The Fisherman's Daughter

The moment Thea walked into her home, frozen to the core, she knew her mother would go off on a tangent about how her predictions would prove to turn out correctly. On the contrary, she found Sonja sitting on a stool in the kitchen, preparing dinner. She didn’t say a word when she noticed Thea appear in the doorway. The only thing she did was give her a look, the same one she wore just moments previously.

Thea rolled her eyes and then spoke up. “Dad said you needed help with something. What is it?”

“I was hoping you would help me start planning a nice dinner for your father and whoever else might be interested in joining us. As you know, they’re leaving first thing Monday. So I thought, perhaps, we might treat them to this on Sunday evening. You know, like we used to do.”

The Hansen family had a long-standing tradition of having nearly a feast just before the men went out to sea. Not only was it comforting to the fishermen who had quotas to meet and lives to risk, it was a great opportunity to spend time with friends and family. It was therapeutic for everyone involved. The past few years, it seemed that their tradition had been put on the backburner as other things came to be more important. Thea wholeheartedly believed that her mother’s plan to bring back this ritual was a great one.

“Sure, I’ll help,” Thea replied. “Were you planning on doing something special this time?”

“Oh, nothing too terribly fancy. I just thought we’d make some of the boys’ favorite meals. The weather is supposed to warm up so maybe a barbeque will be possible.”

“That sounds great,” Thea said pleasantly. Thea thought back to the barbeques they had occasionally had back in her home town in Washington. When they had had good weather, which was sometimes a rarity, they would always take advantage of the time they could spend together and threw quite pleasant parties.

For the remainder of the night, Thea helped her mother complete a shopping list and a plan of action for the next few days. Trying to keep it as a surprise for Arttu, they decided to wrap up their planning for the night as soon as he came home.

The next day, Thea and Sonja had plenty lined up for them to do and plenty of people to invite. They spent the majority of the day shopping and gathering things for the party. Though they weren't exactly thrilling tasks, Thea was pleased by the anticipation it brought; the moment when everyone would be together again was something she couldn't help but look forward to.

In the days that followed, the weather had surely been clearing up. A barbeque seemed all the more likely. In her free time, Thea had made sure to call all the deckhands to invite them to the party. She told them that they shouldn't tell Arttu; it was meant to be a surprise. Thea and her mother knew it would be one of the best surprises Arttu had ever received.

By Sunday afternoon, everything they needed had been stockpiled throughout their house, and mostly their kitchen. Thea's father had gone out early that morning to check up on the boat and make some last minute decisions, but he definitely knew something was up when he arrived back at the home in the afternoon.

The delicious smell of home-cooked food flooded their entire house as Arttu walked into the kitchen. He looked to Sonja with an arched eyebrow. "What's the occasion?" he asked.

Sonja smiled and answered, "I was trying to keep it a surprise, but I guess it's too late now. Thea and I are throwing a get-together tonight for you and the boys, like we used to. I thought it would be nice to get everyone together before you all ship out. We really haven't had enough parties lately."

Arttu smiled and emotion quietly overtook him. He had missed the close times with family and friends and was extremely appreciative of Thea and Sonja's motives. The compassion they exerted was astounding. This was why he loved his family more than words could ever demonstrate.