Summary

In “Splashdown,” Trelawny’s cousin Cukie was 13 when he met his father Ox “for the first time” (101). Because Ox had only “stuck out the first two months of fatherhood,” Cukie knew almost nothing about him (101).

Although Cukie normally spent summers with Trelawny’s family, the summer he was 13 he went to the Florida Keys because his “Aunty Sanya and Uncle Topper had separated” (102). His mother let him spend the summer with Ox because Ox swore he had changed.

Ox owned a tiki bar on the water. He was also a lobsterman. One day, he taught Cukie how to snorkel and catch. While watching Ox in the water, Cukie tried determining what kind of man Ox was (106). Ox told Cukie to pay attention because the trade was something he could “fall back on” when he was older (109). He also taught Cukie how to build traps...