Catch and Don't Release

Hi! I'm submitting this story for the Summer Lovin' Story Contest 2022. Please don't forget to vote!

Please pay attention to the tags. This is a *Gay Male Romance*

Usually a story like this I would break up into chapters but I wanted to give it to you in full so it's a couple of pages long. If you're familiar with my work, then you know it's a love story first and foremost. It's going to be a slow burn but heats up pretty quickly. The story is set in Rockville 1981, so there are some familiar names that pop up but obviously as children or much younger adults. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

-Eskay

~~~~~~~

circa 1981

Jacob tapped his fingers along to Under Pressure as he took the drive to his father's childhood home. He glanced at the box on the front seat, then faced the road. "Last road trip, huh Dad?"

Of course the box with the urn inside didn't answer back.

He left early, wanting to beat the traffic. It wasn't a bad drive from Cherry Hill, New Jersey to the small Rhode Island town, a little under four hours. He considered stopping in Orange, New Jersey, to see his mother Nina, or stopping at his sister Haley's house in the same township. Jacob decided to do neither, but to keep going that Saturday morning.

When Jacob reached Rockville, the town was bustling. He passed by McKinley's Inn and made a note to stop there to say hello. Roy McKinley and his father were best friends growing up. It was nice that he and his wife Annette showed up at the funeral with flowers and a card.

Jacob passed the front entrance for Wincheck Park and Pond. He always wondered why they called it that, a pond. It was not a pond at all, but a lake of 146 acres with three townships circling it in Hopkinton Country: Rockville, Ashaway and Hope Valley. It was big and beautiful, great for all kinds of water activities from swimming to kayaking.

And of course, fishing.

At some point there was no more road, just gravel and dust down a private lane where the homes were close enough to see your neighbor but spread out to give some privacy. Each house faced that corner of the lake, and since the water was deeper on this end than near the park, each home had their own private dock for boating. Only one dock was empty. His father's.

Jacob parked his green Pontiac Bonneville in the driveway and looked up at the four bedroom, one bathroom, Craftsman Bungalow where his father was born. A porch wrapped halfway around the house, because his grandfather closed the back end of the porch to make it a sunroom and sitting area. It was yellow at one point, Grandma Rose's favorite color, now it was a fading green.

He remembered spending many summers there with his siblings, his father smoking a cigarette or a cigar in one hand with a newspaper in the other; his grandma in the kitchen or the sunroom. He wondered if the kitchen was still yellow.

Jacob grabbed his suitcase out of the trunk and walked up the porch steps. He opened the door with his father's key. The house smelled like stale cigars. That made sense to him; his father had not been there since last summer. The thought made his heart ache.

He dropped his bag and opened up all the windows in the house, from upstairs to downstairs, letting in a nice breeze. Then he went back to the car and pulled out the box. He brought the box inside the house and opened it on the coffee table.

The black and gold urn was sitting in a bed of styrofoam. Jacob pulled it out gently and placed it on the mantel.

"Welcome home, Dad," he said softly.

Then he got to work. He went through the vinyl records in the living room and he put in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. David Bowie's voice began and he smiled. He always had a crush on the larger than life singer.

Jacob found some old cleaning products and used what he could to dust, mop and sweep the living room, dining room and the yellow kitchen. By the time he made it upstairs the sun was setting, so he managed to only clean out the master bedroom. He found some old sheets and replaced the ones in the bedroom that had been there for some time.

He dragged his suitcase and briefcase into the room and started putting clothes in the drawers. He would be there for a couple of weeks and had no desire to live out of his bag.

Once done, he lined up his books on the nightstand: Firestarter by Steven King, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum and The Covenant by James Michener. Each book had its own bookmark.

Jacob opened up his briefcase. The curriculum for his upcoming seventh grade class was still only half done. He was thankful for Dr. Kipton's understanding that he had to take care of things first, but he knew it had to be completed within the next few days or they would give his classroom away.

Jacob loved teaching more than anything else. It would break his heart to not be able to do so. Even if he wasn't teaching his first love, Science, educating young minds was his calling.

But he had other things to worry about. He sighed and opened up The Covenant. He pulled out the yellow lined paper at the front of the book, and looked at the list his father left him in his shaky handwriting:

Take me home.

Spread my ashes between my three happiest places: Wincheck Pond. Baisley's Apple Farm. Pick the last one.

Sell my father's house. Give the job to Frank Mullens with 30% off the top. Tell him I'm sorry.

Split the profits between you, Gunther and Haley.

Tell Haley to be as smart as her mother and stash it for a rainy day.

Make Gunther take the money. Tell him I'm sorry.

Give Ian McKinley a two dollar bill.

Go to Mass at St. Cecilia's for four weeks in a row.

Go fishing.

Only get gear from Lionel's Bait and Fishing Shop. George will take care of you.

Catch, and don't release.

Tell your mother I'm sorry.

Twelve items, his last wishes. Jacob took out his red pen and put a check mark next to the first one. He was trying to decide if he should do them in order, but realized some things were going to come before others.

For example, he had already spoken to Frank Mullens, who agreed to be his realtor. According to Mr. Mullens, there was already interest in the lake house.

It was prime restate, right on the quiet side of the lake, away from the park that could be noisy sometimes. And it had its own dock for a boat, something his grandparents never owned, but his father had this rickety wooden boat that he would go fishing in.

And going to Mass would be in between everything else. He hadn't been to Mass in years but for his father, he would do as he asked. Tomorrow was his first day back to church and he had no idea what to expect.

His siblings would be tough. But he would figure it out when the time came.

Spreading the ashes should be easy enough. He'd split it into three bowls. The first task he'd tomorrow. The second he would have to find a way in. The Baisley orchard was private property. He couldn't just walk in and ask to drop a dead man's ashes on the land.

And the third place... Why did his father want him to choose the last place?

He balked at the idea of going fishing. It was his least favorite activity. But he was surprised at the statement: Catch and don't release. His father released his fish back into the water, only rarely taking them home to grill when it was a special occasion. Maybe if he actually did catch a fish, his father wanted him to have the full experience, taking it home, grilling and eating it.

Jacob took a shower, changed his clothes and looked into the mirror. He knew he looked more like his father than Gunther did. Jacob had his father's strong face, brown eyes, thick eyebrows, wide lips and brown hair that got wavy the longer it was. Jacob's shag haircut was long enough to fall over his face but not quite long enough to put in a ponytail. He liked it that way.

Jacob could see his father in him, and it made him happy and sad at the same time. He turned off the light in the bathroom and got into bed. It was so quiet there, a real change living in the city. He let the soft sounds of the lake through the open window, lapping against the rocks, lure him to sleep.

