pushed (fragment)
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” I had wanted this afternoon to be a quiet escape from our reality. To spend the afternoon fishing, forgetting the responsibilities we both held. I gave him what I hoped was a convincing smile and his shoulders relaxed as he handed me my fishing rod.
As always, he would bait his hook, then watch me as I did mine. I could do it fine, he just had the habit of making sure it was secure before I casted. I didn’t mind as his eyes studied my hands, I was better than him at this and we both knew it. It was with smug satisfaction that I looped the piece of grimy fish meat through the hook, tying it back against itself. I let go of the hook and wiping my hand on my skirt, I leaned the fishing pole dramatically against my shoulder, the rigging held firmly at my hip. With a quick wink, I turned and marched smartly towards the ledge, braced myself against the giant redwood before climbing down the overcropping to the riverbank below. Suddenly, the world had turned upside down and disappeared while I was propelled bodily through the air, landing on my chest in the water. Jerking myself up with my forearms, surprised by both the fall and the freezing water, I splashed in front of me, frantically searching for solid ground. Every muscle and joint ached, every breath was a struggle as I fought my throat for air, coming finally in tight, wheezing gasps. I’d had the wind knocked out of me before, but never so painfully. Soaking wet and shaking hard I was covered with stagnant river water and rusty brown silt. I could smell the rank stench of rotten fish blood and taste the slick metallic slime as it trickled down my throat. The shock of the fall wearing off, I realized that Duggan was kneeling beside me in the muddy bank, bracing me above the water as I coughed and spluttered, tears streaming and a thick line of white snot hanging from my nose.