With the life vest covering most of his chest, Cooper reminded John of back when the kid used to beg his dad to let him take the wheel. They raised him right, he thought, tossing Cooper a cold water.

“He old enough?” Gordon asked teasingly.

“Old enough to know better, still young enough not to care,” John said smiling.

“Since neither of you seems to be in control of your faculties, I’ve decided we’re fishing the creek,” Cooper said. “I don’t like the look of that front coming in, and I’m not going to end up a headline on CNN.”

“Safe, smart. I like the way you think,” Gordon said, raising his beer.

Cooper cut the engine, and immediately the boat began to drift sideways. John eyed the thick marsh on either side of the waterway, some fifty yards from shore to shore.

“Throw out the anchor,” Cooper called.

Gordon was quick to his feet, and the anchor hit the briny water with a splash.

“Sun’s getting hot,” John said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

“Slow down on the beer, bro,” Cooper advised. “There’s water in the cooler. You don’t want to get dehydrated.”

“Climate change is real,” said Gordon. “Over the last century, the average surface temperature of the earth has increased about one degree Fahrenheit. Now, I realize one degree doesn’t seem like much.” He paused to put down the bait box. “But to the world, it’s potentially catastrophic. And just to cheer things up,” he added, picking up one of the fishing rods, “in keeping with all the other treats this year has had to offer, 2020 is on course to be the hottest year since records began.”

“What about those guys who say we’re still in an ice age?” asked Cooper. “That this is normal?”

“Idiots,” Gordon said. “The facts are clear. The warming trend over the last fifty years is twice that for the past one hundred years. The oceans are warming. Glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising.”

Cooper frowned and wiped his brow. “What does that mean for us?”

“It means we’re screwed.”

“And we called Anna the Debby Downer,” John said.

“I’m not without hope,” Gordon said matter-of-factly. “My entire career is based on finding solutions for the future. I work with dedicated men and women in all areas of environmental protection. Wildlife, habitat, air, sea, sky, atmosphere, the coral reefs, clean technology, you name it. They are relentless. But despite all we learn, there are those who ignore the facts. And others who are simply too lazy to pay attention. To my mind, it’s not enough to watch others do the hard work with admiration. Hope is a thing that must be earned.”

John listened to Gordon, who had earned the right to hope, and felt a begrudging admiration for him. He set his beer down and reached into the cooler for a water.

“You’ve convinced me,” Cooper said good-naturedly. He lifted his fishing box and began explaining what he was doing. “I’m tying this eight-inch piece of leader between the snap swivel here and one of the hooks.”