As we approach the floats, I cut the motor. The silence is big and it wraps itself around us. Pinamen hurries to take the paddle. Her movements are precise and efficient. She brings the canoe parallel to the net, and I grab the first float.

Suddenly I let the net fall. A memory comes to me.

“The day is beginning badly. There’s nothing in the net. Nothing!” I say loudly.

I’m surprised to hear my voice echoing in the distance. My words sound harsh and dry, like the blows of a hammer on an anvil.

Pinamen whispers back, her eyes mocking.

“We’ll see…” Her voice blends in with the sound of the waves lapping against the round belly of the boat.

I plunge my hands into the cold water, slowly lift the dripping net and let it fall in a pile at my feet. I can feel it getting heavier. I see a flash of silver in the water and my heart leaps. It’s a trout, a fat gray trout! I bring it out of the water, pick it out of the net and dump it in the middle of the canoe.

Pinamen and I exchange smiles. We carry on working in silence. My heart quickens each time I see another gleam in the water.

Manie will be pleased. She loves fresh fish.

I get back to work. Soon seven big fish are lying beside the wet net. The air is filled with the smell of fresh water and silt.

“It’s not an amazing catch, but it’s a good one.”

I shake my hands to dry them. Pinamen pulls her canvas bag out from under the seat and takes out two pieces of bannock and a thermos of tea. The canoe drifts gently. We sit facing each other, straddling the wooden seat. The bitter smell of the hot tea fills the damp air. We pass the cup back and forth and the hot drink soaks through the bread and warms our stomachs. Our knees are lightly touching.

Pinamen is so beautiful. She is slim, with an oval face and lively black eyes that have little stars dancing in them. They are almond shaped and just peek out from under the hem of her beret.

She blushes but doesn’t turn away.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re making me nervous!”

I put my hands on her warm thighs. Her body trembles through her flowered dress. She places her long, delicate hands on my forearms.

“Pinamen, you have been in my heart ever since I first saw you at the station in Parent. At the residential school and later in the city, when life was tough for me, I hung on to the hope that I would see you again. You’re what saved me…”

She smiles. “I’ve had the craziest dreams about you, the most wonderful dreams.”