~~~

Mass wasn't awful, Jacob decided.

He walked in thinking he was going to sit in the back but Roy McKinley hugged him tight and made him sit with his family: his wife Annette, his son Ian, Ian's wife Camille, and their two daughters, six-year-old Lauren and one-year-old Ida; his other son August with his wife Shelby and their twin boys, Paul and Peter.

"The priest is new," Ian whispered when Jacob looked curiously at the front. "Father Brunson retired last year, after bringing in Father O'Donnell and mentoring him. And he's young, about the same age as me, mid 30's."

Jacob nodded as Mass began. He was rusty on most of it, but he followed Roy and Ian's lead. And he did not take communion. He didn't even know if he believed in it all anymore. Afterwards, Father O'Donnell invited everyone to the church basement for refreshments.

"Yeah, that's new too," Ian said as they stood up. "He started it as a way to meet and greet all the parishioners but he just kept it going. You're not required to, but it's a nice way to end the service before everyone heads home."

Jacob agreed. Being new in town, he wanted to talk with all of his father's old friends and explore his hometown as an adult. He followed the McKinleys into the church basement. Frank Mullens immediately found him.

"Jacob! So good to see you in town." He gave Jacob a friendly handshake. "When did you arrive?"

"Just yesterday morning, Mr. Mullens."

"Ah, you're a grown man now, call me Frank."

Jacob smiled. "Sure, Frank."

"Janet," he called his wife over. "Janet, this is Jacob Jarten. Mikel's youngest boy."

Janet Mullens had to be at least twenty years younger than her husband. She couldn't have been a day over 40, and Mr. Mullens was his late father's school mate, so he would have been around 61.

Janet squinted at her husband in surprise but only briefly before she gave Jacob a smile. "So nice to meet you. Frank said you haven't been around since you were a boy."

