Cross Roads

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he said, “Mickey, I’ve been wondering when I would see you again.” He looked at the rod in the angel’s hand, and started laughing. “Get out of here. You fish?”

“What have I told you about being a jerk, Ben? Laughing at me is being a jerk, got it?” Mickey laid his rod down in the weeds. “I always wanted to try my luck with the sport, so I figured this was probably my best opportunity to give it a try. I asked you to give me a lesson but you’ve made it clear that you don’t want anything to do with me. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be though, so I thought maybe you’d change your mind and spend some time with me. What do you say?”

Ben sobered at the question, “I’m not sure that I feel comfortable giving an angel a lesson, Mickey. I thought your type could magically do anything.”

It was Mickey’s turn to be amused. “You watch too many movies. But if you aren’t at ease giving me a lesson, I can keep working at it on my own.”

“I’m not the jerk you keep accusing me of, Mickey. Can you be at my trailer tomorrow morning, at ten a.m.? I’ll teach you a few things that will help you enjoy the sport. We’ll start by working on your cast and move on from there. Will that work for you?”

Mickey focused on Ben as if he were seeing through him, then he slowly smiled until it covered most of his face. “I’ll be there, Ben. And I must say, that’s awfully nice of you to do this for me. We might end up pals, after all. Come on, I’ll keep you company while you pack your car.”