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“‘Night, son.”
“Goodnight, Pa…..Pa?”
“Yes, Ope?”
“Did you REALLY like your present?”
“You better know I did,” Andy answered, smiling broadly. “Goodnight.”
Andy softly shut the bedroom door, and opened it just a hair. He turned and started down the stairs. About half way down he stopped and suddenly remembered for some unknown reason the time that Ernest T. Bass galloped down these very steps and leapt into the recliner. He gave it a thought but gave up quickly on the notion of giving it a whirl. He chuckled a little and entered the room ‘proper-like.’ The chuckle built to a silent laugh as he recalled the stealth Barney walking through the door to tutor Ernest T. on his amenities.
From his chair in the silent room he could hear Aunt Bee on the phone in the kitchen, her voice rising in pitch. It rose as she got to the best part of ‘passing along the news.’ Andy gazed at his present, sitting on the coffee table over by the sofa. What every father would ever want to receive from a son.
The front door opened and in stepped Barney, dressed in his salt and pepper.
“Oh. Back from your date with Thelma Lou?” he said.
“Yeah. I just dropped her off,” Barney answered. “Thought I’d come by to see your Father’s Day present…..Opie was so excited about it.”Aunt Bee offered Barney a slice of apple pie, but he politely reclined, rubbing his stomach and explaining that he was watching his weight as all good lawmen do. She said nothing but smiled sweetly and went back into the kitchen. A wonderful sweet smell of freshly baked pie waved into the room as the kitchen door rocked back and forth. Barney grinned at Andy because he knew she was preparing his order to go.
“I bet she’ll see me off with at least a third of it,” Barney whispered.
“I have no doubt,” Andy said, softly chuckling. He pointed at his own face on the right jaw to signal to Barney where Thelma Lou left her red mark. Barney drew out his hanky faster than his six-shooter and cleaned it off. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the gift on the coffee table.“Hey, now is that neat, Ange!?”
“It surrrrrrre is.”Barney took the gift up and looked at it closely. A cream colored fishing hat made of summercloth, tailored in simple lines and embroidered with World’s Greatest Fisherman in red lettering along the right side. On the other side a small American flag was stitched in, and next to that was a small gold medallion from the Mayberry lodge.
“World’s greatest fisherman, Ange,” Barney read slowly as he pointed it out to him.
“World’s greatest fisherman, yeah,” Andy countered, nodding and grinning. “Aunt Bee did that.”
“Can I try it on?” Barney asked.Andy didn’t miss a beat.
“Yeah, but I don’t want your mother to touch it,” he said matter of factly.
Barney’s eyes widened. “You leave my mother out…..” he started.
“Ok, ok, I’m sorry,” Andy laughed.Barney put it on and felt the brim that circled the lake hat.
“You know, Ange,” he said thoughtfully.
“What?”
“That Opie is a special little fella.”Andy leaned his head back deeper into the chair.
“He sure is.”
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