"I was probably 11 the last time I was here. 15 years ago for my grandmother's funeral, I think."

"Yes. That sounds about right." She turned to her husband. "Frank, I think I'm going to head home early, I have a slight headache."

"Of course, darling. I'm going to talk some business with Jacob here and be home soon."

She looked at Jacob again. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Jacob. Please send your mother and siblings my condolences as well."

He thought that was weird. Everyone knew his parents had divorced many years ago. But maybe it was the polite thing to do. "Thank you ma'am," Jacob said respectfully.

When his wife left, Frank began talking about next steps before putting the home on the market. Even though Jacob insisted that he could continue to clean the home, Frank insisted on having a deep cleaning service and stage the house from top to bottom.

A nice, young family, the McColloughs, were living in a studio apartment near the Baisley's orchard. Brian McCollough had been working on Baisley's Apple Farm for the last five years. Frank had mentioned the house coming onto the market to them.

As if on cue, the McColloughs were walking past and Frank called them over and introduced them. Brian McCollough was a tall man with an Irish accent. He looked to be around the same age as Jacob, mid twenties. His wife, Angelica, was tall too, holding onto their infant son, Brayden. She had just given birth six months prior.

"We've been looking for a place to expand and grow our family. Your house seems like the perfect location," Brian said. Jacob liked the idea of a new family starting over in the house that brought him so many happy memories.

As the four of them talked, Jacob began feeling like he was being watched. He turned to the right and locked eyes with a man who was leaning against the wall. The man had sandy brown hair, short and curly, and bright blue eyes. He was average height with a medium build.

And he was insanely gorgeous.

He wasn't smiling but there was amusement in his eyes. After staring at Jacob intently, the man nodded. Jacob nodded back.

"...be ready by the 1st?"

"I'm sorry?" Jacob turned his attention back to the couple.

"Will it be ready by the 1st, I asked? August 1st?" Angelica was talking.

"Oh um..." Jacob couldn't help but to glance back over but the man had begun a conversation with someone else and was turned from him. Jacob looked back at Angelica.

"That might be a little soon. Can you give me until mid August? That's when I'm headed back and leaving it in Frank's capable hands."

"That's fine," said Brian. "We only ask that you give us a chance to see it and decide if we want to put an offer in before you put it on the market."

"I can certainly do that," Jacob said and held his hand out for a shake. Brian shook his hand back.

Frank said, "I'm going to head home to take care of Janet. Let's meet in my office on Wednesday around 1pm? Just stop on by."

"That sounds great." They also shook hands and Frank left.

Again, Jacob couldn't help it. His eyes scanned the room for the handsome man with the intense blue eyes but after five minutes of wandering in every corner of the church basement, he decided to give up.

Jacob went over to Ian who was talking to the new priest. Ian introduced them. "Jacob, meet Father O'Donnell."

Father O'Donnell had kind brown eyes and a warm smile. "Very nice to meet you, Jacob. I met your father last year. Such a lively man. I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is hard."

"Thank you, Father. It was expected, he'd been battling lung cancer for a number of years. I'm at peace with it."

The monsignor nodded. "Well if you ever need to talk, my door is always open. In or out of the confessional."

"I appreciate that, Father." Jacob turned to Ian. "Can you tell your dad that I headed back to the house? I still have some packing, cleaning and errands to run."

"Sure, no problem. But you know he's going to want you to stop by for dinner soon."

"Of course." Jacob began to walk away, then came back. "Shoot, I almost forgot." He pulled out his wallet and dug through the cash until he found it. He handed it to Ian saying, "My dad wanted you to have this."

Ian stared at the money and didn't take it. "Wow. He remembered."

"Remembered what?" Jacob asked curiously.

"When I was about six or seven, I was running on the dock with your brother Gunther. I tripped and fell down hard, and lost two teeth. It was awful, I was bleeding so much. Your dad told me that because I lost two teeth at the same time, it meant the tooth fairy was going to bring me a special double bill. I told him there was no such thing but he swore on it. Of course I forgot about it. But I guess he never did..." Ian trailed off.

"No, he never forgot. It was part of his last requests, to give you a two dollar bill."

