Something Fishy

 Good morning, readers!

It's cloudy this morning and there's a chance of rain. That would be nice. Maybe it would cool things down a bit.

This has been a busy week.

Saturday – three of my nephews came over and spent most of the day helping us tear off lath and plaster from one of the rooms we're gutting.
Sunday – I got to enjoy some time reading, and some time talking with my BF.
Monday – I had finances to record which took quite a while since I hadn't done it in about a month. I helped clean some things up in our house, and then all my nieces and nephews came over for the evening so their parents could have a date. It was so nice to have them all over again.
Tuesday – I worked on the house some in the morning and some in the afternoon. It's not nearly as much fun working alone, but it really needs done and if we want it done sooner, we have to work on it.
Wednesday – I spent almost all day at my brother's. I watched most of the kids in the morning while my brother, sis-in-law, and two oldest nephews were at a funeral. Then I stayed and went swimming with the kids in the afternoon. That was fun. That evening I worked nursery for someone.
Thursday – Another day of working on the house in the morning and then later in the afternoon.

And while I haven't been writing (I'm using my grace week for the 100-for-100 challenge), I have been working on things like blog posts and such. And prep for the Five Fall Favorites. Yep, that's coming before too long!

And now, here's your story. This was another story from a picture prompt and word of the day from KDWC. Some of you might have already read it. But it was a fun story, so I thought I'd share it. Besides, I didn't have time to go back through and figure out which stories from last month I had posted. ;)

 Something Fishy

    “All units in the vicinity of 17th and Main, we have reports of a man who has nearly caused at least two wrecks.”
    Sergeant Caldwell picked up the mic. “Car 72. Is this person in the street?”
    “Negative. But he is walking down the sidewalk in a suit and swimming things. We’ve had at least fifteen calls on him.”
    Nathaniel Caldwell glanced at his partner and raised an eyebrow. Officer Hayden shrugged. Keying the mic again, Sergeant Caldwell spoke. “Car 72 will take it.”
    “Roger that.”
    As Caldwell flipped on his blinker and turned toward Main, he said, “How do you get a suit and swimming things on at the same time?”
    “No idea. And what sort of swimming things are we talking about?” Hayden kept a watch out his window. “It’s too cold to go swimming here. There are still piles of snow on things. And all the pools are closed and empty.”
    Turning onto Main, Caldwell debated turning on his lights, but decided some lunatic dressed in strange clothes didn’t quite qualify for lights and sirens. At least not yet.
    “There he is. Your side.” Hayden pointed ahead and down the street.
    “What on–” Caldwell didn’t finish his sentence, but flipped on his lights and moved to the left lane, thankful Main was a one-way street.
    Pulling to a stop, Caldwell let out a groan. “If that is Josh, I’ll–” With his sentence unfinished, Sergeant Caldwell stepped from his cruiser and glared at the person coming toward him.
    The young man was, as the dispatcher had said, wearing a suit. A black suit with a red tie. He would have only gotten a casual glance if he had not added to his attire. Caldwell’s gaze traveled from head to toe noticing the snorkeling mask and mouth piece on the face, the doughnut looking inner-tube held around the man’s middle, and the flippers on his feet. With long pink socks. And his pant legs had been pushed up to just below his knees.
    “Joshua Caldwell,” the sergeant growled, planting his hands on his belt. “What are you doing?”
    The young man stopped and let go of one side of the inner-tube and took out his mouth piece. “Hi Nate. I’m just trying on my outfit for Skyler and Kim’s wedding in three weeks.”
    “You could have left off the swimming accessories. Didn’t you know you’ve almost caused two wrecks? We’ve had at least fifteen calls on you!”
    Joshua looked disappointed. “That’s all? I was hoping for at least twenty-five.”
    “I ought to write you a ticket for being a public nuisance, Josh. And I doubt Skyler would be impressed by the addition to your suit.”
    “On the contrary, my dear brother,” Joshua’s grin was wide, “this is all needed for the wedding. You see, he and Kim are getting married while snorkeling. So we have to all have these face things,” he pointed to his face mask, “and flippers. I did add this here donut,” and he patted his inner-tube “because I thought I might not stay afloat otherwise.”
    For a full minute Caldwell stared at his brother. Josh had pulled some pranks before and he wouldn’t put it past him to make up the stuff about getting married while snorkeling. “Huh,” he grunted. “Why didn’t you just try on your outfit in your apartment? You could have caused a wreck.”
    “In case you can’t recall, brother, my apartment is so small that I can take three steps across the living room and bump into the next wall. I needed space to try moving. Besides, I have to work on my oration.”
    “Your what?”
    “My oration. For the wedding. I have to give a best man speech, only I’ve been told that it’s supposed to be an oration.” He shook his head. “Married while snorkeling, best man giving an oration, the reception on the beach, and I’ve heard rumors that the happy couple will be parasailing or something like that when they leave.”
    Shutting the door of the patrol car, Sergeant Caldwell stepped closer to his brother and felt his forehead. “You must be coming down with something. I’ll take you home and let Tara fix you something hot. Come on–”
    “Oh, leave me alone, Nate,” Joshua said, pushing aside his brother’s hand. “I’m not sick, this isn’t a joke, and I’m going to the park to practice my oration.”
    “No, you’re not. In case you haven’t noticed, there is still snow on the ground, you don’t have a coat, and there is no way I am letting you walk to the park in that outfit and risk causing a pileup because drivers are looking at you instead of where they are going.” He stepped back and opened the back door of the cruiser. “Now get in.”
    “I won’t fit. Besides, I’m fine, and–”
    “Get. In. The. Car.” Caldwell’s voice was a low growl, his brow was drawn low, and his eyes were stern.
    Grumbling and muttering, Joshua lowered his inner-tube and stepped out of it, and then tried to protest once more. “If I carry the–”
    “Get in before I slap handcuffs on you,” Caldwell barked.
    With a shake of his head, Joshua climbed into the back of the car and dropped his inner-tube beside him. “Hi, Hayden.”
    “Josh.” Officer Hayden nodded trying to keep back a grin.
    Sergeant Caldwell slid behind the wheel and shut his door with a little more force than needed. He picked up the mic. “Disturbance on Main taken care of. Taking subject to home for evaluation.”
    “Nate!” Josh almost exploded.
    Caldwell looked in the mirror at his younger brother. “Would you rather I take you down to the station to wait in a cell until I’m off my shift? You’re coming home to supper, and I want to hear all about this wedding in the water instead of on it. And yes, I’m calling Skyler and double checking on it if your story sounds the least bit fishy.”
    A muffled snort escaped Hayden. “Fishy?” He exploded with a laugh. “If they are snorkeling during the ceremony there are bound to be fish.”
    Caldwell glared at his partner. 

[Author's Note: I have actually heard of a wedding where the bride and groom were married while snorkeling and all the attendants and guests had to snorkel too if they wanted to watch.]

Was your week busy?

Would you walk down the street like Josh?

Have you ever heard of any strange weddings?