The perfect catch
My brother and me - two outdoor rascals who never sought each other out, but found each other nonetheless. Even during our childhood, we were always out and about together. We wore our scratches and abrasions like medals on our bodies and were sure that one day we would become great adventurers. A few decades later, the reality of everyday life has caught up with us, our trips have become less, but we celebrate them all the more. Like today, because we have something to cheer about: my brother is becoming a father.
We have packed our fishing rods, our tried and tested lures and of course our CUBE. Even Maya has smelled the adventure and jumps into the van with us. Our lake beckons with the best weather and many childhood memories. Countless times we have cooked here together over the fire and made fun of our parents' cautionary words when starting a fire.
But before that happens, the fishing rods are cast out. Soon we are exchanging more looks than words. Even Maya is captivated by the silence and waits on the shore with her tail wagging for our catch. And so we stand here in absolute peace and watch the sun move further and further towards the horizon. Until my stomach begins to growl loudly.
Luckily I am well prepared, because our fishing trips have often ended with a big hunger. So without many words we decide that the trout we bought will be liberated from the cooler. Maxi splits the logs and heats the CUBE.
He's got that down, as always. We give the fire time to grow and swallow our defeat with the well-chilled A la Hop wine spritzer. Then it's time to insert the planchas into the CUBE. The hissing of the oil immediately catapults us back in thought to our travels, equally moderately successful fishing attempts and improvised fish tacos.
We let the flames do the talking and drift back to our memories with a smile. They were all one of a kind and I'm looking forward to sitting here by the fire with my niece soon. I just hope she doesn't ask me how I caught the fish.