"Wow," Ian said again. He slowly reached up and took the money. "Wow," he said again.

Jacob patted his shoulder. "You're dad and my dad were really close growing up. I know he saw you like a nephew to him. You and your dad, you were important to him."

"Thanks, Jacob." Ian sniffed back tears. "It's going to be great to have you around for a little bit. How long are you in town for?"

"Three or four weeks." Jacob turned to the priest. "Another one of his wishes was for me to attend Mass for four consecutive weeks, specifically at St. Cecilia's."

"Wonderful," the priest beamed. "That means I will be seeing you around too." Jacob smiled at the man, wanting to roll his eyes but also not be disrespectful.

"Hey, I didn't ask, how is Gunther?" Ian said. "I haven't seen him in ages."

"I know. Not sure why we didn't come back, we just spent summers in Bridgeport with my dad instead of here. I didn't realize my dad had started coming back after he was first diagnosed five years ago."

"Hmm," was Ian's response. "Yeah, your dad just reappeared back in '76 and started spending his whole summers up here until the school year began and he had to go back to work. He was just here last summer..." Ian trailed off again.

Jacob patted his arm. "He's here this summer too. I'm to spread his ashes in his three favorite places. I have the first two. I might need your help with the third one."

Ian smiled. "Sounds good."

Jacob left the church, stepped into the warm air and smiled. He was actually glad that he came to St Cecilia's. There was just something about this town that felt like home.

He began walking when he spotted the blue eyed man again in the parking lot. He was leaning against a brown Ford Bronco smoking a cigarette in his left hand, watching him as if he had been waiting for Jacob to come out and find him.

And Jacob indeed found himself walking toward him. "Hi," he spoke first.

The man took a pull from his cigarette and on the exhale said, "Hi yourself."

"I'm Jacob."

The man dusted his right hand on his pants and held it out. "Alexander."

Jacob took it. "Nice to meet you."

"You're not from around here," Alex said as he let Jacob's hand go.

"No, I grew up in Jersey. But my father is from here. I'm here to sell his family home and some other things."

"Last name?" Alex took another pull, not taking his eyes off Jacob.

"Jarten."

"Ah," he said in recognition. "I'm sorry for your loss. He was a good man."

"Thank you."

"So you're Mikel's son? I forgot he had two of them. I expected Gunther to roll through here to take care of his father's affairs."

"I'm the youngest. Gunther is the oldest."

Alex nodded. "I remember now. Him, me, Ian and little Owen used to get into some shit every summer."

"I don't remember you," Jacob said plainly.

Alex gave him a sly smile. "Yeah I guess you wouldn't. I'm a good ten years older than you. And you were the one that always had your face in a book."

Jacob smiled back. "Still do."

Alex chuckled. "How long are you in town for?"

"A couple of weeks."

"Hm. Okay." Alex finished his cigarette and stubbed it out with his boot. He opened up his car door and said, "I'll see you around, Jarten."

Alex stepped in and started the car. He drove off without giving Jacob another glance.

~~~

Jacob spent Monday doing more cleaning, despite what Frank said. He realized there were things he wanted to keep, like all of his father's Chemistry books. His father was a chemistry professor at University of Bridgeport and Jacob received his love of reading, teaching and Science from him. He felt sad as he went through the bookshelf.

Jacob cleaned out the three other rooms, remembering spending his summers occupying the middle room. After his parents' divorced when Jacob was around six, his father moved to Connecticut and he stayed in Orange, New Jersey, with his mother and siblings. He rarely saw his father except for two months in the summer, usually right there in Rockville.

Gunther, who was nine years older than him, was always out with the friends he made in the small town when they were here. Jacob smiled to himself, thinking of Alexander hanging out with his older brother. He wondered what he looked like back then, if he was just as much as a fox as he is now.

Sometimes Jacob would spend his time playing with his sister Haley, who was only four years older than him. But she was into dolls and jump rope when Jacob wanted to play fantasy games and read about far away places. So it would be him and his father most of the time.

His father would read him stories about King Arthur's Court, or go over the first 40 elements until it was burned in his brain. They would go hiking, which Jacob enjoyed, and fishing, which Jacob hated. Hiking was like an adventure in the woods, where he could make up stories in his head. Fishing was a whole lot of sitting and waiting.