By Ian Luke

Chocolate is good for you, right? In Evie’s eyes, if a little was good, a lot was fantastic. She not only ate a lot, she looked like she ate a lot. So much, she struggled to get around the house.

Personally, I thought fishing was good for you. The open air, smell of the sea, peace and quiet. Really, what could be better? And if a little was good, a lot was better.

But Evie didn’t agree. What she thought was good for “us”, it seemed, was for me to be at home, waiting for her to call for more chocolate. It was a call that was hard to miss. Shrill and often angry, chalk on blackboard sounded better.

The morning came, crisp, clear and beautiful. A perfect morning for fishing. Quietly, I moved around the house, getting ready. It seemed I was going to make my escape. I knew things would be ugly when I got back, but by then the day had been enjoyed and it wouldn’t matter.

From out of the darkened bedroom came that shrill noise I’d been dreading. “Norman, what are you doing? You’re up early. Is my breakfast ready?”

“No Evie, breakfast isn’t ready,” I called. “I need to get some things down the street for breakfast, I wont be long.”

“What things? We should have everything. You told me you bought the chocolate! Are you trying to sneak off on me again? I told you what would happen if you did that again!” the screeching seemed never ending.

Standing at the bedroom door, I looked at the lump on the bed. A red mist appeared. “SHUT UP!” I screeched back. “JUST SHUT UP!!” enough was enough. I realised the fishing knife was in my hand. And I knew it was for a reason.

Finally, she stopped yelling. I loaded the boat and headed out fishing. I had plenty of bait, and plenty of time.