The Puzzle Master (19 page)

“Hey Marsh,” he said in a whisper.

“Dad,” Marshall stopped and looked at his father again as if he was an apparition. Why was he home? “I thought you were supposed to be at work, why are you …”

He shook his head. “Work can wait. And in fact,” and he patted to the chair next to him while Marshall set down his bowl and took a bite, “in fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about. I’ve been working way too much and I think I’ve got a solution.”

Marshall had no idea
what
his father could be talking about.
A solution?
Too much work? What was going on? Wasn’t this a school day, anyway?

“I heard from Luke that you won this fishing pole fair and square,” he said taking a sip of his coffee.

Marshall opened his mouth to take a bite and then closed it. There it was: the pole.
That was the fishing pole he was supposed to have gotten when he finished the puzzle.
But what was it doing in his kitchen?

“I didn’t finish the … but I haven’t …” Marshall stared at the pole. No, he
had
finished the puzzle. It
was done
. Iris was gone, but he
had
finished the puzzle. He took a bite and chewed on it thoughtfully even though he tasted nothing.

“So, I was wondering,” said Marshall’s father, since it’s only five and we’re the only ones up in the house, you think you’re up for some fishing?”

Marshall wasn’t used to hearing those words. It was almost unbelievable that his father said them. But somehow, in the following few minutes, the stuffing in his ears came out. The black and white kitchen turned back to color; the dirty linoleum floor—though still a dingy flowery hue—was back into color now. The static in his brain was gone.

He’d never understood what forgiveness was; what it felt like to let go of something that he felt was his right to hold onto, until now. And he liked
it,
more than he thought was possible.

Marshall answered his father. “Yes. That’s sounds good.
Fishing.”

Iris was in a great place and God was a word away, just as Iris had said. Marshall snuck back into his room and opened the squeaky closet. He grabbed a hat and his jeans and shirt and went to the garage to put them on. The pole sat on the washing machine, while his father gathered the tackle boxes and bait, and together, they got into the truck.

Marshall had promised Iris a big fish, so he was going to get the biggest salmon in the river with his dad. And he wasn’t coming home until he did.