the slightest. And maybe it doesn’t, Thomas thinks. He’s recruited to whip up a salad of carrots, cabbage, and chopped hazelnuts, and he wants to force Jenny to help him, but decides against it because it seems too childish. “How about we eat outside?” Helena suggests. “We’d just need to move the table out of the sunroom.” Luke will do that. Helena sends Nina upstairs to get Kristin, who returns soon after with pillow marks on her right cheek and a tired, worn-out expression on her face. The minced fish balls seem to raise her spirits. In short order they’re seated on the patio together, a faded parasol over their heads. The bread is passed around. The butter is fresh and yellow. And the fish couldn’t be any tastier. They divide the four perches. Their skin is crunchy and the meat firm. The fish balls are light brown and juicy. You can taste the flavor from the lemon zest. There’s no end to the superlatives thrown Luke’s way; he beams at the boundless admiration and praise. At last Maloney takes it upon himself to interject some crude observations to draw attention away from the young man at the end of the table, who has each of the women in the palm of his hand. Thomas glances at his friend, relieved. Blinking, Maloney asks about Kristin’s hunting license. “Let’s talk about killing animals,” he says, “not little fish, but large mammals with horns and visible genitalia!” Thomas can’t help but notice Luke shrink a bit. “I also want to learn how to fish,” Maya whispers, leaning against Luke. “Next time,” Luke says, standing abruptly. He saunters into the shade and lights a cigarette. He seems hunted now, restless, his eyes darting uneasily across the meadows and fields, as if he’s suddenly thought of something very unpleasant. It’s Thomas’s cigarette pack he’s fingering. Though he was only offered a single smoke last night, he must have taken the entire pack.

The twins cry when they say goodbye to Alice. “Nothing ever happens here, and now you’re leaving !” Nina whimpers. She has to wrap them each in a bear hug and give them some of her bracelets before they calm down. She rides with Jenny and Maloney. She has to work in a few hours. And Thomas remembers what she does, the job she performs. He doesn’t like the thought of it. He quickly arranges to meet with her at the store Monday morning. “Remember to call Annie and Peter!” Maloney calls, popping his ruddy head out the window. “Company happy hour tomorrow!” Jenny waves her scarf, which, like a salmon-colored wimple, is thrown hither and thither by the wind as Maloney’s red Toyota finally putters up the driveway. Then Luke says, “You want me to drive first to show you the way?”

“Way? Way to what?”

“To my mother’s. Did you forget?”

Luke glowers at Thomas reproachfully. Patricia doesn’t understand. But there’s nothing to do: Thomas promised to go with Luke. Patricia didn’t, and she quickly says that she needs to go home to the cat, which has been alone all weekend. Suddenly and swiftly Patricia presses her lips to Luke’s mouth, after which she disappears into Kristin’s embrace. Thomas tries to suppress his gasp. For a long moment Patricia holds Helena’s hands in hers. He strives to get Patricia’s attention; she doesn’t look at him. She smiles to the girls, though. What is it? Is she flirting? Trying to provoke him? Or just showing Thomas how completely indifferent she is to him? She gets into the rental car. Thomas blocks the sun with his hand and once again attempts to make eye contact with her, without succeeding. Patricia’s already driving away, and Helena puts her arms around Thomas and whispers, “She’s an exceptional girl, take good care of her.” Thomas is going to ride with Luke. He doesn’t really want to, especially now, but everything’s happening so fast. Kristin says, “Goodbye, little Thomas. Don’t do anything your aunt wouldn’t do.” And then there’s nothing left to do but climb into the seat beside Luke; he’s already put the key in the ignition and revved the engine. The wheels stir up clouds of dust, and Kristin and Helena and the twins take an instinctive step backward. Luke accelerates, making the bumps on the gravel road feel extra hard; Thomas’s head is slung back when he turns to wave at the women and the gangly girls, who with their small, slender braids look even more gangly and perplexed than before.